Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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7.
Christian Yelich
LF
Yelich's 2020 season was, in a word, bizarre. After batting .327 combined from 2018-2019, his batting average dropped to a meager .205 last year. Although he hit the ball as hard as ever, setting career highs in average exit velocity and hard hit percentage, his strikeout rate ballooned more than 10 points to 30.8%. At the same time, Yelich's walk rate jumped up to 18.6%. Unsurprisingly, the reason for the jump in both Yelich's strikeouts and walks was that he simply swung less - just 34.6% of the time after his mark hovered above 44% the previous two seasons. If Yelich takes the same passive approach in 2021, then it's likely that his batting average will remain below what fantasy managers had come to expect. But considering that his season was so out of line with what he'd produced since coming to Milwaukee, fantasy managers should expect far more this season, and feel confident drafting him late in the first round.
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48.
Keston Hiura
2B,DH,1B
Hiura looked to be on the verge of superstardom heading into 2020, if he could just cut back on his bloated 30.7% strikeout rate. Instead, he struck out more than ever (34.6% of the time), en route to a league-leading 85 strikeouts. That led to a massive drop in production, notably in batting average, which fell from .303 in 2019 to .212 last year. Hiura was never a high-strikeout player in the minors. He never struck out more than 26.3% in any level and he had an overall strikeout rate of just 21%. If he can manage to cut down on the whiffs, he should be a top option at second base given his power and speed, but for now, drop him down your draft board a bit from where he was heading into 2020. He's still a borderline top-five option, especially since he will add first base eligibility after the Brewers signed Kolten Wong, but exercise more caution.
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135.
Lorenzo Cain
CF
Cain opted out of the season last year after just five games, but he'll play and bat near the top of the Brewers' lineup this year. His steals total dropped to just 18 in 2019, and his sprint speed has been declining in recent years. But he talked openly about wanting to try to steal more bases before he opted out last year, and he's still a safe bet for batting average and double-digit homers. He's been forgotten a bit in drafts this year, but he's a fine fifth outfielder in mixed leagues.
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139.
Kolten Wong
2B
Wong lands in a great situation with the Brewers, where he's expected to lead off in front of a strong lineup. His quality of contact is incredibly poor, but in Miller Park, he should be a good bet for 10-15 homers, and he'll throw in 15-20 steals despite having a fairly average sprint speed. There's not a ton of upside for Wong, but absent injury, there's not a whole lot of downside for him in Milwaukee either. He's not a startable second baseman in mixed leagues, but he's a fine middle infielder or bench option.
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158.
Willy Adames
SS
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194.
Avisail Garcia
CF,RF
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195.
Jackie Bradley Jr.
CF,LF
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236.
Omar Narvaez
C
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257.
Luis Urias
2B,3B,SS
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308.
Travis Shaw
1B,3B
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317.
Daniel Vogelbach
DH,1B
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345.
Manny Pina
C
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402.
Mark Mathias
RF
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409.
Tim Lopes
LF,RF,DH
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424.
Garrett Mitchell
CF
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471.
Derek Fisher
RF
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519.
Hedbert Perez
CF
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554.
Daniel Robertson
SS,3B
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587.
Luke Maile
C
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599.
Logan Forsythe
2B
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633.
Jace Peterson
RF,2B
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636.
Tyrone Taylor
RF,LF
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652.
Hernan Perez
1B
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718.
Zach Green
3B
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726.
Dustin Peterson
LF
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732.
Corey Ray
CF
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774.
Pablo Reyes
LF,3B
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798.
Lucas Erceg
3B
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