Jose Altuve, Paul Goldschmidt and Bryce Harper were expected to deliver elite fantasy seasons. The same can be said for Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Chris Sale so it’s no surprise that all of those players rank among the top-25 in standard fantasy baseball leagues. While those stars are obvious early round selections, the real difference-makers are the surprise players that deliver elite numbers after they are selected in the later rounds or picked up off waivers. Here is a look at the biggest MLB fantasy surprises so far this season.
OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Judge was considered a top-300 fantasy option heading in to the 2017 season. Nobody could have predicted the rookie outfielder would be this dominant this fast. Judge has hit .329 with a ridiculous 30 home runs, 66 RBI and 75 runs scored so far this season. He has already crushed Joe DiMaggio’s Yankees’ rookie home run record and now he has turned his sights to MVP honors. Judge has been the best player in fantasy baseball leagues so far this season. The managers that selected Judge in the late rounds of fantasy baseball drafts have been rewarded with the biggest surprise of the 2017 season so far.
1B: Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
Zimmerman hasn’t performed and quite the level that Judge has so far this season. However, he has been a major surprise in his own right. The veteran first basemen has exceeded all expectations this season by hitting .330 with 19 home runs and 63 RBI. You likely wouldn’t have taken him before Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs or Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox but Zimmerman has been better than both of those options so far this season.
SP: Alex Wood, Los Angeles Dodgers
Wood always had the potential to be a top-25 starting pitcher but he needed to stay healthy and become more consistent at the major league level. So far this season he has done exactly that as Wood has produced a sparkling 1.67 ERA thanks in large part to his 0.89 WHIP. He also has a solid 10.82 K/9 in leagues that count that stat. With 10 wins already, Wood has been a pleasant fantasy surprise for his fantasy owners so far this season.
The Dodgers enter the second half of the season with the best record in baseball and Wood has actually been one of the main reasons for it. He was once a highly-touted prospect with the Atlanta Braves but never panned out. It looks like the Los Angeles Dodgers have finally figured out how to make him one of the most productive pitchers in all of baseball.
1B: Justin Smoak, Toronto Blue Jays
Speaking of first basemen that have exceeded all expectations, Smoak earned an AL All-Star nod with a dominant first half. The veteran Smoak has hit .294 with 23 home runs and 56 RBI through 299 plate appearances this season. While the Blue Jays as a team have been a major disappointment, Smoak has been a pleasant surprise as a fantasy stud so far in 2017.
The Jays have had a tumultuous season to date as they are in last place in the American League East. That’s a huge decline for a team that was hoping to – once again – be a World Series contender. While a number of the members on their team have been a huge disappointment for MLB fantasy, Smoak has been a pleasant surprise.
RP: Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox
Kimbrel has been a solid closer for some time now. However, he turned 29-years-old this season and was coming off an injury-marred 2016 campaign that had some doubting his potential heading in to 2017. Kimbrel has silenced his critics with an incredible start to the season that nobody could have predicted to this point. He is a perfect 23-for-23 in save situations while delivering a ridiculous 1.19 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP. His K/9 is up to 16.25 and he has shown no signs of slowing down. The top-ranked relief pitcher in MLB fantasy leagues, Kimbrel has also been a top five overall pitcher so far in 2017.
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