Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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21.
Jose Abreu
1B,DH
For most players, fantasy managers need to consider whether to discount a highly out-of-character dip in their numbers given the shortened season. For Abreu, it's the opposite - whether fantasy managers should give credence to an outstanding MVP season, during which Abreu vastly outperformed his numbers from every other season of his career. Everything was good for Abreu in 2020, everything. He hit the ball harder than ever and consistently. He got on base more. He had career-high paces in every category. Abreu will be entering his age-34 season, so there's no way you should expect a repeat performance, but it's worth noting that he has increased his average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage in each of the last five seasons. Abreu's cost doesn't match his numbers last year, of course, but you'll still have to pay a hefty price in drafts. Given his safety and and his newly-discovered upside, however, it's worth it.
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26.
Luis Robert
CF
Robert's production was pretty much what it was cracked up to be in terms of his power and speed, but his .233 batting average was a little hard to stomach. He struck out way too much (32.2% of the time, bottom 6% of the league), and just didn't make hard enough contact consistently to keep his average above water. But Robert will be just 24 years old this season, so there's plenty of room for growth in that area. That's particularly true given that Robert was a career .312 hitter in the minors and .314 in Cuba. Even if he was a batting average drain, which you shouldn't expect, given that he was on a roughly 30-25 full-season pace last year, fantasy managers should be able to stomach it. Draft him as a borderline first outfielder in fantasy leagues and reap the rewards.
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27.
Tim Anderson
SS
Anderson doesn't seem like he should be that valuable in fantasy. He doesn't have a ton of power, he rarely walks, and his quality of contact is nothing to write home about. But he's hit .335 and .322 the last two seasons, and although both numbers significantly surpass his xBA, it's clear that Anderson is going to be a plus value in that category. He won't excel in any other area, but he will chip in about 20 homers and 15-20 steals which, along with his batting average, makes him an excellent value given that his ADP is always in check.
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53.
Yoan Moncada
3B
If you're looking for reasons to throw out a player's 2020 season, Moncada's battle with COVID-19 offers you just that for him. His quality of contact dropped like a stone, he struck out a ton, and he went back to his old passive approach, rather than the aggressive one that had led to such gains in 2019. Moncada detailed his struggles after suffering from the virus, so it's a legitimate excuse and surely led to his struggles. Moncada is likely to hit about 25 home runs, and help you everywhere except perhaps batting average (though his .315 mark in 2019 shows his upside). Although he won't be a superstar, at a third base position that gets shallow quicker than expected, he makes a fine option you can wait on but who will offer plenty of production.
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96.
Yasmani Grandal
C
Grandal is getting up there in age for a catcher, and there were a few warning signs for the veteran. He struck out nearly 30% of the time last season, well above his typical rate, and his expected batting average, slugging percentage, and wOBA were some of the worst of his career. At the same time, he continued to walk at a near-elite clip, and again provided plenty of power from a position where pop is hard to find. The good news for Grandal is that both his large contract and his elite pitch framing skills should keep him in the lineup as often as possible, which will help to pad his counting stats, though his recovery from a knee injury may cause Chicago to take it easy with him at the outset. He's just a tad outside of the elite range at the position, but he's a locked in fantasy starter.
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114.
Nick Madrigal
2B
Madrigal had a successful 2020 debut season with the White Sox, doing what he has done best throughout his minor league career: hitting for a high average with no power and never striking out. His main assets are his speed and and ability to hit for a high batting average, and though the power may eventually come, considering he hit four home runs total in the minor leagues, it's a good bet that it won't be this year. He's slated to bat at the bottom of Chicago's order, so downgrade his plate appearances a bit, but he will be a plus contributor in the two most difficult to fill rotisserie categories.
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164.
Andrew Vaughn
1B,LF
Vaughn's minor league numbers from 2019 don't jump off the page, but make no mistake, he has the talent to become an instant quality hitter in the majors. He raked all throughout his college career, and not only carries plenty of thump in his bat, but also has an excellent approach that should keep his batting average and OBP well above the league average. He looks more and more likely to win the everyday DH job for the White Sox, in which case, he'd be an absolute steal if you can get him outside the top 160 or so, which you should be able to do everywhere.
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215.
Eloy Jimenez
LF
Jimenez is going to miss 5-6 months with a ruptured pectoral tendon, an absolutely brutal blow to a player who was being drafted as a borderline top-10 outfielder. You can draft him with your last pick and hope to be able to stash him on your IL all season long, but for the most part, you can ignore him in redraft formats.
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310.
Leury Garcia
2B,CF,LF,RF,SS
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329.
Adam Engel
CF,RF
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359.
Jake Lamb
3B
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373.
Billy Hamilton
CF,LF
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383.
Brian Goodwin
CF
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410.
Zack Collins
C,DH
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549.
Deivy Grullon
C
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575.
Seby Zavala
C
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603.
Danny Mendick
2B,RF,SS
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638.
Tim Beckham
SS
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677.
Gavin Sheets
1B
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696.
Yermin Mercedes
DH
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701.
Nick Williams
LF
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707.
Luis Gonzalez
CF
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719.
Micker Adolfo
RF
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721.
Blake Rutherford
RF
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762.
Ryan Goins
3B
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766.
Marco Hernandez
2B
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