10 Fantasy Baseball Assets to Buy in Dynasty and Keeper Leagues Before Opening Day
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
It's not often you can buy a former blue-chip prospect on the cheap prior to his age-23 season. That's the situation for Byron Buxton, and the chance to invest is right now.
As discussed last week here on numberFire, Buxton has cut his strikeout rate this spring, an indication he may be working to fix the biggest bugaboo in his game. Through 46 plate appearances, that number is at 17.4% -- down from 32.3% last spring -- and it comes with an amped-up 8.7% walk rate. If he can carry that into the regular season, Buxton's fantasy stock could finally take off.
You would have thought that Buxton's scorching September would have made him more expensive entering 2017, but it appears the demons of his past have kept things in check. Despite a recent spike in average draft position, he's still going at an average pick of 180.5 on ESPN right now. You're clearly not getting him anywhere near that price in a dynasty league, but it shows the market hasn't fully adjusted to Buxton's late-season improvements or his spring sauciness.
This is all on top of the fact that Buxton -- like Castellanos -- is moving up in the Minnesota Twins' order.
Paul Molitor says Byron Buxton probably won't be leadoff hitter (or bat 9th) this season. His bat's too valuable. Hit 3rd tonight.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) March 25, 2017
He has hit third in each of their two most recent games, and he hasn't hit lower than fifth the entire spring. It may feel like you're overpaying to go after Buxton now, but if these changes hold over into the regular season, it won't feel that way in a few months.
