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Fantasy Baseball 2018: 3 Rookies to draft late

By Bill Pivetz

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 29: Willie Calhoun
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 29: Willie Calhoun /
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With Opening Day just a couple of days away, here are three rookies worth drafting in the later rounds for those last-minute fantasy drafts.

Drafting your fantasy team is not as easy as it may look. Yes, you are just drafting players to fill spots. But there’s so much more. There’s a reason a player is ranked higher than another. You also need the right combination to be competitive in a majority of the stats. One combination you need to monitor is your veteran-to-rookie ratio.

While the veterans have proven themselves over a long period of time. However, there comes a time when that player starts to decline and you need to look to the next generation. That’s where the rookies come in. It may be recency bias but I don’t remember there being a class of rookies as talented as the ones we had last season.

We had Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Andrew Benintendi and Paul DeJong just to name a few. They exploded at the plate for a combined 136 home runs. This year welcomes another great class of rookies waiting for their shot at the big leagues.

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There are guys like Ronald Acuna in Atlanta, Shohei Ohtani in Los Angeles, Victor Robles in Washington and many more. Some will be on an MLB roster on Opening Day and others will start the season in the minors. Those top names will be drafted early, making the risk possibly not worth the reward. Luckily, there are plenty of other rookies you can draft late with just as much upside.

Here are three rookies with low ADPs that will make a fantasy impact this season.

Colin Moran (PIT)

Moran has a 478.0 ADP according to FantasyPros. He joined Pittsburgh as a part of the Gerrit Cole trade. He made appearances for the Astros in 2016 and 2017 but not enough to exceed his rookie eligibility. In his 34 combined at-bats, Moran has a .206 average with one home run, five RBI and four runs. It’s a small sample size.

He’s been making the most of this new opportunity. So far this spring, he has a .346 average with four doubles, six RBI and seven runs scored. Moran is listed as the Pirates starting third baseman and No. 7 hitter. While the Pirates may not be as competitive this season, they still have some talented hitters like Starling Marte, Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco.

Moran is a good option in NL-only leagues and a deep corner infielder in mixed leagues.

Willie Calhoun (TEX)

Calhoun will begin the season in Triple-A. Yet, those in dynasty or deep leagues are drafting Calhoun based on his potential. He has a 292.0 ADP. Based on his minor league numbers, I understand why.

In Triple-A last year, with the Dodgers and Rangers, he hit .300 with 31 home runs, 93 RBI and 80 runs. He also hit 27 doubles and six steals. He has flashes of speed when hitting but doesn’t utilize it while on base, only six steals.

Calhoun will be waiting for a spot to open up in the Rangers outfield. They currently have Nomar Mazara, Delino DeShields and Ryan Rua as the starters. He does have time spent at second base but the Rangers are set there too with Rougned Odor. Calhoun is one of those players that could be called up early and make an impact. Or, without a starting spot, he could stay in the minors for a bit.

Nick Senzel (CIN)

At just 22-years-old, Senzel is the youngest of the three listed. He is another third baseman with a bright future. The Reds may not compete for much in the National League Central but that won’t stop management from evaluating their young talent.

Senzel hasn’t hit above Double-A and that was for just 57 games last season. In that span, he hit .340 with 10 home runs, 34 RBI and 40 runs scored. He also combined for 14 steals between High-A and Double-A.

The Reds have Eugenio Suarez at third base and Jose Peraza at shortstop. According to Rotoworld, however, Reds’ manager Bryan Price told him that he has to be ready to cover anywhere except first base in the event of an injury. That bodes well for his MLB debut this season. Scooter Gennett mans second base and he hasn’t been the most consistent hitter throughout his career.

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All three of this hitters will make an impact one way or another. Moran is MLB ready now. Calhoun and Senzel need a spot to open for them but they hit well enough in spring training so they may not be waiting for long. They have the ability to hit for power and contact while adding a few steals to their resume. You can wait until your final picks to add some young upside to your roster.

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