Fantasy Baseball: Oakland Athletics Infielders

Third Base:

Mar 3, 2015; Mesa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics third baseman Brett Lawrie (15) hits a double during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at HoHoKam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Brett Lawrie – Perpetually a sleeper and the poster child for post-hype-sleeper-post-hype-bust players everywhere, Lawrie has a new home and a new fan base to disappoint. After setting the world on fire with a .293/ .373/ .580 triple-slash line in 43 games his rookie year, Lawrie is enticing as he is frustrating. His injury-riddled young career needs to get back on track for him to showcase the talent that once made him one of the games best prospects. Steamer projects a slightly healthier season and 17 home runs, 59 runs, 64 RBI, 6 steals, and a .263/ .322/ .426 triple-slash line. Those numbers are what make him a nice value in the late round of a deep-league draft. However, consider Lawrie slightly more valuable than his stat line might suggest because he is eligible at two thin positions. He is ranked 23rd among second baseman and 24th among third baseman, and 276th overall. With a little optimism and better health than ever before he might crack 20 home runs for the first time in his career and steal double-digit bases, which would make him  quite the player. Only two third baseman stole double-digit bases while swatting 20 or more homers in 2014, and just one second baseman did that. Currently his ADP is 224 and he is owned in 25 percent of ESPN leagues.

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