Swing for fences with these first-round options

With early fantasy drafts less than two months away, the first round is starting to take shape.

Sure, players such as Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Kris Bryant are locks to be selected within the first handful of picks. But the options become hard to separate at the back end of Round 1.

Owners who wish to go outside the box with their initial pick may want to take an optimistic stance on one of the following five players:

Trea Turner, 2B/OF (Nationals): Turner made an incredible impact as a rookie in 2016, shattering already lofty expectations by hitting .342 with 13 homers, 33 steals and 53 runs scored across 73 games. True, the youngster benefited from an unsustainable .388 BABIP — which enabled him to produce a .370 on-base percentage despite drawing only 14 walks. But even with some regression on a per-plate-appearance basis, the 23-year-old has the skills to deliver 20 home runs, 50 stolen bases and 110 runs in ’17. With steals likely to be in high demand during ’17 drafts, those who select Turner at the tail end in Round 1 could be on their way to building a balanced offense.

Carlos Correa, shortstop (Astros): In many ways, Correa entered the 2016 season in the same way that Turner will head into ’17. Despite playing just 99 big league games as a rookie, the Astros shortstop was selected in …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com