Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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16.
Ronald Acuna Jr.
RF
In any other year, Acuna, Jr. is an easy top-five pick. The five-category star is a set-it-and-forget-it roster heavyweight. But coming off a gruesome mid-summer ACL tear, he's likely to miss most of April and possibly some of May, and Acuna is unlikely to wreak havoc on the basepaths for the first couple months. He's going to rake once he's healthy, but you might want to pass on Acuna unless you get a significant discount on him.
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17.
Ozzie Albies
2B
Ignoring the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Albies stands alone as the only player to score 100 runs, hit 20 home runs and steal 10 bases over each of the last three full seasons. He's a surefire five-category hitter coming into his prime. If Mookie Betts doesn't maintain 2B eligibility in your league, Albies is the No. 2 second baseman behind Trea Turner.
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25.
Matt Olson
1B
The Braves' new slugger posted career highs across the board last season - 39 HRs, 111, RBI, 101 runs and a .271 BA - and as he enters his age-28 season, he should be in his prime. The elite power is here to stay, and after batting .195 in the shortened 2020 season, Olson made huge strides in his contact rate (80%) last year and batted a very respectable .271. Going from Oakland to the Braves' friendlier ballpark could spike his HR total. Olson is a worthy power anchor.
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50.
Austin Riley
1B,3B
Riley's value swings wildly depending on whether you play in an OBP league or a BA league. In the former, he's a four category stud. In the latter, he's a slightly overvalued three category asset. The young slugger should continue to get better, but reaching last year's ceiling may not be realistic. Kim Kardashian has a better chance of winning an Oscar for Best Actress than Riley does of equaling his 2021 second-half .397 BABIP. That said, while you don't want to reach for him based on his RBI numbers last year, the 3B position isn't as deep as usual, so Riley isn't a bad pick in the fifth or sixth round.
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61.
Max Fried
SP
There's a scene in the movie "Draft Day" where the Cleveland Browns GM played by Kevin Costner writes down a name on a sticky note before the draft. It's the name of the one guy he can't leave the draft without. I'll be writing Max Fried's name on my sticky note. Pencil him in for 17 wins on a great Braves team, a top-40 overall ranking, about one strikeout per inning, a beautiful WHIP and an ERA right around the 3.00 mark. Not bad for a guy with an ADP around 70.
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70.
Charlie Morton
SP
Morton is 38 years old. He's coming back from a broken fibula. And yet, he's a perfect SP3 target. Morton is the Honda Civic in your driveway that just refuses to die. It delivers reliable performance, week in and week out. Excluding the off-kilter 2020 pandemic short season, Morton has given managers a sub-3.40 ERA and sub-1.20 WHIP with good strikeout totals and double-digit wins in four straight seasons. The Braves have faith he's got a fifth straight season in him.
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108.
Dansby Swanson
SS
Swanson is the type of player that you're not excited to draft but who you know will give you reliable production. At this stage of his career, he's pretty much a .250-25-10 type of bat who should give you about 165 combined runs and RBI in a strong Braves lineup. There's been nearly no change to Swanson's underlying metrics and data over the last three seasons, and though he could show some growth as he moves into his late-20s, chances are that he just is who he is. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, especially since his price is always kept in check by his lack of excitement. If you miss out on the prime shortstops, he's a fine consolation prize late in drafts.
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112.
Kenley Jansen
RP
Jansen signed a one-year deal with the Braves and will slide right into the cloer's role. There is a lot of mileage on his arm, but he had a strong rebound season last year, dropping his ERA to a 2.22 and his WHIP to 1.04, all while tallying 38 saves for the Dodgers. After losing velocity for several seasons, Jansen got it back last year, averaging 92.5 MPH with his cutter, which resulted in just a .176 batting average against, his best since 2016. Assuming he can sustain his gains, he should again be a top reliever, and his hefty contract should at least give him a decent leash in the ninth inning. He's plenty capable of being your anchor reliever.
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141.
Ian Anderson
SP
Anderson wasn't as dominant last year as he was in his six-start stretch in 2020, but you shouldn't have expected him to be. What he gave fantasy managers was still plenty useful, with a mid-3.00 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. He's going to need to continue to develop his curveball more to be able to take the next step in terms of fantasy pitchers, and he might have trouble taking a step forward regardless given how much the NL East offenses have improved. But there's little risk that he'll regress significantly at this stage, so your worst case scenario should be a solid mid-tier starter.
