Wild Cards
These players have high ceilings that could make them a draft day steal, but come with significant risk.
David Price, SP
ESPN: 118
Yahoo: 80
Red Sox fans were disappointed with the overall numbers from Price in his first season in Boston, but his heavy workload and strikeout totals still made him an elite starter in fantasy. He settled down after a brutal first six weeks to pitch like an ace the rest of the way (except in October, but that doesn’t count for fantasy!), so he’s clearly capable of returning early round value. The problem is we don’t know how healthy he is in the wake of the elbow discomfort that led to a panic inducing visit to Dr. James Andrew. Surgery has been ruled out, at least for now, but we still don’t know if he’ll be ready by Opening Day or need additional time to return to form. This makes him worth more in head-to-head leagues where you can get by without an injured player for a few weeks as long as they are back for the fantasy playoff weeks.
Sandy Leon, C
ESPN: Not Ranked
Yahoo: Not Ranked
Both of our rankings sources have Leon well outside the top-20 at his position, which means he’s not worth drafting unless you are in a super-deep league or one that requires two catchers for some reason. Which seems crazy for a player that led all major league catchers with a .310 batting average last year. His counting stats were low only because he essentially played half the season. Extrapolate his production over a full season and he’s easily in the top 10 in four categories. Leon is being ranked with the assumption that last year was a fluke, which might be true given his history as a sub-Mendoza Line hitter and his late season fade. If you miss out on the top catchers in your draft, waiting until the last round to take Leon is worth considering. If he hits anywhere near what we saw last year then he’s a steal. If he doesn’t pan out, at least he didn’t cost much. Blake Swihart would have a high ceiling if we knew he’d be getting playing time, so if he eventually takes the job for himself then you could always dump Leon and pick up his replacement.
Next: Who will be the bat off the bench?
There are plenty of options on this Red Sox roster worthy of a spot on your fantasy baseball roster, so fans should have no problem securing at least one of them. Just make sure you aim for those with value and upside rather than reaching for overpriced options that carry more risk.