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: Willson Contreras (C): The change in Contreras’ fortunes changed dramatically during the 2015 season when he went from being a fringe-average hitter in his first five years to producing at elite levels for a catcher. That newfound success carried over into 2016 at the triple-A level and led to his promotion… and a key role on the World Series champions. The Yankees’ Gary Sanchez received a lot of attention for his season but Contreras had the second-best season by a catcher (minimum 150 at-bats) when looking at weighted runs created (126 wRC+). The only real cause for concern moving into 2017 would be his strikeout rate — which jumped 10% from triple-A to the majors (13.3 to 23.7%). The 24-year-old has additional fantasy value in some leagues due to his versatility; he appeared in 24 games in the outfield and even three at first base.

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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: Jameson Taillon (RHP): If there is one thing the Pirates do really, really well… it’s developing pitching. The hard-throwing Taillon joined Gerrit Cole in the big league rotation in 2016 and didn’t look out of place. He pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 104 innings while showing otherworldly control for his age with just under 1.5 walks per nine innings. Like Cole, Taillon can dial his heater up into the upper 90s but he doesn’t chase strikeouts. His strikeout rate was a decent — but hardly elite — 7.36 K/9 but his ground-ball rate of 52% was above the league average. It’s quite likely that the K-rate will climb as Taillon matures as a pitcher and further sharpens his command. He needs a better weapon against left-handed batters when you consider his K/BB splits (9.60 vs RHHs, 3.08 vs LHHs). As it stands, he’ll be the No. 2 starter on the club.

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

The Graduate: Aledmys Diaz (SS): Diaz came out of nowhere to limit the impact of the loss of injured veteran Jhonny Peralta in 2016. The freshman hit .300 and produced more power than expected (17 homers). The middle infielder doesn’t look like a one-hit wonder or fluke, either. Along with the ability to hit for average, he produced above-average pop while striking out at a low rate (13%) and showed a willingness to take a free pass. Diaz’s defence was worse than expected at shortstop but he’s earned the opportunity to prove himself capable during the 2017 season.

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

The Graduate: Jose Peraza (UTL): The Reds didn’t have a lot of luck with rookies in 2016 but Peraza showed well in 72 games while spending time in the middle infield and the outfield. Despite his decent performance, he doesn’t have a clear shot at a starting gig in 2017 unless the Reds can find a taker for veteran second baseman Brandon Phillips – or one of their inexperienced outfielders struggles in the spring. Peraza, 22, hit more than .320 as a rookie and also stole more than 20 bases. Unfortunately, he was also caught stealing 10 times and walked less than 3% of the time. With some polish, the young athlete has impact potential in both the field and on the base paths although he needs to be more patient and get on base more consistently without putting all the pressure on his contact rate.

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

The Graduate: Joe Biagini (RHP): A Rule 5 draft pick from the Giants last winter, Biagini narrowly snuck onto the team at the end of spring training. Within a couple of months, though, he began pitching in more and more meaningful games — becoming one of Manager John Gibbons’ most trusted relievers by the end of the season. The organization feels that Biagini’s stuff would play well in the starting rotation and has considered sending him back to the minors to work him out as a starter in 2017 but reliever values are at an all-time high this winter so the Jays may be hard pressed to find enough depth that make that move a reality.

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

The Graduate: Heath Hembree (RHP): The Red Sox leaned heavily on a veteran roster in 2016. Freshman Andrew Benintendi didn’t play enough to graduate from his rookie status so that leaves us with Hembree. The right-handed reliever didn’t pitch a lot of important innings but he gained some valuable experience, produced respectable numbers and soaked up innings — 51 in 38 games — despite being more of a one-inning guy in the minors. Hembree, 27, can hit 94-95 mph with his heater and the slider showed potential so his role could continue to expand in ’17. For that to happen, though, the fastball command will need to improve and he’ll also be at the mercy of future offseason moves as the club looks to improve its bullpen.

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

The Graduate: Gary Sanchez (C): The 23-year-old Sanchez needed just 53 games to convince the Yankees to go all in and send veteran catcher Brian McCann packing. The ball absolutely screams off the rookie’ bat and he slugged 20 home runs in his debut — en route to a 1.032 OPS. He struck out a lot (25%) and saw his numbers dip noticeably during his second month of his debut leading to some questions: Was the league beginning to adjust to him, or was he just tiring after never playing into September in the past? Still, he projects as an above-average hitter and has improved his defence significantly — making him a must-have in keeper leagues (and all other leagues, for the matter). Sanchez should open 2017 with some pretty hefty expectations and it will be interesting to see if he can live up to them.

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

The Graduate: Blake Snell (LHP): Control has been Snell’s nemesis throughout his career — save for 2015 — and it came back to haunt him during his MLB debut in 2016. His 3.54 ERA was impressive — and speaks to his raw potential — when you consider his walk rate of more than five batters per nine innings. He’ll also need to better leverage his 6-4 frame to generate more ground balls after being an extreme-fly-ball pitcher in the AL East. Still, Snell succeeds by missing a lot of bats and his struck out almost 10 batters per nine innings in his freshman season. With improved command of his low-to-mis-90s fastball and slider, the young hurler could eventually develop four average or better offerings (He also has a curveball and changeup).

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

The Graduate: Dylan Bundy (RHP): It felt like it would never come but Bundy finally enjoyed his big league rookie season in 2016. The former 2011 first-rounder suffered through a succession of bad luck and injuries that saw him virtually fall into a black hole from 2013-15. The Orioles then eased him into his big league duties in ’16 with a stint in the bullpen before loosening the reigns late in the year as a starter. He appears to still have mid-rotation potential and could be one of the Orioles more reliable arms in 2017 if he can continue to avoid the trainer’s table.

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

The Graduate: Trea Turner (SS): It took a little time for the Nationals’ veteran-loving manager to agree to give Turner a shot but once the freshman received the opportunity he never looked back (although it wasn’t even at his natural position of shortstop). The 13th overall selection in the 2014 draft was a real spark plug for the playoff contender by producing a .342 average with 33 steals in just 73 games. He also showed unexpected pop by hitting 13 homers in the Majors and six in the minors (after never hitting more than five in a season). Turner should be a top-of-the-order threat and mainstay in center field for the foreseeable future in Washington.

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