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The Keeper Corner #39-25

The rankings reach both the AL and NL MVP.

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

We continue reviewing my 2015 preseason ranks, and hit both the MVPs, along with a few other superstars.  Let's get back to the ranks.

#39 Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, LAD

$25.03, 77 R, 22 HR, 102 RBI, 1 SB, .286 AVG, .799 OPS

Gonzalez's 5-year streak of 100 RBI seasons came to a finish last year, but he posted a great offensive season yet again.  28 homers were a 5 season high, and his .830 OPS was his best since 2011.  The Dodgers are going to put another very strong lineup on the field in 2016, and I expect Gonzalez to continue being ranked in the top 5 yet again.

#38 Ian Desmond, SS, WSH

$25.09, 76 R, 25 HR, 86 RBI, 23 SB, .272 AVG, .786 OPS

The questions about Desmond's skills deteriorating while still hitting 20/20 finally came back to bite him.  In 2015 we saw Desmond strike out more, not hit the ball hard as frequently as in the past, have a laughable 15% line drive rate, saw his infield flies reach a career high, along with watching his babip dip to the lowest it's ever been in his career.  Desmond is a scary player to own going forward, as he seemingly was getting by on power and speed with just enough contact.  If he's going to fail to make enough contact to let his other skills play, he's going to be very hard to own in the future.  Also, as a free agent, his owners are going to have to hope he goes to a more hitter friendly park than Nats Park in 2016.

#37 Zack Greinke, SP, LAD

$25.19, 202K, 16 W, 2.899 ERA, 1.144 WHIP, 4.208 K/BB

Greinke beat out all of his projections except strikeouts, and nearly won the Cy Young in the process.  He's a free agent right now, but it appears that only a few teams will be able to afford the ace's price tag.  Greinke posted his third consecutive year with an ERA below 3, and it appears that his command of his pitches is still improving.  You can draft him with confidence, and keep him for a few more excellent seasons.

#36 Jordan Zimmermann, SP, WSH

$25.35, 179 K, 16 W, 3.125 ERA, 1.125 WHIP, 4.972 K/BB

Zimmerman hit a bump in the road in 2015.  His season wasn't a disaster, but he clearly was not the borderline ace that many expected.  Next year I think its fair to temper expectations because contact pitchers have less room for error.  He's still going to be a strong asset, but with a K/9 around 7.5, its going to be tough to provide borderline top 10 numbers without being lucky in the win department.  Next year a solid top 30 starter would be my 50th percentile projection for him.

#35 Carlos Gonzalez, OF, COL

$25.74, 80 R, 26 HR, 77 RBI, 17 SB, .273 AVG, .838 OPS

The real CarGo came out slugging in 2015.  His 153 games played was a career high, which gave him the opportunity to blast 40 homers.  Something notable was that he only stole 2 bags the whole year.  It may be that after years of injuries the Rockies are taking it easier on him on the basepaths, and trying to maximize his production at the plate.  With that said, I do not expect Gonzalez to play over 150 games again next year, considering his track record.  He's a proven hitter who will produce while he's on the field.  While he has top 5 potential, but the risk of him missing 60 games is still very real, and that will have to be baked into his 2016 draft rank.  Right now he'll be ranked around #25.

#34 Bryce Harper, OF, WSH

$25.87, 87 R, 26 HR, 71 RBI, 10 SB, .278 AVG, .834 OPS

Harper is my favorite player in baseball.  With health I fully expected an elite season, as I wrote prior to the 2015 season in this article.  I am fully onboard with him being a top 2 pick in next seasons drafts.  Every time he has experienced health, he has produced at the highest level there is.  Next year, with a full healthy season and offseason, I anticipate him again pounding homers with ease while showing incredible knowledge of the strike zone.  I have had thoughts of taking Trout over him, but with Trout's longer track record, and better history of health, I'd be gambling if I didn't put him at the top.  I love Harper going into 2016 and beyond, he's a generational player who you should draft with confidence.

#33 David Ortiz, DH, BOS

$27.33, 70 R, 30 HR, 92 RBI, 1 SB, .276 AVG, .875 OPS

Just another 30 homer 100 RBI year for Big Papi.  He was born to hit, and as long as he's healthy enough to play, he'll produce.  2016 will be his final season, but projecting anything besides another excellent year would be wrong.  He's as consistent as they come, and the notion that he should be held off because he's clogging your util position is crazy because he's so much better than any other player you'd put in that slot to begin with.

#32 Johnny Cueto, SP, CIN

$27.38, 194 K, 16 W, 2.639 ERA, 1.038 WHIP, 3.88 K/BB

Cueto's 4 year streak of sub 3 ERAs ended last year, likely because of an uncharacteristically low strand rate, and a jump in his babip.  While he was knocked around more than usual, I still expect him to be a solid asset regardless of location in 2016.  His walks have went down, and the invention of using various windups show he's thinking about his craft beyond throwing pitches harder or with more break.  Cueto eats up innings, and compiles stats to help you more than the average arm.  I'm a fan of him and think he can be a very nice #2 starter on 2016 fantasy teams.

