Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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19.
Starling Marte
CF,RF
Speed kills. Or at least it does outside of the Big Apple. The Mets haven't had a player swipe 30 or more bases in the last seven seasons. Will they let their big free agent acquisition loose on the basepaths? Even if they do, at 34, will Marte still be an elite bag thief? If he's not running, Marte is a fantasy liability relative to his ADP. He's unlikely to pass the 20-dinger threshold, he's only had one season with 90 or more runs in his career, he's unlikely to equal last year's .372 BABIP, and he's part of the Mets' continually anemic offense. Don't overpay. But if he falls, snatch him up.
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29.
Francisco Lindor
SS
Lindor melted like hot butter under the New York spotlight. Last year's $341 million free agent signing was - how do we put this nicely? - awful. Simply awful. There was no pop in his bat, as evidenced by a career-low SLG%. He struck out 96 times in only 125 games, well above his career average, and became an albatross on Mets owner Steve Cohen's hopes and dreams. Lindor is the biggest boom-or-bust top-50 player in the game. If you believe last year was an aberration, snap him up in the late third or early fourth round. If you believe the Mets are going to regret backing up the Brinks truck for a player on an early decline, let someone else get saddled by a name that may well be better than the stats.
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30.
Pete Alonso
1B,DH
A classic power-hitting first baseman, Alonso is most likely going to deliver 40 HR, 100 RBI and should cross the plate close to 100 times. He's a plug-and-play option. Some managers like to punt on first base until later in the draft, but if you want to secure your power numbers late in the fourth round or early in the fifth, Alonso is a rock-solid choice.
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135.
Eduardo Escobar
2B,3B
Escobar rarely gets much love from fantasy managers, probably because everything under the hood doesn't usually support his numbers. He almost always outperforms his expected statistics, and he offers no help in batting average or steals. But he does have plenty of pop (53 homers over his last two full seasons, at least 21 in each of his last four), and he's been a plus in runs scored and RBI despite playing on mediocre teams. He'll now be the everyday third baseman for the Mets, so managers can enjoy his dual eligibility, and his placement in the middle of a strong lineup should keep all his counting stats afloat. There's not a ton of upside with Escobar, but there's a high floor.
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136.
Mark Canha
CF,LF,RF
Canha had an interesting 2021 season, as he saw his average continue to trend down but randomly stole 12 bases with Oakland. Now with the Mets, he'll likely bat toward the bottom of the order, so chances are he won't come close to the 93 runs he scored last year. If you're in an OBP league, Canha's value increases greatly, as his walk rate hasn't been lower than 12.3% in any of the last three seasons. But in a standard 5x5 league, he's mostly just a filler option.
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157.
Brandon Nimmo
CF
It's hard not to love a guy who sprints to first base after a walk, especially when he walks 14% of the time, one of the best rates in baseball. Nimmo will lead off again this year for the Mets, and given his elite OBP (.393 career), he should score plenty of runs. He doesn't have a ton of power or speed, but a fully healthy Nimmo should give you close to a 15-10 season with a plus batting average and contribution in the runs scored categories. The key phrase there is "fully healthy," because Nimmo's 92 games played last year were the second most of his career. But that injury risk is baked into his ADP, so draft him late and start him when he's in the lineup. You likely won't be disappointed if you do.
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163.
Jeff McNeil
2B,LF
McNeil's 2019 power outburst looks like a total anomaly, as he hit just seven home runs last year. His usual reliable batting average bottomed out to just .251 as he played through injury, but most of his underlying metrics looked strong. He'll rarely strike out, but there's just not that much that he can offer given his lack of power and speed. Worse still, he'll likely now bat in the bottom third of the Mets' batting order with the team's additions. There's little reason to consider McNeil in any capacity this year unless he somehow finds his power stroke.
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187.
Dominic Smith
1B,DH,LF
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230.
James McCann
C
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284.
J.D. Davis
3B,DH
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402.
Daniel Johnson
RF
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412.
Tomas Nido
C
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465.
Patrick Mazeika
C
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524.
Luis Guillorme
2B,3B
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554.
Travis Jankowski
CF
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595.
Khalil Lee
RF
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657.
Johneshwy Fargas
CF
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677.
Nick Plummer
LF
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683.
Mark Vientos
3B
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712.
Travis Blankenhorn
2B
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760.
Brett Baty
3B
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