Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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7.
Gerrit Cole
SP
Consistency and durability make Cole the most bankable starting pitcher in fantasy baseball. He ranked third in MLB in strikeouts (243) last season and tied for third in wins (16). The last time Cole made fewer than 30 starts in a full season was 2016. His 3.23 ERA and 1.06 WHIP last season were actually high by his standards - his worst numbers in those categories since 2017 - which illustrates just how brilliant he's been in recent years. Cole had an ERA above 4.00 after the All-Star break last season, but his 0.51 ERA in three August starts leaves the impression that his second-half ups and downs were random variance. This is an ace at the height of his powers and a worthy first-round pick.
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23.
Aaron Judge
CF,RF,DH
All rise! His Honor enjoyed a season of reasonably good health in 2021 and posted a career-high .269 BA to go along with 39 HRs, 98 RBI and 89 runs. His 71% contact rate was the best of his career, and naturally his power peripherals were through the roof. No one punishes baseballs quite like Judge. Health is always a concern, and he doesn't run much, but the power skills should age well as this 6-7, 282-pound brute enters his 30s.
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71.
Giancarlo Stanton
LF,RF,DH
If he stays relatively healthy, Stanton is probably going to contend for the home run crown. But that's a huge "if," obviously. Stanton enjoyed two relatively healthy seasons in 2018-2019, played 41 combined games in 2019-2020, and managed to play 139 games last year with only one stay on the DL for a quad issue. Statcast numbers show that he's still one of the games top sluggers, and he should have better luck in RBIs and runs than he had last season, when he had 97 and 64, respectively. Stanton doesn't run, but he holds his own in batting average. There's a lot of risk here, particularly with Stanton now well into his 30s, but the lengthy injury history almost guarantees a discount in drafts.
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76.
Frankie Montas
SP
Montas has taken his investors on a wild ride the past few seasons. He got off to a fast start in 2019 but received an 80-game suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. Montas pitched poorly in 2020, posting a 5.60 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 11 starts. Last year, Montas took a 6.20 ERA into May but then pulled it all together and was lights-out in the second half, with a 2.17 ERA in 14 starts after the All-Star break. Increase usage of his elite splitter spiked his swinging-strike rated and helped him rack up a career-high 207 strikeouts. It's been a bumpy ride, but it seems like Montas has figured things out.
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97.
Aroldis Chapman
RP
Chapman struggled with his control last year, walking 15.8% of the batters he faced and struggling with a 1.31 WHIP. But that was mostly window dressing on what was just another dominant season for the Yankees closer. As usual, his strikeout rate hovered at around 40% and he reached the 30-save mark for the eighth time in his last nine full seasons. Yes, he's getting up there in age and he's not nearly as dominant as he once was. But his job security remains high and his strikeouts continue to be elite for a reliever. Draft him with confidence.
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137.
Anthony Rizzo
1B
Rizzo re-signed with the Yankees this offseason, and that's pretty much as good a landing spot as fantasy managers could have hoped for. His counting stats will benefit with the strong lineup and short porch in right, and he still has productive seasons ahead of him. But Rizzo is a different player now than he was in his heyday, and the days of 30 home runs, double-digit steals, or batting averages in the high .200s are over. He can be useful for fantasy managers, but he's a low-end first baseman or decent corner infielder in mixed leagues at this point in his career. Nothing more.
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142.
DJ LeMahieu
1B,2B,3B,DH
LeMahieu seems like the poster child for the effect of the juiced ball. After drastically increasing his home run power over the previous few seasons, he hit just 10 home runs last year and his slugging percentage dropped to .362. LeMahieu had offseason surgery to repair a hernia, so perhaps his injury was bothering him longer than he let on and is responsible for his down year. But it's equally possible that at 33 years old, and without the juiced ball, LeMahieu just isn't as valuable a fantasy commodity as he used to be. Chances are, at the very least, that the days of a .300-plus batting average are gone, and now with likely low-teens home run potential, LeMahieu is more of a late-round pick whose main value is his position flexibility.
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149.
Josh Donaldson
3B,DH
Spoiler alert with Donaldson - he's going to hit the ball really, really hard, he's going to walk a ton, andhe' going to miss time with an injury or two, probably involving his calf. The move to the Yankees can only help his fantasy outlook but, as with the Twins, the Yankees' DH spot will be filled most days, so Donaldson will need to play the field. His quality of contact has remained remarkably consistent despite his advanced age, so even in his age-36 season, fantasy managers shouldn't worry much about a decline. Book the production when he plays, but have a fill-in ready.
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160.
