Non-Keeper Would You Rather: Yoenis Cespedes or Bryce Harper?

We’ve spent so much time on these Would You Rathers with respect to keeper leagues that it’s time we threw some out for those that re-draft each year.  Taking long term benefits out of the way, which player would you rather draft this season — Yoenis Cespedes or Bryce Harper?

For those that are unaware, Cespedes, the 27-year old Cuban defector, signed a 4-year, $36M contract with the Oakland A’s yesterday.  We can skip all the talk about how another “mystery team” comes from out of nowhere to sign a guy or how the A’s will end up trading him after two years so someone else can pick up the remainder of the contract.  We’re strictly talking about this year and what kind of value the big righty will have in fantasy leagues this season.

If you’ve seen The Showcase video (and withstood the cheesy soundtrack), you have to admit that there’s plenty to like about the guy.  Big thick torso, thighs like tree trunks, the guy generates a lot of power in his swing.  Based on the footage we’ve seen and watching him perform in the World Baseball Classic, you’d have to think that we’re looking at a guy with atleast 20-25 HR power.  Maybe hedge it on the lower side due to the dimensions of his new home and the fact that his swing is a little long right now.  Right now I’m guessing a mid .260’s average with a fair number of strikeouts to go along with those 20-odd home runs.

But there’s also a nice, little speed element to his game.  The video clocks him at 6.3 seconds to run 60 yards and that’s pretty fast for a guy his size.  To be able to put up 15-20 stolen bases would give him a major boost in value.  His mobility has kept in in center field in Cuba, but given his size, he seems more likely to slot in better in right field where the A’s certainly have an opening.

Yes, there’s a chance that while making the necessary adjustments to both the major leagues and the U.S. culture, the A’s could start him off in Triple-A.  However, with guys like Josh Reddick, Collin Cowgill, Brandon Allen, Jonny Gomes, Michael Taylor, Chris Carter and Kila Ka’aihue cluttering up right field and the DH slot, even the slightest positive from Cespedes this spring is going to give him the added edge.  The A’s didn’t invest that kind of money in a guy hitting his peak years just to have him putter around the farm system.

So if he’s got a strong skill set and a solid opportunity with Oakland, how does he stack up with Harper this season in a re-draft league?  We’ve got some similar “opportunity” questions as Harper could begin the season in Triple-A as well, depending on how the Nationals want to handle his situation.  But he’s also got good power potential, decent speed and actually better plate discipline (solid BB% in the minors) than his Cuban counterpart.  He’ll also have to prove himself in camp though if he wants to stick, as his struggles in Double-A last year are on plenty of people’s minds.

Both have a lot of hype.  Both have a lot of potential.  Personally, I go after Cespedes in a re-draft league first.  For one thing, I think the A’s do everything they can to keep him up early while the Nats give more thought to Harper’s free agent clock starting.  For another, at 27 years old and having faced a number of these major leaguers in the WBC, I think his adjustment period is much shorter.  His ADP is sitting around 194 right now, about a dozen picks ahead of Harper and it could climb a few spots more, but still, in the 16th round of a 12-team league, he could end up quite the bargain.