When we were younger, we believed in the tooth fairy (until you woke up that one time and saw Mom or Dad slipping money under your pillow), Santa Claus (until you caught Mom and Dad placing the presents under the tree or, you know, you were Jewish) or superheroes (until Mom and Dad told you they were only pretend, and jumping off the roof while wearing your blanket as a cape was a bad idea).

If you play fantasy baseball, you believe in trends in a players’ stats. We believe they’re telling us what we need to know in order to draft the right players. We all need something to believe in, so it might as well be the facts.

If you’ve read this column over the past few seasons, you know the Royals’ Mike Moustakas has been a mainstay. He was named the best fantasy bargain of 2015 and the most underrated third-base option entering 2016, which Roto Rage believes would have been true had he not torn his ACL.

Nothing has changed, despite coming off an injury and barely being on anyone’s radar during drafts — with an average draft position of 252.7, according to FantasyPros. Heck, his highest auction price has been $1. That means people are concerned about his right knee, which is understandable but not reason enough to ignore him.

After his 2015 All-Star campaign (.284, 22 HRs, 82 RBIs, .817 OPS), Moustakas hit .240 with seven homers, 13 RBIs, nine walks, a .301 on-base percentage and a .801 OPS in just 27 games last season. His average and OBP are lower than you would want, but it was a small sample size (he had a .214 BaBIP, which indicates he had a lot of bad luck at the plate).

But Moose’s numbers have been trending in the right direction for a while. His contact rate increased from 84.4 in 2014 to 85 percent in 2015 and 86.2 percent last year. During that same time, his strikeout rate dipped (from 14.8 percent in 2014 to 11.5 percent last year), his walk rate got better (from 7 to 8 percent) and his hard-hit rate went up (from 31.7 percent to 37.4 percent). Even his swing percentage went from 48.3 percent in 2014 to 42.1 percent last season.

All these numbers (and there are lots more — like his increased home run, extra-base hit and opposite-field hits percentages) are signs of the 28-year-old being disciplined at the plate. In addition to the stats, he is in a walk year, so Moose will be motivated — not just for financial gain, but to prove the numbers don’t lie and he is what we believe.

He will show a little rust at the beginning (like he has in spring training), but he will come around. He will prove you right for believing in him on draft day.

Here are some other third basemen you can believe in on draft day:

Ryon Healy (202.0 ADP, $2 auction) hit .305 with 13 homers, 37 RBIs and a .861 OPS in just 72 games last season (283 plate appearances) for Oakland — and that doesn’t include the 14 homers, 64 RBIs and .326 average he had across 85 games in the minors. His average may drop a bit (he is a career .295 hitter across all levels), but his power is for real. Draft him with confidence.

Detroit’s Nick Castellanos (265.3, $1) is extremely undervalued. No, he doesn’t walk much and strikes out way too much (403 times over the past three seasons), but he is coming off a season in which he hit career-high marks in average (.285), homers (18), OPS (.827), OBP (.331) and runs scored (54) in just 110 games. He is just 25 years old with plenty of upside, so taking a shot on him late in the draft is not going to hurt your squad in any way.

Jose Reyes (288.0, $1) will be seeing plenty of playing time for the Mets with health concerns over David Wright. The fact he is being drafted so low (if he even is drafted) is mind-boggling. Do not ignore the speedy 33-year-old on draft day.

Draft preview special: Part 3 of 5

The Roto Rage ranks corner infielders. Next week: outfielders

First basemen

1. Paul Goldschmidt         Ari
2. Anthony Rizzo             ChC
3. Joey Votto                   Cin
4. Miguel Cabrera           Det
5. Edwin Encarnacion     Cle
6. Freddie Freeman        Atl
7. Wil Myers*                    SD
8. Daniel Murphy*           Was
9. Jose Abreu                 CWS
10. Chris Davis                 Bal
11. Brandon Belt               SF
12. Hanley Ramirez          Bos
13. Eric Hosmer                KC
14. Matt Carpenter*         StL
15. Adrian Gonzalez        LAD
16. Carlos Santana          Cle
17. Mike Napoli                Tex
18. Albert Pujols              LAA
19. Justin Bour                 Mia
20. Brad Miller*               TB

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Third basemen

1. Kris Bryant*                   ChC
2. Manny Machado*        Bal
3. Nolan Arenado            Col
4. Josh Donaldson          Tor
5. Todd Frazier                CWS
6. Matt Carpenter*           StL
7. Jonathan Villar*            Mil
8. Evan Longoria              TB
9. Kyle Seager                 Sea
10. Anthony Rendon        Was
11. Alex Bregman              Hou
12. Adrian Beltre              Tex
13. Javier Baez*               ChC
14. Maikel Franco             Phi
15. Eduardo Nunez*         SF
16. Justin Turner*              LAD
17. Miguel Sano                Min
18. Jose Ramirez*            Cle
19. Mike Moustakas         KC
20. Ryon Healy                Oak

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* Eligible at multiple positions

Top first-base prospects

1. Cody Bellinger              LAD
2. Josh Bell                       Pit
3. Dominic Smith            NYM
4. Casey Gillaspie            TB
5. Bobby Bradley             Cle

Top third-base prospects

1. Rafael Devers               Bos
2. Nick Senzel                  Cin
3. Yoan Moncada             CWS
4. Yulieski Gurriel            Hou
5. Jeimer Candelario       ChC

All You Can Eaton Buffet