Travis Shaw

Shaw earned the nickname "The Mayor of Ding Dong City" while in Boston, and then validated it in Milwaukee with consecutive 30-homer seasons in 2017 and 2018 before falling on hard times the past two years. While Shaw remains accepting of his walks and an above-average defender at third, the holes in his swing have grown in recent seasons. His Whiff% has jumped from the low-20s to 30% over the past two seasons with the only real change coming from being more aggressive early in counts to try to sabotage pitchers looking to get ahead early with a fastball. When he is making contact, he can still put a charge into a baseball which makes it tough to write him off for 2021. The right platoon situation and right home park could lead to some cheap power production this coming season.

Shaw took a massive step backward in 2019 after posting back-to-back 30-homer campaigns in 2017 and 2018. The third baseman struggled out of the gates, hitting .163 through 40 games before landing on the IL in May with a wrist injury. After he failed to turn things around following his return, Shaw was sent to the minors at the end of June and replaced at second base by Keston Hiura. Shaw never regained hold of a starting job and finished the season with career worsts in just about every category, including average (.157), OPS (.551), home runs (seven), RBI (13) and strikeout rate (33%). The spike in strikeout rate is particularly concerning, as he had an 18.4 K% in 2018 and has a 23.4 K% for his career. He received a one-year, $4 million deal from Toronto and the plan is for him to play close to every day at first base.

Shaw set a new career high in home runs last season, but his numbers in the other four standard fantasy categories all took a dip. The main culprit was his struggles against left-handers, as he posted just a .599 OPS against lefties after putting up a .776 mark the year before. Shaw opened last year at the hot corner and is generally considered a third baseman, but he frequently played second base following the team's acquisition of Mike Moustakas, and will qualify there in nearly every league in 2019. His 32 home runs ranked sixth among third baseman, but would have ranked second, behind only Javier Baez, among second baseman. It remains to be seen where he will line up in 2019 -- he could again play both positions -- but he will still find himself playing nearly every day for the Brewers.

The Red Sox decided Shaw was expendable last offseason with Pablo Sandoval in tow and Rafael Devers on the way, and their decision to part with him via trade gave the Brewers both their everyday third baseman and cleanup hitter. Questions about Shaw’s ability to hit left-handed pitching also factored into his departure, but the .776 OPS he posted against southpaws last year was plenty acceptable. His .892 OPS against right-handers speaks for itself, as do his 31 home runs and 101 RBI, which both ranked top-10 in the National League. As long as Shaw can continue finding success against southpaws he will find himself in almost exactly the same role he was in last year. That should lead to another strong season in the power categories, and thanks to manager Craig Counsell’s tendency to run, he should again chip in in the stolen-base department as well.

Shaw impressed with his performance at the tail end of the 2015 season, and after he put up a strong showing in spring training, he usurped Pablo Sandoval for the starting job at third base. Shaw rewarded the Boston brass for this decision immediately, as he slashed .302/.362/.527 with seven home runs and 35 runs batted in over the first two months of the season. Things went south quickly from there, as the whiffs continued to pile up and the hits refused to fall, bringing his season batting average down to .242 while hitting just nine more home runs over the rest of the season. The flash of excellence Shaw displayed should warrant some intrigue from fantasy owners on draft day, although the struggles are also hard to ignore, which led the Red Sox to trade him to the Brewers. This change in scenery could bode well for Shaw, though, as he's expected to be a near-everyday third baseman with home games in an extremely hitter-friendly environment.

Shaw made a few trips to Boston from Triple-A Pawtucket, eventually sticking with the team after the Red Sox unloaded Mike Napoli at the trade deadline. With no obvious replacement for Napoli on the major league roster, Shaw got ample playing time during the final two months and thrived. He showed some good pop with a decent .261 career average in the minors, but his production at the major league level was a surprise. It could be a case where a relative unknown – Shaw was a ninth-round pick in 2011 – has initial success before the league figures him out. There’s not a clear path to at-bats, as the first base job isn’t open for Shaw in 2016. Hanley Ramirez will be trained to play there, so Shaw’s versatility (he’s played 1B, 3B and LF) will be his ticket to head north with Boston.

Shaw, a ninth-round pick in 2011, struggled to hit for average during his first tour at Double-A Portland in 2013 (.221), but did manage to slug 16 homers while walking 14.7% of the time. Commitment to his approach paid off, as Shaw exploded for a .305/.406/.548 line and 11 homers in just 47 games with Portland to begin 2014, earning a promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket less than two months into the season. Upon joining Pawtucket, Shaw saw his walk rate dip by more than five percent (from 13.9% to 8.1%) and his ISO fall by more than 70 points (from .243 to .169), but he still finished with 29 doubles, 21 homers and 78 RBI for the season. The Red Sox added Shaw to their 40-man roster in November, which may prove to be precursor to him earning a utility role at some point in 2015, but it remains to be seen if he'll be the successor to Mike Napoli at first base in 2016.

Shaw, a ninth-round draft pick in 2011, showed some good promise in his first full season in the Red Sox organization. He has an advanced approach at the plate and feasted on the lower-lever pitchers in High-A Carolina League, bashing 16 homers and hitting .305 for Salem. That earned him a promotion to Double-A Portland, where the pitchers are better. He was challenged there and will continue to be as he advances through the system. His swing has some holes and will need to improve his contact rate against pitches in all hitting zones. He's not an overly athletic player and grades as average defensively at first base. He's a baseball guy with a good work ethic, meaning Shaw has the drive to maximize his abilities. He'll open the 2013 season at Double-A Portland.