Fantasy Baseball: 9 Spring Training Position Battles With Big Implications

New York Mets' Outfield

Michael Conforto is about to turn 24 years old, he has a career 40.3% hard-hit rate in the majors, and he is a former first-round pick who terrorized pitchers in college.

And he can't even win a job on his own team.

In Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes, and Jay Bruce, the New York Mets have three corner outfielders to fill two spots. Playing in the National League means they've got to squeeze somebody out, and you're not going to have a blue chipper like Conforto sitting on the bench. Roster Resource projects him to start the year in Triple-A, and that would seem to be the most likely destination to start things off.

Conforto's batted-ball profile (he also had a 45.0% fly-ball rate last year) would make him a tremendous fantasy asset if he were to win a job; the same, though, could be said about Bruce.

Despite slushing through a wicked slump after joining the Mets, Bruce finished 2016 with a 38.2% hard-hit rate and 41.0% fly-ball rate, helping him to launch 33 dingers in 589 plate appearances. His strikeout rate was fully acceptable at 21.4%, meaning he shouldn't completely torpedo your team's batting average. He's certainly not as exciting as Conforto, but there's value here for fantasy.

Despite being a solid bet to win a starting job, Bruce's ADP is currently the 178th overall pick, making him the 46th-ranked outfielder. That would be a solid buying price if things turn out as projected, so you'll want to keep an eye on him throughout spring.

The same is true for Conforto, as well. If he's able to push Bruce to the bench, he has the talent to excel against big-league pitching, and his ADP is all the way down at 287.3. Regardless of who winds up winning this job, you're likely going to want to give them a sniff in the later rounds.

Before moving on, it's worth mentioning that Curtis Granderson is another guy flying too far under the radar. Despite hitting 30 home runs with a 36.9% hard-hit rate and 42.1% fly-ball rate last year, his ADP is 248.7, and he's the only player in this group capable of playing a competent center field. Don't overlook him while loading up on shares of Bruce and Conforto.