Over the past two weeks of the season, fantasy teams in keeper leagues can drop their useless middle-of the-road performers and scoop up sleeper keepers — players who aren’t hot prospects but have bright times ahead, in 2016 and beyond.
Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards (formerly known as C.J.) is the poster child for sleeper keepers. A successful starter over his first three minor league seasons (1.97 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 11.1 K/9), the Cubs stuck Edwards in the bullpen this season to help preserve his arm, and he produced a 2.77 ERA, striking out 75 batters over 55 ¹/₃ innings. A September call-up, his MLB performance so far has been flat — two runs allowed in two innings — but Edwards can be a huge factor in 2016, either transitioning back to starter and joining the rotation, or solidifying what has been a relatively volatile closer role for Chicago in 2015.
Blue Jays prospect Rowdy Tellez is more of a long-term play. The 20-year-old first baseman hasn’t made any top prospect lists or garnered much attention, but he has a big bat that is developing at a nice pace. This season, Tellez hit .289 with 14 home runs and five steals in 103 games between Class-A and High-A. This was after hitting .305 with six home runs in 65 games last year. Tellez did up his strikeout rate a little this season, but he is young, has power and could be an impact bat in 2017. Now would be the time to get him, before he starts to pop up on MLB.com or Baseball America top prospect lists this winter.
Two more quick names to consider: The Astros’ Matt Duffy (not the Giants’ version) hit .294 this season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League — with 20 home runs, 29 doubles, and four steals. He has hit 16 or more home runs in four straight seasons. And Rays prospect Richie Shaffer, who hit just .196 with Tampa Bay this season, has some nice power in his bat and could open 2016 as the team’s starting first baseman.
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