Dynasty Fantasy Baseball: 10 Players to Buy Before Opening Day

Stephen Piscotty, OF, Oakland Athletics

Stephen Piscotty is not a young pup. This will be his age-27 season, and we've seen him top 450 plate appearances just once in his career. On top of that, he's coming off of a trainwreck of a season in which he slashed .235/.342/.367, getting himself shipped to the Oakland Athletics in the offseason.

So why, exactly, is he on this list?

Unfortunately for Piscotty, some things infinitely more important than baseball may have had an effect on his 2017 season. His mother was diagnosed with ALS last May. It's hard to imagine trying to play a game while also having that enormous weight on your mind. Piscotty's struggles are not only understable but also logical.

Because Piscotty grew up in the Bay Area, he's now able to live at home and help out around the house. While this certainly won't alleviate all that his mother is dealing with, it seems to be a better setup than having Piscotty out in St. Louis. His play this spring seems to reflect the improved situation.

So far, Piscotty has 47 plate appearances. His strikeout rate is 14.9%, and he's boasting a .295/.340/.523 slash. That's quite the drastic improvement from a 19.7% strikeout rate and a .151/.262/.189 slash last year. If he's more comfortable with his situation now than he was last season, we could see him unlock what made him a desirable dynasty asset in the past.

Entering 2017, Piscotty was the 57th-ranked dynasty player for ESPN's Tristan H. Cockcroft's list. Now, he's 142nd on FantasyPros. It's possible that Piscotty was a bit overvalued to begin with, but this seems to be an overcorrection when you consider the circumstances. His value's in line for a sharp rebound once the season opens.