Fantasy Baseball: Should You Consider Brian Dozier?

I know the Minnesota Twins don’t exactly inspire confidence in fantasy circles as baseball’s worse team. Even fantasy staples Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau aren’t performing at the levels you’d expect. The only player to truly deliver this year has been Josh Willingham.

Suddenly, there is another player that is producing above expectations. That player is shortstop Brian Dozier. He is riding a six-game hitting streak that saw his average jump from .242 to .279. In fact, he has had a hit in eight of his last nine games and 11 of 14 overall.

The rookie has not been overwhelmed in his first taste of the bigs, sporting a .279-8-2-8-0 line in 61 at-bats. He’s been decent against left-handed pitching (.250 vs. .292 against righties) and on the road (.263 vs. .297 at home).

Dozier has exceeded expectations at every step along the way. He dominated at Southern Miss, hitting .355 with a .917 OPS over his four years. He then hit .305 in his 1,329 minor league at-bats with a .795 OPS.

He really set the stage last year when he hit .318 with a .885 OPS for Double-A New Britain. He also flashed some speed with 11 stolen bases in 311 at-bats.

Dozier had been solid for Triple-A Rochester prior to his call-up hitting .276 with a .716 OPS, which is nearly identical to what he’s produced for the big-league club.

Dozier is owned in less than five percent of fantasy leagues. If he can continue to produce for the Twins, he’s a nice low-end option for deeper leagues.

Also check out:

• Fantasy Feast Closer Report – 5/21/12
• Is Elliot Johnson a Short-term Fix?
• Christian Friedrich Off to a Sizzling Start
• Why Are People Lukewarm on Jonathan Lucroy?
• Should You Buy Low on Matt Moore?