Blog Archives
Nolan Arenado’s Bat Is Incredible, But His Glove Is Legend… Wait For It… DARY!
Sorry for the “How I Met Your Mother” quote in the title, but I couldn’t resist. At this moment in time, I believe we are witnessing one of the best defensive third baseman to play the game of baseball. At the age of 25, Nolan Arenado has received the National League Gold Glove Award in his first three seasons in the big leagues. He also won his first Fielding Bible in 2015, which means he was voted the best fielding third baseman in the entire Major Leagues, not just the National League. As you can see, he has been racking up the fielding accolades since he was promoted by the Rockies in 2013, but let’s take a look at his numbers.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/23/16
P- Madison Bumgarner (vs. Los Angeles Dodgers): $13,100. Bumgarner has been a beast all season long in daily fantasy. Over his last three starts, he has a 2-1 record, 21 strikeouts, and a 2.25 ERA in 20 inning pitched. During his career, he has shown plenty of success against the Dodgers at their home stadium. He currently owns a 8-5 record to go along with a 2.40 ERA at Dodger Stadium.
P- Anibal Sanchez (vs. Minnesota Twins): $6,900. Sanchez is coming off a start which he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. In 124 career at bats against Sanchez, the Twins’ lineup is batting .242, with one home run, and a .291 OBP. Over the last seven days, the Twins offense is ranked last in OPS and slugging.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/22/16
P- Jon Lester (vs. San Diego Padres): $12,500. Just to warn you, Monday could be a brutal day for pitching match-ups. Some of the top tier starters who find themselves on the bump have been struggling recently (Strasburg and Carrasco specifically). Lester has been very consistent this season though and he is facing a pretty mediocre offense. Over his last three starts, he has a 2-0 record, 2.29 ERA, and 21 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched. Over the last seven days, San Diego has the worst OPS in baseball.
P- Zack Godley (vs. Atlanta Braves): $5,500. Like I said, the pitching match-ups are brutal, so I’ve decided to start a pitcher just based off of his opposing team. The Braves offense has been brutal all year long and they have been exceptionally bad over the last seven days with a .236/.305/.380 slash line. Godley hasn’t been spectacular this year, but he is coming off a very good start his last time out against the Mets. He went 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits. This cheap play really opens up the rest of the offensive picks.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/21/16
P- Jose Quintana (vs. Oakland A’s): $9,900. Unfortunately for Quintana, his team doesn’t give him much run support, which doesn’t lead to a lot of wins. Of course that isn’t great for DraftKings scoring, but he has still been dominant on the mound. He has made six straight quality starts, which is obviously a great sign for Sunday. In 68 career at bats against Quintana, the A’s lineup is batting .162, with 21 strikeouts, and a .239 OBP.
P- Julio Urias (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $5,600. This is a high risk, high reward pick for Saturday. If you are looking for a safer pick, take a look at someone like Ervin Santana (more expensive option) or Matt Garza (cheaper option). Cincinnati’s offense has struggled against left-handed pitching this year (ranked 26th in OPS, 26th in slugging, 30th in OBP, and 28th in batting average). Their offense has also struggled over the last seven days. If Urias can put up six or seven innings of work, his strikeout potential could make for a huge game in daily fantasy.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/20/16
P- Max Scherzer (vs. Atlanta Braves): $13,600. Everyday is a good day to start Max Scherzer, unless he isn’t starting of course. In 162 career at bats against Scherzer, the Braves’ lineup is batting .204, with a .267 OBP, and a .358 slugging percentage. As you can tell by the numbers, they have not faired well against this righty. Over the last seven days the Braves’ offense has a .717 OPS, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball.
P- Matt Moore (vs. New York Mets): $8,400. Over his last 13 starts, Moore has gone at least six innings, which is great for any daily fantasy league. Over the last seven days, the Mets have a .740 OPS, which ranks 24th in Major League Baseball. They also rank in the bottom third of the league in almost every offensive category against left-handed pitchers in 2016. The Mets have struggled offensively all year long, so hopefully that continues against Moore on Saturday.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/19/16
P- Tanner Roark (vs. Atlanta Braves): $10,600. In nine career starts against Atlanta, Tanner Roark has a 1.77 ERA. In fact, his last start was against the Braves, where he went seven innings giving up five hits, one earned run, and he struck out three. In his two starts against Atlanta this year, Roark has given up one earned run in 14 innings pitched.
