The Keeper Corner #54-40

We continue down my pre2015 rankings.  Once we reach the top 50 ranks, you will see players who are capable of being top 5 players, many who have previously been considered amongst the elite at one point or another, but but presently have at least one wart on their game.  Lets get back to the ranks.

#54 Jonathan Lucroy, C, MIL

$21.09, 71 R, 16 HR, 75 RBI, 4 SB, .296 AVG, .835 OPS

Lucroy only played 103 games after missing time with a concussion and a toe injury.  Between those injuries, he wasn't productive at all.  Since his 2014 was MVP caliber, I'll give him a pass on 2015, and continue to rank him generously in 2016, as he's expected to be healthy in 2016, something he never was this year.

#53 Carlos Santana, 3B/1B, CLE

$21.21, 75 R, 24 HR, 83 RBI, 4 SB, .266 AVG, .846 OPS

Santana entered 2015 as a noncatcher for the first time in his fantasy career, and he simultaneously posted his worst offensive season.  His batted ball profile was terrible.  In 2015 he had his lowest line drive rate, highest infield fly ball rate of his career, while also seeing his grounders spike.  This resulted in his first slugging percentage below .400 in his career, and a pitiful .231 average.  He's going to take a big hit in my ranks, now that his positional versatility is gone as a 1B only.

#52 Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, NYY

$21.87, 90 R, 14 HR, 60 RBI, 43 SB, .278 AVG, .748 OPS

Ellsbury only played 111 games due to knee and hip injuries.  Those are both scary injuries to have at age 32, while being a speed first player.  Even more concerning is that his typically excellent batting average is on a three year downward trend, along with a matching 3 year downward trend in hard hit rate and contact rate.  With the majority of his value riding on his ability to put the ball in play and then use his legs, I'll be dropping Jacoby lower in my 2016 rankings, as I don't think Ellsbury of old is coming back.

#51 Matt Kemp, OF, SD

$22.17, 75 R, 21 HR, 75 RBI, 11 SB, .282 AVG, .823 OPS

Matt Kemp was in the right place at the right time last year, reaching 100 RBI for the third time, and 20 homers for the 6^th time in his career.  What he actually did at the dish was less inspiring with a .265 average and a .755 OPS.  His babip was 30 points below his career average, something I expect to be higher next season.  I don't think 100 RBI is happening again on the Padres, but I do believe his batting average should be on the rise as his talent hasn't suffered from aging so far.

#50 Yoenis Cespedes, OF, DET

$22.44, 88 R, 23 HR, 97 RBI, 6 SB, .267 AVG, .790 OPS

Something that has been overlooked during all the Cespedes hype is the fantasy side of his season.  He was having a perfectly respectable season during his first 100 games while on the Tigers, but it wasn't anything that was winning fantasy championships.  His trade to the Mets resulted in a 2-month power showcase prior to free agency.  As a longtime owner, I can vouch that Cespedes is one of the most talented players in baseball, but also inconsistent.  There will be streaks like the one which he had for the Mets where he can single handedly win you matchups, and then he will evaporate for weeks at a time.  He's also proven to be susceptible to the injury bug, as he is frequently either playing through something, or missing time.  I've personally grown tired of owning him, but I can easily see the allure of Cespedes.

#49 George Springer, OF, HOU

$22.68, 91R, 31 HR, 89 RBI, 16 SB, .241 AVG, .804 OPS

Springer had concussion and wrist issues this year, and only played 102 games because of them.  He had 16 homers, and 16 steals while on the field, making him an easy potential 20/20 candidate going into next season.  While his season was abbreviated, he showed adjustments that many people wanted to see coming into 2015, mainly with chasing fewer pitches and making more contact, which ultimately resulted in a much better strikeout rate this season.  Next year he'll be ranked in the top 50 again.

