Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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67.
Ketel Marte
2B,SS,CF
Most fantasy managers expected regression from Marte after his breakout 2019 season, but few saw last year coming. Marte hit two homeruns in his 45 games, and contributed minimally elsewhere other than batting average. His walk rate dropped to a miniscule 3.6%, and although he struck out less than ever, the quality of his contact was overwhelmingly poor. Truth be told, both 2019 and 2020 are probably outliers for Marte, and the truth probably lies somewhere between his 2018 (.260/.332/.437) and 2019 (.329/.389/.592) seasons. Those numbers will play at second base, especially given Marte's draft cost, but give up dreams of him hitting 32 home runs ever again.
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120.
Zac Gallen
SP
Gallen has a hairline stress fracture of his right forearm at the radial head. He's reportedly going to be able to continue playing catch at a "low stress level" while recovering, though there's no indication of how much time he'll miss. When healthy, he's a solid SP2. He built on his excellent 2019 season with an even more impressive 2020 campaign. Not only did he drop his ERA slightly to 2.75, but he cut way down on his walks (10.8% to 8.6%), which led to a much-improved 1.11 WHIP. Gallen has a 28.5% strikeout rate in 152 MLB innings, and an excellent fastball, curveball, and changeup. There's just not much negative you can say about him when he's healthy other than he might again struggle for wins playing for a mediocre team in a good division. Because of the injury and surrounding uncertainty, you shouldn't draft him as anything higher than an SP4, but he should perform extremely well when he does recover.
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164.
Christian Walker
1B
Walker's power waned last season and his barrel rate dropped precipitously, but there were still plenty of things to like about his 2020 campaign. Notably, he cut his strikeout rate to a career-best 20.6% while raising his average to a strong .271. Walker is not, and is probably never going to be, a superstar fantasy asset. But he is a quiet producer who should help in four of the five rotisserie categories and is often overlooked. He's an ideal corner infielder for a team that needs steady production.
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208.
Eduardo Escobar
2B,3B
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233.
David Peralta
LF
Peralta is entering his age-34 season and coming off a season during which he hit just five home runs, but he still makes a fairly reliable late-round selection. His career batting average is .291 (and he hit .300 last year), and his 162-game pace is roughly 20 home runs and 160 combined runs and RBI. Even if his steals are gone, there's still plenty of production left in the bat for someone who will be drafted well beyond the top 200 picks, and who had shoulder surgery prior to the 2020 season which likely affected his production. The upside isn't there anymore, but safe and boring can sometimes be the right move.
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264.
Joakim Soria
RP
The Diamondbacks gave Soria a one-year, $3.5 million deal after his successful stint with the A's. Soria fixed his home run problem from 2019, which was an outlier for his career anyway, and his 2020 numbers looked much more in line with his typical output. Soria hasn't been named the closer, but given that he has totaled at least 16 saves in eight separate seasons, it's a strong bet that he'll begin the year in the ninth inning. The Diamondbacks aren't expected to be competitive, so if you do draft him, bank on him being traded to another team, and into another role, by mid-season.
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278.
Kole Calhoun
RF
Calhoun tore his knee meniscus in early March, and has a 4-6 week timetable for his recovery. When healthy, he offers a fairly reliable baseline of production: he will hit plenty of homers and drain your batting average, while offering passable but unspectacular counting statistics otherwise. He's a fine bench outfielder who can always be a plug-in, and he'll likely be essentially free in drafts this year with the injury.
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296.
Carson Kelly
C
After an impressive 2019 season during which he hit 18 home runs in just 111 games, Kelly had a down 2020, batting just .221 with five long balls. Kelly's walk rate regressed significantly to just 4.7%, and he showed little of the patience that brought him success in 2019. Daulton Varsho is a threat to his playing time, but it seems like Kelly will have the lead role behind the plate, with Varsho filling in and getting time at outfield. That should make Kelly a borderline startable catcher in most mixed leagues, assuming he can bounce back from his down 2020 campaign.
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327.
Daulton Varsho
C,LF,CF
Varsho was optioned to Triple-A, which was mildly surprising, though not entirely unexpected. He saw plenty of action between catcher and the outfield last year for the Diamondbacks, and although he batted just .188, he hit three home runs and stole three bases. That may not sound like much but for a catcher-eligible player in 37 games, it's plenty. Varsho was optioned less because of his talent level and more because the Diamondbacks' roster is pretty full, especially with the signing of Asdrubal Cabrera,. There's a ton of potential for Varsho, given that he was a high-average hitter during his minor-league career, but fantasy managers will need to wait a bit longer for him to become someone to start in fantasy leagues.
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341.
Nick Ahmed
SS
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346.
Madison Bumgarner
SP
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348.
Stefan Crichton
RP
Crichton filled in admirably for Archie Bradley after Bradley was traded last season. His strikeout numbers weren't particularly impressive, but he had a 2.42 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, and tallied five saves. He doesn't have prototypical "closer's stuff," but he's more than capable of getting major league hitters out. The Diamondbacks signed Joakim Soria to a one-year deal (and added Tyler Clippard, too), so Crichton seems unlikely to begin the year as the closer, even though it's an open competition at the moment. He's not worth anything other than an extremely late-round pick as a speculative ninth-inning option.
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357.
Luke Weaver
SP
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365.
Caleb Smith
SP,RP
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394.
Josh Rojas
2B,SS,LF,RF
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418.
Merrill Kelly
SP
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493.
Kevin Ginkel
RP
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546.
Tyler Clippard
SP,RP
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577.
Stephen Vogt
C,LF
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602.
Asdrubal Cabrera
1B,2B,3B
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677.
Tim Locastro
LF,CF,RF
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735.
Chris Devenski
RP
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737.
Alex Young
SP,RP
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767.
Taylor Clarke
SP,RP
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768.
Corbin Martin
SP
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838.
J.B. Bukauskas
SP,RP
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840.
Pavin Smith
1B,CF,RF
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878.
Yoan Lopez
RP
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895.
Keury Mella
RP
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903.
Heath Fillmyer
SP,RP
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959.
Riley Smith
SP,RP
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962.
Humberto Mejia
SP
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982.
Taylor Widener
SP,RP
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1004.
Jon Duplantier
SP,RP
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1006.
Josh Reddick
LF,CF,RF
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1045.
Josh VanMeter
1B,2B,LF
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1097.
Ryan Buchter
RP
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1119.
Ben Heller
RP
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1188.
Humberto Castellanos
RP
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1214.
Andrew Young
Util
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1255.
Matt Peacock
SP,RP
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1262.
Wyatt Mathisen
1B,3B
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1263.
Seth Frankoff
RP
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1266.
Stuart Fairchild
LF
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1304.
Joe Mantiply
RP
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1399.
Bryan Holaday
C
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1443.
Seth Beer
LF
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1453.
Nick Heath
CF
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1536.
Domingo Leyba
SS
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