Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

Hayes had major buzz heading into 2021 after he batted .376 with a 1.124 OPS in 24 games in 2020. But his season went south nearly from the start, after he missed significant time with a wrist injury and continued to battle hand and wrist issues even after he returned. His hard-hit rate, average exit velocity and barrel percentage all dropped significantly, and it's fair to write if fantasy managers want to write all that off to his injury issues. But it's equally fair to acknowledge that Hayes's strong 2020 season was out of line with his minor-league career, and that fantasy managers were putting way too much stock into an incredibly small sample. The good news is that, unlike last year, fantasy managers won't need to pay a high price for Hayes, and in the wasteland (in terms of fantasy production) that is the third base position, Hayes makes a passable option at the hot corner in deeper leagues. Just make sure you draft some depth behind him in case he struggles again.