17.01 Jean Segura, SS, Milwaukee
Steve Pimental, FantasyAlarm.com: Segura turns 25 this month and is one year removed from batting .294 with 12 home runs and 44 stolen bases. He is six months older than Marcus Semien, for example. I think he has more upside this season than people are giving him credit for, and at the very least I get a middle infielder who will steal 20 bases and not kill my batting average.
Roster: C-Ramos, 1B-Votto, 2B-Pedroia, SS-Ramirez, 3B-Beltre, MI-Segura, OF-Trout/Braun/Cruz/Tomas, SP-Wainwright/Lester/Shields/Fernandez, RP-Melancon/Uehara
17.02 Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco
Chris Zolli, FantasyPros.com: Perception of Brandon Belt is that he is a bust of a prospect and that the Giants will spend the next decade explaining his decline and trying to compensate for the fact that he never became the player he should have been. Statistics tell a different story, though. He had a .350, yes you read that correctly .350, batting average in 695 minor league at bats and was probably ready to be the everyday Giants 1B coming into 2011. The Giants could not find a place for Belt until 2012 and after a solid rookie season, he had 60 XBH and a .841 OPS in his sophomore 2013 season. His issues against left handed pitchers are well documented and he had a ton of injury issues in 2014, but in reality, or for fantasy purposes I guess, Belt is a poor man’s Freddie Freeman (hey I have him too!). A full season for Belt looks like 35 or more doubles, 15-20 home runs, and an average in the .280-.290 range; in the 17th round, that is an absolute steal.
Roster: C-Gomes/Rosario, 1B-Freeman, SS-Zobrist, 3B-Santana, CI-Belt, OF-McCutchen/Kemp/Yelich/Betts/Gardner, SP-Hernandez/Darvish/Pineda, RP-Benoit/Rodney
17.03 Derek Norris, C, San Diego
Jim Finch, FantasyAssembly.com: Last season, he improved against righties to the tune of .244 so it’s probably the 26 year old could take another step forward this year. Norris also holds a career .269 average in Oakland so going from the Coliseum to Petco shouldn’t be an issue. Finally he doesn’t have to share his job anymore so we could see some more home runs with the increased at bats. At the very least a repeat of 2014 is realistic which would make him a top 12 option. Not bad this late in the game.
Roster: C-d’Arnaud/Norris, 1B-Goldschmidt, SS-Desmond, 3B-Frazier, CI-LaRoche, MI-Rollins, OF-Trumbo/Choo/Pollock/Zimmerman, SP-Hamels/Latos, RP-Kimbrel/Chapman/Jansen/Allen
17.04 Jose Quintana, SP, Chicago White Sox
Andy Singleton, FantasyFiveStar.com: Getting Quintana as my 4th Pitcher in the 17th Round is further proof that the position is really deep this year. He has back to back 200 IP seasons under his belt, carries a low WHIP and ERA, and adds to your K total – which has improved in each of his three professional seasons. With Samardzija in town, and Sale already there, Quintana figures to be the #3 guy in Chicago. Couple that with an added emphasis to the offense, and the young Colombian could very well see his Win total reach double digits for the first time.
Roster: C-Mesoraco/Perez, 1B-Cabrera, 2B-Utley, SS-Reyes/Boagaerts, 3B-Seager, CI-Hosmer, OF-Springer/Marte/Soler/Blackmon/Myers, SP-Teheran/Gray/Lynn/Quintana
17.05 Chris Tillman, SP, Baltimore
Lawr Michaels, Mastersball.com: Regularly dismissed, Tillman has delivered 206 frames each of the last two years, and his 13-6, 3.34 season of last year hides a 6-1, 2.23 second half with a 1.011 WHIP and 78 whiffs to 18 walks. He turns 27 a couple of weeks after Opening Day, so that seems like even more upside is in the tank.
Roster: C-Posey/Lucroy, 1B-Duda, 2B-Wong, SS-Escobar, 3B-Donaldson, CI-Castellanos, OF-Cespedes/Calhoun/Ozuna/Martin, SP-Wood/Ventura/Stroman/Cashner/Sanchez/Tillman
17.06 Billy Butler, 1B, Oakland
Daniel Archer, LeagueSafePost.com: With my DH spot open, I’m taking the 28-year-old with the .295/.359/.449 mark expecting him to tuck in at home plate for 4-5 helpings of Country Breakfast each game. Rumors of his demise are at least somewhat exaggerated. While there are plenty of reasons for concern (career low walk rate, terrible 2014, terrible new park for power, ungainly physique), there are also several mitigating factors: 1) 28 is just barely post peak for a DH/1B type 2) Billy Beane, who is a damn genius, convinced a penny-pinching franchise to pay the man a lot of money 3) Oakland Coliseum doesn’t suppress Butler’s brand of power, his batting average, or his RBI opportunities for a franchise that loves the OBP and 4) if I can’t replace a 17th round UT pick who bombs, I should give up fantasy altogether.
