Investing & Maybe Fantasy Baseball

Welcome to the position tiered rankings for 2015. The tiers are broken out into five tiers with five being the highest and one being the lowest. Five star players are players that will be taken in the first couple of rounds or will go for $30-plus. Four star players will have $20-plus. Three stars $10-plus, two stars $5-plus and the one star are players you want to avoid or players to stash on your bench.

The statistics for each player are my semi-final projections. The projections are going to change going forward, but if you follow me on Twitter @MattCommins I will tweet out when my projections are updated and posted on MattCommins.com. If I was a reader I would focus on the tiering of players and the overall idea of the projections. For example, if I project a player for 28 home runs that means I think he’ll hit for a lot of power.

Links the other position previews:

• Catcher
• First Base
• Second Base
• Third Base
• Shortstop
• Outfield
• Relief Pitcher/Closer
  
• Starting Pitcher

The state of the outfield position depends a lot on how deep your league is. Since there are so many high upside two star players you can wait to draft an outfielder in the later rounds in a 10-team mixed league. For example, if I drafted two outfielders early in my draft I would fill out my other positions before filling out the other three outfielders. If I was in a 12-team mixed league I want to make sure I have at least three players from the first four tiers. Lastly, when I look at the players in the Two Star category except for three players (Ben Revere, Denard Span and Nick Markakis) I can envision scenarios where all of them finish the year in the Four Star category.

Five Star

Five-Star Value Pick: Carlos Gomez

As of now I have Andrew McCutchen rated higher than Carlos Gomez but as it gets closer to draft time I may rate Gomez higher because Gomez may be safer in stolen bases. Also, I would be shocked if McCutchen only stole 10-15 bases, but at the same time I wouldn’t be shocked if he hits 30-plus home runs too.

Four Star

Four-Star Value Pick: Starling Marte

I would have projected more runs and RBIs for Starling Marte, but I think he’s going to bat fifth (he should be batting second) and the lineup after him is going to be really bad. If he played most other teams he would bat third because his offensive talents are that good.

Three Star

Three-Star Value Pick: A.J. Pollock

What’s not to like about A.J. Pollock? He’s a five category producer who plays in very hitter friendly ballpark. If Paul Goldschmidt is fully healthy Pollock would score 90-plus runs.

Two Star

Two-Star Value Pick: Marcell Ozuna & Steven Souza

Marcell Ozuna’s power is legit and he has the speed to steal 10-plus bases if wanted to. Maybe this is the year he has a Todd Frazier season and starts stealing bases unexpectedly. Without looking at my projections what is the difference in upside between Kole Calhoun and Steven Souza? For me, there isn’t much of a difference, Calhoun is going to go far earlier before Souza.

One Star

One-Star Value Pick: Matt Joyce & Oswaldo Arcia           

As of mid-February I may be too low on Matt Joyce. If Josh Hamilton misses a lot of time Joyce could hit fifth behind Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. I don’t see a lot of upside in Joyce, but I definitely like his opportunity. Oswaldo Arcia, who will only turn 24 in May, has tremendous power and I wouldn’t be surprised if hit 30-plus home runs in 2015.

Welcome to the position tiered rankings for 2015. The tiers are broken out into five tiers with five being the highest and one being the lowest. Five star players are players that will be taken in the first couple of rounds or will go for $30-plus. Four star players will have $20-plus. Three stars $10-plus, two stars $5-plus and the one star are players you want to avoid or players to stash on your bench.

The statistics for each player are my semi-final projections. The projections are going to change going forward, but if you follow me on Twitter @MattCommins I will tweet out when my projections are updated and posted on MattCommins.com. If I was a reader I would focus on the tiering of players and the overall idea of the projections. For example, if I project a player for 28 home runs that means I think he’ll hit for a lot of power.

Links the other position previews:

• Catcher
• First Base
• Second Base
• Third Base
• Shortstop
• Outfield
• Relief Pitcher/Closer
  
• Starting Pitcher

What you will find below are the fantasy tiers for third basemen. This is a fairly shallow position where it’s very important to grab someone in the top two tiers. if you do not get one of those players you’re throwing a hail mary. If I were to wait for a third baseman I would draft two of them and hope one of them pans out.

