Billy Burns

Burns had a clear niche carved heading into 2016 as a speedster center fielder that could get steals and just enough hits to make him valuable to teams in both real life and fantasy. Unfortunately, a 75-point drop off in BABIP from 2015 to 2016 cratered Burns' batting average. That didn't make the Athletics feel too bad trading him midseason to the Royals, who used him in a depth role all around the outfield, a role he should occupy again in 2017. The good news is that his batted ball numbers didn't change too much between seasons, so the drop-off may be more due to bad luck. He'll have value if he can get regular playing time and keep his batting average up, but his ceiling remains low as a player with a limited skill set.

Burns was one of the few bright spots in the A's season, quickly becoming the team's leadoff hitter upon being called up in May and locking in that role to start the 2016 season. Burns used his speed to slash his way to a .294 average in 520 at-bats and finished with 26 stolen bases, good for top-5 in the American League. The concern with Burns was how he would hit, but the speed was never in doubt with 74- and 54-steal seasons in the minor leagues. If anything, the stolen bases were a disappointment considering the number of hits he had, and his stolen bases dropped every month after breaking in with nine swipes in May. Burns will begin 2016 as the A's center fielder and leadoff hitter and if he can find a way to keep the average anywhere near where it ended up in 2015, the stolen base upside is significantly higher than he showed in 2015, especially with a year of experience reading pitchers.

There is zero doubt that Burns can flat-out fly, proven by his 128 stolen bases combined in his last two minor league seasons. The issue for Burns is whether he can hit well enough to put that speed to use in the majors. After a 2013 season split across High-A and Double-A, Burns hit .312 with a .422 OBP over 444 at-bats, but 2014 did not go nearly as well. Burns hit only .237 in 2014 with a poor .315 OBP over 473 at-bats between Double and Triple-A. Any thought that he might be a contributor in the majors in 2015 took a hit with his lack of offensive output last season. He will likely start 2015 in Triple-A, but with Coco Crisp and Craig Gentry being quite injury-prone, Burns could provide a lot of fantasy value very quickly with any sort of regular playing time in Oakland.