Khris Davis Traded to the Oakland A’s: Fantasy Fallout
By Bill Pivetz
The Milwaukee Brewers continue their rebuild as they ship outfield slugger Khris Davis to the Oakland Athletics. How will he fair in his new home?
In a surprising move, the Milwaukee Brewers traded arguably their best power hitter from last season Friday night. Khris Davis and his 27 homers will now be a member of the Oakland Athletics for the 2016 season. The Brewers acquired two minor-league prospects in return, but the big news is how the move will affect Davis’ fantasy value for this season.
Without repeating myself, here is an article I posted in October stating that Davis is a must-own outfielder for this season. He had great power last season, 27 home runs and 66 RBI with a .247 batting average. Surprisingly, he was still available in a lot of ESPN leagues. It’s hard to find that kind of production sitting on the waiver wire.
I mentioned that Miller Park would have been great for his value, his value now changes with the move to Oakland.
O.co Coliseum is a much less hitter-friendly park. The stadium ranked 27th in home runs and 16th in runs scored. Miller Park ranked first and seventh, respectively. The 2015 A’s lineup had just one 20-home run hitter and no 80-RBI hitter.
ESPN’s Tristan H. Cockcraft, among others, lowered expectations for Khris Davis upon hearing the news and home field change. Many projected him to hit 35 or more home runs after playing 81 games at Miller Park. Now, that number is lower.
Context important, though: I could've made the case for 35+ HR on high end for Khris Davis in Milwaukee. Id say 30 is a fair O/U now.
— Tristan H. Cockcroft (@SultanofStat) February 12, 2016
After the trade, Khris Davis still ranks inside my top-40 outfielders. While his projected home runs will drop, I think it will increase his doubles and triples. He should still have around a .250 average and .325 OBP, if he plays 140-plus games. He will likely split time with veteran Coco Crisp and right-hander Mark Canha.
There are other players affected by this trade, good and bad. The loss of Davis now makes room for Domingo Santana in left field. He hit six home runs, 18 RBI and .231/.345/.421 in 38 games with the Brewers. He is a late-round flyer in deep keeper or dynasty leagues. Santana is just one of the few youngsters that is ready or near-ready in the Brewers farm system.
Next: New York Mets 2016 Fantasy Preview
Khris Davis just turned 28, so he still have a bright future ahead of him. If you were planning to draft Davis as a power-hitting OF3, I would ask you to adjust your rankings. Reaching 30 home runs will now be the ceiling Davis owners are looking at. I expect more of a 25/65/.252 season.