Fantasy Baseball 2018: Is Greg Bird ranked too highly?

Yankees first baseman Greg Bird has shown flashes of what he could be in his limited playing time. But should he be ranked as high as he is for 2018?

We all know about the New York Yankees’ young group of players. We saw them exceed their expectations by a wide margin. Some players excelled this season, others were a letdown. So, why is first baseman Greg Bird ranked as highly as he is?

Bird missed all of 2016 season as he recovered from surgery to repair a torn right shoulder labrum. Things were looking good as he would have competed for the starting first baseman job. He was ready to get back into the starting lineup for 2017 but another injury sidelined him.

Bird fouled a ball off his foot in a Grapefruit League games on May 1. He played a few more games before being shut down until he returned on Aug. 26.

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In his 48 games with the Yankees to end the 2017 season, Bird hit .190/.288/.422 with nine home runs, 28 RBI and 20 runs scored. He also struck out 42 times while drawing 19 walks. Unless you played in of AL-only leagues, he wasn’t worth owning.

Bird posted a 24.7 strikeout rate and 11.2 walk rate with the Yankees this year. Those were better than his numbers two years ago but still not where they should be for a perennial top-10 first baseman.

Bird was drafted by the Yankees back in 2011. He displayed great power and plate discipline as he moved his way through the farm system. Bird hit well in 34 Triple-A games in 2015 before receiving the call to fill in for Mark Teixeira over the final month and a half.

In his first 46 games, Bird hit .261 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI. He also had 53 strikeouts, 19 walks and a .343 on-base percentage. The strikeout and walk rates were well below his average from the minors. Many thought he was going to be a bust but, unfortunately, there is still time for that. The Yankees have been heavily rumored to be in the market for a first baseman.

Both ESPN and FantasyPros currently have Bird inside their top-130 over and No. 19 first baseman. With the lack of playing time and injury-prone label. I don’t feel comfortable drafting Bird in Round 13 at the latest. He should easily fall to the late-teen rounds, if not Round 20.

He has the power potential, but the lack of contact hurts his value. There are enough batters that can hit for power, and a lot of them are first basemen. Actually, there were 26 first basemen that hit at least 20 home runs, most of whom have great fantasy value in 2018.

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Coming in as the 19th-best first baseman is high enough for Bird in standard leagues. He will likely be drafted as a corner infielder or bench option if he’s drafted at all. However, being a top-130 pick is outrageous. If you want him, you should expect a 25 HR/.250 AVG season with a 22.0 percent strikeout rate. I could do without that on my team.

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