It’s time to put up your feet and soak in some meaningful baseball. Spring training is way too long, I think we could all agree, and you’ll now be spending the next six months staring at your fantasy roster, wondering when to tinker and when to hold off, when to make a trade and when to hit the reject button.
With the regular season underway, we’ve compiled a list of players who did enough this spring to earn spots on opening day rosters. In shallow leagues, they fall under the category of "players to monitor" over the first few weeks of the season. If they catch fire, they could even be early waiver pickups.
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Carlos Martinez, RHP, STL
Jaime Garcia’s setback from shoulder surgery opened the door for Martinez to crack the Cardinals’ rotation out of the gate. Martinez has great stuff — we know that — but it’s his inability to command his pitches and get lefties out that’s held him back early in his career.
Against lefties last season, Martinez put up horrid numbers (4.66 K/9, 5.40 BB/9, .849 OPS) but some encouraging news this spring has Martinez working on his changeup to get lefties out, something that’s produced some positive results. He’s also been hitting 98 mph on the gun with the power fastball. The strikeout potential is tempting if he figures out lefties, but unless you’re in a 14-team league or deeper, Martinez should probably be on the waiver wire to start the season.
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Zach McAllister, RHP, CLE
McAllister will begin the year as Cleveland’s fourth starter, and he’s slated to pitch the home opener against the Tigers. The out-of-options right-hander did enough to beat out the likes of Danny Salazar and win a job.
What stood out this spring was the velocity on his fastball, which was sitting around 97 mph. McAllister sat around 91-92 when breaking into the majors in 2011 but while pitching for the Indians out of the bullpen last September, he discovered he could reach another level. Last season saw his strikeouts increase slightly, his walks decrease slightly and his home run rate drop. His 5.23 ERA came at the expense of some iffy defence, as his 3.45 FIP suggests. McAllister could be a nice source of strikeouts and wins at the back of your fantasy rotation.
Jace Peterson, 2B, ATL
Looking for some cheap steals? Peterson could be a nice option after winning the second base job in Atlanta (he’s also third base eligible in Yahoo! leagues). In the minors, he showed he could take a walk, make contact and successfully steal bags (148 swipes in 389 games). Peterson has a chance of sticking at the position all season, with prospect Jose Peraza perhaps being a year away from cracking the roster.
Steamer projections for Peterson forecast 11 steals, 28 runs and a .277 average, but that was before he was named the starter. It looks like Peterson will hit second in a bad Braves lineup but that could elevate his run total to around 65 to go with 15-20 steals and a .280 average. Those numbers would make him a nice deep-league play.
Ryan Rua, OF, TEX
Rua became an interesting AL-only play after manager Jeff Banister handed him the left field job out of spring training. Rua did well in his September callup (.295 average, two home runs, 14 RBI) and could be a sneaky source of 15 home runs to go along with a batting average that won’t kill you (he always made contact in the minors).
The strikeouts are slightly worrying and his defence has been called into question, but if the Rangers decide they’re going to go younger, Rua might have the opportunity to keep this job all season.
Taijuan Walker, RHP, SEA
Of all the players on this list, Walker provides the most upside. Despite numerous trade rumours over the winter, Walker stayed in Seattle and made the Mariners as their fifth starter after posting a 24/4 strikeout-to-walk ratio this spring to go alongside a 0.36 ERA.
Injuries have limited Walker to just 53 big-league innings over the last two seasons but with a plus fastball, filthy off-speed stuff and, most importantly, health, Walker could break out in a big way. Ten-plus wins and 140 strikeouts seem right considering his health concerns, but if Walker sticks all year, those numbers should increase.
