Fantasy Baseball 2018: Can you draft Charlie Blackmon second overall?

Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is one of a few players that can help you in all five categories. He should be considered with the second overall pick next year.

Besides growing a magnificent beard, Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon does a few things well on the baseball field. He is fantasy baseball elite, providing great performance in all five offensive categories. Because of that, is he someone you should consider drafting second overall?

Blackmon has spent seven years in Colorado already. It wasn’t until 2014 that he got a starting job and was able to begin his path to fantasy superstardom. In that first full season, Blackmon played 154 games and hit 19 home runs, 72 RBI and .288 with 28 steals.

That is a solid line, but that isn’t what we are now accustomed to from Blackmon. He made huge improvements over the last two seasons with the power numbers while still keeping a good batting average and recording double-digit steals.

This season was the best season of the two-time All-Star’s career. Blackmon played a career-high 159 games and posted a lot more career highs across the board.

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He hit 37 home runs, 104 RBI and .331, all career highs. He also scored 137 runs, stole 14 bases and had a .399 on-base percentage. Blackmon also had 35 doubles and 14 triples. While he hasn’t run as much as he did back in 2015, having 10+ steals to go along with all of those counting stats makes him a top-five hitter.

You may pull out the “Coors Effect” as to why Blackmon has seen so much success, and you’re right, but he also produces away from Colorado. In 81 road games, he hit .276/.337/.447 with 13 home runs, 44 RBI and 56 runs scored.

Blackmon did finish No. 2 on the Player Rater, only 0.33 points behind Jose Altuve. For some reason, he slid to the second round in ESPN leagues this season, 16.2 ADP. There is no way he makes it out of the first round next year. Fantasy owners will debate on picking Altuve or Blackmon with the second pick.

Looking at Altuve’s stats, he had fewer home runs, RBI and runs scored this year. He had a slightly higher batting average at .346 and more steals with 32. Steals are hard to find late in drafts, so drafting Altuve early has its incentives.

However, the possibility for a 40 HR/100 RBI/15 SB/.330 AVG season is very rare for most of the league. I would rather have the extra power and piece together four 15-steal hitters throughout the draft.

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I expect Blackmon to play the full 2018 season in Colorado, despite the early-2017 rumors of a trade. If he does leave, his power projections may drop some but I would still expect a 35-home run season with the rest of the numbers remaining the same (depending on the team he’s traded to).

Until that happens, though, Blackmon is a solid option for the No. 2 pick in 2018 drafts.