#31 Madison Bumgarner, SP, SF

$27.89, 209 K, 16 W, 2.917 ERA, 1.074 WHIP, 4.18 K/BB

MadBum cruised through another ace level season in 2015.  234 strikeouts were a career high, and he simultaneously posted his best walk rate of his career.  Next year at age 26 Bumgarner will be a top 5 starter for me, as I expect him to be excellent in all aspects of pitching, and the benefit of AT&T Park with the Giants defense behind him only enhances how good he already is.

#30 Victor Martinez, 1B, DET

29.09, 71 R, 21 HR, 81 RBI, 2 SB, .312 AVG, .862 OPS

Martinez only played 120 games because of knee and quad injuries.  While on the field, he struggled mightily, hitting to the tune of a .245/.301/.366 slash line.  It was a very ugly year, and him being 36 years old next season won't help his cause on draft day.  I do however want to see if he can go into 2016 with a healthier body. I believe in Martinez natural hitting ability and could easily envision him back to being an above average bat next year. In 2015 his plate discipline remained great.  If he's swinging in pain again next year, he's finished, but there's a chance he makes it work again in 2016.

#29 Buster Posey, C/1B, SF

$29.29, 75 R, 21 HR, 85 RBI, 1 SB, .308 AVG, .864 OPS

Posey absolutely raked last year, and on top of being a .318 hitter, he managed to be one of the four players in baseball who had more walks than strikeouts.  Posey is as good as they come when dealing with catchers.  Besides getting killed at home in 2011, he remains healthy behind the plate, and produces annually.  This ranking is higher than I would have picked Posey, but if you go purely by statistics, its hard to find a spot where Posey isn't going to be a worthwhile pick.

#28 Hanley Ramirez, SS, BOS

$29.89, 80 R, 20 HR, 79 RBI, 17 SB, .296 AVG, .871 OPS

We go from a player who is as reliable as they come in Posey to a hitter who has some of the wildest swings between unstoppable elite production to injury riddled and invisible on the field.  Ramirez has the potential to put up 30 homers with a .300 average, along with 20 steals, but is just as likely to get hit by a pitch and miss a month and ruin your team.  It's impossible to guess what he'll do next season, but if he's healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if he comes out blasting as he did in 2015 prior to running into a wall and playing the rest of the season dinged up.

#27 Anthony Rendon, 2B/3B, WSH

$ 30.59, 99 R, 21 HR, 77 RBI, 14 SB, .288 AVG, .834 OPS

Rendon was arguably the biggest bust of 2015.  He came into the season valued at over $30, and only played 80 games because of knee, oblique, and quad issues.  It was a terrible way to follow up an amazing 2014 season, and brought his injury riddled past into the public eye on the major league level.  When Rendon plays, he is capable of being the best fantasy second baseman, but it's obviously a risky proposition.  He's a top 5 second baseman, with a ceiling of 1st and a floor of 30th.  I do like him a lot, but his price will determine whether I keep him or not in 2016.

#26 Josh Donaldson, 3B, TOR

$30.64, 92 R, 31 HR, 94 RBI, 5 SB, .268 AVG, .844 OPS

Donaldson was the AL MVP and produced cartoonish numbers for the Blue Jays.  He's going to be the top ranked 3B next year, but I'm not sure I'm going to be an owner, as id like to spend less and get Bryant.  If you do pull the trigger on Donaldson, anticipate a season of him mauling AL pitchers yet again.

#25 Max Scherzer, SP, WSH

$31.32, 262 K, 16 W, 3.125 ERA, 1.102 WHIP, 4.67 K/BB

A 262 strikeout projection is bold, and Scherzer bested that while also having the second best control in the game.  This resulted in the best strikeout to walk ratio in baseball.  Next year he is going to be my #2 pitcher in all of fantasy.  Draft him with confidence, everything about what he has done makes him not only elite, but also reliable.

These players were you who built the core of your squad around, and many of them lived up to the hype. If you have any questions about the ranks feel free to comment below or send me your question on twitter @jackcecil1.

25 Max Scherzer WSH P 31.32
26 Josh Donaldson TOR 3B 30.64
27 Anthony Rendon WSH 2B, 3B 30.59
28 Hanley Ramirez BOS SS 29.89
29 Buster Posey SF C, 1B 29.29
30 Victor Martinez DET DH, 1B 29.09
31 Madison Bumgarner SF P 27.89
32 Johnny Cueto CIN P 27.38
33 David Ortiz BOS DH 27.33
34 Bryce Harper WSH OF 25.87
35 Carlos Gonzalez COL OF 25.74
36 Jordan Zimmermann WSH P 25.35
37 Zack Greinke LAD P 25.19
38 Ian Desmond WSH SS 25.09
39 Adrian Gonzalez LAD 1B 25.03
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