During the past three weeks, I’ve been reviewing the 12 rookie hitters and 12 rookie pitchers that could make signifiant waves in Major League Baseball — and help your fantasy squad — in 2017. Last week, I took a look at the first six pitchers and today I’ll be reviewing the final six. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2 for the freshman hitters.

Potential Impact Rookie Pitchers for 2017 (part 2 of 2):

Anthony Banda, LHP, Diamondbacks: Arizona will likely trot out a starting rotation made up entirely of pitchers drafted, signed and developed by other organizations. Banda is another import — and was also a lesser known prospect until recently. A former Brewers draft pick, the southpaw has seen his velocity spike in the past year and he now sits far more consistently in the mid-90s. Add in a plus curveball and decent changeup and you have a pretty interesting arm. Banda has the stuff to dominate hitters and develop into a strikeout pitcher. He’s also shown his durability by compiling more than 150 innings in each of the past two seasons and could be set for 175+ innings in 2017. Banda, 23, will likely split the year between triple-A and the Majors but he’ll need an injury — or for another pitcher to stumble — before he gets his first shot at The Show.

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Over a two-week span, I’m going to be reviewing 12 rookie hitters and 12 rookie pitchers that could make signifiant waves in Major League Baseball — and help your fantasy squad — in 2017. Last week, I took a look at the 12 hitters (Part 1, Part 2) and today I’ll be reviewing the first six arms.

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Over about a two week period I’m going to be reviewing 12 rookie hitters and 12 rookie pitchers that could make signifiant waves in Major League Baseball in 2017. Last week, I took a look at the first six hitters and today I’ll be reviewing the final six.

Potential Impact Rookie Hitters for 2017 (continued):

Lourdes Gurriel, OF/IF, Blue Jays: Perhaps the biggest sleeper on this list, Gurriel — a Cuba native — hasn’t even played professionally in North America after signing with the Jays in the offseason. But he’s also one of the more intriguing prospects to come out of Cuba and should open his career in double-A or triple-A. A strong athlete, Gurriel could end up at any number of positions but the Jays’ greatest needs are likely in the outfield, although an injury to an infielder (Josh Donaldson, I’m looking at you and your calf) could change that in a hurry. Reports suggest he can do a little bit of everything on offence and his floor might be something along the lines of Sean Rodriguez. In truth, we won’t really know what the Jays have in Gurriel until he starts playing but the Jays’ lack of upper level depth (and lack of well-rounded athletes) could expedite his timetable.

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Over the next two weeks I’m going to be reviewing 12 rookie hitters and 12 rookie pitchers that could make signifiant waves at the Major League level — and aid your fantasy squad, as a result — in 2017. Today, we’re taking a look at six freshmen hitters with another six to come later in the week.

Potential Impact Rookie Hitters for 2017:

Willy Adames, SS, Rays: The Rays have some middle infield depth with the likes of Matt Duffy, Brad Miller and Nick Franklin in house but the emergence of Adames could help the cost-conscious Rays move on from Brad Miller, who is set to make more than $3 million in 2017 and is said to be tired of moving around the diamond. Adames, 21, had a breakout 2016 season despite being aggressively pushed from high-A (where he produced modest numbers in ’15) to double-A. He strikes out a fair bit but the young shortstop produced a .372 on-base percentage thanks to 74 free passes in 132 games and he began to tap into his raw power on a more consistent basis. Adames has 20+ home run potential and could also add double-digit steal totals. He’ll likely open the year in triple-A but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him in The Show as early as June.

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Welcome to the final installment of the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as an early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Tyler Naquin (OF): Naquin burst onto the scene in 2016, taking advantage of injuries and never looking back. He hit for more power than expected — 14 homers and a .218 ISO in 321 at-bats — during his MLB debut so it will be interesting to see if it was a blip on the radar or a sign of things to come (10 home runs was previously a career high). His strikeout rate, too, was a surprise. After sitting around 20-23%, it spiked to just under 31%. It took a BABIP of .411 to compensate for the contact issues so a batting average near .300 will likely not continue unless he makes some adjustments. He appears pencilled in at center field for Cleveland in 2017.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as an early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Max Kepler (OF/1B): It took almost seven years but the project from Germany finally established himself as a big league player. Kepler, signed at age 16, showed his raw power potential in 2016 by hitting a career high 17 home runs in 113 games for the Twins. But he also swung and missed a fair bit and produced an on-base percentage of just .309. He has some work to do against southpaws before he’ll realize his full potential. He produced an OPS of just .595 against them (compared to .792 vs righties) and his ISO also dipped considerably (.119 vs LHP, .219 vs RHP). Still, the Twins appear set to hand him the reins for right field in 2017. If he continues to develop (and avoid a platoon), Kepler could eventually slug 30+ home runs and even add 10-15 steals.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as an early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Michael Fulmer (RHP): At just 23, Fulmer is already a beast of a man. He combines control with a power fastball and promising secondary stuff. He’s just scratching the surface of his potential but he’s already a good big league pitcher. After throwing 174 innings in 2016, he’s poised to break the 200-inning mark in ’17 and could be an innings-eater for years to come for the Tigers. His ability to command his changeup consistently allowed him to combat left-handed hitters well (He held them to a .220 average). Fulmer’s biggest need is to pace himself a little better throughout the season after perhaps tiring a bit in the second half when he became more hittable.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as an early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Tim Anderson (SS): The club’s first round pick from 2013, Anderson was promoted to the majors more quickly than expected and performed much better than expected. With that said, some regression should be expected for 2017. His 27% strikeout rate is very high for someone with limited home-run pop and that needs to get on base to take advantage of his speed. He walked just 13 times in 99 games — good for a minuscule 3% walk rate. However, if he learns to tighten his approach at the plate, he could develop into a top-of-the-order threat with potentially plus defensive skills.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as an early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Raul Adalberto Mondesi (SS): Injuries wreaked havoc on the Royals in 2016 and it forced the club to promote Mondesi earlier than planned. His minor league numbers certainly didn’t scream out for promotion. He struggled with strikeouts at every level of the minors and didn’t hit anything like even an average player until the 2016 season (in limited at-bats). He has some pop — which didn’t play in his MLB debut — and some speed so there are things to like but he’s going to need to make more contact and get on base more consistently to be more than a bottom-of-the-order hitter. He has a shot at breaking camp with the Royals in 2017 as their second baseman but, really, he needs some more minor league seasoning.

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Welcome to the annual series that provides both a review of your favorite teams’ 2016 season, as well as an early look toward 2017. It also serves as a helpful guide for keeper and dynasty leagues.

The Graduate: Orlando Arcia (SS): The rebuilding Brewers added Arcia to their infield in early August and hope to have him anchoring the club’s infield defence for years to come. The gifted infielder’s best tool is probably his defence — which doesn’t really help fantasy owners — but he has some potential with the bat and on the base paths. His minor league numbers suggest he might need a little more polish before he threats to become a solid hitter. His strikeout rate has risen with each promotion over the past four years and surpassed 20% – which is quite high for someone that doesn’t have power as a major weapon at their disposal. On the plus side, he got stronger as a hitter with each passing month during his MLB debut. Arcia is a threat to be a solid big league contributor but don’t expect his bat to be a major weapon in 2017; if he can get on base enough, though, he could steal 20+ bases.

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