Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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46.
Javier Baez
2B,SS
The free-swinging middle infielder signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the Tigers. Baez led the NL with 184 strikeouts last year but also belted 31 homers, had 87 RBI and 80 runs, and batted a respectable .265. This is a strange, volatile skill set, but Baez can usually be counted on to provide help with the counting stats. He won't hurt you in leagues that use batting average, but his unwillingness to take a walk becomes a liability in OBP leagues.
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81.
Austin Meadows
DH,LF,RF
On the one hand, Meadows largely bounced back from the horror story that was the abbreviated 2020 season. His strikeout rate normalized, his power returned, and his playing time stabilized. The glaring exception was that he could not correct his sudden struggles against lefties. In 2019, Meadows slashed .275/.316/.521 against southpaws. Last year, he slashed just .198/.270/.293 against them. Even if Meadows's overall numbers are passable, it seems unlikely that a team like the Rays are going to let a player who is merely an average defender continue to keep an everyday job when he's virtually useless against left-handed throwers. That would still leave Meadows on the strong side of a platoon, but if he does begin to sit more regularly, his counting stats will take a hit, and fantasy managers should be aware of that before they select him in their drafts.
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113.
Akil Baddoo
LF,CF
Baddoo wasn't expected to contribute much in the majors last year, but he came on strong and ultimately played in 124 games, hitting 13 home runs and stealing 18 bases while batting .259. The speed is legtimate, as he ranked in the 91st percentile in sprint speed last season, but he's going to significantly improve on his .523 OPS against lefties if he's going to find success this year. Baddoo should begin the year batting leadoff in front of an improved Tigers lineup, so if he can just maintain his performance against righties and improve against lefties somewhat, a 20-20 season coul be in the cards. If not, then he'll likely bat in the lower third of the order and lose much of his value.
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141.
Jonathan Schoop
1B,2B,DH
Schoop is rarely talked about during prep season, but he has hit at least 21 home runs in each of his last five full seasons. That doesn't sound overly impressive, but that level of consistency in power from a second baseman is unusual and impressive. As usual, Schop was again among the league leaders in maximum exit velocity (117.1 MPH, a career high), and his hard hit rate was nearly five percentage points higher than his career average. The Tigers' lineup should be stronger this year with the addition of Javier Baez, and considering that Schoop is just 30 years old and has shown no signs of decline, there's every reason to expect his boring but stealthily productive numbers once again.
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144.
Spencer Torkelson
1B,3B
Torkelson looks poised to start the year in the majors with the Tigers at first base, and there is a lot of reason to be excited after he blazed through three levels of the minors last year. He likely won't hit for much average, but he's got an exceptional eye at the plate (his lowest walk rate at any level last was 13%) and he hit 30 home runs in 121 games total in 2021. He's just 22 years old so don't be surprised if he struggles at first. But particularly in keeper formats, and even in redraft leagues, the upside is so strong that he should be a late-round target everywhere.
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151.
Jeimer Candelario
3B
Candelario is not an exciting player. He has little speed and probsbly won't surpass 20 home runs. But he won't hurt you in batting average and will give you passable runs scored and RBI totals batting in an improved Tigers offense. With third base being so shallow, Candelario is a player you can draft late who can fill in on off-days or be a bench player. It's never fun to draft low-upside players late, but Candelario is one of the few guys to take a shot on there.
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237.
Eric Haase
C,DH,LF
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240.
Riley Greene
CF
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247.
Tucker Barnhart
C
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263.
Miguel Cabrera
1B,DH
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314.
Victor Reyes
CF,LF,RF
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368.
Willi Castro
2B,CF,LF,RF,SS
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388.
Jack Lopez
2B
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420.
Daz Cameron
CF,RF
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458.
Jake Rogers
C
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469.
Dustin Garneau
C
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475.
Ali Sanchez
C
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516.
Harold Castro
1B,2B,3B,SS
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577.
Zack Short
SS
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640.
Kody Clemens
1B,2B,3B,LF
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672.
Brendon Davis
3B,LF
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708.
Ryan Kreidler
SS
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