P- Adam Wainwright (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): $6,600. This pick does scare me a bit, but I’m going to stick with it. Over Wainwright’s last two starts, he has not been effective at all. Luckily, the Cardinals are giving Wainwright an extra two days of rest because he believes he has found the issue in his windup. This pick is risky, but the other options that are affordable are very risky as well.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/18/16
P- Hisashi Iwakuma (vs. Los Angeles Angels): $9,300. Iwakuma has shown great career success against the Angels in over 150 plate appearances. The Angels offense is also struggling over the last week, which should help Iwakuma. Iwakuma has won three straight starts.
P- Joe Musgrove (vs. Los Angeles Angels): $7,000. Musgrove does a fantastic job of keeping the baseball in the ballpark. The Orioles’ bats have been ice cold and they only seem to score runs on home runs. Hopefully Musgrove can have another great start.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/17/16
P- Homer Bailey (vs. Miami Marlins): $8,900. Bailey looked really good in his last start. He went six innings, giving up three hits, one walk, and 11 strikeouts. He will be facing the Marlins on Wednesday, who just recently lost Giancarlo Stanton for the year. Over the last seven games, the Marlins have a .686 OPS, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball.
P- Yordano Ventura (vs. Detroit Tigers): $7,800. In his three starts against the Detroit Tigers in 2016, Ventura has put up 15.85, 24.65, and 18.35 points in DraftKings. He has also not allowed more than three runs in a start since July 3rd. In his last three starts, he has a 2-0 record, 2.89 ERA, and 15 strikeouts. Over the last seven games, Detroit has a .693 OPS, which ranks 24th in Major League Baseball.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/16/16
P- James Paxton (vs. Los Angeles Angels): $9,400. Over Paxton’s last four starts, he has a 1.59 ERA. Unfortunately, is last time out he was hit in the elbow, and he hasn’t pitched since. Luckily he is coming back on Tuesday against a team he has dominated throughout his career. In seven starts against the Angels, he has a 3-2 record and a 2.17 ERA. Keep an eye on his injury status heading into this game just in case he doesn’t start.
P- Ervin Santana (vs. Atlanta Braves): $9,000. Over Santana’s last three starts, he has a 2-1 record, 2.11 ERA, and 18 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. In 185 career at bats against Santana, the Braves’ lineup is batting .222, with a .243 OBP, and 37 strikeouts. The Braves offense has struggled this year, so hopefully Santana’s recent success can shut them down.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/15/16
P- Drew Smyly (vs. San Diego Padres): $9,000. The slate for pitchers is very weak for Monday. With that said, I’ve decided to go cheap on pitching and hope for the best. Smyly has been very good recently. He has thrown four straight quality starts, with a 2-0 record, and a 2.52 ERA. Over the last seven days, the Padres have a .669 OPS, which ranks 27th in Major League Baseball.
P- Bartolo Colon (vs. Arizona Diamondbacks): $6,800. This play doesn’t excite me, but hopefully Colon can repeat his performance from Wednesday. In his last start, he faced the Diamondbacks, and he did quite well. Over seven innings of work, he gave up one run, and struck out eight batters. At only $6,800, he provides the rest of the lineup with a great amount of cash.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/14/16
P- Jake Odorizzi (vs. New York Yankees): $8,200. Odorizzi entered his last start with a 20.2 inning scoreless streak. Unfortunately, he lost that streak, but he still pitched decent. In his last three starts, he is 2-0, with a 1.00 ERA, and 15 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched. In two starts against the Yankees in 2016, he has a 1-1 record, 1.12 ERA, and 11 strikeouts.
P- Tom Koehler (vs. Chicago White Sox): $8,600. Koehler has been lights out recently. Over his last three starts, he has a 2-0 record, 0.47 ERA, and 18 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched. With that said, he is going up against a pretty weak Chicago White Sox lineup. Over the last seven days, the White Sox have a .695 OPS, which ranks 20th in Major League Baseball.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/13/16
P- Tyler Anderson (Philadelphia Phillies): $9,500. Anderson is coming off a very strong start, which he gave up one run, on two hits, and five strikeouts over seven innings pitched against Rangers. Over his last three starts, he has given up a total of four runs (1.80 ERA) with 16 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. Philadelphia has the worst OPS and OBP against left-handed pitching this season, which is clearly favorable for Anderson.
