Charlie Blackmon: 2015 Most Valuable Fantasy Hitter
By Bill Pivetz
I wrote about the least valuable hitter on Thursday. This article is about the hitter that gave you the most value late in drafts. The Colorado Rockies had two players finish in the top 10 on the ESPN Player Rater among hitters. One was a top 70 pick, the other was drafted in the 14th round. The latter was Charlie Blackmon and is my most valuable hitter this season.
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In my opinion, Blackmon had his breakout season in 2014. After hitting a combined nine home runs and 39 RBI in his first 151 games, he hit 19 homers and 72 RBI with a .288 batting average in 154 games last year. Despite the great performance, fantasy owners still were down on Blackmon heading into this season.
According to ESPN’s Live Draft Results page, Blackmon had an ADP of 136.2, 14th round, as the 33rd outfielder. I understand why his draft position was low, outfield is deep while other positions are not. The numbers he put up in 2014 should have made him a top-20 outfielder in drafts. In the site’s league, he was taken at the end of the eighth round as the 31st outfielder.
Owners who were able to draft Blackmon after the 10th round were rewarded with a top-10 hitter at the end of the season.
Charlie Blackmon played in 157 games this season. He hit 17 home runs and 58 RBI with a .287 batting average. While the power numbers are down from 2014, there is one stat that almost doubled. Stolen bases. He stole 28 last year and 43 this season. That combination of power and speed, 20/40 potential, is hard to find late in drafts.
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If you look into the sabremetrics of Blackmon’s numbers, he made some great improvements at the plate. His line drive rate went up about three percent while his ground ball rate dropped and fly ball rate stayed the same. Blackmon’s medium and hard contact percentages both went up two and four percent, respectively, and his soft hit rate dropped six percent.
Charlie Blackmon finished as the No. 9 hitter on the Player Rater, about .40 points ahead of teammate Nolan Arenado, an eighth round pick. He also finished in front of Nelson Cruz, Anthony Rizzo and Jose Bautista among others.
While there was a lot of competition for this award (looking at you A.J. Pollock), Charlie Blackmon finished with the most value in fantasy leagues.