Eno’s Bats for 2014 Fantasy Baseball

Here’s a super easy post, I’ll admit it. All I did was take the difference between my rankings and the consensus rankings (which you can find on the right-hand nav bar) and sort. But I’ll do a little writeup for each group of hitters so you can know why I like them. The numbers listed for each player are steamer projections, which aren’t exactly what I used, but can give you an idea of how useful the player will be in your league. Good luck drafting.

Catchers

RG	Name	Jeff	Zach	Mike	Eno	LG	AVG	HR	SB	R	RBI	Eno Diff
32	Hank Conger	32	31	35	26	AL	0.244	10	2	42	42	6
21	Josmil Pinto	23	17	31	17	AL	0.259	5	1	22	22	4
33	J.P. Arencibia	33	29	33	29	AL	0.221	16	2	41	47	4
36	Stephen Vogt	40	40	37	32	AL	0.250	4	1	22	22	4
18	Devin Mesoraco	17	28	18	15	NL	0.244	14	3	44	50	3
23	Yasmani Grandal	31	19	25	21	NL	0.260	9	1	40	41	2
7	Yadier Molina	7	8	9	6	NL	0.290	11	4	50	55	1
8	Salvador Perez	6	6	11	7	AL	0.286	13	1	58	64	1
12	Wilson Ramos	13	15	13	11	NL	0.272	15	2	43	51	1

I pushed Hank Conger’s projection to 389 plate appearances with 12 homers and a .256 average, but honestly, I think it could be better in terms of production and worse in terms of playing time. He’s a switch-hitter who’s been much better against lefties, has some pedigree, and is behind an old free-agent-to-be catcher on a team with an iffy future. If the Angels fall behind this year, Conger could easily take the bulk of the second half at-bats as they look to 2015. I don’t think much of Kurt Suzuki, so even with mega BABIP regression for Josmil Pinto, I think he’ll be the Twinkie catcher to own. Arencibia shows up well on catcher framing metrics, amazingly considering how bad he seems on defense, and Geovany Soto is hurt all the time. Stephen Vogt could get good playing time if John Jaso ends up DHing a lot. Yasmani Grandal and Devin Mesoraco have the pedigree but obviously I like Mesoraco more. I love love Wilson Ramos, who has power and makes contact and just needs to be healthy.

First Basemen

RG	Name	Jeff	Zach	Mike	Eno	LG	AVG	HR	SB	R	RBI	Eno Diff
26	Yonder Alonso	27	25	27	22	NL	0.277	14	5	61	64	4
30	Mitch Moreland	29	29	29	26	AL	0.252	21	2	67	71	4
18	Kendrys Morales	19	18	20	15	FA	0.275	26	1	77	90	3
11	Adrian Gonzalez	11	12	8	9	NL	0.293	26	1	83	92	2
15	Jose Abreu	15	20	14	13	AL	0.272	34	8	81	86	2
16	Brandon Belt	18	16	15	14	NL	0.273	15	7	62	65	2
21	Adam Lind	23	19	24	19	AL	0.265	25	1	76	85	2
25	Mike Napoli	26	28	22	23	AL	0.248	22	2	62	66	2
31	James Loney	34	26	30	29	AL	0.268	11	3	57	58	2
34	Ike Davis	35	32	34	32	NL	0.234	17	2	47	51	2
36	Justin Smoak	33	35	36	34	AL	0.237	20	1	67	69	2
37	Garrett Jones	36	36	35	35	NL	0.246	16	3	51	56	2
5	Joey Votto	5	4	5	4	NL	0.294	23	5	86	79	1
8	Anthony Rizzo	7	9	10	7	NL	0.266	29	7	85	90	1
9	Albert Pujols	8	11	11	8	AL	0.280	29	4	85	94	1

I pushed Yonder Alonso‘s projections to .284/14/6 just because it’s poop or get off the pottie time for the Pads first baseman. That’s not too far off his better projections, so it’s not like my unscientific regard for him was too pie in the sky. He makes contact and has shown more power in the past, so there’s that. Mitch Moreland still has a role on his team, and I guess I’m hoping that Kendrys Morales signs with a team that plays him full time. My Jose Abreu projection is .276/28/0 so that doesn’t seem too crazy to me. I pushed Brandon Belt’s homer total to 22 because I like the changes he made late last season. Most of the rest are mild likes, but I was surprised to see that I wasn’t way crazier than the others on Anthony Rizzo. We all like him!

