Welcome to another edition of the 2017 Rest-of-the-Season Rankings. Today, to start off this article, I want to talk about the recently completed MLB draft.

From June 9 to June 12, all 30 MLB teams drafted players that they hope will be part of their future. The MLB draft, due to the presence of minor-league baseball and the in-season draft date, is different from both the NBA and MLB drafts. Instead of getting players that will make an instant impact, most teams draft players are at least a few years away, if not more, from their MLB debuts. Also, the draft is 40 rounds long, so it basically ends up being a crap shoot as to which players actually end up playing in the majors. However, this does not stop us from looking at the top prospects and seeing what they could potentially bring to the table Fantasy wise when they finally get called up. So, to start this article, I will be talking about some of the top picks and their future Fantasy outlook.

Also, the draft is 40 rounds long, so it basically ends up being a crap shoot as to which players actually end up playing in the majors. However, this does not stop us from looking at the top prospects and seeing what they could potentially bring to the table Fantasy wise when they finally get called up. So, to start this article, I will be talking about some of the top picks and their future Fantasy outlook.

However, this does not stop us from looking at the top prospects and seeing what they could potentially bring to the table Fantasy wise when they finally get called up. So, to start this article, I will be talking about some of the top picks and their future Fantasy outlook.

Royce Lewis, the high-school shortstop from California, was the first overall pick by the Minnesota Twins. He has a very good ability to put the bat on the ball and should hit for a high average as a pro. He also has very good speed that should translate into plenty of stolen bases. If he is able to stay at shortstop, he could have great value as a hitter in a prime position, but the bat will also play if he is forced to move to the outfield.

Hunter Greene and Brandon McKay were two of the most interesting players in the draft. The two players were taken at second overall by the Reds and fourth overall by the Rays, respectively, but the thing that makes them so interesting is their two-way abilities. Both Greene and McKay were regarded as first-round talents as either a hitter or a pitcher, so it will be interesting to see how their teams end up using them, but either way, they should have Fantasy value.

The top two pure pitchers selected were high-school lefty MacKenzie Gore to the Padres at #3 and Vanderbilt righty Kyle Wright to the Braves at #5. Both of them are pretty polished pitchers for their age with great stuff and both high ceilings and high floors. They should be able to be solid fantasy pitchers down the road.

That is enough of my brief MLB Draft thoughts. I advise you to go check out this edition of The Fantasy Six Pack Hour podcast with Joe Bond and A.J Applegarth with a guest appearance from Chris Blessing from BaseballHQ if you want to learn more about the recent MLB Draftees from a fantasy perspective, but for now, let’s get into the stock changes in this week’s rankings.

2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings

Stock Up

Felix Hernandez, SP, Seattle Mariners

I’ll be honest, I was having a hard time finding a single player who truly improved their stock this week. Naturally, Felix Hernandez was the highest riser because of the simple fact that he is returning from injury.

He hasn’t been the best this year when healthy, but he is King Felix and should at least be somewhat productive in his return. I know, I know, he isn’t the best “Stock Up” candidate ever, but I promise that I will make it up in the “Stock Down” section.

Stock Down

Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Colorado Rockies

This year has been nothing short of a disappointment for Gonzalez. The career .287/.345/.511 hitter has only managed to slash .218/.302/.336 with the average and slugging percentage being career lows.

The struggles haven’t stopped there, however. His production in all categories are down, as his five home runs, 12 runs scored, and 19 RBI are all well below his usual totals. It is now at the point in the season where this isn’t a slow start anymore. This could very well be regression.

Johnny Cueto, SP, San Francisco Giants

Johnny Cueto is another player who was drafted to be a cornerstone on your Fantasy team who just hasn’t performed up to expectations so far. After a great first year in San Francisco, Cueto has struggled with his worst numbers since his stint in Kansas City in 2015, and before that, his 2009 age-23 season.

Cueto on the year carries a 5-6 record with a 4.57 ERA. His 86 strikeouts are his only stat that is really somewhat decent. While pitching can be luck based at times, Cueto has been bad pretty much all season and his 4.45 FIP doesn’t suggest much improvement for the near future.

Brandon Belt, 1B, San Francisco Giants

For most of his career, Brandon Belt has been a first baseman who provides a good average and great OBP who has had below average totals in home runs, RBI and runs scored for a first baseman. However, he wasn’t drafted to be a power threat and had a solid role as a ratio-raiser. Well, not this year.

This year Belt has only managed a .220 batting average. While the .339 OBP is a big jump from his average and shows that he is still drawing walks like normal, his inability to get hits weighs down his OBP to a below average level. While he could be on pace for his first career 20 home run season, it is very easy to find 20-homer first basemen who can hit below .220, so if his calling card in his batting average isn’t there, he holds little Fantasy value.

2017 Rest-Of-The-Season Rankings

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Josh Morgan

Josh is a current student at Las Lomas High School in California. This is his second year writing for the So-Called Fantasy Experts. He has been an avid fantasy player for a long time and loves writing. If you have any fantasy related questions, be sure to ask him on Twitter @SCFE_Josh.

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