2015 OF FAMtasy Rankings

1. Mike TroutIt’s tough to believe this 23 year old only has 3 full MLB seasonsunder his belt. He had a “down year” in 2014 as far as WAR(only 7.9), Average (.287, down from .323 in 2013), and OBP are concerned, but he’s still a no-brainer as far as the #1 OF and #1 overall fantasy pick go. If you’re lucky enough to get the first pick, take Mike Trout with confidence.

2012 2013 20146

9

12

WAR by Season

Mike Trout Next Highest OF

2. Giancarlo StantonStanton finds himself in the middle of a suddenly developing Marlins lineup. With some guys ahead of him to get on base (Yelich, Ozuna, Gordon) and some protection around him (Morse, McGehee, Saltalamacchia) it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the hitter formerly known as “Mike” have another monster year for the Marlins. I would expect something along the lines of .300+, 40+ hr’s, and 110+ rbi’s as he seemed destined for in 2014 prior to taking a fastball to the face in early September.

In other words, 2015 could be another MVP-caliber season for Giancarlo Stanton.

201016.3 AB per

HR

2011 15.2 AB per

HR

201212.1 AB per

HR

201317.7 AB per

HR

2014 14.6 AB per

HR

3. Andrew McCutchen

It was tough to drop McCutchen to 3. I fully anticipate another big year out of the Pirates’ franchise player 2015. “Cutch” does it all for the Bucs. In 2014 he scored 89 runs, batted .314, hit 25 hr’s, stole 18 bases, and drove in 84 runs en route to a 3rd place NL MVP finish. Expect him to put up even better numbers in 2015 as he begins to enter his prime.

4. Michael BrantleyBrantley had a career year in 2014. Experts are all over the place on where to rank him heading into 2015. While it might be unfair to expect him to repeat his stat-line from last season (.327 BA, 20 HRs, 97 RBIs), his patient approach at the plate and knack for stealing bases (23 steals, 1 caught stealing) should lend itself to another big offensive year for the Indians.

0-0 0-1 0-2 1-0 2-0 3-0 1-1 1-2 2-1 2-2 3-20

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Batti ng Average by CountBatting Average

5. Carlos Gomez

Gomez is near the top of the list of professional athletes you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. He’s also one of the most talented outfielders in the game today. At 29, Carlos is just beginning to enter his prime. Gomez is a virtual lock for 20+ HRs, 30+ steals, and a .270+ average in 2015. That kind of fantasy value doesn’t come cheaply. Expect Gomez to go early in fantasy drafts.

6. Adam Jones

Over the past 7 seasons, you would be hard pressed to find a safer OF pick than Adam Jones. We see no reason to expect anything less from Jones in 2015

BA HR RBI Steals

2008 .270 9 57 10

2009 .277 19 70 10

2010 .284 19 69 7

2011 .280 25 83 12

2012 .287 32 82 16

2013 .285 33 108 14

2014 .281 29 96 7

7. Jose BautistaOver the past 5 seasons, Jose

Bautista has transformed himself into one of the premier outfielders

in the game. Since 2010, his average season has been:

.270 average 34 HRs 94 RBIs

.389 OBP.555 Slugging %.

Fantasy owners would be thrilled with another “average” year out of Bautista in 2015. It should be noted that Bautista turns 35 this year and

is probably at the tail end of his prime.

8. Yasiel Puig

There isn’t a huge sample size with Puig, but there is enough to figure out that this kid is extremely talented. If he can continue to put the immaturity questions behind him, he could easily develop into one of the top outfielders in the game. We look for Puig to take a step in that direction and improve on last year’s numbers in 2015.

G PA BA HR RBI OBP SLG OPS SB

2013 104 432 .319 19 42 .391 .534 .925 11

2014 148 640 .296 16 69 .382 .480 .863 11

9. Ryan Braun

2011.332

33 HRs111 RBI

33 Steals

2012.319

41 HRs112 RBI

30 Steals

2013*.298

9 HRs38 RBI

4 Steals

2014.266

19 HRs81 RBI

11 Steals

Braun had a rough season in 2014. Between injuries and struggling to find his signature swing, he looked like a shell of his former MVP-candidate self. With his thumb injury seemingly behind him, it’s safe to expect a bounce back year from the Brewers’ slugger. He will be a good guy to keep an eye on as a potential value pick.

