The Keeper Corner #39-25

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 50^th 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 1^st and a floor of 30^th.  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