#48 Prince Fielder, 1B, TEX

#23.08, 76R, 21 HR, 87 RBI, 1 SB, .285 AVG, .839 OPS

Fielder seemingly rolled out of a hospital bed, and was back on the field this year hitting .300, and lowered his strikeout rate to an incredible 12.7%. More importantly, he played 158 games, allowing his owners to once again assume he is back to his healthy ways.  His batted ball profile was similar to what he did in the past, so I'm optimistic about his future.  I anticipate an improvement in power, with everything else remaining close to the same in 2016.  I can see him going in the top 25 next year.

#47 Masahiro Tanaka, SP, NYY

$23.15, 174 K, 13 W, 3.355 ERA, 1.118 WHIP, 6.214 K/BB

Entering 2015 the Yankees let it be known that Tanaka was pitching with a partially torn UCL.  He also missed some time around midseason with a forearm strain, leading me and many others to believe that sooner or later in 2015, he would be receiving Tommy John surgery.  While he did have diminished velocity, he explained that he was trying to maintain his health, and made it through the full season.  He posted a strong strikeout and walk rate, but now going into 2016, I question his future even more.  I can't imagine a partially torn ligament could be any healthier after putting another 150 innings into it.  Next year I'll let someone else be his owner, as I'm too fearful of his short term future.  If that results in me missing another year of good starts, so be it.

#46 Matt Holliday, OF, STL

$23.48, 82 R, 21 HR, 84 RBI, 4 SB, .284 AVG, .837 OPS

Quad injuries resulted in Holliday only playing 73 games, and a career low .410 slugging percentage.  Entering his age 36 season, and in a 6-year decline in his slugging percentage, he's become a riskier asset.  While Holliday is typically a horse who plays the full season, his question marks have grown, and that isn't ideal when you're one of the oldest players in baseball.  The high note I'll leave on is that when some players age, it starts becoming more obvious that they are behind the game, Holliday's batted ball profile remained strong, and his discipline was better than it had been in years past.  Maybe he isn't as fast or strong as he was earlier in his career, but he is not sacrificing what he has grown on the mental side of the game to make up for whatever physical issues he has had.

#45 Justin Upton, OF, SD

$23.54, 87 R, 23 HR, 87 RBI

Upton is where I draw the line between being an excellent player and a star.  He posted a .250 average, along with 26 HR, 19 SB, and a .790 OPS.  So while all of those stats combined are very good, he failed to reach 20/20, and he failed to have an .800+ OPS, both being thresholds that many affiliate with star players.  But with the lack of a star caliber quality, he brings across the board production.  It comes in streaks, but it's worth it at the end of the year.  Also, something to consider is that him being a free agent this offseason would likely put him in a better home park next season, allowing his power to play up more.

#44 Aroldis Chapman, RP, CIN

$23.62, 130 K, 4 W, 42 SV, 2.057 ERA, .886 WHIP, 4.815 K/BB

Chapman was a fantasy beast yet again.  Going by strikeout rate, he is the greatest strikeout pitcher of all time.  I'm not sure I need to make any more of a case for him to be the first reliever taken.

#43 Joey Votto, 1B, CIN

$23.70, 82 R, 19 HR, 59 RBI, 5 SB, .289 AVG, .903 OPS

The lowest ranked batter with a projected .900 OPS is reached, and it turned out to be almost 100 points below what he did.  Votto continued to be the hitter with the best plate discipline in baseball, and with a full healthy season, he mashed his way into his owners hearts, along with being third in MVP voting.  Next year I expect him to be an elite producer yet again.

#42 Albert Pujols, 1B, LAA

79 R, 26 HR, 93 RBI, 5 SB, .274 AVG, .802 OPS

Pujols has had serious foot issues the past few years, and has had surgery this offseason.  Despite being hobbled, he managed a 40 homer season, and proved to be worth the investment any owner made in him.  Next year I'm hoping he can be fully healthy, and while I don't expect vintage Pujols, I wouldn't be surprised if a healthy version of him could hit .280 again.

