After barely hanging on in the major leagues as a
light-hitting utility man for the Pittsburgh Pirates for three years, Josh
Harrison came out and posted a nice breakout season in 2014 that saw hit bat
.315 with 13 home runs and 18 stolen bases while carrying eligibility at
second, third, and the outfield. It was
the power/speed numbers that really caught the eye of the fantasy baseball
community but we said from the beginning that Harrison’s 2014 belonged clearly
in the outlier “let’s see him do it again” bin.
Well over the next two years, Harrison was not able to do it again as he
hit just 4 home runs and stole 10 bases in 418 at-bats in 2015 which pushed him
back into being a mostly ignored commodity once again. He did some more running in 2016 as Harrison
swiped 19 bases but the power continued to underwhelm as he hit only 4 home
runs for the second year in a row. On
the positive side, Harrison has batted over .280 for three straight years and
he retains eligibility at second, third, and the outfield in most leagues. A serious groin injury ended Harrison’s year
early last season but he really wasn’t missed given the light output of numbers. Having turned 29 last July, Harrison is past
the age where we can expect any improvement over what he is doing now. That leaves him only as a backup bat you can
plug in when injuries strike or on light schedule days.
2017
PROJECTION: .282 5 HR 41 RBI 59 R 17
SB
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