Fantasy Baseball: 9 Spring Training Position Battles With Big Implications
New York Yankees' First Baseman
Enough of the sadness. Let's bask in some deliciousness, and we get that from peeping the Yankees' bats at first base and designated hitter.
With the departures of both McCann and Beltran and the retirement of Mark Teixeira, the Yankees had playing time up for grabs. They're re-adding Greg Bird, who missed all of last year due to shoulder surgery, and they signed Matt Holliday and Chris Carter. All of these guys project to get run in one of the best hitters parks in the league, and they all have ADPs after the 265th pick. Hallelujah.
The best part about all of these guys is that they have more than enough pop to have fantasy viability when they're in the lineup. Here are their most recent peripheral stats in the big leagues, with Holliday's and Carter's coming from 2016 and Bird's from 178 plate appearances in 2015.
| Player | Walk Rate | Strikeout Rate | Hard-Hit Rate | Fly-Ball Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Holliday | 8.2% | 16.7% | 38.5% | 35.9% |
| Chris Carter | 11.8% | 32.0% | 40.5% | 48.7% |
| Greg Bird | 10.7% | 29.8% | 44.8% | 51.4% |
Sure, Carter and Bird strikeout a lot, but that could be a boatload of dingers in a spot like Yankee Stadium. There's a lot to like here.
Right now, Roster Resource has Holliday as the every-day designated hitter with Bird and Carter platooning at first. If that winds up happening, then Holliday and Bird will be tremendous late-round targets for power. Because Bird is coming off of a major surgery, though, we'll have to keep tracking this one throughout the spring to see if it winds up as expected. Regardless, you can bet there will be some cheap productivity coming from this lineup once opening day rolls around.