#41 Jose Altuve, 2B, HOU

$24.10, 80 R, 7 HR, 50 RBI, 46 RBI, .307 AVG, .758 OPS

Altuve doesn't pack the punch of anyone else ranked above him, but his ability to play a ton of games, pile up hits, and constantly steal bases has made him impossible to ignore.  This year he did hit 15 homers, which does make him useful in that department, but that was likely his least valuable stat on the scorecard.  While making R and RBI projections are dangerous, next year I expect the Astros offense to be improved with more Springer and Correa, along with whomever they sign this offseason.  Altuve could threaten 100 R next season, and pairing that with a .300 average, 10 homers, and 40 steals makes him unique and very valuable.

#40 Corey Kluber, SP, CLE

$24.85, 236 K, 15 W, 3.205 ERA, 1.192 WHIP, 4.214 K/BB

Kluber posted a 9-16 record, showing the fickle nature of wins in fantasy, and why nobody should play with them over quality starts.  Kluber pitched 222 great innings, recording 245 strikeouts, while walking fewer than 2 per 9 innings.  Statistically speaking, Kluber wasn't as good as he was in 2014, but he was an excellent pitcher.  His batted ball profile was strong, especially when you consider how few batters were even putting the ball in play compared to the average pitcher.  If you're looking at a major outlets projection in 2016, they'll all likely be lower on Kluber, because of his wins being skewed by 2015, which gives a great opportunity to buy Kluber at a lower price than what he deserves.

As said earlier, this list was a pile of stars who due to one reason or another, have lost their shine.  Many of them were hurt again, and continued to hurt their value, but all of them will be redrafted in fantasy again in 2016.  If you have any questions about the ranks feel free to comment below, or ask me on twitter @jackcecil1.  Below are the rankings from everyone #300-40.

