Early Season American League Outfielders I’m Buying

No one in either the American or National League has seen 50 plate appearances this season. At this point you’re probably all tired of the “small sample size” caveats but it is worth repeating. With that out of the way, these are two players, one mostly owned but struggling and one widely available I like.

Brandon Moss
Moss hasn’t taken to the hitter friendly confines of Cleveland’s Progressive Field just yet, but I still believe he will. He’s owned in almost every league, but if his current owner is frustrated by the .100/.250/.150 line Moss has put up thus far, he could be a buy-low target. The following is a table displaying the starters Moss has faced — excluding his sole pinch-hit appearance — arranged by date and showing their respective career wOBA allowed against left-handed hitters.

	wRC+ vs LHH	Throws
Dallas Keuchel	.294	L
Scott Feldman	.320	R
Asher Wojciechowski	.409	R
Alfredo Simon	.327	R
Kyle Lobstein	.312	L
Jose Quintana	.308	L

Platoon issues will be a part of owning Moss, and already half of the games he’s started, there was a southpaw on the mound. Thus far his numbers against right-handed starters aren’t inspiring either, however the home runs and double should be coming. Since 2012, Moss’ 66 home runs against righties is tied for 11th most in baseball and fifth among active outfielders. His 59 doubles in the same time frame tie him with Giancarlo Stanton for 70th in baseball and Moss’ .269 ISO versus righties is third best. The skills are still there, but the opportunities to show them have rare for him in the early going. Will he strikeout a lot? Yes, sure. But he’ll also hit plenty of dingers and draw walks to offset those K’s. Moss has hit either fifth or sixth in the lineup this season, so when his power does shine through, expect a strong RBI count as well. Targeting him for a trade — or hanging onto him and keeping the faith — could pay off.

Mark Canha
Shifting from someone largely owned to a player very much available, we go from Moss to Canha. He wasn’t on my fantasy radar, and I only knew of him as I’m an A’s fan in my spare time. The seventh round draft pick out of Berkley was never on any Top-100 list, but hit at every level. He was never particularly old for his leagues, but old enough to never warrant much more than a cursory glance for myself. Even playing in deep leagues such as Ottoneu and other 40-man roster formats, Canha wasn’t owned in any of my leagues to begin the year.

He’s climbed one level per year and the worst he’s performed in a season with at least 450 plate appearances is hitting “only” 28% better than league average at High-A in 2012. Canha owns a double digit walk rate at every level other than rookie ball, where he managed a 9.5% BB% in 21 plate appearances. He doesn’t strikeout excessively and he’s hit for 20 home runs in two separate seasons, including last year at Triple-A. Canha could be Kole Calhoun-lite, flashing power from a corner outfield spot and hitting second rather than leadoff. Count on Canha getting first base eligibility at some point this season, with out an outside shot at the hot corner as well as he played 18 games at third in the minors last season. He’s owned in about half of CBS leagues now, but his Yahoo! and ESPN ownership lags behind at 28% and 21% respectively.