Bold Predictions Revisited: Zach Sanders

by
July 3, 2015

Earlier this year, I presented some bold predictions to you, the readers, and since we are now halfway through the season, it’s time to revisit them to see how things are progressing.

1a. Clayton Kershaw will be the No. 1 fantasy player…
It’s going to take a shit-hot second half to propel Kershaw to the top of the board. His ERA needs to sit closer to 2.00 than 3.00, which it is currently above.

1b. …but Max Scherzer will lead the NL in Ks
Off again. Kershaw’s ERA and WHIP may be higher than you’d like, but his K-rate has actually improved. Scherzer is just 10 behind Kershaw and 11 behind Sale, but is there a chance that 1a and 1b will be flipped at the end of the year?

2. Matt Shoemaker will be a top-24 SP
Well that didn’t go right. Shoemaker has fallen victim to homers this year, and his velocity — while trending up — hasn’t been where it needs to be.

3. Jay Bruce will be a top-24 OF
Hey, this one may actually be right! Bruce’s average is up 20 points from last year, and his ISO is nearly 50 points higher.

4. There will be four members of the 20/20 club
Right now we’re on pace for 7-8. No bueno for this guy.

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5. Kennys Vargas will hit at least .260 with 20 HR
Does it count if Vargas may hit .260 with 20 HR in Triple-A?

6. Three Padres will record at least five saves (for the second straight year)
Trading for Craig Kimbrel isn’t fair, you guys.

7. Rubby de la Rosa will have a WHIP of at least 1.50 as a starter
1.24, but dammit, his ERA is still above 4.50.

8. Phil Hughes will be the only Twins starter with an ERA under 4.00, but no starter will have an ERA over 5.00
Kyle Gibson, Tommy Milone, and Mike Pelfrey are all under 4.00, while Hughes is not. Ricky Nolasco is over 5.00 at the moment.

Scoreboard: Right now I’m on pace to be one-for-nine, but I could pick up one more; and y’all said I wasn’t bold enough.





 

Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.

8 Comments
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Anonymous
11 years ago

Ouch.

1
stretchfest
11 years ago

Talk is cheap muthaf- (machine gun sound)

-DMX

3
Sean
11 years ago

One of your 20-20 candidates is gonna be out for 6-8 weeks after Wednesday. So maybe the rest will get injured too.

0
Compton
11 years ago

I interpreted the 20-20 prediction that *at least* four players will go 20-20. Maybe I’m just an idiot and interpret things poorly, but at least you have one reader who thinks you are 2 outa 9.

0
Zach SandersMember since 2020
11 years ago
Reply to  Compton

Nope, exactly 4.

Hopefully the full wording from preseason was clear.

“In 2012, there were 10 members of the 20/20 club. In 2013, there were seven. Last year, there were five members: Todd Frazier, Ian Desmond, Carlos Gomez, Brian Dozier, and Michael Brantley. I have that number dropping to four in 2015.”

1
FeslenR
11 years ago

1 for 9 isn’t that bad…you’d be a starting 2B/3b if you were with the Mets!

1
francis
11 years ago
Reply to  FeslenR

2 for 9 and they’ll “overpay” for you, or give you 2 yrs @ $12 million per.

1
Arquimedes Caminero
11 years ago

still more accurate than your rankings…

-2