Nelson Cruz, Baltimore Orioles: Fresh off his 50 game suspension for suspected PED use, Cruz signed a one year $8 million contract with the Orioles. The Orioles may have a bargain for the 2014 season if they can limit Cruz to DH due to his well below average defensive skills. Granted, it is soon to be discovered how much was PED influenced, but Cruz has been one of the better power threats in the league over the past few years. In each year in the majors where he has played at least 100 games Cruz has averaged 27 homeruns a season and was on pace to set a career high with 27 homers in 109 games before being suspended. Cruz has a big tendency to swing and miss but when he makes contact he can do damage evidenced by his .228 career ISO. He will likely hit behind Chris Davis and Adam Jones in the heart of the Orioles lineup which will allow for a lot of RBI chances for Cruz.
Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians: Kipnis may not have the accolades and notoriety of the Robinson Cano's and Dustin Pedroia's if the league, but he is right up in that level with his ability. Kipnis has now turned in two straight seasons of double digit homers and 30+ stolen bases. He ranked fifth in WAR last season despite being a below average defender at the position. Kipnis's average climbed to .284 last season thanks in part to a .345 BABIP, so a slight regression can be expected for 2014. Owners would love for just a couple more of hit 36 double to climb and clear the fence, but this kind of production cannot be complained about.
Drew Pomermanz, Oakland Athletics: Pomermanz, like most pitchers, was not able to reach his full potential at Coors Field but he now moves to the cozy confines of O.Co Coliseum. Pomermanz has been dominant in the minor leagues, posting ridiculous K/9 and K% numbers and in the majors they have mellowed out, but are still solid around a 7.5 K/9. The young lefty has thrown just 136.2 innings in the major leagues with a 5.20 ERA and a 4.53 xFIP, showing the he has been a better pitcher than his traditional statistics would say. If Pomermanz can make the A's rotation, he could be a cheap source of strikeouts but won't kill a fantasy rotation now that he will be pitching away from Coors Field.
Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners: Ackley will primarily be playing left field for the M's this season after the signing of Robinson Cano leaves him without a position. Ackley split time between centerfield and first base at North Carolina and moved from second base to center last year. He will now shift over to left and hope to find his spot there for the future. Ackley, the number two overall pick in 2010, has had an up and down career to this point after blazing through the minors and having a solid rookie season. His OBP and AVG made a slight jump in 2013, albeit at the expense of all his other stats taking a dip. If Ackley can get back to his rookie numbers, as his stats show he is inching that way, he could be of real value having eligibility at both second base and outfield.
Marcus Semien, Chicago White Sox: Semien is an intriguing power/speed prospect who could spend a good portion of 2014 in the Windy City with a good spring. Gordon Beckham has been on a downhill slide ever since his rookie season with the Sox, and Chicago could look to move on from him and Semien could be the guy. He has shown a nice blend of power and speed that is exciting for a middle infielder. In both 2012 (A+) and 2013 (AA) he posted seasons with double digit homers and steals with an average of an .195 ISO. The K% he had in the majors is alarming though at 31.0% while only walking in 1.8% of his at bats. More than likely though is he was in just a little over his head in his debut, as he has never struck out more than 20% in any of his full season stops in the minors.
Cody Asche, Philadelphia Phillies: Asche is the front runner to win the third base job out of spring training and will likely serve as a stopgap between Michael Young and number one prospect Maikel Franco. Asche debuted in 2013, playing 50 games for the Phillies and hitting five homers while hitting just .235. In the minors though Asche proved he is consistent with his contact with an average hovering around .300, mainly though to a high BABIP (.340 or higher in A+, AA, AAA). His K% took a jump to over 20% in AAA and the MLB in 2013 as his competition increased, as he never struck out over in 19% in any of the lower minors. The Fantistics projection puts him at a .271 AVG with double digit homers and a solid stolen base total among third baseman. Unless Franco takes a big jump in his development, Asche should have a hold on the position for the majority of the season.
Trevor Bauer, Cleveland Indians: Bauer opened the season up for the Indians Wednesday, throwing one inning with two walks and a strikeout. Bauer's stuff has never been the question for him thus far in his career, but rather as in his spring deut it is his command that can get the best of him. In 17 major league innings in 2013 Bauer had an 8.47 BB/9 and a 5.41 BB/9 in 121.1 AAA innings. Bauer has always been able to sit down batters via the strikeout with a K/9 over 10 at each stop in the minors while with the Diamondbacks. Albeit the small sample size Bauer had a .234 BAA showing that when he was able to locate he is very tough to hit. Bauer's success will stem from him ability to locate his pitches, mainly the fastball, and allow his devastating curve to do the finishing damage.
