Fantasy Baseball: Phillies’ Ben Revere is a ‘steal’ in fantasy drafts
By Seth Klein
Ben Revere is a good bet to finish near the top of the stolen bases leaderboard (Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports)
Despite GM Ruben Amaro saying there would be a youth movement in Philly, the team only seems to be getting older and older.
After missing nearly half of the 2013 season, Philadelphia Phillies’ center fielder Ben Revere is ready to inject some life and vigor into a lineup that is in desperate need of it.
» Ben Revere, CF (current ADP: #221):
Prior to last season, the Phillies traded Vance Worley to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for speedy outfielder Ben Revere.
Revere returned value immediately for a team looking to shore up their defense and gain some speed on the base paths.
After a slow start (.200 BA, 14 K in April), Revere really turned it on, batting .312 with five stolen bases in 77 May at bats.
As the summer heated up, though, so did Revere.
The pint-size center fielder, who stands a mere 5’9″, began showing off his glove — and his wheels. Catches like the one shown below were becoming common place:
The Phillies really felt like things were moving in the right direction — until injury struck
Revere had been on a tear in June and July, combining to hit .365 with 20 runs scored and 12 SB during the two months.
The breakout fantasy owners were waiting for was quickly snuffed out.
Revere returns this season with a clean bill of health and is ready to pick up where he left off in 2013.
If you’re a fantasy owner looking for power production from the 25-year-old, well then, you’ll need to keep looking — Revere has never hit a home run in his four-year major-league career.
To put that in perspective, 14 pitchers hit at least one home run last season (including Chicago Cubs’ starter Travis Wood, who hit three), something Revere has failed to do in 1,304 at career at bats.
While you can almost guarantee Revere won’t knock many or any balls out of the park, you can also bet he’ll blaze up the base paths atop the Phillies’ seemingly healthy lineup.
If you take his 13-game stint in 2010 out of equation, Revere has averaged 32 stolen bases per season.
With Ryan Howard and Chase Utley entering 2014 healthy, and Domonic Brown coming off a career year, Revere should have plenty of opportunities to steal bases and score runs.
Ben Revere is best suited for roto or NL-only leagues, but he’s the type of player who can singlehandedly launch your team to the top of the stolen base category while not being a detriment to your batting average. I’d rather spend the $3 on Revere than the $6 on new Houston Astros’ center fielder Dexter Fowler, whose OPS is .186 lower away from Coors Field.
2014 Projections: .301/.335/.342, 1 HR, 46 RBI, 75 R, 44 SB
» Missed any of my earlier picks? Please click here for links to all the sleepers I’ve have covered from each team so far.