Peter Bourjos

The Rays became the fourth organization to give Bourjos an opportunity at the big-league level when he appeared in 100 games for Tampa Bay last season. Unfortunately, the results weren't any different than what he's brought to the table over the previous three seasons, as he struggled to get on base, hit for average, provide power or translate his raw tools into offensive production. As a defender, Bourjos' glove in the outfield is still useful off the bench, and his numbers against lefties last season (.752 OPS) might be enough for a team to let him compete for a roster spot this spring. Now 31 years old, he's nearing the end of the line barring a significant improvement with the bat as he's more than a half-decade removed from the 12-homer, 22-steal effort with the Angels that once teased fantasy owners that he could be a power-and-speed combo threat capable of making a consistent impact.

The Phillies picked Bourjos up off waivers from the Cardinals prior to last season and installed him as their starting right fielder. He got off to a terrible start at the dish, hitting just .199 with a homer and a .522 OPS in the first two months of the season. He lost his starting job briefly, but when other outfielders failed to seize the job, he was given another chance. Bourjos re-entered the lineup as a starter on June 13 and went on to hit .291 with four homers and an .806 OPS over his final 67 games of the season. Those numbers looks good, but most of that success came during a three-week stretch in June when he hit .460/.509/.720. Bourjos has been caught on the basepaths more times than he's been successful over the past two seasons and he no longer plays the outfield near an elite level, so it will be tough for him to find regular at-bats in 2017 even in a relatively thin White Sox outfield.

The Cardinals left Bourjos exposed to waivers, with several younger, more talented players having leaped him on the organizational depth chart, and the Phillies pounced. Bourjos, a once-promising 28-year-old, hit just .200/.290/.333 in 2015, easily his worst year as a major leaguer, posting a -0.8 bWAR. As a 24-year-old with the Angels, Bourjos showed plenty of promise with decent pop, solid average, speed on the bases and great defense in center, but he's regressed fairly consistently since then. In 2015 he was only successful on five of 13 stolen-base attempts and struck out in over 25 percent of his plate appearances. New general manager Matt Klentak said he expects Bourjos to compete for a starting role in the spring, but even that will probably not be enough to push Bourjos back on to mixed-league radars.

Bourjos was largely disappointing after being acquired in the David Freese trade last winter, hitting just .231 and posting an ugly .294 OBP in 264 at-bats. While he offers great defense in center his bat pushed him down and eventually out of the lineup in 2014. Having now failed to grab a full-time role in both St. Louis and Anaheim, Bourjos looks to be nothing more than an MLB bench player, providing defense and some speed off of the bench. It's possible Jon Jay could fail to live up to his 2014 numbers and Bourjos could get one final shot at a starting job, but he turns 28 in March and it seems unlikely that we'll see enough improvement on his .247/.304/.388 career numbers for him to find fantasy relevance again. After undergoing hip surgery in November, Bourjos is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

In the end, 2013 was another lost season for Bourjos, as a rash of injuries forced the outfielder to miss 107 games, before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a fractured wrist in September. When healthy, he brings elite defense at a premium position thanks to his plus speed, which gives him the potential to win a Gold Glove in center field. His ability may finally be realized, after the Cardinals acquired him in a four-player swap with the Angels in November. Although Bourjos has not shown a patient eye at the plate during his time in the big leagues, as exemplified by a career 5.5 percent walk rate, he flashed his capability as a regular in 2011 when he was given 552 plate appearances, rewarding the Halos with double-digit homers, 22 steals, and a useful .327 OBP. His defense should enable him to secure an everyday role for St. Louis, but he seems likely to end up in the bottom-third of the batting order, after Matt Carpenter's success in the leadoff spot last season.

Bourjos got off to a slow start last year after a strong 2011 campaign, and never really fit into the picture once Mark Trumbo, Mike Trout and Torii Hunter established themselves as the starting outfielders in Anaheim. Now Hunter is out of the picture and Bourjos is set to take over as the Angels' starting center fielder despite persistent trade rumors. He profiles as an elite defender thanks to his fantastic speed, but hasn't had a ton of success stealing bases at the big league level despite swiping 141 bags in 472 minor league games. Look for him to improve upon that skill if he gets consistent playing time, which could make him a useful fantasy option if he can match his offensive output from 2011.

Bourjos established himself as the Angels' regular center fielder in 2011. While he struck out 124 times and posted a .327 OBP, 49 of his 136 hits went for extra bases, including 11 triples and 12 home runs. Bourjos spent most of the last campaign batting in the bottom third of the order, and he'll likely open there in 2012. However, if he can improve his plate discipline and secure a spot near the top of the order, he could score a lot of runs batting in front of Albert Pujols.

Bourjos' 6:40 BB:K ratio in 181-at-bats last season indicates he may need more time in the minors to work on his plate discipline, but it appears the Angels are ready to hand him the starting center field job in 2011. Though Bourjos struggled to get on base, he usually picked up a few bases at a time when he did, finishing with 16 extra-base hits (including six homers) and 10 steals. Bourjos is unlikely to maintain those rates throughout an entire season, but he could provide some surprising speed, and is certainly a guy those in AL-only leagues will want to get to know as a result.

You have to take a lot of the air out of Angels' prospects stats, so Bourjos' mildly impressive lines are actually not indicative of a bright future. To his credit, he dramatically improved his walk rate, so there's some reason to hope he can be more than a fourth outfielder. The Angels need a leadoff hitter, and this is the best internal option for 2011.

Bourjos' main asset is his speed. Bourjos stole 50 bases last season and was only caught 10 times, an above-average 83 percent success rate. Bourjos will only turn 21 next year but expect him to begin the season with Double-A Arkansas.