With Opening Day right around the corner, it’s prediction time! The fantasy staff at Baseball Prospectus thought we’d take a crack at trying to make some predictions of our own. Feel free to come back and laugh at the ones we got ridiculously wrong six months from now, while ignoring the ones we got right.
George Bissell | J.P. Breen | Ben Carsley | Matt Collins | Mike Gianella | Craig Goldstein | Scooter Hotz | |
Player You Own In Most of Your Leagues | Marcus Stroman | Jacob deGrom | Troy Tulowitzki | Justin Upton | Jean Segura | Danny Valencia | Matt Moore |
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 75 | Billy Hamilton | Patrick Corbin | Cole Hamels | Gregory Polanco | Jacoby Ellsbury | Yasiel Puig | Hanley Ramirez |
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 300 | Javier Baez | Michael Saunders | Leonys Martin | Ben Paulsen | Ben Paulsen | Jonathan Villar | Nathan Eovaldi |
First Round Player Who Will Earn The Least | Kris Bryant | Giancarlo Stanton | Giancarlo Stanton | Nolan Arenado | Carlos Correa | Miguel Cabrera | Giancarlo Stanton |
Best Veteran Bargain (34+) | Shin-Shoo Choo | Alex Rodriguez | Alex Rodriguez | David Ortiz | Mark Teixeira | Alex Rodriguez | Fernando Rodney |
Biggest Sophomore Bust | Miguel Sano | Jerad Eickhoff | Addison Russell | Francisco Lindor | Corey Seager | Randal Grichuk | Delino DeShields |
Pitcher Who Will Lead Baseball in Wins | Clayton Kershaw | David Price | Jon Lester | Max Scherzer | Adam Wainwright | Clayton Kershaw | Max Scherzer |
First closer to lose his job | Steve Cishek | David Hernandez | Every Phillie | Fernando Rodney | Brad Ziegler | Shawn Tolleson | JJ Hoover |
Reliever most likely to get 20 saves who isn’t closing on Opening Day | Kevin Jepsen | Corey Knebel | Ryan Madson | Keone Kela | Tony Zych | Joaquin Benoit | Hunter Strickland |
Highest Earnings for Player Who Starts 2015 in Minors | Jurickson Profar | Jose Berrios | Blake Snell | Jose Berrios | A.J. Reed | Bradley Zimmer | Tyler Glasnow |
J.J. Jansons | Wilson Karaman | Jeff Quinton | Bret Sayre | Dan Strafford | Greg Wellemeyer | ||
Player You Own In Most of Your Leagues | Carlos Carrasco | Dan Vogelbach | David Ortiz | Hanley Ramirez | Robinson Cano | Jose Ramirez | |
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 75 | Ender Inciarte | Rougned Odor | Hunter Pence | Gregory Polanco | Maikel Franco | Michael Brantley | |
Favorite Player Outside NFBC Top 300 | Leonys Martin | Cory Spangenberg | Martin Prado | Leonys Martin | Aaron Sanchez | Jake Lamb | |
First Round Player Who Will Earn The Least | Nolan Arenado | Giancarlo Stanton | Kris Bryant | Anthony Rizzo | Carlos Correa | Anthony Rizzo | |
Best Veteran Bargain (34+) | Alex Rodriguez | Matt Holliday | Brandon Phillips | Matt Holliday | Ben Zobrist | ||
Biggest Sophomore Bust | Miguel Sano | Kris Bryant | Anthony DeSclafani | Francisco Lindor | Carlos Correa | Addison Russell | |
Pitcher Who Will Lead Baseball in Wins | Jake Arrieta | John Lackey | Jake Arrieta | Max Scherzer | Carlos Carrasco | Clayton Kershaw | |
First closer to lose his job | Shawn Tolleson | Hector Rondon | Sean Doolittle | Whatever sad soul the Phillies drag out there | Santiago Casilla | Santiago Casilla | |
Reliever most likely to get 20 saves who isn’t closing on Opening Day | Arodys Vizcaino | Joaquin Benoit | Ryan Madson | Joaquin Benoit | Sergio Romo | Hunter Strickland | |
Highest Earnings for Player Who Starts 2015 in Minors | Trea Turner | Trea Turner | Trea Turner | Lucas Giolito | Tyler Glasnow | Jose Peraza |
Bold Predictions, Hitter:
George Bissell – Danny Valencia is a borderline top-five third baseman.
J.P. Breen — Keon Broxton goes 15/15 for the Brewers.
Ben Carsley — Xander Bogaerts will hit 20 homers and steal 10 bases.
Matt Collins – Victor Martinez will be a top 125 hitter.
Mike Gianella – Billy Hamilton steals 80 bases.
Scooter Hotz – Neither Lorenzo Cain nor A.J. Pollock finish among the top 20 outfielders in mixed formats.
J.J. Jansons — Eugenio Suarez will earn more than Corey Seager.
Wilson Karaman – Delino DeShields leads Major League Baseball in stolen bases.
Jeff Quinton – Troy Tulowitzki plays more than 135 games and is a top-25 player.
Bret Sayre – Hanley Ramirez will be more valuable in 5×5 leagues than either Mookie Betts or Xander Bogaerts.
Dan Strafford – Eugenio Suarez is a top-five SS.
Greg Wellemeyer – Javier Baez will earn more than any Cubs position player except for Kris Bryant.
Bold Predictions, Pitcher:
George Bissell – Carlos Carrasco is the most valuable fantasy starter in the AL.
Ben Carsley — King Felix becomes mortal.
J.P. Breen — Martin Perez wins 15 games for the Rangers.
Matt Collins – Sean Doolittle is a top-five closer.
Mike Gianella – Shelby Miller finishes 2016 with a lower ERA than teammate Zack Greinke.
Scooter Hotz – Matt Moore is a top-20 pitcher in mixed leagues.
J.J. Jansons — Cody Anderson will finish as a top-75 starting pitcher.
Wilson Karaman – Mychal Givens is a top-10 reliever despite only logging a couple of random saves.
Jeff Quinton – Chris Archer strikes out over 275 batters and is a top-10 pitcher.
Bret Sayre – Carlos Martinez will not only be the most valuable Cardinals starter, he will be a top-10 pitcher in mixed leagues.
Dan Strafford – Carlos Carrasco is AL Cy Young.
Greg Wellemeyer – Kyle Hendricks will earn more than every other Cubs pitcher except for Pedro Strop.
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