X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Reviewing Pierre Camus' Bold Predictions for 2017 MLB

Never have I looked forward to writing a season recap so much. I didn't do as well in my fantasy leagues this year, mainly due to lack of time attending to my lineups. Nor did half of these predictions come close to coming true. Sometimes it just takes one thing to make it all worthwhile.

I'll recap each of my preseason 2017 MLB predictions for fantasy baseball and, as usual, I'll save the best for last. This time, I'll just spoil it straight away. 59 HR - I NAILED IT!!!

To add a little extra sweetener to the sugary goodness of my homer pick gone right, I'll include some grandiose gifs and highlights of Mr. Stanton's prolific 2017 season for a little extra emphasis. Enjoy - I know I will!

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Reviewing Pierre's Bold Picks from 2017

1. Jake Arrieta takes home another Cy Young award.

Technically, I was half-right on this one! The first half made it look like Arrieta was done as an ace and maybe even as a starter for the defending World Champs. He pitched to a 4.35 ERA and failed to get out of the fifth inning in five different starts. Being a true competitor, he turned things around after the All-Star break. Once July hit, Arrieta wouldn't allow more than three earned runs in a start the rest of the way and posted a 2.28 second-half ERA. Clearly, his final numbers didn't end up as good as last year's and he was far from Cy Young candidacy, but he showed he still has something left in the tank.

2. The best fantasy player on Milwaukee will be Keon Broxton.

Did I say Keon Broxton? I meant Domingo Santana! Broxton's nickname should be Two Face, because he showed multiple batting profile personalities throughout the season. He started off as poorly as you could imagine, batting .191 with just one homer and 31 K in 68 at-bats in April. The next two months, things turned around with a .267 average, 12 HR, 29 RBI, and 34 R. Then there was July... oh July. Three hits in 15 games (45 AB). After a brief demotion, he came back, raked again for a while and then sucked in September. Bottom line, although he finished with a 20/20 season and scored a fair amount of runs, he batted .220 and was a nightmare to figure out for weekly lineups. Even if Ryan Braun isn't around next year, the Brew Crew has Lewis Brinson and Brett Phillips waiting in the wings to take over. Broxton will need to show serious improvement in plate discipline if he wants to be a starter in that outfield.

3. Danny Duffy strikes out more batters than Chris Sale.

When I made this prediction, I had just finished writing up my article on "Predicting the Top 10 Finishers in Strikeouts" and maybe got a little overzealous. I didn't know how Sale would take to Fenway and the AL East in particular. Pretty good, I guess. Sale very well could be the AL Cy Young winner this season. As far as strikeouts, nobody surpassed him or even came close. Sale was the only pitcher in the majors to break 300 K (308) and finished 43 strikeouts ahead of his closest competitor for the Cy Young, Corey Kluber. Duffy spent some time on the DL, which naturally affected his K totals, but his strikeout rate actually fell this year from 25.7% to 21.4%, or 9.4 K/9 to 8.0 K/9. He's still a fine pitcher and solid mid-rotation fantasy arm when healthy, but he's just not a dominant ace on the mound.

4. Andrew McCutchen will be a top-10 fantasy outfielder.

Now we're talking! I was a bit skeptical of my own pick at the time, but all the peripherals suggested Cutch had the tools to be a fantasy stud still. Much like Arrieta, the first half was not kind and some fantasy owners were outright dropping him! He taught us all not to underestimate the heart of a champion! Yes, I know he's never technically won a championship, but you get the gist.

Cutch went crazy in June, as the switch certainly flipped for him. He won Player of the Month honors by hitting .411, driving in 23 runs, and posting a 17:12 BB:K. He kept the Bucs in the playoff hunt for a while, until the rest of the star-studded outfield fell flat in the second half. It's hard to say what next year will hold for him, but I'd like to think the Pirates know better than to dangle him in trade talks again.

