Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

2020 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes

Position

Team

Gerrit Cole Note
	7. Gerrit Cole SP There are really no words for what Cole was able to do last year. He built on the massive gains he made from his first year with the Astros and lowered his ERA, WHIP, and walk rate to miniscule levels while totaling an outrageous 326 strikeouts. He'll move to the Yankees now, which is a mild downgrade given that the Yankees may slightly limit his innings in light of their long-term investment in Cole and their bullpen, and the opposing offenses and ballparks in the AL East compared to the AL West. But Cole's fastball and slider are beyond elite, and he should be the top pitcher taken in fantasy drafts. 18 weeks ago

Gleyber Torres Note
	33. Gleyber Torres 2B,SS

Aaron Judge Note
	50. Aaron Judge RF Judge has a stress fracture in his rib, which showed "slight improvement" based on a CT scan in mid-April. But he is also dealing with a collapsed lung, and there is still no timetable for when he may be ready for baseball activity. Even with the postponement of the season, there's no guarantee that Judge will be ready to play at any point this season. Draft him with a heavy dose of pessimism and you should be fine. 18 weeks ago

Giancarlo Stanton Note
	61. Giancarlo Stanton LF,RF Stanton's Grade-1 hamstring strain was going to keep him out of action for Opening Day, but he now should be ready to go whenever the season begins. Stanton will always be an injury risk, but for now, view him as a healthy option heading into the season. His power potential therefore makes him an option in Round 3 or 4, depending on your risk tolerance. 18 weeks ago

DJ LeMahieu Note
	77. DJ LeMahieu 1B,2B,3B LeMahieu tested positive for COVID-19 and is asymptomatic, according to the Yankees. Assuming he rejoins the team by the start of the season - a big "if" but somewhat likely given his early positive test - then he should have little difficulty getting ready for the season. 11 weeks ago

Aroldis Chapman Note
	96. Aroldis Chapman RP It was announced that Chapman tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, July 11th. With less than two weeks left until the regular season, it seems unlikely that he'll begin the year on the active roster. With that said, it remains unclear exactly how long he'll miss and given Chapman's potential, he shouldn't slip beyond the top 10 closers in drafts. 11 weeks ago

Gary Sanchez Note
	101. Gary Sanchez C

James Paxton Note
	142. James Paxton SP Paxton will be out until at least early May (and likely longer) after undergoing a microscopic lumbar discectomy with removal of a peridiscal cyst in early February. Although his talent is undeniable, this is yet another in a long list of injuries for Paxton, who has eight injured list stints since the beginning of the 2014 season. While early May is the front end of the three to four month timetable, expect Paxton's absence to last until at least June and possibly longer if he has any setbacks. 18 weeks ago

Masahiro Tanaka Note
	183. Masahiro Tanaka SP Tanaka had a bizarre year. On the negative side, his ERA soared to 4.45 and his WHIP and strikeout rate went to a career worst 1.24 and 7.37/9, respectively. Yet he slightly lowered his walk rate from the past two years, cut his HR/FB rate, and got batters to swing at pitches outside the zone more than almost any other pitcher in the second half of the season. At this point in his career, given his home park, there's little optimism that Tanaka can ever develop into the ace he appeared to be during his debut. Draft him as a back-end-of-the-rotation starter in deeper leagues but nothing more. 18 weeks ago

Luke Voit Note
	201. Luke Voit 1B,DH

Miguel Andujar Note
	222. Miguel Andujar 3B,DH

Gio Urshela Note
	231. Gio Urshela 3B

Brett Gardner Note
	266. Brett Gardner LF,CF Gardner has a little Rodney Dangerfield going on, in that he gets no respect from fantasy owners. Although he'll be entering his age-37 season, Gardner popped a career-high 28 home runs lat year. The power comes and goes, but he's stolen double-digit bases in every season of his career, and hasn't scored fewer than 80 runs in a full season since 2010. He lacks the upside of many other late-round outfielders but offers a higher floor. 18 weeks ago

J.A. Happ Note
	299. J.A. Happ SP

Adam Ottavino Note
	321. Adam Ottavino RP

Aaron Hicks Note
	326. Aaron Hicks CF

Jordan Montgomery Note
	331. Jordan Montgomery SP

Zack Britton Note
	338. Zack Britton RP

Chad Green Note
	363. Chad Green SP,RP

Mike Tauchman Note
	392. Mike Tauchman LF,CF,RF

Tommy Kahnle Note
	452. Tommy Kahnle RP

Jonathan Loaisiga Note
	470. Jonathan Loaisiga SP,RP

Clint Frazier Note
	505. Clint Frazier LF,RF

Clarke Schmidt Note
	669. Clarke Schmidt SP

Mike Ford Note
	677. Mike Ford 1B

Michael King Note
	716. Michael King SP,RP

Luis Cessa Note
	759. Luis Cessa RP

Tyler Wade Note
	765. Tyler Wade 2B,LF

Ryan Buchter Note
	769. Ryan Buchter RP

Mike King Note
	809. Mike King SP

Deivi Garcia Note
	828. Deivi Garcia SP

Jonathan Holder Note
	858. Jonathan Holder RP

Ben Heller Note
	870. Ben Heller RP

Kyle Higashioka Note
	884. Kyle Higashioka C

Thairo Estrada Note
	951. Thairo Estrada 2B,SS

Rob Brantly Note
	982. Rob Brantly C

Matt Duffy Note
	993. Matt Duffy 3B

Jordy Mercer Note
	1122. Jordy Mercer 1B,2B,SS

Dan Otero Note
	1133. Dan Otero RP

Tyler Lyons Note
	1141. Tyler Lyons RP

Fernando Abad Note
	1183. Fernando Abad RP

Brooks Kriske Note
	1247. Brooks Kriske RP

Erik Kratz Note
	1339. Erik Kratz C

Josh Smith Note
	1372. Josh Smith SS

Estevan Florial Note
	1491. Estevan Florial CF,RF

Rosell Herrera Note
	1522. Rosell Herrera LF,CF,RF

Kaleb Cowart Note
	1542. Kaleb Cowart 3B

Zack Granite Note
	1564. Zack Granite LF,CF