Fantasy Baseball: Will A Move Back To Kansas City Help Melky Cabrera?
By Mike Marteny
Fantasy Baseball: Will A Move Back To Kansas City Help Melky Cabrera?
The Chicago White Sox continued their fire sale moving Melky Cabrera to the Kansas City Royals. Melky hit .305 with a career high 18 homers, a career high 87 RBI, and a career high 20 stolen bases with the Royals back in 2011. That was also his only career 200 hit season. Can he recapture that magic upon his return to Kansas City? First, let’s look at the deal that got him here:
This is a fairly low risk investment for the Royals since the White Sox are footing the bill for most of Cabrera’s remaining salary. They did have to give up one of their better prospects though.
Melky’s return comes at the age of 32, six years removed from that special season with the Royals. Cabrera will bat second in a Royals lineup that is starting to hit their stride in July. The obvious increase in his numbers will come from runs scored and RBI because of the better lineup around him.
If he is available in your league, he is worth adding in all leagues of 12 or more teams. For those of you in standard leagues, you can be selective. If you need help in runs or RBI without taking a hit to your average, Melky is your man. He is a great short-term fill in for those of you feeling the sting of being without George Springer or Matt Kemp.
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The Royals parted with a pair of young pitchers in the deal as the White Sox continue to stockpile young prospects, especially pitching.
A.J. Puckett was the second round pick of the Royals out of Pepperdine last year. He is 9-7 with a 3.90 ERA in 20 starts for class A Wilmington this year. He could ascend through the minors quickly once he gets things figured out. That likely wont happen this year due to the loaded Sox system, but he is still the 25th ranked prospect in a loaded farm system. Puckett was 11th in the KC system. Keep an eye on him over the next couple of years.
Andre Davis is 6-4 with a 4.52 ERA in two levels of A ball this year. He is not as highly touted as Puckett, but the 8th round pick in 2015 could pan out if he trims the walks.
Next: Is Jaime Garcia Better Off In New York Than Minnesota?
Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the rest of the deadline deal breakdowns and our daily DFS picks!