5. Welington Castillo will be a top-five fantasy catcher.

Technically, this was correct as well. If you look at the total numbers, Castillo falls just outside the top 10 fantasy rankings for catchers. But that can largely be attributed to DL stints and the fact he was limited to 341 at-bats. In terms of average production for catchers who played at least half the season, Castillo was eighth overall. He slashed .282/20/53 in just over half a season's worth of playing time. If you paired him up with another decent backstop to fill in those injured periods, you should have easily gotten top-five production from the catcher position.

6. Zack Greinke falls off the map completely and out of the top 40 SP.

Dead wrong. It appears 2016 wasn't the start of a trend, but rather an outlier in a tremendous career. Ageism may have played a part in this, but I wasn't alone in thinking Greinke was on the way to a continued decline. In 2016, his K/BB dipped to 3.7, his WHIP jumped to 1.27 and his ERA to 4.37. Arizona's Chase Field is not the easiest place to pitch either. But Greinke proved us all wrong and enjoyed a Justin Verlander-esque resurgence at the age of 33. It's safe to say he'll be an SP1 going forward.

7. Eugenio Suarez outperforms Javier Baez. By a lot.

Half-right again. This one comes down to ADP value and by that count, Suarez was the better pick by far. I'm still surprised people were taking Baez so much earlier in fantasy drafts when Suarez was barely even drafted in 12-team leagues and produced even more in the power department. Suarez was one of the hottest third baseman in the season's first month and became a waiver wire wonder for a short while. Although he did taper off, he finished with a .260/26/82 season, which makes him a starter in all but the shallowest of leagues. Baez, on the other hand, finished .273/20/73 after a huge August boon. In the first half of the year, Suarez did outperform Baez by a decent amount. In the second half, they were practically even. Although the end results were similar, Suarez wound up being the far better draft-day value.

8. The Rockies will make the playoffs.

This one was easy for me. The Rockies put together a formidable bullpen, had a young stable of hard-throwing starters and already possessed one of the best lineups in the game. They faltered a bit down the stretch, but still managed to clinch a wild card spot. I explained the fantasy significance of this by advising readers to invest in Jon Gray and the bullpen, since drafting pitchers in Colorado is typically seen as counterproductive. Talent supersedes circumstances.

9. The Red Sox won't make the playoffs.

I have a much greater appreciation for the job John Farrell did this year. Although Terry Francona likely will and should win Manager of the Year, Farrell deserves to be the runner-up. Without David Price for much of the year and some struggling offensive stars in his lineup, Farrell still guided his club to 93 wins and an AL East pennant. I foresaw the precipitous declines by Rick Porcello and Steven Wright (who didn't?), but also the offensive shortcomings of Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, and Jackie Bradley Jr. The front office brilliantly filled in the gaps by signing Eduardo Nunez, promoting Rafael Devers, and pulling Doug Fister off the street for some quality starts. Looking over their final stats, I'm still not sure how a team that finished ninth in the AL in batting average and sixth in runs managed to win the AL East, but their league-leading 88 quality starts led by Chris Sale might have something to do with it.

10. Giancarlo Stanton stays healthy, hits 50 homers and leads the league in slugging.

Yes, YES, and YESSS!!!! He actually made this prediction look tame in the end by nearly cracking the 60-homer mark. He would have been the first in the post-steroid era to reach the mark and with just two more he could have sparked massive conversation about who the real home run king is for a single season. Alas, he left us wanting more at just 59, but it still took the baseball world by storm when he went on his massive feat of baseball destruction, starting in June.

Here are some stats to show just how dominant Stanton was in 2017: 59 HR, 132 RBI, .631 SLG, 1.007 OPS, .350 ISO, 10.1 AB/HR, 156 wRC+. He also decided to set the record for fastest exit velocity on a batted ball at 122.2 MPH on the very last day of the regular season just for good measure. If you look at the leaderboard for exit velocity, you shouldn't be surprised to find that he dominates that category, appearing 13 times in the first 32 listings.

