Fantasy Baseball Sleepers 2012: Buster Posey & Fallen Stars Who'll Bounce Back
When I look at the preseason fantasy rankings, my only thought is that some good players are going to prove some experts very wrong.
All of these players did struggle in 2011, but are in situations to bounce back and be fantasy studs for you. The best news is that based on their rankings, you can nab these players late in the draft and get high-round production.
All preseason rankings are via ESPN.
Believe me, I know how his season ended last year. I also know that this guy can hit well to all fields, and has power. Also, like anyone else who watched the Giants last year, I saw what happened to the offense when he got hurt and firmly believe that they'll play him at first a lot this year—trying to keep him fresh and reduce the chance of another injury.
With Melky Cabrera and/or Angel Pagan hitting in front of him, and being surrounded by Pablo Sandoval and a pushed Aubrey Huff (contract year, plus Brandon Belt and Brett Pill pushing), Posey will be in an environment to succeed.
Posey is a catcher that can get you around a .300 average, while also contributing about 20 homers, if not more. At that position, you can often get power, but not many have the average to back it up. Posey is one of the more complete options at this position.
Lastly, I don't see the injury hurting Posey long term. If he was a player that relied a lot on speed and steals for fantasy value, I would be singing a different tune. But Posey's game won't be hindered at all, even if he's not quite as fast around the bases.
Dixon's Projections
| Hits | At Bats | Runs | HR | RBI | Steals | Average |
| 166 | 542 | 92 | 24 | 87 | 0 | .306 |
Howard Kendrick: 115th ranked player, eighth ranked second baseman.
Kendrick's average has dipped over the last two seasons, but that is about to change in a big way. I can't imagine a better place to be in a lineup than hitting in front of Albert Pujols, which is where Kendrick will be more often than not.
That will lead to pitchers consistently challenging Kendrick with fastballs over the middle, and there is no way his average won't be good with that. Keep in mind that even over the last two "down years," we're talking about averages of .279 and .285, so there's a solid foundation to build on.
Kendrick will be over .300 this year with plenty of power. Hitting in front of Pujols, his stolen bases will decline, but the rest of the stats will be golden. For such a low-ranked player, this is one of the safer picks that you will come across.
Dixon's Projections
| Hits | At Bats | Runs | HR | RBI | Steals | Average |
| 187 | 605 | 101 | 19 | 84 | 8 | .309 |
Clay Buchholz: 186th ranked player, 56th ranked pitcher.
First of all, any pitcher for the Red Sox is going to bring in a lot of wins. That locks up at least one solid pitching category, which I feel has become somewhat overlooked in the world of sabermetrics.
What makes Buchholz especially valuable is that he's always around the plate, which lowers the WHIP and also the ERA. Yes, every now and again pitchers around the plate get hit hard, but keep in mind that pitchers are successful far more often than even the best hitters (a .300 hitter fails seven out of 10 times), so not walking batters is extremely valuable.
The biggest concern with Buchholz is the injuries, but Boston will keep that on close watch early in the year (if they're smart, anyway). Injuries happen from time to time, especially to pitchers. But I have no reason to believe it will happen in 2012 to Buchholz. He is a must-draft this year.
Dixon's Projections
| Innings Pitched | Hits | Walks | Wins | K | ERA | WHIP |
| 176 | 157 | 64 | 16 | 133 | 3.01 | 1.26 |
