2014 RotoGraphs Staff Picks
Ever wanted all that sweet RotoGraphs analysis in one place? We aim to please here at the site, and are happy to post our official RotoGraphs Staff Picks for the upcoming fantasy season. Think of this as a one stop shop cheat sheet for your fantasy drafts. One of the problems we run into at RotoGraphs is that some of us may have the same sleepers, but only one of us will write up that player. These lists give you a better idea of how many of us at RotoGraphs like, or dislike, a certain player, and which deep sleepers we are targeting. Read on if you can handle the awesomeness.
You’ll immediately understand most of the categories, but some require an explanation.
Deep Sleeper is a player who isn’t a mixed-leaguer, but may end up in a role and perform well.
Best Flyer is more of a desperation heave. Very few of the Best Flyer candidates will be drafted in most leagues, but are perfect for in-season watch lists. Monitor their progress throughout the year, and strike when you can.
There was also some confusion with the Best Sophomore Pitcher category, which was completely my fault. The goal here was to focus on the bunched up group of Michael Wacha, Gerrit Cole, Sonny Gray, etc. Jose Fernandez is a consensus top-10 pitcher, so he’s the obvious answer here, and I should have made it clear he was excluded from the process. Alas, I messed up. But if you want to know which of that later group some of us like, you’ll get that here.
Here are the results.
| RotoGrapher | Sleeper | Deep Sleeper | Bust | NL Rookie | AL Rookie | Comeback Player | 2nd Half Closer | Best Sophomore Pitcher | Best Flyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Barr | Ike Davis | Robbie Grossman | Anibal Sanchez | Kolten Wong | Masahiro Tanaka | Brandon Beachy | Rex Brothers | Jose Fernandez | Scott Baker |
| Chad Young | Matt Dominguez | Drew Stubbs | Hunter Pence | Archie Bradley | Xander Bogaerts | Yasmani Grandal | Tanner Scheppers | Jose Fernandez | James Paxton |
| Alan Harrison | Eddie Butler | George Springer | Jean Segura | Billy Hamilton | Xander Bogaerts | Jason Heyward | Rex Brothers | Jose Fernandez | James Paxton |
| J.P. Breen | Rick Porcello | Rickie Weeks | Freddie Freeman | Archie Bradley | Jose Abreu | Brandon Beachy | Rex Brothers | Jose Fernandez | Oswaldo Arcia |
| David Wiers | Kole Calhoun | Rajai Davis | Robinson Cano | Travis d’Arnaud | Jose Abreu | Jason Heyward | Joaquin Benoit | Tony Cingrani | Darin Ruf |
| Zach Sanders | Kole Calhoun | Dustin Ackley | Ian Kinsler | Travis d’Arnaud | Jose Abreu | Miguel Montero | Joaquin Benoit | Danny Salazar | James Paxton |
| Brad Johnson | Rajai Davis | Billy Burns | Cole Hamels | Archie Bradley | Jose Abreu | Josh Reddick | Sergio Santos | Sonny Gray | Erik Johnson |
| Scott Strandberg | Abraham Almonte | Jonathan Singleton | Coco Crisp | Travis d’Arnaud | Jose Abreu | Brandon Beachy | Rex Brothers | Jose Fernandez | Marcell Ozuna |
| Jack Weiland | Jed Lowrie | Peter Bourjos | Starling Marte | Billy Hamilton | Jose Abreu | Carlos Quentin | Joaquin Benoit | Sonny Gray | Mike Olt |
| Colin Zarzycki | Wilson Ramos | Michael Choice | Masahiro Tanaka | Archie Bradley | Xander Bogaerts | Brett Anderson | Sergio Santos | Sonny Gray | Burch Smith |
| Scott Spratt | Scott Kazmir | Billy Burns | Yasiel Puig | Jameson Taillon | Marcus Stroman | Jason Heyward | Edward Mujica | Gerrit Cole | Daniel Webb |
| Brett Talley | Rick Porcello | Justin Ruggiano | Masahiro Tanaka | Archie Bradley | Jose Abreu | Johnny Cueto | Brandon Kintzler | Jose Fernandez | Corey Dickerson |
| Jeff Zimmerman | Mike Moustakas | Brett Marshall | Miguel Cabrera | Archie Bradley | Jose Abreu | Trevor Bauer | Joakim Soria/Neftali Feliz | Jose Fernandez | Melky Cabrera |
| Mike Podhorzer | Oswaldo Arcia | Carlos Carrasco | Max Scherzer | Carlos Martinez | Jose Abreu | Jason Heyward | Arodys Vizcaino | Jose Fernandez | Marcus Semien |
| Blake Murphy | Corey Dickerson | Justin Ruggiano | Billy Hamilton | Kolten Wong | Jose Abreu | Josh Reddick | Sergio Santos | Gerrit Cole | Oswaldo Arcia |
| Eno Sarris | Anthony Rizzo | Tyler Skaggs | Anibal Sanchez | Gregory Polanco | Jose Abreu | Yasmani Grandal | Sergio Santos | Gerrit Cole | Kevin Gausman |
| Chris Cwik | Anthony Rizzo | Edinson Volquez | Robinson Cano | Kolten Wong | Jose Abreu | Yasmani Grandal | Joaquin Benoit | Danny Salazar | Cameron Maybin |
| Howard Bender | Kelly Johnson | Nate Jones | Yasiel Puig | Archie Bradley | Jose Abreu | Joakim Soria | Vic Black | Sonny Gray | James Paxton |
| Ben Duronio | Jed Lowrie | Marcus Semien | Yasiel Puig | Gregory Polanco | Masahiro Tanaka | Josh Reddick | Arodys Vizcaino | Julio Teheran | Erik Johnson |
Chris is a blogger for CBSSports.com. He has also contributed to Sports on Earth, the 2013 Hard Ball Times Baseball Annual, ESPN, FanGraphs and RotoGraphs. He tries to be funny on twitter @Chris_Cwik.
The obvious question, for Jeff Zimmerman: why do you pick Miguel Cabrera as your bust?
And why is Trevor Bauer his comeback player, if Bauer only has 33 career innings pitched in at the MLB level?
I see Bauer as more of a post-hype sleeper. He was a heavily hyped pitching prospect while with and coming from Arizona, then totally bombed when he made it in the bigs with Cleveland. The walks and total lack of command really did him in and diminished his star. In that way, he is a comeback player, but I typically think of veterans as comeback players, whether coming from a down year or returning from an injury.
I think he was concerned about the abdomen injury.
But he sure does have the deepest deep sleeper!
Injury/playing time issues with Cabrera.
playing time? How many weeks in to the season do you think Ausmus will bench him?
Seems like the injury prediction for Cabrera is just a random guess (like many of these predictions likely are). He is playing 1B/DH now (way less demanding than 3B) and his injury from last year was not a chronic one.