2017 Fantasy Baseball Deep Sleeper: Melky Cabrera

Player: Melky Cabrera

Team: Chicago White Sox

Position:  OF

Current ADP: 260

Positional Rank: 69

The outfield position in fantasy baseball is always pretty deep given the number of players but as you get later in drafts you often find yourself with single category contributors whether it be stolen bases or home runs but it typically comes at the expense of the other categories.  This is where I find a player like Melky Cabrera has the most value. Cabrera last season hit .296 with 70 runs, 14 home runs, 86 RBI and an OPS over .800.  While his 14 home runs are nothing special the 86 RBI, .296 average and .800 OPS are all numbers you would be hard pressed to find from one player at this point.  To compare the chart below shows how Cabrera compares to the other three outfielders that are being taken at nearly identical points in the draft.

Each of the players above all have their perceived flaws.  Dyson is an elite stolen base threat but has never been an everyday player and will be moving to a new team this season where it remains to be seen how he will handle full time at bats.  Curtis Granderson is entering his age 36 season and while he offers the most power upside, his batting average has been a drain on fantasy owners for most of his career.  Like Granderson, Matt Holliday is already 37 years old and will be entering a new league as he joins the Yankees where he is expected to DH but could very well be in a platoon situation.  The veteran outfielder can still reach that 20 home run plateau but the uncertainty in at bats will limit his counting stats.  The safer play of the group is Cabrera in my opinion and he is the best bet to give you solid across the board numbers which is a huge plus.  

Cabrera has also been very consistent with his production over the last three seasons which really solidifies his value.

So what we have here is a player who is averaging a .290 average, a .337 OBP, 74 runs, 14 home runs and 79 RBI that is being drafted in the 21st round in 12-team standard leagues. Cabrera finished last year as the 34th ranked outfielder, ahead of guys like Dexter Fowler, Kole Calhoun, Jacoby Ellsbury and Nomar Mazara who are all being drafted ahead of Cabrera this season by a handful of rounds.

Let’s take a look at the 2017 projection for Melky provided by FanGraphs

As you can see on average FanGraphs projects Cabrera to hit .286 with 70 runs, 13 home runs and 71 RBI with an OPS of .759.  Typically Cabrera has been a player that I have been able to grab off of waivers and it is likely that he again will find himself getting overlooked for some of the up and coming prospects or those single category contributors but for me, I think his across the board production at a relatively high level this late in drafts is the perfect type of player to fill out my roster and somebody that I plan on targeting as I get into the later rounds of my fantasy draft and I think it would be wise for you to do so as well.