RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target ~225
CURRENT ADP: 243
ANALYSIS: Cameron Rupp has been around the big leagues for a while, muddling through the last few years on last place Phillies teams. Last year, however, as the team got an infusion of young talent and didn’t finish in the N.L. East cellar for the first time in three seasons, Rupp had himself a mini breakout, hitting .252/.303/.447 with 16 homers and 54 RBI in 419 plate appearances.
There is reason to believe we haven’t seen Rupp’s ceiling as far as counting stats, and he could be in for a true breakout in 2017. He improved his HR/FB rate in 2016, with 16.8 percent of his fly balls leaving the park, and he saw an increase in exit velocity, as well. He hit more ground balls last year than he did in previous years, but if he can turn that around back to his career average, the stars could align for at least 25 bombs, and Rupp could turn into a top-10 fantasy catcher.
Rupp also reportedly played through an arm injury much of last season, which mostly affected his work behind the plate throwing out runners. But a guy on an upward trend and fully healthy going into 2017 is a good breakout candidate.
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