If you like what you’re reading then you will like my 2015 Fantasy Baseball Guide! Last year’s fantasy guide was more than 150,000 words and had 440 player profiles (of hitters and pitchers). My approach to player evaluation is to ask questions about what the player has done in the past and what he may do in the future. I certainly provide a narrative on how I feel a player will perform, but I also ask a lot of open ended questions that I hope will get you thinking about the information I’ve provided.

After a poor first half Yasmani Grandal had a much improved second half, hitting nearly 30 points higher and belting eight home runs in 177 ABs. The table below provides a break down of his 2014 splits.

The biggest stats that stand out are the increased BABIP and HR/FB rate. The HR/FB rates are not much different because if you remove one home run from the second half the HR/FB rate is 14%.

His ground ball rate decreased substantially in 2014 while the fly ball rate increased. For his career he has a .289 batting average on fly balls compared to a .251 batting average on ground balls. In the second half the ground ball rate dropped significantly. Therefore, if he continues to hit more fly balls the .237 batting average could repeat itself in 2015. He’s a better hitter against righties so he’ll likely platoon with A.J. Ellis, which will increase Grandal’s batting average potential.

With 777 PAs he has a career .291 BABIP and .245 batting average, which is his true talent level especially since he gets to leave Petco Park. Now that he’s no longer confined to Petco he should an uptick in his power. He has a 15.5% HR/FB rate on the road compared to 12.9% at home. His new ballpark adds 1-3 more home runs, which means he could be on the verge of 20 if gets a little lucky.

I’m projecting 400 ABs with a .241 AVG, 17 HRs, 1 SB, 60/60 Runs & RBI.