I am very proud to share my 2016 top 250 players in points leagues. There seems to be less people basing projections on Roto formats. Those of us that think Roto can be boring compared to points leagues would appreciate some more bullets for the gun in our upcoming Drafts & Auctions.

As I continue to spend time around the mock draft boards I am finding that other than a few infield positions the quality and depth available has gotten so plentiful that it appears there is no better time then now to adopt the “Stars and scrubs” motto.

That being spend about $200 of your $260 budget on star players that will make up the core of your team then using the remaining $60 to fill in the say 15 or so positions still open on guys that have high upside hoping that you may on maybe 5 of those. The remaining 10 players if they are not cutting their weight can be switched out with players claimed off of waivers.

This is not the “safe” way of constructing a team but, you know what they say “go big or go home” safe will usually get you fifth place. We don’t play for fifth place right?

If you play in keeper leagues like I do then the best way to start amazing big time talent is to plant the seed now. Invest your money in youth. 1st & 2nd year players who come at a lower price for now at least until they have that “break out” type of year. Lock them in at that low price. Just like the stock market right? Buy low and sell high. Hey, It works for Billy Beane.

I have been doing mock drafts on ESPN every morning, day and to my wife’s chagrin nights as well. As I practice and see who I really want to get in my H2H Points league I have noticed a few things.

Catchers – Assuming that you don’t get Posey, I am not seeing too much of a reason to   run and grab a guy from the next tier. Catchers are so unpredictable and they get so beaten up and injured all the time. Why not grab an up and comer for 1 or 2 dollars. I am seeing a great amount of people ignoring the likes of Yasmani Grandal, J.T. Realmuto and Blake Swihart. Since Catchers get 1 or two nights off a week then why not spend your money on a guy that plays everyday and can hit you 30-35+ home runs?

Last season i loved getting Travis D’arnaud for $5. If he didn’t get injured  twice it was looking like he would give Posey a run for the money on the top fantasy catcher in 2015.

Luckily when he went down i swooped in to grab Stephen Vogt as he was surging. There are always guys to pick up at catcher. It can be tough to see but, from now on i am going with one dollar catchers and keeping an eye out for the Wellington Castillo, Stephen Vogt types that come out of nowhere.

31. Gerardo Parra 28, COL – After bouncing around to a bunch of teams for the last couple of years Parra signed on to play outfield for the Rockies this coming season. Parra who is known for his batting average,  speed and the amount of defensive runs saved brings a lot of skills  to the team. Before he plays half of his home games i want to explain why i have him ranked so high. Over the last few years Parra has been good for 150+ hits 30(ish) doubles and double digits in home runs and stolen bases. Another thing that impressed the Rockies is his ability to hit for a high average (.291 last year). So here is a guy who is already a very good hitter. Now he will play half his games in Colorado. I see a nice bump in his stats this season. My projections for 2016 are .307/91/15/78/12

32. Billy Burns 26, OAK – Living up to his namesake this dude is fast. Last season Billy hit a few extra base hits (32 total in 2015) so he does have some ability with the bat. (153 hits) on his way to batting .294. A 4.7% walk rate is troubling as that gave him a wOBA of .317. Not at all what the A’s want from a lead off hitter. Batting at the top of the order is where Burns receives the status of a “must own” in all leagues. If Burns can not get the walk rate up and he gets moved to say batting 8th or 9th it makes him not too different from a Jarrod Dyson. Basically only producing speed numbers. My projections for 2016 are .265/74/3/39/44

33. Evan Gattis 29, HOU – He is also known as “That guy who doesn’t wear batting gloves”. Over the last two seasons Gattis has seen his fantasy value take a nose dive even with his mind exploding ability to lead the National League in triples…yeah, that might not be repeatable. In most leagues Gattis will start the year eligible at just one position. You know that one that comes with so much position flexibility. The elusive designated hitter spot. After hitting for a meager average of.246 and an underwhelming .317 wOBA. He will need to continue providing 30 HR 100 RBI type seasons. My Projections for 2016 are .250/67/28/84/0

34. Michael Conforto 22, NYM –   After getting his first taste of national exposure in the 2015 Futures Game, Conforto was called up to the Mets not long after the second half of the season started. Hard to believe it was just over 13 months after he was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft. . While he had much success last season batting .270 with 9 home runs and 26 RBI’s and an impressive hard hit rate of 40.9. Some regression will be due but he is off to a very impressive start. My projections for 2016 are .247/58/18/65/1.