Now, let close out this season with a look at some of Stanton's finest moments. Enjoy the offseason and remember, it's never to soon to start prepping for 2018!

 

More 2017 RotoBaller Predictions




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Alex Ovechkin14 mins ago

Scores First Playoff Overtime Goal
Michael Thorbjornsen17 mins ago

Ready To Make Waves In New Orleans
Braden Schneider21 mins ago

Undergoes Shoulder Surgery
Tom Hoge24 mins ago

Ready To Make Some Birdies In New Orleans
Billy Horschel29 mins ago

Has Game To Win Third Zurich Classic
Texas Rangers1 hour ago

Kohl Drake Sharp In Latest Outing
José Castillo1 hour ago

Jose Castillo Makes Season Debut
Jordan Wicks1 hour ago

Optioned To Triple-A
Termarr Johnson1 hour ago

Tallies Two Hits In Return
Zach Dezenzo2 hours ago

Busy In Monday's Victory
Craig Yoho2 hours ago

Allows One Run In MLB Debut
Jackson Chourio2 hours ago

Singles In Loss To Giants
Caleb Durbin2 hours ago

Homers In Loss Monday
Edwin Díaz3 hours ago

Edwin Diaz Earns Save On Monday
Will Vest3 hours ago

Picks Up Save On Monday
Justin Slaten3 hours ago

Picks Up Save On Monday
Otto Lopez3 hours ago

Steals Two Bases Monday
Austin Riley3 hours ago

Drives In Two On Monday
Bryson Stott3 hours ago

Hits Three-Run HR On Monday
José Ramírez3 hours ago

Jose Ramirez Homers, Drives In Four On Monday
Spencer Schwellenbach3 hours ago

Notches Quality Start Vs. Cardinals
Camilo Doval6 hours ago

Earns Third Save
Hunter Brown6 hours ago

Hurls Gem Monday
Francisco Lindor6 hours ago

Launches Two Big Flies On Monday
Sean Murphy6 hours ago

Blasts Three-Run Homer
Agustín Ramírez7 hours ago

Agustin Ramirez Notches Two Hits In MLB Debut
Tennessee Titans8 hours ago

Titans Have Turned Down Offers For No. 1 Overall Pick
9 hours ago

Saints Targeting Jaxson Dart?
Kirk Cousins9 hours ago

Falcons Have Had Trade Discussions Regarding Kirk Cousins
Atlanta Falcons9 hours ago

Falcons Could Take A Tight End On Day 2 Of The Draft
9 hours ago

Steelers Very Interested In Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders
Sam Howell9 hours ago

Seahawks Open To Trading Sam Howell
Las Vegas Raiders10 hours ago

Raiders Not Afraid To Take A Running Back Early In The Draft
NFL10 hours ago

Shavon Revel Expected Back Around The Start Of Training Camp
Aaron Gordon11 hours ago

Cleared For Action
NFL12 hours ago

Josh Simmons May Not Be Cleared Until August
NFL12 hours ago

Jihaad Campbell A Candidate To Start On PUP List
NFL12 hours ago

Mykel Williams Still Hampered By Ankle Injury
NFL13 hours ago

Will Johnson Could Fall In Draft Due To Knee Injury
13 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Could Fall Out Of First Round
13 hours ago

Cam Skattebo Visiting With Lions, Titans
Dallas Cowboys13 hours ago

Cowboys Expected To Pick Up Tyler Smith's Fifth-Year Option
Philadelphia Eagles13 hours ago

