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Fantasy Baseball 2015: It’s Mike Trout and Then Everyone Else

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By @BPiv_Sports

Mike Trout

Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

It’s 2015, which means pitchers and catchers will soon reports, which means Spring Training is to follow. All of that leads to the beginning of the fantasy baseball season. While you can’t partake in a mock draft just yet, there are many other ways to prepare for your league. One of that ways is knowing which players can provide certain stats and when to draft them. In today’s fantasy baseball, it’s Mike Trout and then everyone else.

The value of the other top players have gotten much closer to Trout, but he is still the No. 1 overall pick. He finished 2014 with a .2887 average, 115 runs scored, 36 home runs, 111 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He is one of the select few who can cover all of the stats and shows no signs of regressing. And if you play in a league that keeps track of fielding, Trout had just three errors (.992 fielding percentage).

Giancarlo Stanton is the closest to replicating Trout’s numbers in 2015. He finished with a .288 average, 89 runs, 37 homers, 105 RBI and 13 bag swipes. He had one more home run and one one-thousandth of a point higher batting average. The six RBI and 26 runs could be the difference between a championship and second place.

There are other players who have similar stats to Stanton, but cannot reach No. 1 status. Jose Bautista rebounded last year with a .286 average, 101 runs, 35 home runs, 103 RBI and six steals. He doesn’t have the speed, but can help out in the power categories. Andrew McCutchen is more of an on-base and speed guy. He had a .314 average, 89 runs, 25 home runs, 83 RBI and 18 steals. McCutchen only had two more steals than Trout, but the biggest difference was in batting average.

If you end up with the first overall pick, there’s no doubt that Trout will be the guy. However, if you don’t, there are plenty of great players that will be available to you in the middle of the round. I didn’t even mention Paul Goldschmidt or Edwin Encarnacion, plus the possibility of a bounce-back year from Miguel Cabrera.

With pitching being crazy deep, you need to grab a top-tier hitter early.

Bill Pivetz is a fantasy sports blogger for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @BPiv_Sports.

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