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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121.
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.
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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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180.
Andrew Heaney
SP
Heaney is a fine pitcher, but it feels like he has a lot more to him than his career 4.44 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. His fastball is hittable and he throws it often, and his curveball isn't quite good enough to offset the damage. He was outspoken about working this offseason to become less predictable, so hopefully that manifests itself in his 2021 performance. But there's no reason to draft him as anything but a pitcher who will give you decent strikeouts and mediocre ratios, hopefully as someone you can use on your bench and stream in the right matchup.
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228.
Jared Walsh
1B,RF
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235.
David Fletcher
2B,SS
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248.
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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306.
Justin Upton
LF
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337.
Jo Adell
RF
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393.
Shohei Ohtani
DH
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400.
Jose Iglesias
SS
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403.
Jose Quintana
RP
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411.
Max Stassi
C
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444.
Kurt Suzuki
C
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453.
Mike Mayers
RP
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532.
Dexter Fowler
RF
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541.
Felix Pena
RP
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564.
Alex Cobb
SP
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600.
Tony Watson
RP
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617.
Jaime Barria
SP
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628.
Steve Cishek
RP
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662.
Brandon Marsh
CF
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678.
Patrick Sandoval
SP
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687.
Taylor Ward
RF
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692.
Junior Guerra
RP
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741.
Alex Claudio
RP
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757.
Aaron Slegers
RP
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762.
Albert Pujols
1B
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763.
Franklin Barreto
2B
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851.
James Hoyt
RP
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923.
Dillon Peters
SP
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929.
Packy Naughton
SP
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934.
Gerardo Reyes
RP
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943.
Luke Bard
RP
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946.
Reid Detmers
SP
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977.
Jose Suarez
SP
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1098.
Luis Rengifo
2B
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1116.
Chris Rodriguez
SP
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1203.
Juan Lagares
CF
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1216.
AJ Ramos
RP
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1252.
Phil Gosselin
LF
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1289.
Jose Quijada
RP
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1335.
Jake Faria
RP
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1342.
Jose Alberto Rivera
RP
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1402.
Anthony Bemboom
C
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1485.
Jack Mayfield
SS
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1486.
Jose Rojas
3B
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1489.
Matt Thaiss
1B
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1503.
Jon Jay
RF
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1548.
Scott Schebler
RF
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