Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes

Position

Team

Mike Trout Note
	5. Mike Trout CF For one of the first times since he took the league by storm, Trout is not the consensus top pick this year. It's hardly his fault, though it's fair to point out some of the negatives with his 2020 season. He batted a career-low .281, and posted his worst walk- and strikeout-rates since 2015. He also stole only one base. But Trout's move down the overall baseball rankings is due more to his competition for the top spot, rather than his numbers. He was still among the league leaders in quality of contact and every expected statcast metric, and was on pace to hit 50 home runs over the course of a full season. Trout is entering his age-30 season, so although we've seen him rebound from poor stolen base years before, it now seems unlikely that he'll ever get back to much past low-double digits. That keeps him out of the top spot in rotisserie rankings, but his incredibly high floor makes him a top-five overall draft pick. 2 days ago

Anthony Rendon Note
	25. Anthony Rendon 3B Rendon's stock feels like it has dropped dramatically, but there's really nothing in the small sample size of the 2020 season that should alter your outlook much on him. Yes, he didn't hit the ball as hard consistently, but he walked more than ever, maintained his elite strikeout rate, and still put up a roughly 30-homer, 100-RBI pace. Still just 31 years old, there should be plenty left in the tank this season for the veteran, and he should once again be a strong four-category contributor, with a small bit of speed thrown in for good measure. 2 days ago

Raisel Iglesias Note
	101. Raisel Iglesias RP Iglesias bounced back from a sub-par 2019 to post an excellent 2020 season, with a 2.74 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP, and the lowest walk rate of his career. He'll now move to the Angels where he'll keep his role as a closer. Iglesias's numbers should be solid as usual, and his precise value should hinge on whether the Angels use him in more of a multi-inning role like the Reds historically did (which limited Iglesias's save totals), or deploy him as a more traditional ninth-inning option. Either way, Iglesias will be the Angels' stopper, and hence, should be drafted as a strong top-10 RP option. 2 days ago

Dylan Bundy Note
	124. Dylan Bundy SP Bundy largely made good on the enormous amount of buzz that surrounded him after he moved from the Orioles to the Angels. He set career bests in ERA (3.29), WHIP (1.04), strikeout rate (27%), and walk rate (6.4%). Bundy's fastball, though it continued to trend down in velocity, was more effective than in years' past, in part because he cut way down on his usage of the pitch (just 33.6%, after throwing it at least 42.4% of the time in every previous season). His slider remained one of the best pitches in the game, and his remaining secondary pitches improved, too. At some point, Bundy's fastball velocity is going to become an issue, but there's little reason to expect that to come in 2021. Draft him as as an SP3. 1 day ago

Shohei Ohtani Note
	173. Shohei Ohtani SP,DH

Andrew Heaney Note
	182. Andrew Heaney SP

David Fletcher Note
	227. David Fletcher 2B,3B,SS,LF

Jared Walsh Note
	230. Jared Walsh 1B

Griffin Canning Note
	252. Griffin Canning SP It's mostly about health with Canning, who offers a great deal of stability when he's on the mound. You can expect at worst a low 4.00 ERA, about a 1.30 WHIP, and roughly a strikeout per inning. But he did close last season notably strong, pitching to a 3.14 ERA, and a 1.19 WHIP, with a 14.5% swinging strike rate and a 10.4 K/9 mark over his final five starts. That's probably his ceiling, but it shows what he's capable of when he is healthy and gets into a groove. He's a fine pick at his cost (which is minimal), but bake in some injury risk. 2 days ago

Jo Adell Note
	301. Jo Adell RF

Justin Upton Note
	312. Justin Upton LF

Jose Iglesias Note
	384. Jose Iglesias SS,DH

Jose Quintana Note
	393. Jose Quintana SP,RP

Max Stassi Note
	424. Max Stassi C

Mike Mayers Note
	443. Mike Mayers RP

Kurt Suzuki Note
	469. Kurt Suzuki C

Alex Cobb Note
	502. Alex Cobb SP

Jack Kruger Note
	542. Jack Kruger C

Albert Pujols Note
	568. Albert Pujols 1B,DH

Dexter Fowler Note
	622. Dexter Fowler CF,RF

Ty Buttrey Note
	660. Ty Buttrey RP

Patrick Sandoval Note
	670. Patrick Sandoval SP

Felix Pena Note
	701. Felix Pena SP,RP

Alex Claudio Note
	715. Alex Claudio RP

Jaime Barria Note
	732. Jaime Barria SP,RP

Taylor Ward Note
	755. Taylor Ward LF,RF

Junior Guerra Note
	773. Junior Guerra RP

Dillon Peters Note
	827. Dillon Peters SP,RP

Packy Naughton Note
	859. Packy Naughton SP

Brandon Marsh Note
	860. Brandon Marsh CF,RF

Jose Suarez Note
	931. Jose Suarez SP

Franklin Barreto Note
	983. Franklin Barreto 2B

Gerardo Reyes Note
	991. Gerardo Reyes RP

Luis Rengifo Note
	996. Luis Rengifo 2B,SS

Kyle Keller Note
	1082. Kyle Keller RP

Jose Quijada Note
	1111. Jose Quijada RP

Jesse Chavez Note
	1122. Jesse Chavez SP,RP

Brendan McCurry Note
	1125. Brendan McCurry RP

Aaron Slegers Note
	1162. Aaron Slegers RP

Jake Faria Note
	1200. Jake Faria SP,RP

Luke Bard Note
	1222. Luke Bard SP,RP

Anthony Bemboom Note
	1329. Anthony Bemboom C

Phil Gosselin Note
	1372. Phil Gosselin 1B,DH,LF,RF

Matt Thaiss Note
	1416. Matt Thaiss 1B,3B

Jack Mayfield Note
	1456. Jack Mayfield 3B,SS

Scott Schebler Note
	1462. Scott Schebler CF,RF