Gleyber Torres
2B,SS
Forget about ever seeing Torres come close to the 38 home runs he hit in 2019. His power has come crashing back down to earth over the past two years, along with his batting average. He did rebound a bit in the second half, hitting .289 with six home runs and eight steals, but when those are the numbers that force you to have hope for his fantasy production, things aren't in great shape. He'll still bat in an outstanding lineup so his counting stats should have somewhat of a floor, but he's now an option you settle for, rather than target.
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165.
Andrew Benintendi
LF
Benintendi was the classic "needs a change of scenery" player and got relatively back on track with the Royals. He looked almost identical to the disappointing but absolutely usable version of himself that he showed in 2019, and his underlying rates were nearly identical. He did walk at a career-worst rate but he also got his strikeout rate down under control, and had he avoided injury, he surely would have put up a 20-10 season. There's every reason to expct him to be able to do that again, but expect his other counting stats to remain mediocre with Kansas City's lineup.
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204.
Luis Severino
RP,SP
It's hard to properly assess a pitcher who has thrown 18 innings combined over the last three seasons, even one as talented as Severino. In his last two full seasons, he was a fantasy ace, pitching to a 3.18 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and a 10.5 K/9 rate. He's purportedly healthy now, but you can't expect him to return to his old form after such a long layoff. Be conservative with your projections, including both his ratio stats and innings, but he's obviously got the potentuial to be a mainstay in your rotation if everything breaks right.
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215.
Harrison Bader
CF
Bader has always been known as a defensive outfielder, but his offensive game picked up last year. He cut his strikeout rate six points from his career mark and set a career best in home runs (16) and RBI (50), Bader has never had more than 427 plate appearances in a season, but he could easily steal 20 bases if stays healthy, as he ranks in the 97th percentile in sprint speed. Consider him akin to Tommy Pham around his prime in a best-case scenario, and given his ADP, he's a solid investment.
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252.
Lou Trivino
RP
Trivino is going to begin the year as the closer for the A's after racking up 22 saves last season. He throws hard and mixes his pitches extremely well for a reliever, but he struggles with his control at times and was a bit lucky last year. The A's should be wone of the worst teams in baseball after trading away many of their impact players, so saves may be hard to come by in any event. But there aren't many relievers who are guaranteed to have the ninth-inning to themselves to start the season, and Trivino is one of them. That makes him worth drafting everywhere.
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258.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
SS
Kiner-Falefa had eight home runs and 20 steals last season, but he was the ultimate compiler with 677 plate appearances. He'll move to a better lineup and home park with the Yankees but, realistically, his value was at his ceiling last year. He doesn't hit the ball particularly hard or get on base much, but his defense should keep him in the lineup enough to again compile enough stats to at least be interesting for fantasy. But "interesting" is basically his ceiling.
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279.
Jameson Taillon
SP
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313.
Nestor Cortes Jr.
SP,RP
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343.
Chad Green
RP
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348.
Jonathan Loaisiga
RP
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409.
Kyle Higashioka
C
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430.
Aaron Hicks
CF,LF
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447.
Richard Rodriguez
RP
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478.
Luis Gil
SP
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482.
Domingo German
SP
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553.
Clay Holmes
RP
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605.
Tyler Wade
2B,3B,SS,CF
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619.
Michael King
SP,RP
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643.
Miguel Castro
RP
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669.
Wandy Peralta
RP
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689.
Lucas Luetge
RP
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691.
Albert Abreu
RP
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712.
Ben Rortvedt
C
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716.
Scott Effross
RP
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808.
Jake Bauers
1B,LF,RF
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824.
Deivi Garcia
SP
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839.
Shane Greene
RP
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861.
Miguel Andujar
LF
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943.
Jose Trevino
C
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1070.
Stephen Ridings
RP
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1168.
Jimmy Cordero
RP
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1177.
Luke Bard
RP
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1199.
Rob Brantly
C
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1203.
Joey Gerber
RP
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1204.
Clarke Schmidt
RP,SP
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1213.
Zack Britton
RP
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1223.
Matt Bowman
RP
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1267.
Ryan Weber
RP
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1270.
Tim Locastro
CF,LF,RF
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1274.
Marwin Gonzalez
1B,2B,3B,LF,RF,SS
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1292.
Matt Carpenter
1B,2B,DH,RF
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1317.
Estevan Florial
CF
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1437.
Ronald Guzman
1B
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1443.
Chris Owings
2B,LF,RF,SS
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1479.
Phillip Evans
1B,3B,LF,RF
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1515.
Oswaldo Cabrera
2B,SS
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1526.
Oswald Peraza
SS
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1631.
Ryan LaMarre
LF,RF
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