Milwaukee Brewers Sign Lorenzo Cain: Fantasy Impact

In a matter of hours, the Brewers revamped their whole outfield. How will Lorenzo Cain fair with Miller Park being his new home field?

The Milwaukee Brewers just shot to the top of the National League Central rankings with their Thursday afternoon. After trading for Christian Yelich, the front office still felt like they needed something. So, they reached a deal with Lorenzo Cain. With the power already Milwaukee has, Cain brings the speed component to the game. His value will rise in 2018.

The projected Brewers lineup is as follows: Yelich (CF), Cain (RF), Travis Shaw (3B), Ryan Braun (LF), Eric Thames (1B), Orlando Arcia (SS), Stephen Vogt (C) and Jonathan Villar (2B). With the power from Shaw, Braun and Thames, Cain will be in scoring position even at first base. Villar batting that low in the lineup makes for a good “second” top of the order with Yelich and Cain two and three batters behind him, respectively.

Miller Park also favored hitters in 2017. It finished 12th in home runs, 11th in hits and fifth in doubles. I like including doubles because that power sometimes turns into home runs.

More from Fantasy Baseball

After tearing it up in the AL Central, Cain will now run all over the NL Central. In a career-high 155 games, he hit .300 with 15 home runs, 49 RBIs and 86 runs scored. He also stole 26 bases with 100 strikeouts, 54 walks and a .363 on-base percentage.

Cain was a 13th round draft pick in ESPN standard leagues, 121.0 ADP. He finished as the 16th-best outfielder on the Player Rater. He made great improvements at the plate that joining another competitive lineup with help not only him but his teammates around him.

Cain posted a career-best strikeout rate and walk rate with a two percent drop in his groundball rate. He also made harder contact last season when compared to 2016. Cain lowered his swinging strike rate by a full percentage while increasing his contact, Z-Contact and O-Contact rates.

All in all, in his age-31 season, Cain had a career year. The move to Milwaukee will only increase his productivity in 2018.

This move does raise some eyebrows for the current Brewers outfielders. Yelich just got there, so he’s safe. Braun’s contact may be too much to unload so he’s staying. And Cain just signed. Domingo Santana and Keon Broxton are the two odd men out. The Brewers do need pitching so they may be on the trade block.

If you own either of them in dynasty leagues, I would look to trade them to a Braun owner as a deep handcuff. Or, if you think they will be traded and become a starter, hold onto them. This is something to watch leading up to Opening Day.

Next: Manuel Margot fantasy sleeper?

Cain will have yet another valuable season. He turns 32 after the first week of the season. I think a 15 HR/68 RBI/85 R/20 SB/.288 season is possible, and I might be low on the runs scored. FantasyPros had him at No. 85 overall before the move. I think he moves into the top 75 based on the new park and offense around him.

Home/Fantasy Baseball