P- Zach Davies (v. Cincinnati Reds): $7,600. Davies has faced Cincinnati twice this season, which has has done quite well in those starts. In 12.2 innings, he has given up only two earned runs to the Reds. Over his last three starts, he has a 2-0 record, 3.32 ERA, and 12 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/12/16
P- Stephen Strasburg (vs. Atlanta Braves): $12,400. In two starts against Atlanta this year, Strasburg owns a 1.98 ERA. He is 15-2 on the year, with a 2.80 ERA, and 169 strikeouts. He is putting up a Cy Young caliber season and the Braves won’t stand in his way on Friday.
P- Joe Musgrove (vs. Toronto Blue Jays): $8,300. As many of my readers well know, I am quite a fan of Joe Musgrove. He is incredibly efficient on the mound, issues very few walks, and has an above average strikeout rate. Over the last seven games, the Blue Jays have struck out 70 times (4th worst in baseball) and have a .686 OPS (ranked 19th in baseball).
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/11/16
P- Jameson Taillon (vs. San Diego Padres): $8,600. Taillon has been the definition of consistent. Over his last five starts, he has thrown exactly six innings, with a 2.40 ERA, and 28 strikeouts. Each one of those outings led to a quality start. He will be facing the Padres on Thursday, who doesn’t have a very impressive lineup.
P- Matt Garza (vs. Atlanta Braves): $5,700. In 120 career at bats against Garza, the Braves’ lineup is batting .217, with a .280 OBP, and a .331 slugging percentage. Garza has been very effective in his last three starts, which is a great sign for hopeful success against the Braves on Thursday. Over those starts, he is 2-0, with a 3.12 ERA, and 10 strikeouts.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/10/16
P- Jose Quintana (vs. Kansas City Royals): $10,300. Over his last three starts, Quintana has a 1-0 record, with a 1.74 ERA, and 16 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched. He is one win away from his 10th win, so he should be amped to succeed. Over the last 10 games, the Royals rank 26th in OPS with .654, so clearly they are struggling offensively. Quintana should have no problem taking care of business on Wednesday.
P- Jason Hammel (vs. Los Angeles Angels): $8,000. In 66 career at bats against Hammel, the Angels’ offense is batting .212, with two XBH, and a .286 OBP. Over Hammel’s last 21 starts, he has given up one or zero runs in 10 of those starts. He is also very effective at home this season, which is a plus for Wednesday night.
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Who Are Some Of The Most Underrated Players In Major League Baseball In 2016?
Underrated ball players are those who continue to create opportunities for their organization to win, but they don’t get the credit they deserve. Today I will be covering some of the top unsung heroes of the 2016 season. Before jumping into the analysis, let me tell you how I discovered these hidden gems.
After researching some sabermetrics articles, I decided to develop a statistic that I could use to determine the players that are creating the most offensive opportunities for their team to win. This statistic is basically a more simplistic form of the “runs created” formula established by Bill James. You can see my run opportunities formula (it will now be referred to as “ROF”) and underrated players below:
Run Opportunities Formula= (Total Bases+Walks-Strikeouts+Stolen Bases-Caught Stealing Attempts+Sacrifice Flies+Sacrifice Bunts)/Plate Appearances
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/8/16
P- Jake Odorizzi (vs. Toronto Blue Jays): $9,900. In 99 career at bats against Odorizzi, the Blue Jays’ offense is batting .141, with a .274 OBP, and a .341 slugging percentage. This includes a .053 batting average from Jose Bautista, .214 from Josh Donaldson, .091 from Edwin Encarnacion, .083 from Russell Martin, and a .143 batting average from Troy Tulowitzki. Not only have the Jays struggled against Odorizzi, but they have also struggled over the last seven games, with a .201/.276/.370 slash line. Odorizzi has not allowed a run in 20.2 consecutive innings, so clearly he is on a roll.
