Byron Buxton is a player every fantasy owner should want

Fantasy owners enter every season with players they desperately want in the draft.

Players, who when taken by someone else, make owners slam their hands on the table and scream obscenities across the room (or at their computers) at the competitors who stole that target from under their noses.

Entering this season, Minnesota’s Byron Buxton should be one of those players being targeted, and enraging you if he lands elsewhere.

At this point, we all know about the talent of Buxton, the second-overall pick in the 2012 draft. We have all heard the hype and story after story about his potential. Though he has struggled at the beginning of his career, Roto Rage believes this is the year he becomes the next fantasy superstar, the must-own commodity everyone will want.

Fantasy owners soured on Buxton last season after he sputtered out of the gate, hitting .216 with five homers, 16 RBIs, 29 runs scored and a .594 OPS over the season’s first 83 games. Many abandoned ship, but those who remained patient were rewarded in the second half, when he hit .300 with 11 homers, 35 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, a .893 OPS and 40 runs scored.

According to Fangraphs, Buxton’s half-season WAR (wins above replacement) total was tied with Aaron Judge for the 15th most valuable player in the game. His strikeout rate decreased, his BaBIP went up more than 70 points, his home-run-to-flyball rate skyrocketed and he hit the ball harder (25 percent line-drive rate). It is a small sample size, but he showed enough to get fantasy owners excited.

Buxton has an average draft position of 60.74, according to Fantasy Alarm (and an average auction price of $21 in 12-team leagues), a bargain for a player with his skills. We’re talking about player who hit .303 with 41 homers, 185 RBIs and 101 stolen bases in 328 minor league games and is just 24 years old, so there is plenty of room to grow. His final two months last season showed the player he can be, and this is the time, while he still is affordable, to go all-in on Buxton.

Here’s a look at some other outfielders to target in your drafts:

Jay Bruce (104.94, $10) has hit a respectable .249 while averaging 28 homers, 84 RBIs and 75 runs over his 10-year career (and those numbers would be better without his miserable 2014 campaign). Draft him with confidence.

Arizona’s injury-prone J.D. Martinez replacement, Steven Souza (121.46, $8), suffered a strained right shoulder Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t draft and stash him. You’ll likely get him at a discount in drafts over the next week, and you’ll be getting a player who may not raise your team average, but should provide 20-plus homers, 70-plus RBIs and double-digit stolen bases.
Nick Castellanos (135.63, $12) is a guaranteed full-timer with multiple position eligibility who likely will hit cleanup for the Tigers. He is in a great spot to build on his impressive 2017 campaign (.272, 26 HR, 101 RBI, 73 R).
Michael Conforto (205.49, $11) might miss as much as the first month of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery, but he has No. 1 outfielder potential and cannot be passed up at his current price.
The Cubs’ Kyle Schwarber (208.14, $12) reportedly lost 20 pounds this offseason, and was hitting .381 with four homers, six RBIs, 11 runs scored, a 1.256 OPS and four stolen bases (he has four stolen bases his entire career) in his first 17 spring training games. Sure, spring training games mean about as much as your neighbor Craig ranking his favorite restaurant bathrooms, but Schwarber was being drafted as a top-100 player last year and is now outside the top 200. He could be a huge steal.
Jackie Bradley Jr. (253.43 $7) of the Red Sox is a streaky hitter who was not only drafted as a top-30 outfielder last year, but is one year removed from hitting .267 with 26 homers, 87 RBIs and scoring 94 runs. Now, he seems to be an afterthought … but he shouldn’t be.
Randal Grichuk’s (263.97, $1) move to Toronto should put his power to good use, as well as give him the consistent playing time he needs to live up to his potential.
Finding 20-20 potential really late in the draft is like finding a talking unicorn that can predict the winning Powerball numbers. Washington’s Michael Taylor (314.89, $8) is your unicorn, even if he strikes out in 31.8 percent of his at-bats.
If Minnesota’s Max Kepler (341.47, $1) could hit lefties (.176, 4 HR, 26 RBI) as well as he does righties (.261, 32 HR, 106 RBIs), he would be an All-Star. For now, he is a solid late-round pick.

