Ryan Rua

Rua's respectable career numbers against left-handed pitching and ability to play first base and the corner outfield have regularly afforded him starts on the short end of a platoon over his past two seasons with the Rangers. However, his performance versus southpaws took a dramatic step back last season compared to his strong 2016 showing, with Rua slashing an unremarkable .262/.318/.377 (82 wRC+) in 67 plate appearances. A steep uptick in his strikeout rate (from 28.3 to 36.1 percent) seems to be the primary culprit behind Rua's struggles, and if he fails to show improvement in that regard early on in 2018, he could be pushed off the 40-man roster. With Joey Gallo holding his own against lefties last season and stud prospect Willie Calhoun likely joining the corner-outfield ranks on a full-time basis in 2018, the Rangers won't have much reason to exercise patience with Rua.

Although he won the starting left field job out of spring training in 2015, Rua had no such luck in the 2016 season. He still managed to crack the Opening Day roster, but the 26-year-old was relegated to a bench role after the Rangers signed Ian Desmond to fill out the outfield. Despite this initial position, Rua managed to garner quite a bit of playing time at the major league level due to the injury woes of Shin-Soo Choo, and he filled in capably. The 2011 17th-round draft pick even logged 31 starts at first base over the course of the season, giving him additional positional eligibility headed into the 2017 campaign. Rua still finds far more success against left-handed pitching than against right-handers, but given the Rangers' potential vacancy -- part-time or more -- at first base and designated hitter, there is a good chance that he could move into at least a few starts per week in 2017. That's worth speculation in AL-only fantasy leagues.

Rua earned the starting left-field spot for Texas to begin the year but suffered an ankle injury in the first week and was held out of action until mid-June as a result. Upon his return, Rua was afforded a brief stretch of semi-regular playing time until the acquisition of Mike Napoli in early August resulted in a trip to the minors. Rua's name was included among the Rangers' September callups, but he logged all of three at-bats over the season's final month. The results in 86 plate appearances were unsightly and he didn't fare much better at Triple-A Round Rock. It's possible that Rua will get a chance to earn the left field job once again in spring training, but the plate skills have not translated to the major league level to this point (2.6% BB%, 25.6% K%).

Rua has some power but does not profile as an everyday player, nor does he have a visible avenue to significant playing time with the Rangers this season. Injuries to the big league club last season allowed him to appear in 28 games in the majors, primarily in left field and at first base. However, Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland have first base taken care of heading into 2015, and it is unlikely that the Rangers would go into spring training looking at Rua as an everyday option in left. There also won’t be an opening for him at second base or third base, two positions he was featured at prominently in the minor leagues. He could make the team as a utility option or on the short side of a left-field platoon, as his splits are better against southpaws, but Rua is unlikely to be a legitimate fantasy option in standard formats.