As I did last week with National League players, here are a few American League players that fantasy owners have to be happy with, and are well on their way to exceeded their draft day value.
Chris Archer, SP, TB
Archer has become one of the best pitchers in the American League, and has taken over the role of being the Rays' ace after David Price's departure and Alex Cobb's injury. His 10.85 K/9 is among the top-10 in baseball, and is backed up by a strong 12.2 SwStr%. His 2.12 ERA and 0.99 WHIP have certainly helped fantasy owners, and with an FIP/xFIP of 2.42/2.56, there isn't much reason to expect a lot of regression. He was drafted as the 35th SP on ESPN this year, but should be considered a top-20 pitcher going forward.
Prince Fielder, 1B, TEX
For several years, Fielder was a regular in the first two rounds of fantasy drafts, until this year when he was falling to the 6th or 7th rounds. Even taking Fielder there was a risk after he missed most of last season with a neck injury, but the risk has paid off as Fielder has been more productive than anyone could have expected. His .359 BA is fueled by a career low 11.9% K% and an 84.8% Contact Rate that's almost 4% higher than what he's ever posted before. His .376 BABIP is likely to regress, but if he ends up hitting .310-30-100, his owners will probably be pretty happy.
Dallas Keuchel, SP, HOU
Fantasy owners appear to have been scared off by Keuchel's mediocre strikeout totals from last year, as he was barely drafted within the top 50 SP's on ESPN, and his ADP among SP's on Yahoo was shockingly not even within the top 100, despite finishing 2014 with a 2.93 ERA. But Keuchel has shown again this year that he can succeed without a high K% (although he did strikeout 11 in his last outing). Since the beginning of the 2014 season, he has the highest GB% and lowest Hard% of all qualifiers, and the results have been even better this year, as his 1.76 ERA and 0.91 thus far are among the league's best. I would expect Keuchel to finish with numbers similar to last year, but with more wins, which would make him easily a top-30 fantasy starter.
Steven Souza, OF, TB
Souza has been hot recently as he has homered in each of the last 3 games, bringing his season total to 10 to go along with 7 steals. Souza certainly has strikeout issues as he leads the league with a 37.0% K%, and this has kept his BA well below league average. At the same time, his 12.9 SwStr% is high but not atrocious, so his strikeout rate should regress somewhat, and his 41.9% Hard% should allow him to keep a high BABIP. Regardless, Souza is not likely to help you in the BA category, but any player who can go 20-20 in HR and SB's, which Souza is likely to do (and only 5 players did last year), is very valuable in fantasy, especially if they were picked late in drafts or off the waiver wire.
Stephen Vogt, C, OAK
Vogt is probably the most obvious breakout star so far this year, going from being an undrafted catcher to possibly the best player at his position. His .322 AVG, 11 HR's and 38 RBI through 49 games have no doubt vaulted many fantasy teams to the top of the standings. And it doesn't look like he's slowing down any time soon. His K% is very low, his BB% is very high, and his SwStr% is miniscule. In addition, his Hard% is up, and he's pulling the ball more, which has helped increase his homerun totals. Vogt should probably be viewed as a top-5 catcher moving forward. I believe in Stephen Vogt.
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