Fantasy Baseball Profile: When Should You Take Grady Sizemore?

Grady Sizemore is a coveted fantasy player because of his ability to score runs, hit HRs, and steal bases. He battled through a hernia and an elbow injury last year, but still managed to put up a respectable 73 runs, 18 HRs, and 13 SBs in 103 games.

Even with his shortened season he’s averaging 107 runs, 25 HRs, 78 RBI, and 26 SBs over the past five years. He’s struggled at the plate the past two seasons, but his average over that five-year stretch is .276. Not great, but not terrible either when you consider what else he brings to the table.

I know the Indians lineup isn’t what it used to be, but they have some good young talent in Shin-Soo Choo, Matt LaPorta, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Michael Brantley to go along with veterans Jhonny Peralta and Travis Hafner.

The question is, where do you take Sizemore in fantasy drafts? He’s clearly not a first rounder anymore. Not coming off an injury, even if he did shut it down early.

I wouldn’t hesitate to grab him towards the end of the second round. I have him as my fourth ranked outfielder (click to see rankings ), and I like the advantage he gives you in runs and SBs while chipping in with a respectable amount of HRs. All of this is dependent upon his health, but I’m not overly concerned with it. From 2005-2008 he missed just nine games.

Prediction:  .275, 110 runs, 28 HRs, 80 RBI, 35 SBs

Past Profiles
Arizona Diamondbacks:  Brandon Webb
Atlanta Braves: Yunel Escobar
Baltimore Orioles:  Adam Jones
Boston Red Sox:  Clay Buchholz
Chicago Cubs:  Geovany Soto
Chicago White Sox:  Jake Peavy
Cincinnati Reds:  Joey Votto


Originally published at LestersLegends.com .