Second Basemen

RG	Name	Jeff	Zach	Mike	Eno	LG	AVG	HR	SB	R	RBI	Eno Diff
35	Jemile Weeks	40	40	44	23	AL	0.260	2	5	26	17	12
38	Emilio Bonifacio	40	40	40	30	NL	0.257					8
16	Anthony Rendon	19	16	20	10	NL	0.263	12	3	60	56	6
23	Scooter Gennett	27	23	24	18	NL	0.275	6	7	40	40	5
37	Jonathan Schoop	40	35	41	32	AL	0.245	7	3	29	29	5
7	Matt Carpenter	10	7	10	5	NL	0.285	11	5	77	55	2
10	Martin Prado	9	11	12	8	NL	0.286	14	7	79	70	2

I guess it’s a little weird to see Jemile Weeks and Jonathan Schoop on the same list. But I made sure to only project 680 plate appearances between the two, and I guess I’m saying I think Weeks wins that job in Baltimore. Ryan Flaherty does nothing for me, and a nice empty spring batting average with decent defense should be enough to unseat him. I don’t love Emilio Bonifacio, but Darwin Barney has been skating along on fifth infielder’s skillset for a while now. I do love Anthony Rendon. He stayed healthy! He had an above-average strikeout rate! He has nascent power! He’ll walk more this year! I don’t have Matt Carpenter hitting .300, but .285 seems light to me for a spray hitter with gap power. Sames on Martin Prado. The league batting average is down to .251 or so, so batting average gains some relative value.

Shortstops

RG	Name	Jeff	Zach	Mike	Eno	LG	AVG	HR	SB	R	RBI	Eno Diff
28	Didi Gregorius	34	29	30	20	NL	0.254	8	4	49	47	8
21	Derek Jeter	27	25	22	16	AL	0.280	5	6	50	34	5
26	Jordy Mercer	26	35	25	21	NL	0.256	7	5	40	39	5
5	Jose Reyes	5	5	7	3	AL	0.288	11	23	83	59	2
12	Xander Bogaerts	12	13	15	10	AL	0.264	15	8	67	66	2
13	Andrelton Simmons	15	14	11	11	NL	0.266	13	10	67	61	2
19	Alcides Escobar	22	24	20	17	AL	0.260	5	19	60	51	2
25	Jose Iglesias	24	30	27	23	AL	0.261	5	13	58	52	2
3	Jean Segura	4	4	2	2	NL	0.279	11	33	72	58	1

I’ll take the over on Didi’s projected batting average. I also think that even if he loses out on on the starting job, he can get traded into a starting job somewhere (New York cough cough). I guess I think Jeter will have a decent swan song, at least in terms of playing time. I know Jordy Mercer’s glove isn’t as good as Clint Barmes‘, but I think they may do an O/D platoon at the position, and that would mean more playing time for Mercer. There’s at least some track record for Simmons and Bogaerts, but there’s risk there. I’d rather risk when there’s some upside, it seems. Alcides goes as far as his BABIP, but his BABIP could regress positively next year. I only barely like Iglesias better than my fellow rankers, but it might be because I think there’s some speed there. Jean Segura? A couple spots at the top can be very meaningful. I’d say I believe in the over on that batting average, even if he pounds it into the ground.

Third Basemen

RG	Name	Jeff	Zach	Mike	Eno	LG	AVG	HR	SB	R	RBI	Eno Diff
11	Matt Carpenter	16	14	11	7	NL	0.285	11	5	77	55	4
23	Matt Dominguez	22	30	22	19	AL	0.248	18	2	60	67	4
26	Cody Asche	30	28	26	22	NL	0.258	11	6	41	46	4
32	Matt Davidson	35	29	34	28	AL	0.230	9	2	29	30	4
12	Martin Prado	12	15	12	9	NL	0.286	14	7	79	70	3
21	Chris Johnson	21	26	21	18	NL	0.276	12	2	54	61	3
13	Kyle Seager	13	12	13	11	AL	0.270	18	8	77	78	2
16	Chase Headley	15	17	14	14	NL	0.257	17	10	74	71	2
17	Nolan Arenado	18	18	19	15	NL	0.282	16	4	68	75	2
18	Manny Machado	20	16	20	16	AL	0.269	12	7	59	52	2
22	Anthony Rendon	24	20	24	20	NL	0.263	12	3	60	56	2
35	Alberto Callaspo	36	35	35	33	AL	0.258	7	2	42	39	2
37	Marcus Semien	40	40	38	35	AL	0.241	5	5	23	21	2

