Albert Pujols finished the 2015 season as a top-10 first baseman after a disappointing first month. He will be a sought-after waiver claim when he retuns from surgery.
The Los Angeles Angels offense was not good in 2015, even with two of the best hitters in the game. It takes nine hitters to score runs. One of the team’s, and the game, best hitter is in the prime of his career. The other is in the twilight, but can still be a monster this season. The Machine, also known as Albert Pujols, had another great season and will be ready to do it again when he returns.
In his fourth year in Los Angeles, Pujols had his best fantasy season last year. Despite struggling in April (three HR, nine RBI, .208 average), he finished the season as the No. 8 first baseman on the Player Rater. He finished the season with 40 home runs, 95 RBI and a .244/.307/.480 line in 157 games.
His 40 homers are the most since the 2010 season. He has played in at least 154 games in three of the last four seasons. The average was low, but that’s not the main reason you draft Pujols.
Albert Pujols will turn 36 years old in a couple of days, but you couldn’t tell. He played in his 10th All-Star game and drove in at least 95 RBI in 14 of his 15 seasons. He hit six home runs, 19 RBI and .222 in the final month.
In October, I wrote an article comparing Pujols to another aging first baseman, Mark Teixeira. Tex had a good season in his own right, but at the end I would go with Pujols. He’s been more reliable and more consistent throughout his career. If you want to avoid using an early round pick on a first baseman, you could wait a little before drafting Pujols.
Albert Pujols power returned in 2015. His fly ball rate rose almost seven percent and his HR/FB ratio jumped about four percent. When hitters try to hit for power, they tend to strike out more. However, that wasn’t the case with Pujols. Hi strikeout percentage went up only 0.7 percent.
Unfortunately, he had foot surgery in November, which hurts his draft stock a bit. This will push him down the ranks. I’d draft the pair of C.J. Cron and Pujols to have your bases, or at least first base, covered for the 2016 season.
Next: St. Louis Cardinals Sign Seung-hwan Oh
When drafting Albert Pujols, you are only looking at two numbers, home runs and RBI. The batting average won’t be at .280 levels like it was in 2011. Like I said in my Mike Trout article, unless the offense improves this season, you can’t expect a 100-RBI season. Whenever he is ready to return, Pujols will be at the top of his game.
Projections: 93 hits, 28 home runs, 78 RBI, .255 average
Draft: Round 16