Rebound Players, Fantasy Baseball & the New York Yankees

There’s good things about being on the rebound and there is bad things about being on the rebound. Some of the bad things could be you make stupid decisions in life and questionable hookups in search of affection and a feeling of being wanted while some of the good things, as they pertain to baseball and fantasy baseball specifically, is when you can buy low on a player and maximize his value that season. Here are a few rebound hookups that you should actually consider this season if you haven’t already done your draft and if you need the other rebound hookup advice, well I’m probably not the one you need to be talking to. Have fun and enjoy.  

We have a couple members of the New York Yankees who made the list so it only seems fitting that we start there. Both Starlin Castro and Michael Pineda have talent oozing out of their pores but neither had an exceptional 2015 campaign. Both may fall down lower than they should be drafted leaving you with a few diamonds in the rough in the later rounds. Pineda showed complete and utter dominance at times last season and at other times he looked completely lost. Pineda has shown up to camp ready and in shape and it has shown thus far in his pitching and his workouts according to his coaches. He may be the best pitcher on the Yankees staff and many people won’t even know it until you’ve already drafted him. Castro meanwhile struggled in Chicago and was benched as a shortstop due to his defensive concerns but turned things around in the latter part of the season as a second baseman. A change a scenery, a new team and a new position can do wonders for some and Castro may be in line for an offensive spike this season, especially at an offensively anemic position like second base. 

Garrett Richards is likely the ace of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but he definitely did not pitch like it at times last season. Richards finished the 2014 season with a 2.61 ERA and a8.75 K/9 ratio before following that season up last year with a 3.65 ERA and 7.64 K/9. While his 2015 stats were far from terrible he has shown to be a much better pitcher, an ace actually, and he may show those numbers again given some offensive run support in 2016. 

Matt Wieters is in his second year removed from Tommy John surgery and that alone should help. Sure there have been plenty of offensive players to come back without any ill-effects of the surgery a year later but every surgery is different and every recovery is different, especially in such a complicated surgery. Wieters should be much better both offensively and defensively than he was last season and at a position like catcher that is extremely top heavy Wieters could slip into that second tier but still give you first tier production if he’s finally healthy. 

The final piece that could be set for a bounce back season is Jeff Samardzija. Samardzija was pretty much the worst pitcher, stats wise, among qualifying pitchers in 2015 with Chicago but a move to the West Coast should help. Instead of pitching in Chicago the man they call “Shark” will be pitching inside the spacious AT&T Park in San Francisco and should benefit from it. Samardzija will have speed, defense, an actual offense that can score runs and a team that wins the World Series every other year (and this is the “other” year of every other year) behind him giving you huge win and strikeout totals.