Ryan Cordell

While he was dealt to the White Sox in a late-July trade that sent Anthony Swarzak to the Brewers, Cordell has yet to play a game for his new organization. He was on the shelf with a back injury at the time of the trade and never returned. Information regarding the injury has been sparse, but assuming he arrives at spring training healthy, he will have a chance to make the Opening Day roster. He put up solid numbers at Triple-A, but he really took advantage of the home park at Colorado Springs, slashing just .230/.291/.381 with four home runs in 36 road games. Cordell has above-average raw power and above-average speed, which makes him much more appealing than most players who project as bench outfielders. Fortunately for Cordell, he is in an organization that lacks legitimate big-league-ready starting outfielders, so he could get everyday at-bats at some point in 2018, which makes him a nice endgame option in AL-only leagues.

In September, Cordell became the player to be named later heading to Milwaukee from Texas as part of the Jeremy Jeffress trade. Cordell is a nice fit in the Brewers' rebuilding effort; yet another player with little name recognition as a prospect but a sneaky good statistical profile. He hit 19 home runs (.220 ISO) and stole 12 bases in 107 games for the Rangers' Double-A squad last year, redeeming himself for a brutal 56-game stint at that level in 2015 in which he mustered just a .597 OPS. While Cordell has never received especially high marks from scouts, he does a little bit of everything and there's not a glaring flaw in his game that he has to overcome. He can play all three outfield positions and has been picking up experience at shortstop, third base and first base as well.

The most fascinating minor league player page of 2015 may belong to Cordell. At the plate, he was a dominant player in 68 games at High-A, posting a .311/.376/.528 line with 13 homers and 10 steals. Then he was a completely different player in 56 games at Double-A, slashing just .217/.263/.335, while his strikeout rate almost doubled from 16.6% at High-A to 30.2% at Double-A. Adding to the intrigue, Cordell redefined what it means to be a utility player across both levels, starting 31 games at third base, 14 games at shortstop, two games at first base, and another 72 games in the outfield, with most of those starts coming in center. Had Cordell punished Double-A pitching the way he handled High-A pitching, it would be a lot easier to project him as an everyday player, considering his ability to play a number of premium positions. However, given his struggles after the promotion, that outcome is far less certain.