Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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19.
Jose Abreu
1B
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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27.
Eloy Jimenez
LF
Jimenez has some warts, without question. He hits the ball on the ground too much, doesn't walk enough, and will provide nothing in the stolen base category. But he makes up for all of that by hitting the ball really, really, really hard pretty much every time he steps up to the plate. Jimenez ranks no worse than the 90th percentile in barrel rate, expected slugging percentage, average exit velocity, and hard hit percentage, and has hit 45 home runs in 177 MLB games. Playing in Guaranteed Rate Field helps, of course, and Jimenez should pretty easily provide nearly 40 home runs with strong runs and RBI over the course of a full season. Draft him as a borderline top-10 outfielder.
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28.
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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32.
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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60.
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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89.
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. 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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110.
Nick Madrigal
2B
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179.
Adam Eaton
RF
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198.
Andrew Vaughn
1B
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333.
Adam Engel
RF
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386.
Leury Garcia
SS
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462.
Zack Collins
DH
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464.
Jonathan Lucroy
C
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496.
Seby Zavala
C
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527.
Danny Mendick
2B
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572.
Micker Adolfo
RF
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584.
Luis Gonzalez
CF
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614.
Gavin Sheets
1B
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634.
Nick Williams
LF
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641.
Blake Rutherford
RF
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669.
Yermin Mercedes
DH
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678.
Tim Beckham
SS
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