4 Veteran Middle Infielders Worth Targeting in Fantasy Baseball
Ben Zobrist, 2B, Chicago Cubs
If you don't mind the reduced batting average, Ben Zobrist is basically a slightly older version of Dustin Pedroia. The Chicago Cubs' second baseman has hit between .269 and .276 in each of the last six seasons while his Boston counterpart has posted a batting average over .300 three times in that span. When comparing their average draft positions from the early National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) 15-team contests, Zobrist is going more than 25 spots after Pedroia.
The primary tradeoff between the two when it comes to the counting stats are in runs scored and RBI. Pedroia will likely touch home more frequently as he projects to hit either leadoff or in his customary two spot in a potent Boston Red Sox lineup. Last year, the switch-hitting Zobrist was most often used in the four and five holes. A similar role in 2017 would likely provide ample RBI opportunities when locked into the middle of a relentlessness Cubs lineup.
Where Zobrist could stand to make a most improvements versus a year ago are at home. Only 5 of his 18 home runs came while playing in Wrigley Field, where he also lost 55 points of batting average when compared to his road splits. On the road, Zobrist was nearly a .300 hitter.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo also carried heavy home/road splits last year. Bryant crushed 21 home runs at Wrigley in 2015, while Rizzo still tilted toward the road. So, in addition to (hopefully) some positive regression at home, Zobrist will ideally carry over the improvements he made at the plate last year. Most notable was a spiked career-high walk rate of 15.2 percent, 2.8 percent above his already-sparkling career average. His home-run-to-fly-ball ratio was up more than three percentage points while Zobrist's infield fly-ball rate was down two percentage points.
You aren't going to draft Zobrist to place in your outfield, although the eligibility is a welcome addition. The World Series MVP turns 36 years old at the end of the May and is currently ranked 16th among second basemen, according to the expert consensus ranking on FantasyPros. So it looks like Zobrist is going to offer nice value to those willing to wait on a second baseman.
