Phillies Sign Michael Saunders: 2017 Fantasy Impact

The Phillies added a much-needed outfielder by signing veteran Michael Saunders. His 2016 was a tale of two halves. What is his value for this season?

The Philadelphia Phillies are clearly rebuilding. They let go of a lot of older players and gave the younger players the ball to perform for a full season. However, some of the positions take a decline in value because of this. As a result, the Phillies added another bat to the lineup by signing Michael Saunders.

Saunders’ 2016 season was obviously the best of his career. He played in 140 games, the most since 2013. He hit 24 home runs, 57 RBI and .253/.338/.478. Saunders also had three triples, 32 doubles and a 157:59 K:BB ratio.

His numbers were carried by his first-half performance. In the first part of the season, he hit .298 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI. The second half was a big drop-off. He hit .178 with eight homers and 15 RBI. He played in just 58 games to end the season.

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With his first-half performance, he earned his first All-Star game appearance.

The downside with this split is that Saunders is to blame for most of it. His strikeout rate went from 26.7 percent to 30.4 percent. While his walk rate rose too, 9.2 to 12.6 percent, you would hope the strikeout rate doesn’t go up.

In addition, his groundball rate went up almost 10 percent while his flyball rate dropped about two percent.

Saunders will be another year removed from knee surgery. His value will rise if he can stay healthy in Philly. It will help that he won’t have to play 81 games on the turf in Toronto.

If and when the deal is complete, Saunders will slot in right field, taking away the starting job from Aaron Altherr He will partner up with Howie Kendrick in left field and Odubel Herrera in center. I talked about the Phillies fantasy outlook here. The outfield, and lineup as a whole, gets a boost from Saunders’ arrival.

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Many believe Altherr should be starting and the Phillies didn’t need Saunders. From a fantasy perspective, Saunders is a better option. There are plenty of outfielders available to be drafted in leagues. Saunders doesn’t rank inside my top-60 outfielders. Yet, he should be drafted in NL-only or 16-team leagues.