14 Fantasy baseball players who have excelled despite mostly going undrafted

Josh Bell was named an All-Star for the first time this season. [Image Source: Flickr | Keith Allison]
Josh Bell was named an All-Star for the first time this season. [Image Source: Flickr | Keith Allison]

Tommy La Stella, James McCann, and Mike Minor are among those that have put up surprising numbers.

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As we are around the halfway point of the MLB regular season, let’s take a look at some fantasy baseball surprises.

These are the players who according to Fantasy Pros didn’t have an average preseason overall ranking of 250 or better (250 players are drafted in a 25-round, 10-team league). Fantasy Pros averaged out the average preseason rankings that were provided by a bunch of experts.

Here are the biggest fantasy surprises near the midway point of the season (one at each position other than three outfielders and five starting pitchers). All stats provided are from games played through Sunday, June 30, and star leaders were found at MLB.com. This wasn’t an easy chore, so there are plenty of honorable mentors.

Catcher: Robinson Chirinos (Astros), Omar Narvaez (Mariners), Mitch Garver (Twins), Christian Vazquez (Red Sox)

First base: Dan Vogelbach (Mariners), Howie Kendrick (Nationals), Michael Chavis (Red Sox)

Second base: Brandon Lowe (Rays)

Shortstop: Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres)

Outfield: Shin-Soo Choo (Rangers), Alex Gordon (Royals), Austin Riley (Braves)

Starting pitcher: Brandon Woodruff (Brewers), John Means (Orioles), Yonny Chirinos (Rays)

Closer: Luke Jackson (Braves), Greg Holland (Diamondbacks), Taylor Rogers (Twins)

1

Catcher - James McCann, White Sox

The 29-year-old McCann entered the season with a career .240 average. So the .319 he is hitting thus far was unthinkable entering the year, and he also has nine homers and four steals (previously had two in his career).

2

First base - Josh Bell, Pirates

After a promising 2017 rookie season, Bell saw a sharp decline in his power numbers in 2018. That hasn’t been the case this season, and he ranks first in the majors in RBIs (70), tied for ninth in homers (22), 14th in runs (61), and 23rd in batting average (.301).

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