MLB

Fantasy Baseball: 11 Players Who Disappointed in 2017

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Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Detroit Tigers

Preseason ADP: 15.80

For as long as I can remember, three things in life have been certain: death, taxes, and Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera being worth a top draft pick.

Depending on the size of your league, Miggy was either going off the board at the end of the first round or beginning of the second, and it seemed like a steal. Sure, he was entering his age-34 season, but this is one of the most consistently elite hitters of our generation -- between 2004 and 2016, he produced 25-plus homers and 100-plus RBI 12 times in 13 tries.

And while his 2016 campaign was awesome (.316/.393/.563 triple slash with 38 homers and 108 RBI in 679 plate appearances), it's what we've come to expect from Cabrera. As you can probably anticipate, though, 2017 didn't at all go according to plan for the veteran slugger.

He set new single-season career lows in wRC+ (91), ISO (.149), OPS (.728), and RBI (60). Through 529 plate appearances, Cabrera managed to post a slugging percentage of .399. Just to put that in context, it's not only the lowest of his career, but also the first time that number has been below .500 since 2003, which was his rookie year.

Miggy was limited to 130 games due to injuries, and was bothered by back issues to end the season. Will one of the greatest right-handed sluggers we've seen this century ever be the same? It doesn't seem likely, but if he can get healthy enough, there's a good chance he could at least experience some kind of bounce-back performance.

His 32.9% fly-ball rate was the lowest it's been since 2003, but his 27.3% line-drive rate was a career high, while his 42.5% hard-hit rate was the highest it's been since 2014. Despite all that, he produced a .292 BABIP, which is a huge drop-off from the .347 career mark he owned entering 2017.