Five Star

Five-Star Value Pick: Josh Donaldson

Josh Donaldson has been a MVP caliber player the past two years and he should be able to continue to be great, but I have minor quibble about what kind of toll playing on artificial turf will have on his ability to stay healthy.

Four Star

Four-Star Value Pick: Nolan Arenado

It’s really hard for me to not pick Kyle Seager because I’ve believed in him for years, but Nolan Arenado has the higher ceiling. If Seager played in a neutral ballpark I would take him, but it’s too hard to pass on Arenado. He plays in the best hitters ballpark and has the tools to more than a product of Coors Field.

Three-Star Value Pick: Matt Carpenter

Alex Rodriguez made the list because the Yankees are saying he’s going to be their everyday DH. A lot can change at Spring Training, but as of now he’s on the list. If you’re looking for 100-plus runs then look no further than Matt Carpenter. The Cardinals offense is going to be vastly improved with the addition of Jason Heyward and since Heyward has such a high OBP there are going to be many instances where Carpenter will be on second base a lot with zero outs.

Two Star

Two-Star Value Pick: Chase Headley

If I knew Kris Bryant was going to be in the majors to begin the season he would be my pick, but as of right now his playing time is up in the air. Chase Headley isn’t going to hit 31 home runs again, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a 15/15 player with a .280-plus batting average.

One Star

One-Star Value Pick: Trevor Plouffe

I like Trevor Plouffe because I know what I’m going to be getting when I draft him. He’s going to be unspectacular, but I can count on a solid batting average with 12-17 home runs.

Welcome to the position tiered rankings for 2015. The tiers are broken out into five tiers with five being the highest and one being the lowest. Five star players are players that will be taken in the first couple of rounds or will go for $30-plus. Four star players will have $20-plus. Three stars $10-plus, two stars $5-plus and the one star are players you want to avoid or players to stash on your bench.

The statistics for each player are my semi-final projections. The projections are going to change going forward, but if you follow me on Twitter @MattCommins I will tweet out when my projections are updated and posted on MattCommins.com. If I was a reader I would focus on the tiering of players and the overall idea of the projections. For example, if I project a player for 28 home runs that means I think he’ll hit for a lot of power.

Links the other position previews:

• Catcher
• First Base
• Second Base
• Third Base
• Shortstop
• Outfield
• Relief Pitcher/Closer
  
• Starting Pitcher

What you will find below are the fantasy tiers for shortstops. When you look at the projections for Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez I haven’t baked in the replacement level statistics yet. So in essence you’re looking at the exact numbers I think they’ll provide. This is the position where you want to get your stolen bases. If you got your stolen bases elsewhere you may be able to draft home run first players like J.J. Hardy, Jhonny Peralta, Xander Bogaerts and Wilmer Flores on the cheap.

Five Star

Five-Star Value Pick: Ian Desmond

Ian Desmond has posted three consecutive seasons of 20/20 production so I’m not going on much of a limb here.

Four Star

Four-Star Value Pick: Jose Reyes

Jose Reyes has a lower floor and higher ceiling while Alexei Ramirez has a higher floor and lower ceiling. When you’re drafting it’s all about preference.

Three Star

Three-Star Value Pick: Xander Bogaerts

When evaluating any young player who struggled in his rookie season I always fall back on the tool set when projecting him the following year. Just one year ago Xander Bogaerts was a consensus top five prospect and when I read his scouting reports it’s hard to believe he struggled as much as he did last year. This year the shortstop job is and he’s not going to be moved to another position during the season.

Two Star

Two-Star Value Pick: Chris Owings

Of the four players Chris Owings has the widest range of possibilities. He could be 15/15 player with a .290-plus batting average or he could be a 9/9 player with a sub-.260 batting average. When you’re picking this low in your draft it depends on what you need, but in a vacuum Owings is the only player who has the ability to provide production in all five categories.

One Star

One-Star Value Pick: Wilmer Flores

If you got speed at other positions in the draft and you need power than look no further than Wilmer Flores. There are major question marks whether he can stay at the shortstop position, but there are little to no questions about his ability to hit a baseball. I’m projecting 16 home runs but I wouldn’t be surprised if he hits 20-plus if given a full year of playing time.