Undrafted Gold

Looking back on drafts there are always players drafted that make manager’s look brilliant. Then there are players that every manager passed on and turn out to be fantasy studs.  I took a look at some of the best undrafted hitters to date and I was a little stunned to see so many out there. The players I have listed all had ADPs over 300 which made them undrafted in 12 team 25 man rosters. These top 10 undrafted hitters are all now ranked in the top 75 hitters in Fantasy Baseball. Most of these hitters are legit and I see only a small regression coming if any at all. My guess is if you have not plucked one of these players off waivers by now you are probably in the bottom third of your league. Hell, most of these players are still available and with all the injuries to key players out there right now you should nab a couple.

10. Daniel Murphy: The career .291 hitter doesn’t sparkle in any one counting category but he is consistent and makes a great player on your bench with dual eligibility. To date his line is 36/4/26/1 .290 and 69% owned.

9. Evan Gattis: I guarantee he wasn’t drafted in even 1/10 of a percent of all Fantasy Leagues with an ADP of over 800. This is the classic example of taking advantage of an opportunity. If McCann doesn’t go down we never hear of Gattis. He now has a job in LF and still has C eligibility. His line is 23/13/26/0 .270 and 71% owned.

8. Mitch Moreland: A guy that has been around but not your prototypical power hitting 1B that Fantasy managers look to own. I picked him up in one league a month ago to replace Konerko at CI. I have been pleased that he has as many HR as Prince. His line is 27/12/29/0 .288 and 48% owned.

7. Matt Joyce: The quintessential platoon RHP killer. A great player to stream against all righties. His line is 33/10/26/4/ .255 and is 41% owned.

6. James Loney: He was lucky to even land a starting gig this year but has completely outperformed all expectations in Tampa. If anyone on this list will regress I would have to go with Loney. His line is 27/7/32/2 .338 and is 50% owned.

5. Daniel Nava: Just a total breakout season for Nava. He is a big reason why Boston is winning. His line is 35/8//38/0 .293 and is 63% owned.

4. Geraldo Para: He is player I actually drafted in many leagues. When it was clear Eaton would be down for a large part of the season I knew Para would be hitting lead-off and staying in the line-up every day. He is 1 of only 6 OF with over 41 Runs scored this year. His line is 41/5/20/5/.310 and is 59% owned.

3. Matt Carpenter: The best player to own with multi-multi-multi-multi position eligibility. He is a player I completely missed the boat on but wished I hadn’t. He leads all of baseball in Runs scored. His line is 49/5/20/1 .335 and is 87% owned.

2. Josh Donaldson: If he still had C eligibility he may be ranked #1 on this list. He just continues to crush the ball to all fields and hit for a high average. I traded Ryu for him early when I missed out on 3B in one draft. His line is 32/8/37/2/ .330 and is owned in 81% of leagues.

1. Nate McLouth: This was a player 5 years ago I felt could be a perennial 20/20 guy. This is the first year in a while he has an everyday gig and he is doing everything he can to keep it. He is atop of a solid line-up and will continue to put up counting numbers. If he can hit for power like he did in 08’ (23HR) he could be a top 20 player by year’s end. He could finish with a .300 BA and 50 SB.