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| Manny Machado (Bal - 3B) |
Offense: SD's offense has steadily progressed to be quite capable. Outfielder Mike Trout is the consensus #1 fantasy player, OF Michael Brantley broke out in a big way last year to finish as the 6th best player in the game, and an off-season trade brought OF in Justin Upton to form an impressive trio though Upton's numbers may fade slightly playing at Petco. Infielders SS Elvis Andrus and 3B Manny Machado will be counted on for a lot this season and must stay healthy to make that a reality. Outfielder Christian Yelich will be someone to watch to see if his power develops and 1B Freddie Freeman is believed to be one of the one of the more consistent bats in the game. The same off-season trade that brought in Upton also netted SD 2B/3B Jonathan Schoop which is a fairly large gamble considering his near .200 batting average. Prospects 3B Maikel Franco had a cup of coffee last season but hopefully can improve and SS Rosell Herrera looks like a worthy keeper. SD will be forced to find a catcher prior to the beginning of the season so catchers like Yasmani Grandal, Jason Castro, Christian Betancourt, Derek Norris, or Russell Martin might be possible additions. This team's offense has a great core but not a lot of depth that will need to be addressed. Still, the quality is there for this offense to be amongst the best in the league if healthy.
Pitching: Once again, SD's biggest weakness is its pitching staff but help may soon be on the way. Ace Stephen Strasberg is on pace to continue his dominance and 2013 NL Cy Young winner Jose Fernandez as well as Matt Moore should return this summer from injury if all goes as planned. In the meantime, SD will lean heavily on its Asian trio of Masahiro Tanaka, Hisashi Iwakuma and Hyun-jin Ryu as well as impressive hurlers Alex Cobb and Chris Tillman. Starter Jesse Hahn and his strikeout ratio make him an intriguing case to watch as will be the dynamic Dylan Bundy, who will be reportedly ready for spring training, and talented starter in-waiting Kevin Gausman. Closer Trevor Rosenthal remains the only pure reliever on the team but does have some questions marks with his late season struggles. Pitching prospects Hunter Harvey, a former top draftee, teen phenom Julio Urias, as well as the fast moving Braden Shipley and Jameson Taillon, who recovering from TJ surgery, should all be in good for the season. Rule-5 pick is a borderline keeper though playing in San Diego can't hurt. So, even though there more question marks on this staff than SD would like, there is a lot to like here in the future. Finding a few closers of the future would do wonders with this team rather than basically forfeit a stat every week.
Draft: With SD's hole at catcher while holding the #6 pick, it might make a lot of sense to target the top catching prospect from last year's draft in C/OF Kyle Schwarber as the polished Indiana University product should move very fast. With SD's remaining selections, look for high-upside picks and potentially some player to help this team's lack of depth.
Prediction:
RD 1: Kyle Schwarber (ChC - C,OF) - Fits team need while continuing drafting high-upside players
RD 2: Touki Toussaint (Ari - SP) - A projectable arm that hits the high 90's out of HS
RD 3: LaTroy Hawkins (Col - RP) - Not a long-term option, but serviceable for some saves
RD 4: Bubba Starling (KC - OF) - Highly projectable, tools, and still very young, potential still there
RD 5: Robbie Erlin (SD - SP) - R5 Keeper
RD 6: Braden Shipley (Ari - SP) - Keeper
Prospect Draft:
RD 1: Franklin Barreto (Oak - SS) - Nice bat and a ton of speed at a valuable position
RD 2: Clint Coulter (Mil - OF,C) - The move to OF doesn't effect his impressive bat
RD 3: Trayce Thompson ChW - OF) - Keeper
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