Dee Gordon: Way Too Early 2016 Projections

That’s it. The 2015 fantasy baseball season is over. Congratulations to those that won their league’s championship, and better luck next year to those that came up short. But the past is the past, and it’s time for us to move on to the 2016 season. Dee Gordon led the league in stolen bases for the second year in a row. With SBs hard to come by early in drafts, what is his value for next season?

The Miami Marlins offense was hit or miss throughout the season. The team ranked 29th in runs scored, home runs, and RBI. There were some bright spots, though. The Marlins were ninth in team hits, fourth in stolen bases and eighth in batting average. With Giancarlo Stanton out for most of the season, it’s obvious why the power numbers were well below the league average.

As for Gordon, in his first season with the Marlins he led the team in hits, stolen bases, and batting average. He finished the season with 202 hits (24 doubles, eight triples and hour home runs), 46 RBI, 58 stolen bases and a .333 batting average. He finished first on the ESPN Player Rater, mostly because stolen bases are weighted more than the others, .26 points ahead of Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Dee Gordon was drafted No. 82 overall in ESPN drafts this season, as the eighth second baseman taken. With his 200/60 potential and high batting average, there are very few second basemen that can do that. Players like Billy Hamilton are just stolen base guys and don’t produce much else for fantasy owners. Dee Gordon, on the other hand, gives you production in three of the five major categories.

Heading into the 2016 season, there is only one second baseman I would rank ahead of Dee Gordon next season. You’ll have to wait until I do my second basemen rankings to find out who it is, but he plays in the AL West.

Stanton will be 100 percent when Opening Day rolls around, and with the production from some of the other young players on the team, the Marlins have a lot of fantasy-relevant batters. As the leadoff hitter in a weak division, Dee Gordon will have a great chance to reach 200 hits again.

Projections: 195 hits, two home runs, 44 RBI, 62 SBs, .325 BA

Draft: 5th round

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