Royal Sleeper Jorge Soler In The Making

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2017 FANTASY BASEBALL SLEEPER

I have a feeling that 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Jorge Soler is going to explode with the bat in 2017 for the Kansas City Royals.  Soler was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs back on June 30^th, 2012.  He played well in Rookie and A-ball in 2012 and 2013 for the Cubs, but 2014 was his breakout season. Soler played in 62 games in Rookie, AA and AAA ball in 2014 and he was 68 of 200 (.340 avg., 1.132 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 15 homers and 57 RBI.  The Cubs then called up Soler in 2014 for his first taste of the show, and he played in 24 games for the Cubs in which he was 26 of 89 (.292 avg., .903 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 homers and 20 RBI.  He didn’t quite live up to expectations in 2015 for the Cubs when he played in 101 games in which he was 96 of 366 (.262 avg., .723 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 10 homers, 47 RBI and 3 stolen bases.  Soler got squeezed for playing time in 2016 for the Cubs after they signed Jason Heyward to play right field for them.  He also got pushed to the bench due to the emergence of Javier Baez, which allowed Cubs’ manager Joe Maddon to mix and match with his lineups.  Soler played in 86 games for the Cubs last year, and he was 54 of 227 (.238 avg., .769 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 12 homers and 31 RBI.  Soler was done a big favor over the winter when the Chicago Cubs dealt him to the Kansas City Royals for closer Wade Davis!

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Soler will probably be given the starting job in right field for the Kansas City Royals in 2017 and he will likely slot #5 in the lineup between lefty swinging 1B Eric Hosmer and LF Alex Gordon.  If Soler can just stay healthy in 2017 (he missed two months in 2016 due to a hamstring injury), he could easily lead the Royals in both homers and RBI.  He does have one issue on the field, which could hurt his batting average in 2017 as he whiffs a lot.  Soler has struck out 211 times in his first 682 at bats in the show.  That being said, I don’t think the Royals are going to try to change his free-swinging ways too much because of his power potential.  He has 35 doubles, 27 homers and 98 RBI in those same 682 at bats so far in his career.

Soler passes every eye test when you watch him play.  He is a good athlete, and he has big time power. Soler has also proven that he can play on the big stage in October if the Royals make the playoffs.  He has played in 15 games in the post-season so far in his career, and he is 11 of 32 (.344 avg., 1.269 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 5 RBI.  Soler also won’t have to look over his shoulder with the Royals, as Paulo Orlando is his direct backup.

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.@JorgeSoler12 discusses working hard on the field and in the training room to get ready for the 2017 season. #RoyalsST pic.twitter.com/eUfnkZmcs4

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) February 18, 2017

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That isn’t to dog Orlando, as he had a solid 2016 season for the Royals.  Orlando played in 128 games for the Royals last year, and he was 138 of 457 (.302 avg., .734 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 5 homers, 43 RBI and 14 stolen bases.  Orlando is 31 years old now, and he seems more like a #4 outfielder than a threat to any of the Royals’ starting outfielders in 2017.

Soler will start the 2017 season on the 10-day disabled list due to a Grade 1 left oblique strain.  He should be ready to return to action in the middle of April, as his injury is of the mild variety.  So don’t drop him too far down on your fantasy draft list.

Soler is a good play for an American League only Fantasy Draft.  He is not rated very highly in any of the Fantasy Preview magazines that I have looked at so far this year.  In a mixed League Fantasy Draft, I would probably wait until the final rounds to take a flier on him.  That being said, he is one of the best low investment/high reward kind of picks in any Fantasy Draft.  He could easily bang out 30 homers and knock in around 100 runs batting fifth in the Royals’ lineup in 2017.  So take Jorge Soler late in your draft and let him help you win your league!

In Houston:  29-year old righty starting pitcher Collin McHugh will start 2017 on the 10-day disabled list as he has been battling a dead arm so far in spring training!  McHugh was perfect for the Astros in 2014 and 2015, as he started 57 games in which he was a combined 30-16 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.  Last year, though, he got hit pretty hard.  He started 33 games for the Astros last year, and he was 13-10 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  McHugh threw almost as many curveballs (30%) as he did fastballs (36%) last year and that put a lot of stress on his elbow.  He will throw a simulated game this Saturday and if all goes well, a rehab game next week.  He could return in the middle of April, but it’s not a good sign that he is battling a dead arm before the season starts.  A nice little sleeper for the Astros’ rotation is 24-year old righty, Joe Musgrove.  He looked pretty solid in his first taste of the majors for the Astros last year.  He worked in 11 games (10 starts) for the Astros last year and he was 4-4 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  Musgrove pounds the strike zone (only 16 walks in 62 innings) and allows his defense to back him up.

In Cleveland:  29-year old lefty swinging 2B Jason Kipnis is going to start the 2017 season on the 10-day disabled list due to a strained rotator cuff.  Kipnis is going to miss at least the first 3-4 weeks of the 2017 season.  24-year old switch-hitting infielder Jose Ramirez will move from 3B to 2B until Kipnis is ready to return to action.  Ramirez is a natural shortstop so he will have no problem being able to handle 2B defensively.  He had a breakout year with the bat for the Indians last year.  He played in 152 games for the Indians last year and he was 176 of 565 (.312 avg, .825 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 11 homers, 76 RBI and 22 stolen bases.  Ramirez is a nice guy to grab in fantasy leagues because he can help you in all five categories.  The smart money would have been on either Giovanny Urshela or Erik Gonzalez (#9 Indians’ prospect according to Baseball America) to play 3B while Kipnis is out of action.  But, the Indians promoted 25-year old righty swinging Yandy Diaz and he will probably get most of the starts at 3B at the start of the 2017 season for the Tribe.  Diaz played in 121 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Indians last year, and he was a combined 141 of 444 (.318 Avg, .854 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 9 homers, 58 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.  Diaz comes into this season as the Indians’ #11 prospect according to Baseball America.  Diaz could give you average batting help early in the 2017 season until Kipnis takes his starting job at 2B back, moving Ramirez back to 3B.

In Tampa:  When the Tampa Bay Rays dealt lefty starting pitcher Matt Moore to the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline in 2016, they thought they were netting their new starting SS in 26-year old righty swinging Matt Duffy.  Duffy only lasted 21 games for the Rays before going down for the season due to an Achilles injury that required surgery to repair.  He is still having problems with his Achilles, so the Rays are going to treat him with kid gloves.  This opens up the door for 27-year old righty swinging Tim Beckham to start at SS until Duffy is ready to return to action….and that could take a while.  Beckham was the #1 overall pick in the 2008 Amateur Draft by the Rays.  He was picked ahead of Pedro Alvarez (#2), Eric Hosmer (#3) and Buster Posey (C), so the Rays wish they could have a do-over.  Beckham has some decent power for a middle infielder, but he also has a lot of holes in his swing.  Beckham played in 64 games for the Rays last year, and he was 49 of 198 (.247 Avg, .735 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 5 homers, 16 RBI, and 2 stolen bases.  He was sent to the minors for being lazy last year, and the Rays didn’t call him up when rosters expanded in September.  Beckham has now played in 151 games in his first three years with the Rays and he is 97 of 408 (.238 Avg, .720 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 14 homers, 54 RBI, and 5 stolen bases.  Beckham is on thin ice in Tampa, so he better take advantage of this opportunity to show what he can do until Matt Duffy returns to action.