Matt Dominguez did some nice things in the second half last year, power-wise, so I’ll take the over on that homer number. I like Cody Asche‘s hit tool better than that batting average, but apparently his defense has been atrocious. They might move him or demote him if it’s truly that bad. I think that team will let Matt Davidson struggle all year to see what they’ve got, so even if there’s a bad batting average, there might be homers and playing time. I believe in Chris Johnson’s approach leading to high BABIPs and okay batting averages. The rest are fairly close, but I do have okay hopes for Alberto Callaspo carving out some playing time on that team, and I think the Sox will make a change at second base — if Gordon Beckham is good, he’s gone in a trade, if he’s bad again, he’s gone. Enter Marcus Semien.

Outfielders

RG	Name	Jeff	Zach	Mike	Eno	LG	AVG	HR	SB	R	RBI	Eno Diff
103	Abraham Almonte	106	106	113	76	AL	0.256	9	18	60	51	27
43	Khris Davis	55	60	49	24	NL	0.253	17	8	53	57	19
87	A.J. Pollock	82	106	100	69	NL	0.270	7	13	52	45	18
79	Andre Ethier	87	79	95	62	NL	0.272	12	3	52	53	17
58	Michael Brantley	69	72	53	43	AL	0.273	8	12	60	53	15
75	Junior Lake	81	106	60	60	NL	0.260	10	16	45	42	15
89	Jackie Bradley	94	106	89	75	AL	0.259	9	11	51	46	14
53	Ben Revere	56	70	41	40	NL	0.278	2	27	51	35	13
97	Robbie Grossman	106	106	91	84	AL	0.242	7	16	56	38	13
105	David Lough	106	106	112	92	AL	0.277	9	11	54	50	13
106	L.J. Hoes	98	106	120	93	AL	0.260	5	10	46	39	13
27	Mark Trumbo	30	42	24	15	AL	0.255	29	5	69	84	12
77	Corey Dickerson	73	106	75	65	NL	0.279	12	9	49	46	12
37	Martin Prado	46	39	47	26	NL	0.286	14	7	79	70	11
59	Christian Yelich	59	85	43	50	NL	0.261	11	17	69	54	9
63	Melky Cabrera	68	55	68	54	AL	0.286	12	8	71	61	9
67	Gerardo Parra	72	66	69	58	NL	0.276	9	13	62	53	9
38	Leonys Martin	44	58	29	30	AL	0.267	11	29	65	56	8
52	Shane Victorino	51	67	45	44	AL	0.275	12	17	71	59	8
95	Cameron Maybin	101	86	106	87	NL	0.249	7	14	36	33	8
41	Nick Swisher	45	36	58	34	AL	0.249	21	2	79	75	7
44	Torii Hunter	57	44	52	37	AL	0.283	17	4	80	74	7
46	Nelson Cruz	60	33	59	39	AL	0.254	24	5	64	72	7
84	Kelly Johnson	97	84	82	78	AL	0.237	13	7	45	44	6
85	Marcell Ozuna	84	106	77	79	NL	0.250	15	8	57	65	6
108	Darin Ruf	106	106	109	102	NL	0.244	13	2	44	49	6
62	Nick Markakis	70	52	62	57	AL	0.281	12	3	70	62	5
71	B.J. Upton	77	74	72	66	NL	0.224	12	14	47	44	5
32	Norichika Aoki	33	37	38	28	NL	0.301	7	20	82	55	4
40	Adam Eaton	35	43	51	36	NL	0.274	8	19	69	48	4
42	Kole Calhoun	47	50	39	38	AL	0.268	15	10	64	62	4
81	Rajai Davis	80	81	88	77	AL	0.265	4	26	38	30	4
94	Nick Castellanos	95	106	87	90	AL	0.270	12	5	60	60	4

I guess in general I just like playing time and upside. That describes most of the guys on this list. Well, not Andre Ethier. He’s surprising. But I figure either he gets playing time in Los Angeles due to the other old guys getting injured, or he gets traded. Read Jason Collette on Robbie Grossman. David Lough should get the big part of the platoon out in left field, I guess. Corey Dickerson the same. You might have heard on our podcast that I like the Marlins outfielders, so that’s no surprise. I can’t write about every one of these, but read RotoGraphs long enough, and you’ll read something eventually on them. This didn’t turn out so easy after all.