3 Veteran Corner Infielders Worth Targeting in Fantasy Baseball
Steve Pearce, 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
Leagues with daily lineup changes are well suited for guys like Pearce, who are eligible at multiple positions. He played primarily first base last year, but he also saw a fair amount of time at second base and in the outfield. Unfortunately, Pearce was only able to get into 85 games due to hamstring and elbow issues before and after he was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays back to the Baltimore Orioles.
However, last year was still a rebound at the plate for Pearce, who turns 34 in April. Back in 2012. he managed to play for three big-league clubs in one season. He went onto spend the next three years with the Orioles, highlighted by 21 home runs and a .293 batting average in 2014 as a 31-year old. During that career year, Pearce proved to be a lefty-masher with .327 average when he had the platoon advantage against opposing pitchers, 10 points ahead of last year's result against them.
Pearce remains in the American League East to begin his age-34 season, this time with the Toronto Blue Jays. Playing time isn't totally secure, however, especially since the Jays signed Kendrys Morales to serve as the designated hitter, a spot where Jose Bautista should probably be playing after his awkward re-signing.
At second base, Devon Travis has struggled to stay healthy. At first, Justin Smoak is switch hitter, but he is far worse against lefties. Perhaps the best opportunity for steady playing time is in left field, assuming Pearce isn't already ahead of Melvin Upton, who vanished by hitting .196 after being acquired in a midseason trade from the San Diego Padres.
You'll have to keep scrolling down, down, down to find Pearce in the FantasyPros ranks, he's currently outside of the overall top 300 players by nearly ranker, and he's the 219th-ranked hitter. At least one NFBC draft saw Pearce taken outside of the top 500.
Pearce is a useful player, but his fantasy value is going to vary based on the context of your league. He's an ideal late-round pick in a league with daily lineup adjustments since he may not be a regular starter. Players in leagues with a weekly roster lock should look to stream Pearce when the Jays are slated to face a majority of lefties in a given week.
