Cody Bellinger

Big things were expected from Bellinger in his second season after he ran away with the NL Rookie of the Year award. He did steal four more bases than he did in 2017 -- albeit in 30 more games -- but his numbers declined in the other standard fantasy categories and all three rates in his slash line, even as he lowered his strikeout rate and improved his BB:K. Those improvements helped him hit .285 and post a .369 OBP after the All-Star break, but that came at the expense of even more power. He also struggled quite a bit against southpaws in year two, as his OPS dipped from .903 to just .681. Despite the overall decline, Bellinger is still a versatile fantasy option, able to play two positions and contribute across the board. The increases in the second half suggest some improvement in plate selection, and there’s plenty of reason to expect Bellinger -- who won’t turn 24 until July 13 -- to bounce back if he can find his power stroke again.

An injury to Adrian Gonzalez opened the door for Bellinger sooner than expected and Bellinger made the most of the opportunity. He finished second in the National League in home runs and tied for 13th in RBI despite spending the first three weeks of the season in the minors and later making a trip to the disabled list. He finished inside the top six in both ISO (.315) and hard-hit rate (43 percent), utilizing a violent uppercut swing to generate immense power. The 22-year-old endured some struggles in the postseason, finishing 4-for-28 with 17 strikeouts in the World Series, and there may be something to those struggles: Bellinger was routinely exploited on inside breaking balls. Perhaps that is a hole that will be exposed more moving forward, but we'll bet on Bellinger's talent and say he figures it out. Look for him to bat cleanup every day after posting a .903 OPS against left-handed pitching as a rookie.

With Corey Seager and Julio Urias both graduating last year, Bellinger now stands as the top prospect in the Dodgers' system. After getting off to a slow start in 2016, the 21-year-old first baseman finished with 26 home runs, slugging 19 of them from July 1 on. Bellinger ended the season with a surge, playing three games at Triple-A where he tallied three home runs and six RBI. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Bellinger has a sweet left-handed power stroke, and he is athletic enough to play first base or the outfield. His final slash line for the 2016 campaign shows his impressive combination of power and plate discipline. Bellinger will begin the 2017 campaign at Triple-A. Adrian Gonzalez is signed through the 2018 season, so Bellinger's path would appear to be blocked in the short term, though his athleticism could allow him to get some at-bats in the outfield.

Though Corey Seager may have a beef with the voting, Bellinger was named the organization's Minor League Hitter of the Year. The 20-year-old batted .264/.336/.538 for High-A Rancho Cucamonga, a line that included 30 home runs and 103 RBI in addition to 10 stolen bases. As one can imagine by the relatively low batting average, Bellinger swung and missed a lot, fanning 150 times for a 27.6% K-rate, though he did draw a decent number of walks (52 in 128 games). Bellinger hit just three home runs in 51 games in 2014, so while the power spike is due in part to a very favorable hitting environment in the Cal League, the first baseman is clearly one of the organization's top prospects. He will be challenged by a promotion to Double-A this year where he'll be one of the league's younger players. Should Bellinger handle that level of pitching, we should see him on plenty of midseason top-100 prospect lists.