Who Should I Draft?
Walker Buehler or Xander Bogaerts (2021)
Experts' Pick | ||
| Walker Buehler SP - LAD  | Xander Bogaerts SS - BOS  | |
Expert |
56% Recommended by 31 of 55 experts |
44% Recommended by 24 of 55 experts |
| Rankings | ||
| ECR | # 22 | # 24 |
| Best Rank | # 15 | # 15 |
| Worst Rank | # 60 | # 56 |
| ADP | ||
| Composite | # 21 | # 31 |
| Best Rank | # 19 | # 23 |
| Worst Rank | # 26 | # 33 |
| Projections | ||
| Runs | ‐ | 94 |
| Home Runs | 21 | 28 |
| RBI | ‐ | 93 |
| Stolen Bases | ‐ | 10 |
| Batting Avg | ‐ | .292 |
| Strikeouts | 197 | 115 |
| Wins | 12 | ‐ |
| Saves | 0 | ‐ |
| ERA | 3.30 | ‐ |
| WHIP | 1.07 | ‐ |
| Misc | ||
| Injury Alert | - | - |
| Expert Ranks | ||
| Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports | # 15 | # 23 |
| Steve Gardner USA Today | # 20 | # 41 |
| Greg Smith The Fake Baseball | # 20 | # 27 |
| Josh Shepardson FantasyPros | # 21 | # 32 |
| Jeff Boggis Fantasy Football Empire | # 21 | # 26 |
| Muntradamus Beast Dome | # 33 | # 43 |
| Scott White CBS Sports | # 33 | # 38 |
| Dalton Del Don Yahoo! Sports | # 25 | # 51 |
| Luke Gloeckner Mr. Cheatsheet | # 26 | # 28 |
| Dave McKay The Fantasy Sports Brain | # 19 | # 21 |
| Tim McCullough Baseball Prospectus | # 20 | # 22 |
| Rudy Gamble Razzball | # 22 | # 28 |
| Chris Meaney FTN | # 19 | # 28 |
| Heath Capps Fake Teams | # 20 | # 21 |
| Adam Ronis Fantasy Alarm | # 25 | # 27 |
| Mike Maher FantasyPros | # 21 | # 24 |
| Frank Stampfl CBS Sports | # 26 | # 39 |
| Tyler Thompson Fantasy Six Pack | # 18 | # 29 |
| Michael Waterloo FantasyPros | # 32 | # 36 |
| Donkey Teeth Razzball | # 21 | # 35 |
| Dan Harris FantasyPros | # 21 | # 27 |
| Andrew Seifter FantasyPros | # 19 | # 23 |
| Dennis Sosic Fantasy Six Pack | # 21 | # 33 |
| Ariel Cohen FanGraphs | # 16 | # 20 |
| Ryan Amore Pitcher List | # 15 | # 24 |
| Todd D Clark The Fantasy Fix | # 20 | # 28 |
| Jordan Eisen Field of Vision Sports | # 32 | # 34 |
| Brad Camara FantasyPros | # 17 | # 56 |
| Staff Rankings Roto Ranks | # 21 | # 25 |
| Corbin Young FantasyData | # 28 | # 43 |
| Nicklaus Gaut RotoBaller | # 25 | # 27 |
| Andrew Gould FantasyPros | # 20 | # 19 |
| Pierre Camus RotoBaller | # 21 | # 19 |
| Jake Ciely The Athletic | # 22 | # 21 |
| Andy Singleton Expand The Boxscore | # 22 | # 21 |
| Joe Pisapia FantasyPros | # 23 | # 22 |
| Joe Bond Fantasy Six Pack | # 24 | # 21 |
| Mick Ciallela Fantrax | # 24 | # 23 |
| Jacob W. Dunne New Life Fantasy | # 24 | # 22 |
| Max Freeze Freeze Stats | # 25 | # 18 |
| Brendan Tuma FantasyPros | # 26 | # 24 |
| Nick Pollack Pitcher List | # 26 | # 15 |
| Wayne Bretsky BretskyBall | # 26 | # 21 |
| Carmen Maiorano FantasyPros | # 27 | # 21 |
| Chris Clegg Fantrax | # 27 | # 21 |
| Michael Petropoulos BRoto Fantasy | # 28 | # 27 |
| Andy Behrens Yahoo! Sports | # 29 | # 19 |
| Grey Albright Razzball | # 30 | # 20 |
| Site Projections RotoChamp | # 31 | # 18 |
| Nick Mariano RotoBaller | # 33 | # 25 |
| Nate Miller FantasyPros | # 35 | # 21 |
| Lucas Spence Pitcher List | # 35 | # 25 |
| SportsLine - Computer Simulation CBS Sports | # 40 | # 19 |
| Mario Mergola Sporfolio | # 44 | # 30 |
| KJ Fantasy Team Advice | # 60 | # 17 |
| Walker Buehler SP - LAD | Xander Bogaerts SS - BOS | |
| 2020 Stats | ||
| Runs | ‐ | 36 |
| Home Runs | 7 | 11 |
| RBI | ‐ | 28 |
| Stolen Bases | ‐ | 8 |
| Batting Avg | ‐ | .301 |
| Strikeouts | 42 | 41 |
| Wins | 1 | ‐ |
| Saves | 0 | ‐ |
| ERA | 3.44 | ‐ |
| WHIP | 0.95 | ‐ |
| Walker Buehler SP - LAD | Xander Bogaerts SS - BOS | |
| 2021 Projections | ||
| Runs | ‐ | 94 |
| Home Runs | 21 | 28 |
| RBI | ‐ | 93 |
| Stolen Bases | ‐ | 10 |
| Batting Avg | ‐ | .292 |
| Strikeouts | 197 | 115 |
| Wins | 12 | ‐ |
| Saves | 0 | ‐ |
| ERA | 3.30 | ‐ |
| WHIP | 1.07 | ‐ |
| Walker Buehler SP - LAD | Xander Bogaerts SS - BOS | |
| News | ||
| RHP Walker Buehler took a no-decision on Tuesday when he allowed four runs on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts over seven innings in the Dodgers' 6-4 win over the Mariners. Jon Mathisen Wed, May 12th | Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-2 with a three run homer, three RBIs, and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Angels. Liam Gibney Sun, May 16th | |
| RHP Walker Buehler took a no-decision on Wednesday when he allowed two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts over six innings as the Dodgers lost to the Cubs 6-5 in extra innings. Jon Mathisen Thu, May 6th | Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-3 with a home run, a walk, three RBIs, and one run. Liam Gibney Fri, May 14th | |
