Fantasy Baseball: 10 Players Who Surprised Us in 2017
Corey Knebel, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
Preseason ADP: 386.51
Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers was easily the best relief pitcher in the National League this season. There's no debate about that, but who finished right behind him? Well, if we use fWAR as the barometer, Milwaukee Brewers closer Corey Knebel was the closest dude to Jansen (3.5) with a mark of 2.8.
The walk rate set them apart (Jansen posted a 2.7% rate while Knebel checked in at 12.9%), but they were also the only two qualified NL relievers that finished with a strikeout rate north of 40.0%.
Knebel also stranded runners 91.9% of the time -- the second-best rate in the Senior Circuit -- pairing that with a 1.78 ERA, 2.71 SIERA, and 39 saves in 76 innings of work. His 44.7% fly-ball rate allowed was a big increase compared to 2016 (36.7%), but his home-run-to-fly-ball rate only increased from 9.1% to 9.5%.
And if you think he might've struggled at home, you'd actually be wrong -- his 0.86 ERA and .239 wOBA allowed are much better than his marks on the road, which are still pretty darn good (2.91 and .272, respectively). He did outperform his batted-ball profile at Miller Park, though, evidenced by a 42.0% fly-ball rate and 39.0% hard-hit rate allowed in front of the home fans.
But if we go back to the comparison with Jansen, the difference in draft-day price is staggering -- the Dodgers closer was the first reliever off the board prior to Opening Day with an ADP of 45.99. To think that people received similar production (outside of the walks) on someone over 300 picks later is just insane.