Brett Gardner, New York Yankees: Gardner received a hefty payday from the Yankees in the form of a four year $52 million contract. Gardner set a career high for homers with 8 in 2013 but his stolen bases took a huge dive down to just 24 after stealing 47 and 49 in his last two full seasons (2011,2012). His OBP was just .001 points lower than in 2012 and was caught stealing eight times in 2013. It came down to Gardner simply not running as much, whether due to a personal decision or a strategicone. He should leadoff for a top heavy Yankees lineup with the newly added Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann so he should be a great source of runs and steals combined with a solid average in 2014.
Brett Lawrie, Toronto Blue Jays: It seems like Lawrie has been tabbed for a breakout season for each of the past few seasons due to his solid combination of power and speed. If Lawrie can put together a full season 20/20 is not out of the question, which would be great production from a third baseman. In 107 games in 2013 he hit 11 homers and stole 9 bases with 46 RBI. An interesting note is that his HR/FB rate dropped from 17% in 2011 to 9% in 2012-13 and his GB% has jumped significantly since that '11 season. Lawrie also ran into a bit of bad luck in 2013 with a BABIP dropping 30 points from the .310 range to .280.
Chase Headley, San Diego Padres: Headley looks like he will be sidelined for the next 2-3 weeks with a calf injury. Headley was a disappointment for fantasy owners in 2013 after his monster '12 campaign which saw him just go .286/31/115 with 17 stolen bases. His BB% and K% stayed the same from '12-'13 but his ISO dropped 62 points down to .150, which is still higher than most years for him. Compared to every year besides '12 Headley had about what equates to a normal year for him, just shuffling some stats around. Headley seems like a lock for 15-20 homers in '14 with double digit steals and anything more than that is icing on the cake. Depending on where your league values him, he could be a real value in the middle rounds once the top third basemen are off the boards with the off chance he produces like the elites at the position.
Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals: Garcia is headed to seek a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews on his surgically repaired shoulder before deciding his next steps. The results from the initial MRI were not revealed in detail but the results were encouraging for the lefty. Garcia has been nothing but consistent when he has been healthy posting around a 7 K/9 and 2 BB/9 in each season in the majors. Also each year in the majors, he has outperformed his ERA with xFIP's at least 20 points with his best year coming with a .53 point spread in ERA (3.92) and xFIP (3.32). If all comes in clear after his second opinion, he is definitely a fantasy option due to his consistency on the mound.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Miami Marlins: Saltalamacchia bounced around for a few years before finding a home in Boston and he used three solid years to cash in this offseason with the Miami Marlins. Typically Salty was a good power source with a terrible average but he changed that in 2013 with 17 homers and a .273 AVG, 38 points higher than any other season at Fenway. Unfortunately for the backstop, he is to a hitters nightmare where power numbers are taken away from everyone not named Giancarlo Stanton. Only 89 homers were hit at Marlins Park in 2013, which tied with AT&T Park for the lowest total in the majors. It would not be surprising to see his power numbers drop in 2014, but he may find some more gaps in the spacious outfield which could give him a slight average boost.
Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers: The 2012 NL MVP runner up will be fighting to get into the crowed outfield that the Dodgers have at the moment. If healthy, Kemp should be the centerfielder every day and hit in the heart of the lineup but he has had trouble staying healthy the past two season. It looks doubtful that the outfielder will get to play in the games in Australia to open the season as he has still not been cleared by doctors to run on his surgically repaired ankle. He has been taking batting practice though, so at least he is still able to start getting his timing down. Kemp gives fantasy owners one of the top speed/power combinations in the game when he is at the top of his game. Fantistics projects Kemp as a 20/20 guy in 2014, which sounds about right especially if it takes him a little time to get back to full strength.
Johan Santana, Free Agent: Santana threw Tuesday for seven teams as he attempts to make a comeback in June of 2014. Santana evidently was not fully healthy as his fastball reported sat in the high 70's to low 80's range. He underwent shoulder surgery in early 2013 to repair a torn labrum for the second time in his career. Santana in 2012 was an effective pitcher for the Mets before throwing his no hitter and then had a 8.27 ERA for the remainder of the season. It will be interesting to see if Santana can get back to his 2012 velocity and if a team who needs a spark down the stretch will add the lefty to the team.
Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers: It is inevitable that some people will over react to Kershaw's bad first outing in spring training. The reigning Cy Young winner went two innings and allowed five hits at three runs, with some of that coming after Carl Crawford misplayed a line drive in left that was ruled a hit. Kershaw's command was shaky as he missed his spots more than he might have in all of 2013. In the end Kershaw has won two of the past three Cy Young Awards and has won three straight ERA titles. His K/9 has sat in the 8.5-9 range over the past three years and his BB/9 dropped below two last year. Batters are unable to figure out Kershaw as his BAA have dropped each of the past three years, showing the Kershaw is getting better year in and year out.