P- Zach Davies (vs. Atlanta Braves): $8,600. Davies has been incredibly consistent over his last few starts. He has won his past three starts and holds a 2.45 ERA in that time span. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs since June and he owns a 1.97 ERA over that stretch of starts. The Braves’ offense isn’t overpowering, so Davies should be able to take care of business.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/7/16
P- Gerrit Cole (vs. Cincinnati Reds): $9,200. Cole has been on fire recently. Over his last three starts, he has only given up one earned run in each start. During that time, hitters are only batting .219 against Cole. The Reds’ offense has been pretty lackluster in 2016, so Cole should be able to take care of business.
P- Adam Wainwright (vs. Atlanta Braves): $8,000. Over Wainwright’s last six starts, he has a 1.99 ERA. He will be facing the Braves’ offense, which shouldn’t pose a huge threat to the righty. At only $8,000, Wainwright provides a lot of value to this lineup.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/6/16
P- Aaron Sanchez (vs. Kansas City Royals): $10,800. Over the last seven games, Kansas City has struggled at the plate. They have a .202 batting average, .251 OBP, and a .300 slugging percentage. Sanchez has been dominant all year long and it shouldn’t be any different on Saturday as he faces this mediocre Royals’ offense.
P- Jose Berrios (vs. Tampa Bay Rays): $7,100. Tampa Bay’s offense has been lackluster in 2016. Berrios has struggled in his rookie season, but he continues to rack up the strikeouts. In 2016, the Rays have struck out 971 times, which is ranked 26th in baseball. Berrios has the potential to put up a huge game on Saturday if he can stay ahead in counts and keep the Rays lineup off balanced.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/5/16
P- Jeremy Hellickson (vs. San Diego Padres): $9,300. Many people believed Hellickson was going to be traded at the trade deadline, but the Phillies decided to hang on to him. He has been dominant on the mound recently. Over his last three starts, he has a 2-0 record, 1.83 ERA, and 11 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched.
P- Blake Snell (vs. Minnesota Twins): $8,700. Snell has been fantastic on the mound since the All-Star break. His last three starts have come against very tough opponents and he has faired very well. In that time span, he threw 18 innings, with a 2-0 record, 2.00 ERA, and 22 strikeouts.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/4/16
P- Matt Moore (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): $8,400. Thursday is an absolutely brutal day for potential starting pitcher choices in daily fantasy. I decided to go with Matt Moore as he makes his debut for the San Francisco Giants. Over his last three starts with the Rays, he has a 2-1 record, 2.14 ERA, and 12 strikeouts. Over the last seven games, the Phillies have a .694 OPS, which is ranked 20th in baseball. They also rank 28th in OPS against left-handed pitchers this season, which is a great sign for Moore. If Moore can limit his walks, he could go very deep into this game.
P- Nathan Eovaldi (vs. New York Mets): $7,300. Eovaldi had a terrible June, but he has been very sharp recently. Over his last six appearances, he has only allowed six runs. The New York Mets’ offense has been very lackluster this year, so hopefully Eovaldi shows more success. I would typically go with a more “for sure” option, but the pitching slate is very slim on Thursday.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/3/16
P- Cole Hamels (vs. Baltimore Orioles): $11,100. Hamels is red hot and the Orioles’ bats are ice cold, seems like a good combination. Over the last seven games, Baltimore is batting .203, with a .272 OBP, and a .332 slugging percentage. Meanwhile, over Hamels’ last three starts he has a 0.84 ERA and a 3-0 record. He has lasted eight innings in two of his last three starts. He has also been absolutely dominant on the road this year, going 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA.
P- Jake Odorizzi (vs. Kansas City Royals): $9,100. Just when you thought Baltimore was ice cold, Kansas City is even worse. Over their last seven games, the Royals are batting .202, with a .255 OBP, and a .304 slugging percentage. Odorizzi has not allowed a run over his last 14.2 innings pitched, so clearly he is throwing the ball well.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/2/16
P- Masahiro Tanaka (vs. New York Mets): $9,700. In two career starts against the Mets, Tanaka owns a 1-1 record with a 1.20 ERA. The Mets offense has struggled all season long, so hopefully Tanaka can take advantage of their struggling bats. Over the last seven games, the Mets’ offense has a .622 OPS, which is ranked 27th in baseball.
