Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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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.
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26.
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.
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97.
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.
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154.
Shohei Ohtani
DH,SP
Depending on your league settings, Ohtani has the potential to be a dominant force in 2021. There has never been any doubt about his talent, and he looks fantastic in the spring, hitting home runs at will and pumping in high-90s fastballs when on the mound. He's been batting on days he pitches, and Joe Maddon has suggested that he's going to throw out the old rules that led to Ohtani's decreased playing time. If you can move him between hitter and pitcher on a daily basis, then move him up your board significantly. Even if not, he should provide plenty of value when healthy as either a hitter or a pitcher, so make sure he's on your radar as you move into the double-digit rounds.
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225.
Jared Walsh
1B
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234.
David Fletcher
2B,SS
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246.
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.
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301.
Noah Syndergaard
SP
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307.
Justin Upton
LF
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331.
Jo Adell
LF
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398.
Shohei Ohtani
DH
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413.
Max Stassi
C
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443.
Mike Mayers
RP
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460.
Michael Lorenzen
RP
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535.
Aaron Loup
RP
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600.
Sam Selman
RP
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620.
Jaime Barria
SP
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660.
Brandon Marsh
CF
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684.
Patrick Sandoval
SP
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685.
Taylor Ward
RF
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688.
Chad Wallach
C
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931.
Packy Naughton
SP
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936.
Gerardo Reyes
RP
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948.
Reid Detmers
SP
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956.
Jose Soriano
SP
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979.
Jose Suarez
SP
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1023.
Tyler Wade
3B,SS
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1098.
Luis Rengifo
SS
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1116.
Chris Rodriguez
RP
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1288.
Jose Quijada
RP
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1341.
Jose Alberto Rivera
RP
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1372.
Jimmy Herget
RP
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1457.
Andrew Velazquez
SS
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1484.
Jack Mayfield
3B
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1485.
Jose Rojas
RF
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1488.
Matt Thaiss
1B
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