Fantasy Baseball: 10 Surprises So Far in 2017

Eugenio Suarez, 3B, Cincinnati Reds

Preseason ADP: 273.37

The Start

After spending 85 games with the Detroit Tigers in 2014, Eugenio Suarez has proven to be a useful fantasy commodity -- whether season-long or daily fantasy -- on occasion throughout his two-plus years with the Cincinnati Reds. Despite posting an Isolated Power (ISO) above .160 each of the last two seasons, he still had a lot to prove.

He did hit 21 homers in 2016, but had a negative offensive rating (according to FanGraphs), and posted just a 1.7 fWAR with a 93 wRC+ through 627 plate appearances.

So far in 2017, though, the 25-year-old has taken a significant step forward by slashing .295/.376/.523 with a .227 ISO and 135 wRC+. He's also already matched that fWAR total from last year.

How Sustainable Is it?

Suarez has made significant steps in his plate discipline, which is evidenced by his career-high 10.1% walk rate and career-low 19.5% strikeout rate. He's always had decent numbers in this department, but he's chasing fewer pitches than ever before in favor of swinging more often at ones inside the strike zone.

That's led to some positive results, evidenced by a career-low 8.4% swinging-strike rate and a 35.0% hard-hit rate, which is just a tick above what he did last year (34.9%).

While he could use some more balls in the air instead of on the ground, it looks like he's turning himself into an important player at an already deep position.