40	Corey Kluber	CLE	P	24.85
41	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B	24.1
42	Albert Pujols	LAA	1B, DH	23.86
43	Joey Votto	CIN	1B	23.7
44	Aroldis Chapman	CIN	P	23.62
45	Justin Upton	SD	OF	23.54
46	Matt Holliday	STL	OF	23.48
47	Masahiro Tanaka	NYY	P	23.15
48	Prince Fielder	TEX	1B	23.08
49	George Springer	HOU	OF	22.68
50	Yoenis Cespedes	DET	OF, DH	22.44
51	Matt Kemp	SD	OF	22.17
52	Jacoby Ellsbury	NYY	OF	21.87
53	Carlos Santana	CLE	3B, 1B, DH	21.21
54	Jonathan Lucroy	MIL	C	21.09
55	Jon Lester	CHC	P	21.04
56	Evan Longoria	TB	3B	21.03
57	Koji Uehara	BOS	P	20.84
58	Cole Hamels	PHI	P	20.59
59	Craig Kimbrel	ATL	P	20.25
60	Mookie Betts	BOS	OF	19.86
61	Nolan Arenado	COL	3B	19.83
62	Mark Melancon	PIT	P	18.99
63	Starling Marte	PIT	OF	18.96
64	Greg Holland	KC	P	18.94
65	Chris Carter	HOU	DH	18.93
66	Pablo Sandoval	BOS	3B	18.8
67	Ryan Zimmerman	WSH	3B, OF	18.6
68	Kole Calhoun	LAA	OF	18.44
69	Kris Bryant	CHC	3B	18.4
70	Chris Davis	BAL	1B, 3B	18.35
71	Adam Wainwright	STL	P	18.23
72	Evan Gattis	HOU	C	18.18
73	Nelson Cruz	SEA	OF, DH	17.94
74	Ian Kinsler	DET	2B	17.88
75	Kyle Seager	SEA	3B	17.82
76	Jose Reyes	TOR	SS	17.33
77	Adam LaRoche	CWS	1B	17.25
78	Jeff Samardzija	CWS	P	17.07
79	Hyun-Jin Ryu	LAD	P	16.98
80	Justin Morneau	COL	1B	16.92
81	James Shields	SD	P	16.64
82	David Robertson	CWS	P	15.88
83	Todd Frazier	CIN	3B, 1B	15.81
84	Jayson Werth	WSH	OF	15.69
85	Carlos Carrasco	CLE	P	15.68
86	Devin Mesoraco	CIN	C	15.5
87	J.D. Martinez	DET	OF	15.47
88	Phil Hughes	MIN	P	15.37
89	Melky Cabrera	CWS	OF	15.23
90	Matt Harvey	NYM	P	15.06
91	Kenley Jansen	LAD	P	15
92	Starlin Castro	CHC	SS	14.96
93	Glen Perkins	MIN	P	14.91
94	Hunter Pence	SF	OF	14.85
95	Jorge Soler	CHC	OF	14.76
96	Pedro Alvarez	PIT	3B	14.65
97	Dellin Betances	NYY	P	14.63
98	Julio Teheran	ATL	P	14.5
99	Brandon Moss	CLE	1B, OF	14.36
100	Mark Trumbo	ARI	1B, OF	14.23
101	Matt Carpenter	STL	3B	14.19
102	Manny Machado	BAL	3B	14.17
103	Jason Heyward	STL	OF	14.07
104	Hisashi Iwakuma	SEA	P	13.98
105	Huston Street	LAA	P	13.64
106	Rusney Castillo	BOS	OF	13.51
107	Jacob deGrom	NYM	P	13.46
108	Dustin Pedroia	BOS	2B	13.22
109	Neil Walker	PIT	2B	13.08
110	Alex Cobb	TB	P	13.03
111	Andrew Miller	NYY	P	12.97
112	Christian Yelich	MIA	OF	12.96
113	Sean Doolittle	OAK	P	12.95
114	Jonathan Papelbon	PHI	P	12.64
115	Jay Bruce	CIN	OF	12.6
116	Alex Gordon	KC	OF	12.48
117	Marcell Ozuna	MIA	OF	12.23
118	Brian Dozier	MIN	2B	11.99
119	Homer Bailey	CIN	P	11.98
120	Lucas Duda	NYM	1B	11.93
121	Yadier Molina	STL	C	11.84
122	Leonys Martin	TEX	OF	11.84
123	Matt Adams	STL	1B	11.78
124	Cody Allen	CLE	P	11.7