10. Justin UptonIt’s crazy to think that Justin Upton might just now be entering his prime. The 8 year MLB veteran does not turn 28 until August. That said, we’d expect Upton’s power numbers to decline slightly as he moves to the cavernous Petco Field in San Diego. He will, however, be apart of a solid lineup thanks to an impressive offseason by the Padres. Somewhere around 25 HR’s, 85 RBI’s, and a .270 average feels about right for Upton in 2015.

11. Bryce HarperHarper is yet another extremely talented young OF who has yet to live up to his enormous potential. Harper has the tools to be a 30/30 guy, he just needs to stay healthy long enough to do it.

Harper appears to be fully healthy heading into 2015 and will be hitting towards the top of very strong National’s lineup. Bryce seems primed as a likely “breakout” candidate in his 4th big league season.

12. Hunter PenceHunter Pence is one of the most remarkably consistent players in major league baseball today. You can just pencil him in for ~.280, 20-25 HRs, and ~80 RBIs every single year. He doesn’t do any one thing spectacularly but he is above average at just about every aspect of the game. There is no reason to expect him to deviate from his normal numbers in 2015.

07-09 Average SeasonBA: .2892B: 30HR: 22RBI: 75

10-12 Average SeasonBA: .2832B: 31HR: 24RBI: 97

13-14 Average SeasonBA: .2802B: 32HR: 24RBI: 87

13. Jacoby EllsburyA fully healthy Jacoby Ellsbury can be much better than the #14 fantasy outfielder in 2015… but health hasn’t always been a given for Ellsbury. He’ll turn 32 this season, so it’s reasonable to expect that he’s on the tail end of his prime years. He still has plenty in the tank for now though. We expect Jacoby to have similar stats to his 2014 campaign. He’ll be a high end OF2 in standard fantasy leagues and should remain a great source of steals.

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20140

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145153

18

158

74

134149

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70

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39

14

5239

Games Played Steals

14. Jason HeywardHeyward never quite lived up to his full offensive potential in Atlanta. This is the kind of kid (yes, he’s still only 25) that has “star” written all over him. A move to a stronger lineup in St. Louis should give his numbers a boost. Jason will also be batting in the middle of the lineup for the Cardinals as opposed to the leadoff role he suffered through in Atlanta. I’d look for Heyward to improve upon his 2014 numbers (.271 ave/11 HRs/58 RBI/.351 obp) and have a big season for the Redbirds.

Did I mention 2015 is a contract year?

Aver

age

Per L

ineu

p Sp

ot

1st .282

2nd .255

3rd .243

4th -

5th .252

6th .313

7th .230

8th .351

15. George SpringerThe sample size on Springer is tiny, but impressive. This 25 year old will rack up the HR’s at Minute Maid Park if he can stay healthy. In 2014, Springer was averaging a HR in every 14.75 at bats. That’s Giancarlo Stanton-like power. The low batting average is concerning (.231) but we’re excited to see what the youngster can do over the course of a full season. Springer could end up being a steal in 2015 fantasy drafts. Keep a close eye on him on draft day.

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16. Starling Marte2014: .291 BA, 13 HRs, 56 RBI, 30 Steals

17. Corey Dickerson2014: .312 BA, 24 HRs, 76 RBI, 8 Steals

18. Carlos Gonzalez2014: .238 BA, 11 HRs, 38 RBI, 3 Steals (70 games played)

19. Yoenis Cespedes2014: .260 BA, 22 HRs, 100 RBI, 7 Steals

20. Matt Kemp2014: .287 BA, 25 HRs, 89 RBI, 8 Steals

21-25

21. Nelson Cruz2014: .271 BA, 40 HRs, 108 RBI, 4 Steals

22. Christian Yelich2014: .284 BA, 9 HRs, 54 RBI, 21 Steals

23. Jay Bruce2014: .217 BA, 18 HRs, 76 RBI, 12 Steals

24. Matt Holliday2014: .272 BA, 20 HRs, 90 RBI, 4 Steals

25. Kole Calhoun2014: .272 BA, 17 HRs, 78 RBI, 5 Steals