Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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9.
Jose Ramirez
3B
If you throw out the first half of his 2019 season, then Ramirez has been a dominant force in fantasy baseball for the last five years. He was as good as ever in 2020, setting career highs in slugging percentage (.607), wOBA (.415) and wRC+ (164). To the extent there are question marks about Ramirez, they're about his supporting cast, as Cleveland's lineup should be one of the weaker ones in the league now that the team has jettisoned Francisco Lindor. But a hitter's lineup is often overvalued by fantasy managers, particularly with a player like Ramirez who adds in value with stolen bases. He comes with little to no risk, and should be the first third baseman drafted, and a first round pick, in all formats.
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60.
Eddie Rosario
LF,RF
Rosario stays in the AL Central, signing a one-year deal with the Indians after a successful tenure with the Twins. He's established a fairly reliable power baseline at this point, and he usually offers some batting average to go with it. Last year, however, his batting average dipped to just .257, in part because he became much more passive (8.2% walk rate, 51.2% Swing%, both far out of character for his career). The bigger issue was that Rosario largely cut down on his swing percentage on pitches in the strike zone, but continued to swing at pitches out of the zone at a 41.2% clip. That likely explains his lower than usual average exit velocity and barrel rate, and it's something that's easily correctable if he just goes back to his previous approach. At the very least, Rosario should chip in 25 home runs at least, while helping out in runs and RBI, and he's a fine third outfielder in mixed leagues.
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78.
Franmil Reyes
RF
Reyes didn't quite live up to his power potential last year with just nine home runs in 59 games, and his 50.3% ground ball rate certainly didn't help. His Statcast data waned a bit from his monstrous 2019 season, but his 92.4 mile per hour average exit velocity was in the top two percent in baseball. There's just not a ton to dislike about Reyes, other than he offers nothing in the way of speed. On his absolute worst day, he's a 30-homer bat with a batting average that won't kill you. On his best day, he's a lite version of a healthy Aaron Judge. Expect at least three-category production, and make it four if he can maintain the 10% walk rate he showed in 2020.
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118.
Andres Gimenez
2B,3B,SS
Gimenez was one of the main pieces in the Francisco Lindor/Carlos Carrasco trade, and he looks like he'll be the starting shortstop for Cleveland on Opening Day. There's not a ton of power in his bat, but he has a ton of speed. He ranked in the 94th percentile in sprint speed last season, and stole eight bases in 49 games in 2020 and 28 in 117 games in Triple-A the year before. His ADP is rising as his job security grows, but it's worth it for the steals he will provide.
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177.
Cesar Hernandez
2B
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178.
Amed Rosario
SS,CF
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193.
Wilson Ramos
C
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213.
Josh Naylor
1B,LF,RF
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266.
Oscar Mercado
LF,CF,RF
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279.
Roberto Perez
C
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343.
Austin Hedges
C
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374.
Jordan Luplow
LF,CF,RF
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390.
Nolan Jones
3B
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393.
Harold Ramirez
LF,CF,RF
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439.
George Valera
CF
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450.
Bradley Zimmer
CF
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456.
Aaron Bracho
SS
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465.
Bobby Bradley
1B
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472.
Daniel Johnson
RF
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483.
Brayan Rocchio
SS
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498.
Tyler Freeman
SS
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653.
Yu Chang
1B,3B
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728.
Owen Miller
SS
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775.
Ernie Clement
2B,3B,SS
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