125	Steve Cishek	MIA	P	11.5
126	Joaquin Benoit	SD	P	11.45
127	Alex Wood	ATL	P	11.28
128	Jason Kipnis	CLE	2B	11.16
129	Brandon McCarthy	LAD	P	11.08
130	Trevor Rosenthal	STL	P	10.92
131	Adam Lind	MIL	1B, DH	10.91
132	Kolten Wong	STL	2B	10.81
133	Ben Zobrist	OAK	2B, SS, OF	10.79
134	Gerrit Cole	PIT	P	10.75
135	Chase Utley	PHI	2B	10.72
136	David Wright	NYM	3B	10.63
137	Charlie Blackmon	COL	OF	10.55
138	Aramis Ramirez	MIL	3B	10.51
139	Anibal Sanchez	DET	P	10.49
140	Ken Giles	PHI	P	10.26
141	Martin Prado	MIA	3B, 2B	10.14
142	Drew Smyly	TB	P	10.14
143	Steve Pearce	BAL	1B, OF	10.05
144	Fernando Rodney	SEA	P	10
145	Jake Arrieta	CHC	P	9.99
146	Yan Gomes	CLE	C	9.8
147	Drew Storen	WSH	P	9.75
148	Gio Gonzalez	WSH	P	9.73
149	Daniel Murphy	NYM	2B	9.46
150	Michael Cuddyer	NYM	OF	9.39
151	Doug Fister	WSH	P	9.37
152	Michael Wacha	STL	P	9.12
153	Joe Mauer	MIN	1B	9.04
154	Brett Gardner	NYY	OF	9.04
155	Hector Rondon	CHC	P	8.87
157	Scooter Gennett	MIL	2B	8.62
156	Alexei Ramirez	CWS	SS	8.62
158	Tyson Ross	SD	P	8.6
159	Billy Butler	OAK	DH, 1B	8.54
160	Mat Latos	MIA	P	8.48
161	Howie Kendrick	LAD	2B	8.43
162	Eric Hosmer	KC	1B	8.41
163	Garrett Richards	LAA	P	8.09
164	Brandon Belt	SF	1B	8.07
165	Josh Harrison	PIT	OF, 3B	8.06
166	Jake McGee	TB	P	8
167	Andrew Cashner	SD	P	7.9
168	A.J. Pollock	ARI	OF	7.88
169	John Lackey	STL	P	7.86
170	Marlon Byrd	CIN	OF	7.7
171	Jedd Gyorko	SD	2B	7.55
172	Francisco Rodriguez	MIL	P	7.47
173	Yusmeiro Petit	SF	P	7.45
174	Alex Rios	KC	OF	7.39
175	Oswaldo Arcia	MIN	OF	7.32
176	Khris Davis	MIL	OF	7.19
177	Salvador Perez	KC	C	7.15
178	Mike Fiers	MIL	P	7.06
179	Billy Hamilton	CIN	OF	6.84
180	Brian McCann	NYY	C	6.76
181	Addison Reed	ARI	P	6.6
183	Bartolo Colon	NYM	P	6.41
182	Lance Lynn	STL	P	6.41
184	Scott Kazmir	OAK	P	6.37
185	Shin-Soo Choo	TEX	OF, DH	6.21
186	Carl Crawford	LAD	OF	6.04
187	Chase Headley	NYY	3B	5.98
188	Jose Quintana	CWS	P	5.95
189	Tony Watson	PIT	P	5.82
190	Justin Verlander	DET	P	5.69
191	Brad Boxberger	TB	P	5.64
192	Dan Haren	MIA	P	5.59
193	Aaron Hill	ARI	2B	5.44
194	Rick Porcello	BOS	P	5.35
195	Luke Gregerson	HOU	P	5.29
196	Michael Pineda	NYY	P	5.29
197	Rougned Odor	TEX	2B	5.2
198	Michael Saunders	TOR	OF	5.2
199	Lonnie Chisenhall	CLE	3B	5.19
200	Mike Leake	CIN	P	5.18
201	Ian Kennedy	SD	P	5.12
202	Jonathon Niese	NYM	P	5.1
203	Wade Davis	KC	P	5.07
204	Yasmany Tomas	ARI	OF	5.06
205	Wilin Rosario	COL	C	5.05
206	Jhonny Peralta	STL	SS	5
207	Torii Hunter	MIN	OF	4.71
208	Mike Napoli	BOS	1B	4.71
209	Matt Shoemaker	LAA	P	4.69
210	Jimmy Rollins	LAD	SS	4.66
211	Zach Britton	BAL	P	4.63
212	Russell Martin	TOR	C	4.44
