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High Fives: Corner infield primer for fantasy baseball drafts

Yahoo Fantasy Baseball '16 is open for business, and MLB's spring action is starting to heat up. With that in mind, Brandon Funston, Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don continue a High Fives diamond tour with a closer look at the corner infield positions. Let's get to it ...

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Top 5 most undervalued corner infielders (based on ADP)

1. Chris Davis, Bal -  Top 20 in '15 going outside top 40 in '16 drafts - '14 struggles stand out as an anomaly over past four seasons

1. Ben Paulsen, Col - His ADP is outside the top-250, and he's the favorite to start against RHPs for Colorado while calling home Coors Field

1. Anthony Rizzo, ChC - Deep lineup, mashes lefties, runs, belongs in universal first round. 

2. Maikel Franco, PhiGoing almost 100 picks later than Sano despite similar profile/projection

2. A.J. Reed, Hou - A strong prospect seemingly getting overlooked



2. Chris Davis, Bal - Been a monster in three of four years, and the one off-season came with obvious excuse 

3. David Ortiz, BosWorries of an age-induced demise for years, yet he's gone 30/100 in each of past three seasons and likely to do it one final time in '16

3. Joey Gallo, Tex - ZiPs projects 27 homers in 128 games. His ADP remains super cheap

 

3. Maikel Franco, Phi - Funston outlined this steal on Monday's pod; he's right on the money  


4.  Adrian Beltre, TexSolid batted ball distance and LineDrive% suggests his decline in '15 was more injury/bad luck related - I'll bet he has one more strong season left in him

4. Ryan Zimmerman, Was - He hit 16 homers and had 73 RBI in 95 games last season. Will be hitting in the middle of a loaded Nationals lineup

4. Daniel Murphy, Was - Covers three positions, should cover four categories too

5. Ryan Zimmerman, WasHis bat was still a weapon in '15 (16 HR in 95 games) - if he stays healthy, he'll turn a tidy profit

5. Matt Adams, Stl - Two years ago he hit 17 home runs in 108 games, and he owns a career .276 batting average. I will always bet on Cardinals players

5. Mike Moustakas, KC - Breakthrough is supported by logical things, but public isn’t buying yet

  [Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 250 | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | OF | SP | RP]

Top 5 most overvalued corner infielders (based on ADP)

1. Prince Fielder, Tex -  Given his HR upside now sits in the low 20s, it makes little sense that he's 2-3 rounds more expensive than Freeman and Hosmer

1. Kyle Seager, Sea - He had a .266-26-74 line last year and is being drafted as a top-100 player. I don't get it

1. Freddie Freeman, Atl - Good luck in that sorry lineup (last in runs, two years running); also has wrist issue mucking things up 

2. Todd Frazier, ChWPrice inflated by a career year, and hard to ignore that .664 OPS in 2nd-half of '15

2. Brandon Belt, SF - I love Belt, but he's injury prone, dealing with the toughest home park for LHBs and will sit for Buster Posey more than owners realize



2. Miguel Sano, Min - When it comes to buzzy sophomores (cough, Schwarber), the public usually can’t help itself

3. Kendrys Morales, KCWith a body-by-Bud and heading into age 33 season, don't have a lot of trust in a repeat of lofty '15

3. David Wright, NYM - I'd put his over/under on games played at 99.5

3.Albert Pujols, Ana - He’s 36 and might not be ready for the season; you can pay up for that double, I won’t 


4.  Pablo Sandoval, BosSays he has nothing to prove after disastrous first season in BOS - sorry, Pablo, but you're so wrong

4. Carlos Santana, Cle - He's hit .231 over the last two years and hasn't scored more than 75 runs since 2011. No longer catcher eligible

4. David Wright, NYM - Even the Mets aren’t hoping for anything close to 162 games; don’t go out of your way to meet headaches

5. David Wright, NYMThe hope is that he'll play 130 games, but that's probably wishful thinking

5. Mark Trumbo, Bal - Maybe he'll bounce back, but it's weird to me he's typically getting drafted ahead of Ryan Zimmerman

5. Joey Votto, Cin - Fine player, but those walks don’t help much (for roto) if the teammates can’t drive you in 

 

Top 5 corner prospects with the greatest fantasy impact potential in '16

1. A.J. Reed, Hou -  Works the count, and hit .340 with 34 HRs in minors last season - HOU 1B spot not exactly locked down at the moment