Guide to Insanity

Part 5 of 5: The Roto Rage Jarad Wilk ranks outfielders.

Outfielders

Mike TroutGetty Images

1. Mike Trout LAA
2. Giancarlo Stanton NYY
3. Mookie Betts BOS
4. Charlie Blackmon COL
5. Bryce Harper WAS
6. Aaron Judge NYY
7. J.D. Martinez BOS
8. George Springer HOU
9. Christian Yelich MIL
10. Cody Bellinger LAD
11. Starling Marte PIT
12. Justin Upton LAA
13. Marcell Ozuna STL
14. Nelson Cruz SEA
15. Byron Buxton MIN
16. Andrew Benintendi BOS
17. Rhys Hoskins PHI
18. Tommy Pham STL
19. Yoenis Cespedes NYM
20. A.J. Pollock ARI
21. Khris Davis OAK
22. Nick Castellanos DET
23. Lorenzo Cain MIL
24. Marwin Gonzalez HOU
25. Jay Bruce NYM
26. Domingo Santana MIL
27. Andrew McCutchen SF
28. Ryan Braun MIL
29. Billy Hamilton CIN
30. Steven Souza ARI
31. Eddie Rosario MIN
32. Yasiel Puig LAD
33. Kyle Schwarber CHC
34. Adam Jones BAL
35. Ender Inciarte ATL
36. Nomar Mazara TEX
37. Kevin Kiermaier TB
38. Trey Mancini BAL
39. Ian Desmond COL
40. Willie Calhoun TEX
41. Odubel Herrera PHI
42. Adam Eaton WAS
43. Avisail Garcia CWS
44. Mitch Haniger SEA
45. Ronald Acuna ATL
46. Delino DeShields TEX
47. Josh Reddick HOU
48. Brett Gardner NYY
49. Gregory Polanco PIT
50. Jackie Bradley BOS
51. Bradley Zimmer CLE
52. David Peralta ARI
53. Kole Calhoun LAA
54. Shin-Soo Choo TEX
55. Dexter Fowler STL
56. Scott Schebler CIN
57. Manuel Margot SD
58. Mark Trumbo BAL
59. Randal Grichuk TOR
60. Michael Conforto NYM
61. Max Kepler MIN
62. Michael Brantley CLE
63. Aaron Hicks NYY
64. Kevin Pillar TOR
65. Stephen Piscotty OAK
66. Carlos Gonzalez COL
67. Eric Thames MIL
68. Nick Williams PHI
69. Cameron Maybin MIA
70. Michael Taylor WAS
71. Aaron Altherr PHI
72. Adam Duvall CIN
73. Corey Dickerson PIT
74. Melky Cabrera FA
75. Nicky Delmonico CWS
76. Carlos Gomez TB
77. Mallex Smith TB
78. Jorge Soler KC
79. Hunter Renfroe SD
80. Nick Markakis ATL
81. Jose Martinez STL
82. Jason Heyward CHC
83. Matt Kemp LAD
84. Lewis Brinson MIA
85. Hunter Pence SF
86. Denard Span TB
87. Derek Fisher HOU
88. Albert Almora CHC
89. Dustin Fowler OAK
90. Curtis Granderson TOR
91. Jesse Winker CIN
92. Gerardo Parra COL
93. Mikie Mahtook DET
94. Ben Gamel SEA
95. Lonnie Chisenhall CLE
96. Matt Joyce OAK
97. Leonys Martin DET
98. Victor Robles WAS
99. Raimel Tapia COL
100. Joc Pederson LAD
101. Jarrod Dyson ARI
102. Austin Hays BAL
103. David Dahl COL
104. Jose Pirela SD
105. Brandon Nimmo NYM

Team Name of the Week

Mallex-ander Hamilton
Submitted by Brian Liebman