P- Gerrit Cole (vs. Atlanta Braves): $9,000. Cole is coming off a beautiful complete game performance. He is also facing one of the worst offenses in baseball, so this should be a favorable matchup. In his last two starts, he has allowed two runs on nine hits and a walk, while striking out 13 batters.
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Texas Rangers Acquire Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress From Milwaukee Brewers For Two Top Prospects
Wow, the Texas Rangers have been busy today. The Texas Rangers are all in ladies and gentleman. They have acquired Jonathan Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress from the Milwaukee Brewers in a deal that is headlined by top prospects, Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz. This deal is a win-win deal for both the Texas Rangers and the Milwaukee Brewers. Lets jump into the analysis of this deal.
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Texas Rangers Acquire Carlos Beltran From The New York Yankees
The Rangers have been great all year, but they just got even better. It has been reported that they have acquired Carlos Beltran from the New York Yankees. Beltran will be an impact bat in the Rangers lineup for the rest of 2016. The Rangers will send Dillon Tate to the Yankees, which is another huge addition to the Yankees system. Lets jump into the analysis of this deal.
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Colin Rea Traded Back To The Padres After One Start With The Marlins
Colin Rea and Andrew Cashner were acquired by the Miami Marlins on July 29th from the San Diego Padres. The Marlins sent top prospect, Josh Naylor, and multiple other prospects to the Padres in return. Unfortunately, it looks like Rea’s time in Miami has been cut short after an arm injury suffered in his first start. Little did we all know, but there was a return policy also included in the original trade.
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Los Angeles Dodgers Acquire Rich Hill and Josh Reddick From The Oakland A’s
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!! The trade deadline will end at 4 PM EST today, so that means we will see plenty of trades in baseball. The first big trade of the day includes the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A’s. The Dodgers will acquire starting pitcher, Rich Hill, and outfielder, Josh Reddick. Considering the Dodgers are only two games out of first place in the National League West, this is a huge move to win now. Both players are rentals since their contracts are up at the conclusion of the season.
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Cincinnati Reds Have A Trade Partner For Jay Bruce, But Who Is It?
The trade deadline is quickly approaching, but Jay Bruce is still on the Cincinnati Reds, which is a surprise to many baseball fans. Many teams have expressed interest in the Reds’ outfielder, so it is expected that there will be a trade within the next few hours. It was reported this morning that the Reds have a deal in place with a National League organization, but who could it be?
As of right now, it is rumored that the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants have the best chance at landing the Reds’ outfielder. All of those teams could drastically improve their lineup with the addition of Bruce. In 2016, Bruce is currently batting .265, with 25 home runs, 80 RBIs, 60 runs, .316 OBP, and a .559 slugging percentage. His impressive season led to his third all-star appearance in nine years.
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Daily Fantasy MLB DFS Picks For DraftKings 8/1/16
P – Stephen Strasburg (vs. Arizona Diamondbacks): $12,900. With such a small slate today, Strasburg is easily the best option at pitcher. He is averaging 10.93 strikeouts per nine innings this year, which is huge for daily fantasy. The Diamondbacks offense has struggled over the past seven days, so hopefully Strasburg can take advantage.
P – CC Sabathia (vs. New York Mets): $7,600. In 116 career at bats against Sabathia, the New York Mets are only batting .216, with a .248 OBP, and 35 strikeouts. In his last outing, he was pretty impressive against a very tough Astros lineup, so the Mets should be a cake walk.
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Which Team Will Sign Ian Desmond To A $100 Million Contract This Offseason?
After turning down a seven year/$107 million contract from the Washington Nationals two years ago, people thought Ian Desmond made a huge mistake. The following year, his contract year, Desmond folded under pressure. He hit .233, with 19 home runs, 62 RBIs, 69 runs, 13 stolen bases, and a .290 OBP. After that tough year, that $107 million contract extension that Desmond declined looked like a very bad decision.
Following Desmond’s tough 2015 campaign, the Texas Rangers decided to take a chance on the shortstop and sign him to a one-year, $8-million-dollar deal. The Rangers already had a starting shortstop, so they moved the former all-star to the outfield. While many people thought Desmond’s career was doomed, he is proving everyone wrong in 2016. If he continues at this pace, he could be looking at another $100 million contract offer.
MLB Reports 