Melky Cabrera: The Melkman will Deliver

Jul 19, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays left field Melky Cabrera (53) hits single in first inning against Texas Rangers at Rogers Arena. Toronto won 4 – 1 Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

Are you in the market for a reliable third or fourth outfielder? If so, then Melky Cabrera of the Chicago White Sox may be perfect for you. Cabrera offers a high average, decent power, and ample run-scoring opportunities because he will likely be hitting in front of Jose Abreu.

Sure, Melky Cabrera left the Toronto Blue Jays in a very hitter-friendly ballpark full of great sluggers like Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, but he will still be in a favorable situation in Chicago. There is no reason that the Melkman cannot hit close to .300, crush 15+ homers, score 80-90 runs, and collect 70-80 RBI’s.

I would definitely take that type of production from someone who probably will be drafted between picks 125-150. Cabrera may not light up the stat sheet on a daily basis, but he finished 65^th on ESPN’s Player Rater in 2014. He offers above average production in runs, homers, RBI’s, and batting average.

What I really like about Melky Cabrera is that he has a high floor. In 2013, Cabrera was playing with a benign tumor that clearly affected his performance, especially his speed, and he still hit .279. While his performance was far from impressive in those 88 games, doctors were blown away that he was even able to play at all. Just like we cannot expect the Melkman to reproduce his steroid-fueled numbers of 2011 and 2012, his 2013 season was an aberration due to the benign tumor.

I truly believe that 2014 is the new normal for Melky Cabrera and that would make him a great value in 2015 if he replicates his performance. In 2014, he hit .301, scored 81 runs, hit 16 home runs, drove in 73 RBI’s, and stole 6 bases. That is worth more than his 2015 ADP.

Plus, he has always had the consistent ability to hit for average. While it is a generally bad idea to focus on the rate hitting category when building a fantasy baseball team, Cabrera does not cost a premium to hit .300 and he produces in other categories. Check out his season-by-season batting averages:

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His career batting average is .286. In 2014, Cabrera posted an impressive .301 batting average and the average MLB batting average was .251. A cool .050 points above the MLB mean is quite nice to go along with respectable counting stats.

There are risks in every single draft pick you make in fantasy baseball, but Melky Cabrera is probably one of the safer options out there to at least live up to his ADP. Melky Cabrera is probably not the type of pick that could win you your league (such as Corey Kluber in 2014) due to the fact that he does not have game-changing speed or power, but the Melkman will deliver for your fantasy team in 2015.

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