Cam Jurgens, Eagles Agree On Four-Year Extension
C.J. Stroud13 hours ago

Expects To Be "Running The Show" In New Offense
J.J. McCarthy14 hours ago

"No Limitations" For J.J. McCarthy
San Francisco 49ers14 hours ago

Fred Warner Could Stay Away From Offseason Program
Ousmane Dieng14 hours ago

Still Out On Tuesday
George Kittle14 hours ago

May Not Take Part In Offseason Workouts
Kevin Love14 hours ago

Remains Away From Team
Brock Purdy14 hours ago

Might Not Participate In Voluntary Workouts
Terry Rozier14 hours ago

Hurts Ankle Monday
Damian Lillard14 hours ago

Officially Listed As Questionable For Game 2
Isaiah Stewart14 hours ago

Ruled Out For Game 2 Against Knicks
Trent Frederic14 hours ago

A Game-Time Call Monday
Leon Draisaitl15 hours ago

Returns To Oilers Lineup For Postseason Opener
Jake Walman15 hours ago

Available For Game 1
Brett Kulak15 hours ago

Ready To Play Monday
Aliaksei Protas15 hours ago

Expected To Return During First-Round Series
Miro Heiskanen15 hours ago

Out On Monday
Ross Colton15 hours ago

Uncertain For Game 2
Gabriel Landeskog15 hours ago

Activated From Injured Reserve
Auston Matthews23 hours ago

Finishes Game 1 With Two Assists
Mitchell Marner24 hours ago

Totals Three Points In Postseason Opener
Matt Boldy24 hours ago

Bags Two Goals In Losing Effort
Brett Howden24 hours ago

Scores Twice In Sunday's Win
Logan Stankoven24 hours ago

Nets Two Goals In Game 1 Victory
Brenden Dillon1 day ago

Makes Early Exit Sunday
Cody Glass1 day ago

Injured In Game 1 Loss
Isaiah Stewart2 days ago

Iffy For Monday Night
Aaron Gordon2 days ago

Listed As Probable For Game 2
Gabriel Vilardi2 days ago

To Remain Out For Game 2
Logan Thompson2 days ago

Could Be An Option Monday
Martin Fehérváry2 days ago

Martin Fehervary Iffy For Game 1
Tanner Jeannot2 days ago

Remains Week-To-Week, Out For Game 1
Jaylen Brown3 days ago

Not Expected To Be Limited On Sunday
Ja Morant3 days ago

Cleared To Play Friday
Brandon Williams3 days ago

Available Against Grizzlies
Anthony Davis3 days ago

Will Play Friday Night
Gary Trent Jr.3 days ago

Available For Game 1 Against Pacers
Taurean Prince4 days ago

Returns To Bucks Lineup Saturday
Isaiah Stewart4 days ago

To Return For Game 1
Ausar Thompson4 days ago

Available For Game 1
Rui Hachimura4 days ago

On Track To Play Saturday
Austin Reaves4 days ago

Ready To Go For Game 1
Luka Dončić4 days ago

Luka Doncic Removed From Injury Report
LeBron James4 days ago

Listed As Probable For Game 1
Ben Sheppard4 days ago

Probable For Saturday's Game 1
Ryan Blaney5 days ago

Bold Strategies Fall Flat, Still Musters A Top-Five Finish At Bristol
Lucas Glover6 days ago

Looks To Rebound After Poor Performance
Daniel Berger6 days ago

Looking To Continue Solid Play At RBC
Sepp Straka6 days ago

Looking To Bounce Back At RBC
Justin Thomas6 days ago

Looking To Shake Off Poor Masters At RBC Heritage
Xander Schauffele6 days ago

Still Looking For Year's First Win At RBC Heritage
Austin Dillon6 days ago

Nabs His First Top-10 Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
Maverick McNealy6 days ago

Is An Intriguing Play At RBC Heritage
Shane Lowry6 days ago

Looks To Shake Off Poor Masters Sunday At RBC Heritage
Will Zalatoris6 days ago

Eyes A Bounce-Back At RBC Heritage
Gary Woodland6 days ago

Could Add Some Surprise At Hilton Head
Sam Burns6 days ago

Hoping For Better Times At RBC Heritage
Sahith Theegala6 days ago

Still Trying To Put It All Together
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF