The Keeper Corner #99-85

This is a review of my rankings I used going into 2015 for a 6x6 league.  Now that we are in the lower more interesting ranks it appears that all of the players were either studs who met expectations or bombed and weren't worth the early pick.  Let's continue with the ranks:

#99 Brandon Moss, 1B/OF, CLE

$14.36, 68 R, 27 HR, 78 RBI, 3 SB, .255 AVG, .819 OPS

Moss came off of hip surgery, and wasn't himself at the plate.  His strikeouts, walks, and isolated power were at three year lows.  He posted his first below average wRC+ since 2011.  Next season Moss will be arbitration eligible on the Cardinals, but it doesn't appear that he did enough to make them want to keep him around next season.  I didn't see any real reason for his abrupt drop off in production besides lack of health.  I hope next season he can go to a team that has an opening at 1B or DH, as I'd expect a return to 25+ HR if he's healthy next season.

#98 Julio Teheran, SP, ATL

$14.5, 176 K, 14 W, 3.38 ERA, 1.164 WHIP, 3.259 K/BB

Is there a more perplexing player than Julio Teheran?  Last year he decided to let opponents light him up for the 14^th worst home run rate amongst starting pitchers.  His strikeouts and walks went from average to bad.  As bad as this review of him seems, looking further into his numbers makes him seem like he could have been even worse.  His pitch f/x info wasn't much worse, but his changeup was absolutely tattooed to the tune of a .339 average.  Perhaps he needs to make a mechanical adjustment, but something was very wrong, and needs to change, this wasn't just bad luck.

#97 Dellin Betances, RP, NYY

$14.63, 110 K, 5 W, 35 SV, 2.363 ERA, 1.038 WHIP, 3.235 K/BB

Betances didn't have the closer role I hoped for, but he had the best season of any reliever in this league last season.  Watching him regularly, and looking at his numbers makes you realize that there is actually room for improvement with the Yankees setup man.  Betances 4.29 BB/9 was bad, and was likely a result of many hitters not wanting to swing at his nasty stuff, but a drop to a 3 BB/9 would have given him a tremendous 4.68 K/BB.  I expect him to be a great relief option again next season.

#96 Pedro Alvarez, 3B, PIT

$14.65, 62 R, 29 HR, 76 RBI, 5 SB, .253 AVG, .820 OPS

Alvarez got a lot of attention for being a miserable defensive 1B, but at the plate he posted the best season he's ever had.  The predictions were stronger than what he accomplished, but 27 homers and a .243 batting average is very playable in fantasy, and next year he'll only be 29 years old.

#95 Jorge Soler, OF, CHC

$14.76, 70 R, 23 HR, 77 RBI, 2 SB, .265 AVG, .806 OPS

Soler suffered an oblique injury and only made it though 101 games last year.  While on the field, he didn't live up to expectations.  Striking out over 30% of the time is only passable for players who are sniffing 30 homers, not 10.  Soler's problems are a combination of lack of selectivity and him not being a great contact hitter.  Soler puts hellacious swings on the ball, and if he did hit more balls, his average would skyrocket purely because of the exit velocities he creates.

#94 Hunter Pence, OF, SF

$14.85, 82 R, 17 HR, 70 RBI, 12 SB, .272 AVG, .776 OPS

Pence had oblique and wrist injuries last year.  Prior to that he had been a 150+ games machine, next year I think he'll be back to usual Pence 20 homers, 10 steals, and a .280 average.  He's one of the more reliable hitters in baseball and can be trusted as a plug and play guy.

#93 Glen Perkins, RP, MIN

$14.91, 83 K, 3 W, 39 SV, 2.836 ERA, 1.082 WHIP, 5.533 K/BB

Perkins had a very nice year yet again.  Next season he will be 33 years old, and he'll be the Twins closer again.  One issue I've noticed is that his K rate has dropped off a bit in recent years, and he gave up a lot of homers last season.  I don't expect a huge fall from grace, but I don't think he will be a top 10 closer this season.

#92 Starlin Castro, SS, CHC

$14.96, 74 R, 18 HR, 73 RBI, 11 SB, .280 AVG, .759 OPS

You'd think Castro would be doing everything in his power to keep himself starting in Chicago, but he hasn't made it work.  As always Castro was hacking away at balls outside the zone, and wasn't doing much with them.  Next year I think the best version of the Cubs lineup doesn't involve Castro playing, not ideal considering he has years left on his deal and he's still young.  I'm sure teams will be asking about the Cubs middle infielders, but a nice low end deal could be made for him.  I can't recommend paying up for him unless he is relocated.

#91 Kenley Jansen, RP, LAD

$15.00, 85 K, 3 W, 36 SV, 2.291 ERA, .982 WHIP, 5.667 K/BB

Kenley was an elite reliever yet again.  His 10 K/BB is unreal.  Hopefully his unusual injury history is behind him, and he can go forward blowing away batters with his unhittable cutter.

#90 Matt Harvey, SP, NYM

$15.06, 172 K, 11 W, 3.038 ERA, 1.096 WHIP, 3.51 K/BB

Matt Harvey came back from Tommy John surgery, and threw 210 innings.  He was an ace and I expect him to be that again in 2016.  Since I am not a doctor, I have no idea what the impact of throwing the third most innings ever in a season after TJ is, but I'm sure the Mets will be as helpful as possible to help him recover and prepare for the upcoming season.

#89 Melky Cabrera, OF, CWS

$15.06, 76 R, 13 HR, 60 RBI, 7 SB, .298 AVG, .793 OPS

Melky started out at a molasses pace, and left a lot of White Sox fans wondering what the rest of his deal was going to look like for them.  In the second half he posted a .289 average, and a .782 OPS, much more in line with what we previously expected from him.  Next season I anticipate a big bounce back from Melky.  He hit more line drives last year than he did in 2014, a season in which he hit .301.  Something else to note is that a great contact hitter could be helped out significantly by hitting in US Cellular in front of Jose Abreu next season.  I'm willing to give Melky a pass on his slower 2015, and hope he can be a threat for 90+ runs next season.

#88 Phil Hughes, SP, MIN

$15.37, 169 K, 12 W, 4.075 ERA, 1.199 WHIP, 5.281 K/BB

The second attempt at firing endless strikes didn't work nearly as well as it did in 2014.  Hitters showed up at the plate hacking, and launched homers at more than double the rate of 2014.  Next year, I think Phil Hughes needs to reinvent himself again, because his stuff and location isn't good enough to throw strikes every pitch, and live to tell the tale.

#87 J.D. Martinez, OF, DET

$15.47, 58R, 22 HR, 77 RBI, 6 SB, .278 AVG, .807 OPS

Martinez is officially a good slugger.  He blasted 38 homers, he had the 12^th longest average home run and fly ball distance in baseball, and the highest hard hit rate in baseball.  Who knows how the Tigers unlocked this potential, but this is the second season in a row of him crushing baseballs.  Next year I think we have to call 30 homers a lock as long as he plays over 145 games.

#86 Devin Mesoraco, C, CIN

$15.5, 59 R, 25 HR, 79 RBI, 1 SB, .270 AVG, .846 OPS

Hip problems derailed his 2015 season.  He's already squatting and should be ready for spring training.  Hopefully he can return to being the productive catcher he was prior to 2015 next season.

#85 Carlos Carrasco, SP, CLE

$15.68, 188 K, 12 W, 3.406 ERA, 1.157 WHIP, 3.686 K/BB

Carrasco was my cheap ace going into this season, and he met my expectations.  His 10 + K/9 2.11 BB/9 were both great.  His 3.63 ERA and 2.84 FIP make me think that a 3.00 ERA is a real possibility next season along with a 1.00 WHIP, draft with confidence.