Fantasy Worth of Michael Brantley in 2015

Michael Brantley had a breakout season in 2014, hitting .327 with 20 HR, 97 RBI, 94 Runs, and 23 Stolen Bases. This is not out of the ordinary for players to break out at the 27-year-old mark, but how likely is it that this is the new norm for Michael Brantley?

Fantasy Statistical Indicators for Brantley

Players have up and down years all the time, but how do you know when the stats are indicative of great - or even greater - things to come in fantasy baseball?

HITS: One factor we see with Michael Brantley is that, aside from the standard 5x5 stats, he was also second in all of baseball with 200 Hits (only Jose Altuve had more base hits with 225).

(LACK OF) STRIKEOUTS: We all listened to our Little League coaches telling us to "make contact" and "put the ball in play." In today's game, however, strikeouts are more and more acceptable to both players and coaches... but not to Michael Brantley.

Michael Brantley's Fantasy Stats

Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
2011	24	CLE	114	496	451	63	120	24	4	7	46	13	5	34	76	0.266	0.318	0.384	0.702	173
2012	25	CLE	149	609	552	63	159	37	4	6	60	12	9	53	56	0.288	0.348	0.402	0.750	222
2013	26	CLE	151	611	556	66	158	26	3	10	73	17	4	40	67	0.284	0.332	0.396	0.728	220
2014	27	CLE	156	676	611	94	200	45	2	20	97	23	1	52	56	0.327	0.385	0.506	0.890	309

Michael Brantley played in 156 games in 2014. He recorded 611 At Bats, yet he only struck out 56 times. Likewise, he only walked 52 times. What does this tell us?

This tells us that Michael Brantley is progressing to be a great fantasy producer across the board. Of course, his value to the Cleveland Indians is ultimately more valuable, but let's talk about the predictors we see in his stats from a fantasy baseball perspective.

The fact that Brantley puts the ball in play is typically indicative that he will continue to produce, fantasy-wise. While we don't think he'll ever lead the league in home runs, he will continue to hit between 15-30 home runs every year. He'll also maintain decent speed until his early 30s, at least, and he'll keep his batting average around the .290-.310 mark, most likely.

Why Michael Brantley Had a Great Season

With his maturation - both physically and mentally - Michael Brantley was finally able to add a little more power to his swing in 2014. In 2011-2013, what used to be fly-ball outs are now home runs in 2014. What were simple, laced singles into the outfield were driven harder into the gaps and down the line for doubles instead of singles. What were tough ground outs before became harder grounders through the hole, leading to singles instead of ground-outs. Those singles led to more opportunities to steal bases, hence the uptick in that category, too. Now that he's achieved the 200-hit plateau, can he do it again? We think so. In fact, the only thing stopping Michael Brantley from 200 hits again may be added patience at the plate (AKA: more walks)... or injuries, of course, but we don't wanna jinx the guy.

The relative constant in Brantley's stats from 2011-2014 is that he puts the ball in play. He doesn't walk much, but he also doesn't strike out much. We're not gonna go and compare the guy to Tony Gwynn or Wade Boggs just yet, but that may be because he has more power. Likewise, with his extra power, we're also not going to compare him to a guy like Vladimir Guerrero who swings at (and hits) everything in the same area code, but we think Michael Brantley is somewhere in between the high-average slap hitters and a power-hitter like Vlad Guerrero.

Expectations in 2015

Again, we don't wanna jinx the guy because, honestly, we miss the era of the good, contact hitter who's embarrassed to strikeout (no offense, AL MVP Mike Trout... you and your 184 strikeouts). While he may not put up the same numbers as last year, we do expect more than 20 HR, a .295-.310 batting average, 90+ Runs and RBI and another 20+ stolen bases in 2015.