Roster: 1B-Gonzalez, 2B-Dozier, 3B-Headley, MI Lawrie, CI-Pearce, OF-Gomez/Puig/Harper/Moss/Pederson, DH-Butler, SP-Greinke/Harvey/Stroman/Tanaka, RP-Rosenthal/Perkins
17.07 Adam Eaton, OF, Chicago White Sox
David Kerr, FantasySquads.com: It’s been about 14 rounds since I’ve taken an outfielder and Round 17 presents a golden opportunity to grab batting average, steals, and runs. Adam Eaton has dealt with injuries throughout his major league career, but he’s never been in a better situation. He is going to bat lead off for the White Sox and should cross the plate plenty of times given his knack for getting on-base. If Eaton were to chip in with 25 or more steals, it would be icing on the cake. He is solid value as we head towards the final rounds.
Roster: 1B-Martinez, 2B-Gordon, SS-Ramirez, 3B-Machado, CI-Harrison, MI-Walker, OF-Stanton/A.Jones/Ellsbury/Eaton, SP-Cueto/Gonzalez/Ross/Wheeler, RP-Robertson/Storen/Rondon
17.08 Angel Pagan, OF, San Francisco
Brendan O’Brien-Cockson, FantasySquads.com: Health is definitely an issue here, and with Pagan playing in the outfield and hitting lead-off the issue of longevity is definitely on my mind here. However, I think hitting atop that potent lineup ahead of names like Posey, Belt, and Pence will provide ample opportunities for lots of runs, steals, and a healthy average. If Pagan can lace up the cleats for 125 games or more, I will be more than happy with that value.
Roster: C-Wieters/McCann, 1B-Fielder, 2B-Kinsler, SS-Castro, 3B-Longoria, CI-Morneau, OF-B.Hamilton/Polanco/Pagan, MI-Murphy, SP-Kershaw/Bumgarner/DeGrom/Smyly, RP-Street/Doolittle
17.09 Marcus Semien, 2B/3B, Oakland
Alex Kantecki, FakeTeams.com: I’m not expecting anything greater than a .250 BA, but Semien is the perfect type of player to deploy in the MI spot, with a mixture of pop and speed (sort of like Ben Zobrist in his better years). If the power really takes a step forward, Semien can be a top-10 fantasy second basemen.
Roster: C-Grandal, 1B-Abreu, 2B-Rendon, SS-Andrus, 3B-Carpenter, CI-Adams, MI-Semien, OF-Brantley/Gonzalez/Gordon/Martinez/Cabrera, SP-Strasburg/Zimmermann/Richards, RP-Holland/Cishek
17.10 Addison Reed, RP, Arizona
Brad Binns, MoxyBall.com: I have no problem playing the wire when it comes to saves – but in leagues where I can – I like to grab enough closers to have an upper hand in the category. Reed’s job is pretty stable for the Diamondbacks – and while he is definitely not an elite pitcher by any stretch, he does miss a lot of bats as evidenced by his 69 k’s in 59.1 IP last year. Couple in the fact that his control has been trending in the right direction (only 15 BB last year), if things go his way – he could jump up the closer ranks for 2016 drafts.
Roster: C-Molina, 1B-Encarnacion, 2B-Altuve, 3B-Davis, OF-Dickerson/Holliday/Werth/Span, MI-Kendrick, DH-Ortiz, SP-Scherzer/Kluber/Cobb/Iwakuma, RP-Britton/Feliz/Reed
17.11 Henderson Alvarez, SP, Miami
Neil Parker, LockerRoomFantasySports.com: There is a chance for high-end production in three categories from Alvarez in 2015. There should be a few more tallies in the win column with an improve offense, and his ratios last season were excellent, especially his 2.65 ERA over 30 starts and 187.0 innings. The strikeout totals will be lacking, but they’re the only reason Alvarez is available at this stage of the draft. Plus, his 53.8 percent ground-ball rate and 1.6 BB/9 mark last season are close to his career numbers which projects favorably for Alvarez turning in another solid year.
Roster: C-Gattis, 1B-Pujols, 2B-Cano, SS-Tulowitzki, 3B-Arenado, CI-Bryant, OF-J.Upton/Pence/Bruce/Castillo/Arcia, SP-Cole/Arrieta/Fister/Lee/Alvarez, RP-Rondon
17.12 Jonathan Papelbon, RP, Philadelphia
Greg Jewett, TheSportsScript.com: It appears that no one wants Papelbon so I will take him this late. A top 15 closer whether with the Phillies or wherever he may be traded. Plus this provides insurance on my Giles pick earlier. Paps had a FIP of 2.53 and an xFIP of 3.50 last year so his ERA will come back towards three but he still has value here with the opportunity for 30 saves this year.
Roster: C-Martin, 1B-Rizzo, 2B-Kipnis, 3B-Sandoval, CI-Wright, OF-Bautista/Heyward/Revere, DH-Carter, SP-Sale/Price/Carrasco/Ryu, RP-Betances/Giles/Papelbon
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