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161.
Eddie Rosario
LF,RF
Rosario re-signed with the Braves after coming over mid-season last year from Clevelan. He's still a productive MLB player but it's unclear if he can recapture the form that made him one of the more underrated assets in fantasy. He's no longer out-performing his expected batting average and he's never hit the ball particularly hard, so the 32 home runs we saw back in 2019 are probably never coming back. But he'll likely approach a 20-10 season in Atlanta and stick in the lineup every day with the addition of the DH in the National League. You could do worse as your last outfielder in a mixed league.
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163.
Marcell Ozuna
LF
Ozuna missed the majority of the season after he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery last year. He's 31 years old now and his hard hit rate and average exit velocity declined sharply last year, along with his home run percentage and batting average. It's not clear if his numbers last year were just a blip or the start of a steep decline, but you shouldn't be relying on him as a starter for now.
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178.
Adam Duvall
LF,CF,RF
Duvall had the quietest 38-homer season in recent memory, which happens when a bulk of it takes place in Miami. He also led the National League in RBI and was one of the leaders in max exit velocity. But he also batted just .228 and struck out 31.4% of the time. Duvall is now 33 years old so expecting a rebound in batting average or strikeout rate is probably wishful thinking. But if it's power you crave, then Duvall should have you covered, particularly with playing his home game in Atlanta's hitter-friendly Truist Park.
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246.
Huascar Ynoa
SP
Ynoa pitched only 101 1/13 innings last season between the majors and the minors, and ended the season with a sore shoulder. There was some doubt about whether he would begin the year in the rotation but he has pitched well and been healthy this spring, so those concerns can likely be put to bed. Ynoa has an elite slider and an outstanding fastball that both miss bats, and both pitches are so good that fantasy managers should feel confident that he can succeed as a starter despite really having just those two pitches. With that said, the Braves will likely be careful with his innings this season, so there's no reason to draft him too early since he probably has a 140-inning cap.
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273.
Travis d'Arnaud
C
d'Arnaud has plenty of offensive talent, but he's now 33 years old and coming off an injury-plagued season that limited him to just 60 games. That's been the bugaboo for d'Arnaud throughout his career, as he's never had more than 391 plate appearances in a season. If you could guarantee his health, then his power upside and strong supporting cast would likely be enough to make him a top-12 catcher. But there's no way to bank on that, so outside of NL-only or two-catcher formats, don't bother with him in fantasy.
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275.
Will Smith
RP
Smith was a bit maddening at times last year when he struggled with his control, but he ultimately tallied 37 saves en route to a championship season. He was slated to be the closer for Atlanta once again, but with the Braves signing Kenley Jansen, Smith is now nothing more than an insurance policy. Don't bother drafting him in mixed leagues but keep your eye on him on the waiver wire in case Jansen struggles significantly.
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408.
Collin McHugh
SP,RP
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469.
Tyler Matzek
RP
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503.
A.J. Minter
RP
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541.
Kyle Muller
SP
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578.
Mike Soroka
SP
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580.
Manny Pina
C
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589.
Kyle Wright
SP
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611.
Spencer Strider
RP
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642.
Luke Jackson
RP
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668.
Drew Waters
CF
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682.
Jesse Chavez
SP,RP
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697.
Jay Jackson
RP
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741.
Kirby Yates
RP
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784.
Tucker Davidson
SP
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797.
Orlando Arcia
LF
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828.
William Contreras
C
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843.
Alex Dickerson
LF
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885.
Alan Rangel
SP
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902.
Darren O'Day
RP
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954.
Touki Toussaint
SP
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1056.
Dylan Lee
RP
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1176.
Chadwick Tromp
C
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1185.
Brooks Wilson
RP
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1235.
Phil Gosselin
1B,3B,LF
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1251.
Guillermo Heredia
LF,CF,RF
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1400.
Jay Flaa
RP
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1403.
Pat Valaika
2B,SS
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1404.
Delino DeShields
CF
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1409.
John Nogowski
1B
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1431.
Brad Brach
RP
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1476.
Travis Demeritte
2B,SS,LF,RF
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1594.
Hernan Perez
Util
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1604.
Tyler Thornburg
RP
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1640.
Ryan Goins
2B,SS
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