| RHP Walker Buehler was handed a no-decision on Tuesday when surrendered a season-worst five runs on seven hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings in the Dodgers' 6-5 loss to the Reds. Jon Mathisen Wed, Apr 28th | Xander Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and two runs in Saturday's victory over the Orioles. Liam Gibney Sun, May 9th | |
| RHP Walker Buehler was handed a no-decision on Thursday when he allowed two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts over seven innings in the Dodgers' 3-2 loss to the Padres. Jon Mathisen Fri, Apr 23rd | Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-3 with a walk, one RBI, and one run in the Red Sox victory on Friday. Liam Gibney Fri, May 7th | |
| RHP Walker Buehler was handed a no-decision on Friday when he allowed two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk over six innings as the Dodgers took down the Padres 11-6 in extra-innings. Jon Mathisen Sat, Apr 17th | Xander Bogaerts went 1-for-4 with two runs scored as the Red Sox fell to the Tigers in extra innings on Wednesday. Brendan Tuma - Too Much Tuma Thu, May 6th | |
| Notes | ||
| Because the Dodgers wanted to closely watch Buehler's routine and workload, he got a late start to the shortened season, essentially using his first few starts as the end of his spring training. He also dealt with blisters late in the year. All that to say, Buehler's 36 2/3 regular-season innings are, for the most part, largely meaningless. He gave up a few more home runs and walked a few more batters than usual, and he won just a single game. But none of it matters. Value Buehler as you did after his 2019 season - as one of the true stud pitchers in the game. Once the big three of Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, and Shane Bieber are off the board, Buehler should come under immediate consideration, as the type of starting pitcher who can be your fantasy ace. Dan Harris - FantasyPros | Bogaerts largely backed up his excellent 2019 season with a strong 2020 campaign. He didn't hit the ball quite as hard and his launch angle dropped, but he did manage to maintain his .300 average and put up a similar home run pace. Two things from last year stand out and probably shouldn't be written off entirely: first, Bogaerts' RBI pace dropped significantly, and considering that the Red Sox lineup went from a relative strength to a weakness, it seems unlikely he'll approach 100 RBI in 2021. Second, after dropping for three consecutive seasons, Bogaerts' steal pace increased to the highest of his career. The drop in RBI and increase in steals may be related, as Bogaerts likely looked to manufacture runs with less help around him. Both trends are worth projecting going forward, and while Bogaerts' value doesn't change much, fantasy managers will likely take the increase in steals going forward. Dan Harris - FantasyPros | |
| There's little doubt that Buehler is one of the most talented starting pitchers in baseball, but we do have questions about his volume entering 2021. Did you know that during the regular season, Buehler had just one appearance where he completed six full innings? This wasn't just a Dodgers thing, either. Julio Urias had five such appearances while Tony Gonsolin had four and Dustin May had three. Of course, the team was saving Buehler for the playoffs more so than their other youngsters, and it worked out. The Dodgers have always handled Buehler with kid gloves, and while he'll be one of the best starters on a per-inning basis in 2021, I'm worried enough about the volume that I'm ranking him closer to the back half of my top-10 starters. Brendan Tuma - FantasyPros | The biggest story of Bogaerts' 2020 season came in the form of going 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts. This, after the All-Star shortstop swiped just four bags in 2019. Steals are so hard to find these days that getting 10-15 from bats who help in the other four offensive categories is going to be a goldmine this season. Bogaerts' Baseball Savant page isn't flooded with red like other premium hitters being drafted around him, but we have enough of a sample size to remain confident in his lofty projections moving forward. Brendan Tuma - FantasyPros | |