213	Josh Reddick	OAK	OF	4.38
214	Collin McHugh	HOU	P	4.37
215	Jered Weaver	LAA	P	4.35
216	Brandon Finnegan	KC	P	4.27
217	Jake Peavy	SF	P	4.25
218	Matt Cain	SF	P	4.25
219	Sergio Romo	SF	P	4.25
220	Gregory Polanco	PIT	OF	4.2
221	Matt Wieters	BAL	C	4.12
222	CC Sabathia	NYY	P	4.11
223	Carlos Beltran	NYY	OF, DH	3.9
224	Erick Aybar	LAA	SS	3.89
225	Jake Odorizzi	TB	P	3.79
227	Joe Nathan	DET	P	3.74
226	Sonny Gray	OAK	P	3.74
228	Bobby Parnell	NYM	P	3.71
229	Dallas Keuchel	HOU	P	3.68
230	Danny Salazar	CLE	P	3.66
232	Curtis Granderson	NYM	OF	3.65
231	Joc Pederson	LAD	OF	3.65
233	Kyle Lohse	MIL	P	3.55
234	Rafael Soriano	WSH	P	3.54
235	Jose Fernandez	MIA	P	3.43
236	Wei-Yin Chen	BAL	P	3.31
237	Drew Hutchison	TOR	P	3.27
238	Derek Holland	TEX	P	3.25
239	Darren O'Day	BAL	P	3.14
240	Trevor Plouffe	MIN	3B	3.1
241	Chris Tillman	BAL	P	3.1
242	John Jaso	TB	C, DH	3.07
243	Nick Markakis	ATL	OF	2.86
244	Elvis Andrus	TEX	SS	2.77
245	Kevin Gausman	BAL	P	2.75
246	Tyler Clippard	OAK	P	2.7
247	Jason Hammel	CHC	P	2.68
248	Matt Garza	MIL	P	2.62
249	Coco Crisp	OAK	OF	2.52
250	Dillon Gee	NYM	P	2.49
251	Neftali Feliz	TEX	P	2.43
252	Chris Archer	TB	P	2.31
253	Josh Collmenter	ARI	P	2.24
254	Ben Revere	PHI	OF	2.18
255	Pat Neshek	HOU	P	2.16
256	David Peralta	ARI	OF	2.14
257	Denard Span	WSH	OF	1.82
258	Santiago Casilla	SF	P	1.76
259	Nick Castellanos	DET	3B	1.71
260	Adam Eaton	CWS	OF	1.64
261	Wilson Ramos	WSH	C	1.6
262	Wil Myers	SD	OF	1.6
263	Jenrry Mejia	NYM	P	1.5
264	Kyle Hendricks	CHC	P	1.45
265	Steven Souza	TB	OF	1.42
266	Vance Worley	PIT	P	1.32
267	Dalton Pompey	TOR	OF	1.17
268	Joakim Soria	DET	P	1.15
269	Nathan Eovaldi	NYY	P	1.1
270	Andrew Heaney	LAA	P	1.04
271	Joe Smith	LAA	P	0.81
272	Lorenzo Cain	KC	OF	0.68
273	Marco Estrada	TOR	P	0.46
274	Francisco Liriano	PIT	P	0.39
275	Dee Gordon	MIA	2B	0.3
276	Desmond Jennings	TB	OF	0.2
277	Ervin Santana	MIN	P	0.08
278	Kevin Quackenbush	SD	P	0.06
279	Mark Teixeira	NYY	1B	0
280	Mike Minor	ATL	P	0
281	Michael Morse	MIA	1B, OF	-0.01
282	James Loney	TB	1B	-0.07
284	Kennys Vargas	MIN	DH	-0.08
283	Justin Smoak	TOR	1B	-0.08
285	Rajai Davis	DET	OF	-0.14
286	Angel Pagan	SF	OF	-0.19
287	Junichi Tazawa	BOS	P	-0.23
288	Henderson Alvarez	MIA	P	-0.41
289	R.A. Dickey	TOR	P	-0.44
290	Clay Buchholz	BOS	P	-0.46
291	Brandon Phillips	CIN	2B	-0.51
292	Asdrubal Cabrera	TB	SS, 2B	-0.55
293	Danny Santana	MIN	SS, OF	-0.76
294	Shelby Miller	ATL	P	-0.79
295	LaTroy Hawkins	COL	P	-0.87
296	Jed Lowrie	HOU	SS	-1.02
297	Wade Miley	BOS	P	-1.05
298	T.J. House	CLE	P	-1.09
299	Danny Farquhar	SEA	P	-1.12
300	Brett Cecil	TOR	P	-1.15