35. Kole Calhoun 28, LAA – Mike Trout’s mini me has had his fair share of problems staying healthy and with the decrease in walks each year to pair with a growing strike  out rate. Now for the positives, while 2015 was not his best year with the bat thus far he was able to stay healthy. Healthy to the tune of 686 plate appearances. This is a huge number in fantasy especially since despite only having a batting average of .256 he was able to have those At bats before Mike Trout. He got a few pitches to swing at. so all of the other counting stats were pretty good. His 2015 line was .256/78/26/83/4. Not bad for a guy people are not very excited about coming into 2016. Another great chance to buy low on a guy people are ignoring. My projections for 2016 are .266/77/21/82/7

36. Jay Bruce 28, CIN – Here might be a great example of a change in scenery would do him some good. Seems like the Jays where close to acquiring him this Winter that fell through. Not to say he cant get traded tomorrow but we have seen Bruce who after three seasons of 30+ home runs and a .260ish batting average has had 2 seasons of “is it over yet” baseball. After being such a highly touted Top Prospect in the minors it sure seems like he is burnt out from being with the Reds and it i not just his Facebook status of “it’s complicated”. Hoping he gets traded soon to bring him back to fantasy relevance. My projections for 2016 are .244/60/23/73/5

37. Dexter Fowler 29, CHC – Here is an example of a guy jumping 10 spots in my outfield rankings primarily because of the team he signed with. I think everyone agrees that if you have a starting role in the Chicago Cubs Batting order then some eye popping counting spots are likely to follow. Fowler had an awesome season on the North Side of Chi town last year. It may have been a career year but, at the very least he takes the pressure off Jason Heyward sliding into the center field and lead off hitter. My projections for 2016 are .260/76/12/65/14

38. Khris Davis 28, OAK – On the surface going from Miller Park to the O.co stadium in Oakland seems like a very bad thing for his production numbers.Davis has brought to the table and lets face it this is the only reason we draft him, his 30 home run potential. Being in Oakland he will face a crowded outfield roster and Outfield dimensions that make you think he needs to hit it close to Alcatraz before it gets in the seats. Khris should easily walk into 20 home runs regardless so we will see how the rest works itself out. My projections for 2016 are .263/54/23/61/4

39. Delino DeShields 23, TEX –  DeShields looked prime to be a star for the Astros a few years back and then i heard he was hit in the face by a hard fastball. I vividly remember this because  i had the honor of coming a cross a picture of his face from the Hospital. Its a picture I will have trouble removing the image from my memory. It didn’t look like he would b e able to see again. Some would not have the gall to get back in the batters box after that so one would understand being slow to get your confidence back and feel comfortable again at the plate. After only amassing 6 games played above AA ball DeShields was called up to fill in for a Texas Rangers outfield that was being hit hard by the injury bug. He was never sent back down so its fair to say he played very well. Well enough that Delino stands today as the projected starting center fielder and lead off man for a Rangers 2016 squad that should net him plenty of counting stats. My projections for 3016 are .250/82/5/49/37

40. Billy Hamilton 25, CIN – Now here is an example of a player who has track star speed but no other major league ready skills. If Hamilton doesn’t figure out this whole “getting on base thing” he’s going to be playing ball in the independent league real soon. If i were him i would have spent the last 5 months learning how to bunt. If he could learn how to do that effectively along with a healthy increase in his walk rate, it could validate a lead off hitter role. At the very least a bunter/pinch running specialist. He just needs to stop swinging for the fences  “Hey Willie Mays Hayes put the ball on the ground” “Every time I see you hit the ball in the air you owe  Bryan Price 10 push ups” My projections for 2016 are .221/45/2/31/60