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2016 Fantasy Football Rankings
Some of you still have some fantasy football drafts to participate in, and the fantasy football writers here at Fake Teams have you covered. This past week, they updated their position rankings for the upcoming season, so check out the links below:
2016 Position Rankings
Top 200 Rankings
Week 1 Rankings
Our Week 1 rankings begin publishing tomorrow, with our Week 1 running back rankings for PPR leagues and standard leagues dropping at 7am ET and 9am ET, so come on back and check them out before submitting your rankings.
Roto Roundup
I wrote about Twins second baseman Brian Dozier just a few days ago, and he continues to be red hot at the plate. On Monday, Dozier hit not one, not two, but three home runs in the Twins 11-5 loss to the Royals. Dozier went 3-4 with 3 home runs and 4 RBI in the loss, and is now hitting .279-.350-.576 with 38 home runs, 92 runs scored, 91 RBI and 13 stolen bases this season. Since the end of May, Dozier has hit 33 home runs and driven in 74 runs, a good season for most. He has improved his power totals each of the last 4 seasons, and looking at his minor league stats, no one could have predicted this kind of power from him. That said, I don’t recall scouting reports on him.
There are currently four first baseman with 30+ home runs this season. There are three second baseman with 30+ home runs this season. Second base is going to be stacked in 2017.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks might be the favorite to win the National League Cy Young award right now, and on Monday, he continued to pitch like an ace. Hendricks limited the Brewers to one run on 5 hits, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts in 6 innings of work in the Cubs 7-2 win. He is now 14-7 with a 2.07 ERA, 3.37 FIP, a 0.99 WHIP and a 145-41 strikeout to walk rate in 165.1 innings. He has given up two runs or fewer in 21 of his 26 starts this season. Now that is a consistent and dependable starting pitcher.
It’s unfortunate that Angels outfielder Mike Trout in playing on one of the worst teams in MLB this season, but he is still one of the top fantasy performers in the game. On Sunday, he went 3-4 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base in the Angels 10-7 win. Trout raised his slash line to .325-.443-.577 with 27 home runs, 108 runs scored, 88 RBI, 23 stolen bases and a terrific 115-95 strikeout to walk rate. Recall back in March Trout was quoted as saying that he planned on running more this season, and unlike others who said the same, he has followed through with his prediction. After attempting just 18 stolen bases in each of the last two seasons, Trout has attempted 28 this season, and has been caught just five times. He is making more hard contact than ever and has improved his walk rate to a career best 16.4% this season. He won’t approach 40 home runs this season, but has an outside shot at joining the 30 home run - 30 stolen base club.
It will be interesting to see what the Rockies do with all of their outfield talent this offseason. They recently called up Raimel Tapia, and he has answered all the questions many had about him coming into the season. He doesn’t have a conventional approach at the plate, crouching down when in a two strike count, but all he has done this season is hit at every level of the minors and that has continued since his call up last week. On Monday, he went 1-4 with a run scored in the Rockies 6-0 win over the struggling Giants. Tapia is now hitting .467 in his first four games in the big leagues, after hitting .346 in 24 Triple A games, and .323 in 104 games in Double A. He is your typical leadoff hitter with speed and some pop, but will need to focus on his base running in the offseason, as he gets caught stealing way too much presently. He has the potential to be a .290-300 hitter with low double digit power and 20+ stolen bases in a full season in the big leagues. He will probably start the 2017 season in Triple A, unless the Rockies end up dealing center fielder Charlie Blackmon for an upgrade elsewhere on their roster.
Tapia’s teammate David Dahl s finally healthy this season, and like Tapia, has hit at every level he has played this season. He started the season in Double A, hitting .278-.367-.500 with 13 home runs, 53 runs scored, 45 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He was promoted to Triple A where he torched Pacific Coast League pitching to the tune of a .484-.529-.887 slash line in just 16 games, before his promotion to the big leagues in July. Since his call up, he has hit .324-.371-.520 with 5 home runs, 33 runs scored, 18 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 158 plate appearances. In a full season of at bats, Dahl has the potential to put up a 20 home run - 20 stolen base season as soon as next year. He strikes out more than you would like, but I see him improving his plate discipline as he gains more experience in the big leagues.
Editor’s note: Let me know if there any players you would like me to write about in the last month of the season. I will do my best to get to each of your suggestions.
Fantasy Rundown
If you are looking for more fantasy football and baseball coverage, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, where you can find links to all of the best fantasy coverage on the internet.