Deciding who the “must-have” fantasy baseball player of the 2018 MLB season is not an easy task. We all have our favorites and we all have our strategies and there are certainly times when the two don’t always mesh. I’m a huge believer in Jonathan Schoop, but to acquire him, you need to invest a top-five pick according to ADP from both the Mock Draft Army and the NFBC. Maybe you don’t subscribe to the theory of position scarcity and prefer to attack pitching and the outfield early. I’m also a big fan of Yoshihisa Hirano and believe he will be the Diamondbacks closer this year, but maybe you prefer to invest early in closers or use those late-round picks for up-and-coming position players. We call these first-world fantasy problems; good ones to have.

But regardless of league style, strategy preference or pre-draft plans, I believe I have someone everyone can and should have shares of this season – New York Yankees 1B Greg Bird.

What? Greg Bird? Really? The guy who hit just .190 with a .288 OBP? That Greg Bird?

The Greg Bird who’s missed like two of the last three seasons because he can’t stay healthy? That guy?

Yes, yes, yes and one more very resounding yes.

First of all, let’s talk about the health. Bird underwent shoulder surgery in 2016 and missed the entire season. It was a bummer, for sure, especially after he previewed his power late in the 2015 season and posted a .268 ISO with nine doubles and 11 homers in 46 games. But the Yankees let him take his time, refused to rush the recovery and basically used the Arizona Fall League as his rehab stint. By the time spring training rolled around in 2017, he was back to mashing again with seven doubles, one triple and eight home runs in just 51 at-bats. If there were any concerns regarding his shoulder strength, they were quickly put to bed.

Unfortunately, Bird suffered an ankle injury late in the spring and tried to play through it early in the 2017 season. His numbers suffered and ultimately, the Yankees opted to take the advice of his doctors and move forward with an exploratory surgery that would wipe out most of the remaining season. But Bird bounced back pretty well, returned to the Yankees lineup in late August and proceeded to mash another four doubles and eight home runs, a .322 ISO, in just 87 at-bats.

Yes, two major injuries in two years is worrisome, but we were saying the exact same thing about Byron Buxton and that dude is going in the fourth or fifth round in most drafts. Bird? His ADP is 166.47 in the Mock Draft Army and 151.98 in the NFBC. Are we really taking on that much risk? I’m not telling you to wait on the first base position for him, but as a corner infielder in the 12th or 13th round? Yes please.

But now let’s move to the more positive side here. Obviously, by the numbers we’ve spouted off here, we know the power is legit. The guy can rake. But the hit tool and the plate discipline are absolutely rock solid as well. Since 2012, the walk rate, at any minor league level, was never lower than 12.8-percent and has not only stayed in double-digits, but improved during his two major stints in the big leagues. At the same time, his strikeout rate has also gotten better. No, we don’t want him fanning close to 25-percent of the time, but the year-to-year improvements are certainly encouraging, especially when you look at his splits from last year and see that, with the ankle injury, the K-rate was just over 30-percent. When he returned late in the season, it was down to 20.4-percent.

You can actually dive into any metrics you want from last year – wOBA, ISO, OPS. None of them show any ill-effects of his injuries. Look at his batted ball data and his contact rates. All of them look delicious. And if you want to talk splits, how about the increased deliciousness of his lefty-on-lefty crime? Remember this moonshot off Andrew Miller in the 2017 playoffs? Bottom line, this is a fantastic hitter who ran into some bad luck and has shown a resilience you can and should appreciate.

Jim Bowden and I have interviewed both General Manager Brian Cashman and new manager Aaron Boone, and each has separately mentioned that, of anyone in the current Yankees lineup, Bird probably has the best hit tool of them all. Comparisons to Joey Votto have actually been in play since he was raking for Double-A Trenton and the numbers certainly back it up.

And what about his place in the lineup? Cashman and Boone both have confirmed Bird as the team’s No. 3 hitter in the lineup. Are you serious? Brett Gardner will lead off, followed by Aaron Judge, Bird, Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius and Gary Sanchez. That’s just insane. Sandwiched between Judge and Stanton is ridiculous and you know he’s going to see plenty of pitches to not just hit, but destroy. Current projections have him between 25 and 30 home runs with 90-plus RBI with a .260ish batting average. Based on what I’ve seen myself and what I’ve heard from others, I’ll go with that home run total but I’m taking the over everywhere else.

Again, if you feel most comfortable grabbing a Paul Goldschmidt, Jose Abreu or even Joey Votto early to lock down some power at first, do it. But when you’re sitting there and the draft is creeping into the middle rounds, do yourself a favor and grab Bird as your corner infielder. It’s picks like this that win fantasy baseball championships.

**UPDATE: March 26 at 6:45pm ET**

Well, the news came down today that Bird will undergo surgery to remove a broken bone spur in his already surgically-repaired ankle and will miss the next 6-to-8 weeks. Obviously this is a crushing blow for those of you who joined me in drafting him...well....everywhere. I'm still a firm believer in him and consider him a must-stash if you have a DL spot, but if you don't. you'll have to drop him for now. Possible replacements at 1B right now include Ryon Healy, Brandon Belt and Logan Morrison. Best of luck to you all.