1. Joey Gallo, Tex - Power potential is huge

1. Joey Gallo, Tex - Ready to clock 35 homers, just a matter of finding a position 

2. Joey Gallo, Tex  Massive power comes with sky-high strikeout rate

2. A.J. Reed, Hou - Hate repeating, but Reed has a real chance of making an impact in 2016


2. A.J. Reed, Hou - Will push Singleton out of the way in short order (unless Tyler White does it first)

3. Josh Bell, Pit  Power has been slow to develop, but he's been an OBP machine in minors and, like Reed, opportunity knocks with his parent club

3. Ryan McMahon, Col - Given Coors Field, fantasy owners will be running to the waiver wire as soon as he gets called up

3. Richie Shaffer, TB - Can fit anywhere but behind the keyboards; Tampa isn't sure what to do with him yet  

4.  Richie Shaffer, TB Hit 30 HRs last season (including 4 in 88 ABs with the Rays) - should be use for his power at 1B (Loney) or DH (Morrison)

4. Josh Bell, Pit - Had a .393 OBP last year in the minors and should make his debut in the bigs this season

4. Josh Bell - Power hasn't developed yet in minors, so Bucs will take their time with development

5. Matt Olson, Oak - Another power/K guy with an opportunity (Yonder Alonso currently tops OAK 1B depth chart)

5. Rafael Devers, Bos - For those in keeper leagues 

5. Rafael Devers, Bos - Top-10 prospect, teenager is a name to know for keeper pools 

 

Top 5 deep sleeper (ADP of 230+) corner infielders

1. Byung-ho Park, Min - 50+ HRs in past two seasons in Korean pro league - could be cheap source of 25-30 HRs

1. Byung-ho Park, Min - ZiPS projects a 27-80-84-6 line, and his ADP is outside the top-235

1. Brock Holt, Bos - Needs an injury, sure, but he can play seven positions 

2. Mark Trumbo, BalLike Park, there's a conceivable path to 25-30 HRs here, especially with home games in Camden bandbox

2. Wil Myers, SD - The former top prospect still has a lot of potential, and Petco has become much more HR friendly for RHB

2. Byung-ho Park, Min - Target Field isn’t so bad for right-handed power 

3. Justin Turner, LADHas owned an upper .800 OPS in two partial seasons in LA - expected to be 100% (knee) in early April

3. Justin Bour, Mia - Had 23 homers over 341 at-bats (with an .845 OPS) against RHP last year 

3. Mike Napoli, Cle - Hopefuly sleep and jaw issues are cleared up; Francona will give him a chance 


4.  Ryan Zimmerman, WasNot yet over-the-hill (31) and showed still plenty of pop (16 HRs in 95 games in '15) - ADP small price to pay for a dice roll on his health

4. Yasmany Tomas, Ari - He's going to be extremely cheap coming off a disappointing rookie campaign

4. Wil Myers, SD - Already in his post-hype period at age 25

5. C.J. Cron, LAA257 ADP as cheap as it gets for a power bat (27 HR in 657 career ABs) that won't kill you in BA (.260 career) and has a near full-time gig

5. Pedro Alvarez, FA - Has averaged 27.8 homers over the past four years in an extreme pitcher's park

5. Nick Castellanos, Det - Showed some growth in second half and it’s a deep lineup 

 

Top 5 most overrated sports movies of all time

1. Hoosiers -  This is Filmmaking 101 - overly long, cheesy action montages, random abrupt scene cuts, no character development outside the uninspiring Gene Hackman - it's cringe-worthy

1. Bull Durham - "Major League" is so much better

1. Jerry Maguire - I'm a Crowe fan but this is mostly mediocre fare, sunk by too much Cruise time 

2. Brian's SongPoignant story of friendship between Bears great Gale Sayers and cancer-stricken teammate gets doused in a Gatorade bucket full of sap

2. The Karate Kid - Honestly this is a really tough category for me

2. Breaking Away - So underrated, it's overrated; story needs cliches and oversimplifications to pedal along 

3. Any Given SundayI'm OK with Oliver Stone, but I prefer to not mix my sports movies with his cynicism

3. Field Of Dreams - I swear I actually like Kevin Costner. I love "Tin Cup"

3. Any Given Sunday - Football is a violent and visceral game, but even at that, Stone goes far over the top 

4.  Million Dollar BabyReally, a Best Picture Oscar? Give me Ray, Sideways or, hell, even The Incredibles instead

4. The Waterboy - Now this is terrible, right?

4. Rudy - Trite, corny, cheesy  

5. Hoop DreamsI get the social importance of the movie, but I found it to be a three-hour yawner - scores at the bottom of the re-watchable scale

5. Bend It Like Beckham - This movie isn't the worst, but "Ladybugs" is way better

5. Kingpin - I know, I am not the target audience