Detroit Tigers Fantasy Baseball Top Picks, Keepers, Sleepers and Duds
By Tony Fischer
The Detroit Tigers had their share of fantasy baseball disappointments last season. Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander and Joe Nathan were among the high-priced players that under performed in 2014. Still their were others like J.D. Martinez who came out of nowhere to put up an excellent statistical season.
This season the Detroit Tigers line-up is more balanced and although their won’t be many surprises but there are still some players that could provide great value if acquired at the right price. In this post I have identified the Detroit Tigers you need to be aware of for this years fantasy baseball draft.
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I have included advice for both auction and keeper leagues. These are the price/position I predict in which they will be drafted not necessarily what you should pay for them.
Keepers and Top Picks
If you are in a keeper league and you have these players on your roster you will want to do whatever you can to keep them on your team. For auctions leagues it may be worth releasing some of these players back into the draft pool if you over paid for them last season. For draft leagues these are the players you need to target early on.
Salaries are based on a $250 cap
Miguel Cabrera – 1B
Projected Salary: $50
Projected Draft Position: 1st Round
Even though he was hampered by injury last season Miguel Cabrera still had an OBP of .371 with 25 home runs and 109 RBI. He also had over 100 runs scored and all that with a fracture in his foot. The fracture required offseason surgery that required Cabrera to be non-weight bearing for a good portion of the off-season. But that hasn’t kept the MVP candidate from coming to spring training in shape as ready to go.
Miggy has been playing first base and it looks like he could be ready for opening day. However an opening day start would be ahead of his original timeline for return in mid April
Analysis: Look for the Tigers to excercise all caution with their start first basemen moving forward. That could mean missing opening day if the Tiger’s brass feels he is not 100%. Even is he misses the first couple of weeks Miggy is a must have is you can get him. If you own him at a high salary don’t let him go back into the pool hoping for an injury discount in the auction.
Victor Martinez – DH/1B
Projected Auction Salary: $38
Projected Draft Position: 5th Round
Martinez was darn near the MVP last season but it was Mike Trouts turn to hold the award. One of the reasons for V-Marts solid numbers was the emergence of JD Martinez who served as excellent protection in the line-up. The Tigers saw what protecting V-Mart in the line-up can do so they added another big bat in the offseason in Yoenis Cespedes.
Victor Martinez had 35 appearances at 1B last season which gives him some added flexibility for line-ups with a corner or DH roster slot.
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Analysis: With Cespedes behind V-Mart in the order look for Victor to come close to repeating his career high 35 home runs he set in 2014. He is a must have for your team in 2015.
Yoenis Cespedes – OF
Projected Auction Salary: $35
Projected Draft Position: 5th round
Cespedes might have finally found the ballpark that best compliments his game. The left-handed power hitter can take advantage of the short right field porch with his power and the expansive center field with his speed. The former cuban defector also has plenty of great hitters around him in the line-up. This is by far the best offense Cespedes has been a part of in his career and it could mean a monster year for the Tigers right fielder.
Analysis: The left-handed Cespedes can take advantage of both the short porch in right field with his power and the expansive center field with his speed. The biggest increase in Cespedes’ power numbers will be realized in doubles and triples meaning if your league tracks total bases, the cuban missile is a must have for your teams roster.
Sleepers
Nick Castellanos
Projected Auction Salary: $8
Projected Draft Position: 15th Round
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The Detroit Tigers top prospect made his major league debut in 2014 and had some success. Casty hit .259 with 11 homers and 66 RBI while holding down the hot corner. He struggled at times defensively but overall Tigers brass seemed happy with his rookie campaign. Castellanos will get a chance to progress in this his second season as the Tigers starting third basemen.
Analysis: This Tigers lineup is stacked and should score a lot of runs. Casty should get his share of the action. Owners should expect him to approach 15 homers this season which should be good fantasy value if the price is right.
Duds
Justin Verlander
Projected Auction Salary: $21
Projected Draft Position: 10th round
Justin Verlander is finely healthy this season after being hampered by his recovery from core muscle surgery. Although Manager Brad Ausmus has already named David Price the opening day starter, he also said that Verlander’s last start was the best he has seen him since taking over as the Tigers skipper.
But will a healthy Verlander be able to stop the trend of plummeting win totals and rising ERA? JV has been losing velocity on his fastball the past couple of seasons and he will need to transition form a power to finesse pitcher to have continued success.
Analysis: Even if Verlander is can change his game he will still never return to 2011 form. Don’t get sucked into a bidding war for this former CY Young award-winning. The price for Verlander might be high based on his past success. If you pay too much or draft him too high you will be disappointed.
Joe Nathan
Projected Auction Salary: $18
Projected Draft Position: 16th
Tiger fans were certainly disappointed with Nathan’s blown saves last season but from a fantasy perspective his numbers weren’t that bad. His ERA of 4.81 is enough to give any frugal owner pause but his 35 saves would be tempting to add to your fantasy teams bullpen.
Analysis: Buyer beware. Nathan will be on a very short leash this season and if he struggles like he did in 2014 he could get released. Nathans numbers in 2014 warrant a pretty good price at auction but the risk is too high. Stay away from adding Nathan to your roster this season.