Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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48.
Robbie Ray
SP
This is one of the riskiest bets in fantasy baseball for 2022. Ray tamed his chronic wildness in 2021, pounding the strike zone with his electric stuff and turning in a Cy Young season. But do you really want to wager that the control problems won't return? Ray walked 2.4 batter per 9 innings last year. His career average is 3.9 walks per 9 innings. Ray yielded a career-low BABIP of .269 last year. If there's regression in Ray's hit and walk rates, the results could be toxic. There's an enormous range of outcomes here. We saw the best of Ray last year, and he was immensely valuable. In his bad seasons, he's been a negative-value player. Where on the spectrum he lands this year is anyone's guess. Invest at your own risk.
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93.
Mitch Haniger
RF,DH
Sports hernia surgery caused him to miss the 2020 season, but Haniger returned in a big way last year, posting career highs in home runs (39), RBI (100) and runs (110). There are some warning signs here, however. Haniger's strikeout rate has gone through the roof, and his on-base percentage has plummeted. His exit velocities suggest that he won't match last year's HR total. The good news is that Haniger's banner 2021 season hasn't driven his price sky-high. Still, some caution is warranted.
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101.
Jesse Winker
DH,LF
Winker's value drops with the move to Seattle, which has one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in MLB. He should still provide a solid batting average, but aspirations of 30 HR and 90 RBI now seem far-fetched. Winker is yet another player who deals with chronic injuries. He's a guy I usually pass on and regret it at least 21 nights of the season, but pat myself on the back the rest of the year.
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119.
Luis Castillo
SP
If Castillo is on your target list, make sure to buy a big bottle of Tums. By the end of the season, you'll probably be happy with your decision, to roster him, but there will be long stretches of the season where you'll be driven to the breaking point while following Castillo's starts on Stat Tracker. He's a notoriously slow starter, so be prepared for a bumpy ride until June. I've ridden the Reds ace through multiple tumultuous seasons, and I can't do it again. If you have a stronger constitution than I do, know that Castillo has SP1 stuff and will probably be worth it over the long haul.
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146.
Jarred Kelenic
CF,LF,RF
Kelenic's season was shaping up to be an all-time disaster for a prospect, but a fairly strong final month, during which he hit seven homers and slashed .248/.331/.524, salvaged things a bit. He still batted just .180 on the year and struck out 28.1% of the time, but there's reason to believe he can put his year in the rear view mirror and start fresh. Kelenic has an advanced approach, and could pretty easily put up a 20-20 season without batting an eye if everything breaks right. With a stronger Mariners lineup batting behind him, Kelenic should be someone to target in fantasy drafts given his potential and strong close to the 2021 season.
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148.
Logan Gilbert
SP
Gilbert pitched better than his 4.68 ERA, and became a fairly reliable starter by the end of the season. He's got two major assets - an elite fastball that sits at about 95 MPH and outstanding command. His home park helps, too, but he'll need to continue to develop a second pitch (his slider is good but inconsistent) if he wants to take a step forward. He's an ideal back-end-of-the-rotation arm for your fantasy team - he'll give you innings and strikeouts and rarely get crushed, but things will need to break right for him to finish with under a 3.80 ERA.
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162.
Ty France
1B,2B,3B,DH
Other than an awful May, during which he battled through a wrist injury and hit just .190, France had an outstanding 2021 season. He batted .291 overall and struck out just 16.3% of the time, all while putting up passable counting stats. There's a hard cap on France's value - he doesn't have a ton of power, he has no speed, and his expected stats say that he's due for a batting average correction. But absent an injury, there's pretty much no chance of the bottom dropping out, and he makes an ideal corner infielder who you can leave in your lineup without much concern.
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205.
Eugenio Suarez
3B,DH,SS
Suarez has continued to hit for power but his batting average has fallen off a cliff the last two seasons to just .199. Other than the fact that he had shoulder surgery just before the 2020 season, there's nothing really to explain. Almost all of his underlying metrics and quality of contact data look nearly identical to how they have his whole career, and he's just entering his age-30 season. But whatever the reason, Suarez is now a batting average drain, and he'll likely hit fewer home runs after being traded to Seattle. There's still plenty of value there, as he should still be a plus contributor in homers and RBI. But hope for a .230 batting avaerage as his ceiling at this point.
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222.
Julio Rodriguez
CF,RF
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243.
Paul Sewald
RP
Sewald is a fine reliever and he upped his strikeout rate to an impressive 39.4% last year, one of the best marks in the majors. His expected stats (.182 xBA, .262 xWOBA) were pristine, and he offered plenty of hope that he could hold the Mariners' closer job if given the opportunity. That last part is the operative phrase, however, as Seattle is likely looking at some form of committee between Sewald, Drew Steckenrider, Diego Castillo, and Ken Giles. Sewald isn't a bad late-round candidate for his ratios alone, and he should add on at least a few saves even if he doesn't win the job outright.
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281.
Kyle Lewis
CF,DH
Lewis is dealing with knee issues and likely won't be ready for Opening Day. When healthy, he's a talented but low-floor option, as he doesn't have a ton of speed or power and his strikeout rate (29.5% career) keeps his batting average in check. He's just 26 years old so, of course, there's upside for more. But the knee issues are enough of a reason to look elsewhere when you're considering a late-round outfielder.
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293.
Adam Frazier
2B,LF,RF
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296.
Jonathan Villar
2B,3B,SS
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326.
Marco Gonzales
SP
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333.
J.P. Crawford
SS
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334.
Matt Brash
SP,RP
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351.
Diego Castillo
RP
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358.
Drew Steckenrider
RP
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364.
Carlos Santana
1B,DH
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365.
Abraham Toro
2B,3B,DH
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369.
Chris Flexen
SP
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370.
Ken Giles
RP
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487.
Luis Torrens
C,1B,DH
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507.
Andres Munoz
RP
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513.
Dylan Moore
2B,3B,CF,LF,RF,SS
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515.
Matthew Boyd
SP
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522.
Tom Murphy
C
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648.
Casey Sadler
RP
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674.
Erik Swanson
RP
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713.
George Kirby
SP
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715.
Anthony Banda
RP
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783.
Cal Raleigh
C
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795.
Curt Casali
C
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842.
Evan White
1B
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845.
Ryan Borucki
RP
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847.
Justus Sheffield
SP,RP
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878.
Nick Margevicius
SP
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921.
Andrew Albers
SP
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945.
Riley O'Brien
SP
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980.
Drew Ellis
3B
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1044.
Chris Mazza
RP
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1051.
Devin Sweet
RP,SP
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1114.
Matt Festa
RP
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1187.
Nick Ramirez
RP
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1221.
Jairo Diaz
RP
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1237.
Roenis Elias
RP
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1244.
Taylor Williams
RP
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1257.
Derek Hill
CF
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1357.
Taylor Trammell
CF,LF,RF
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1377.
Fernando Abad
RP
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1380.
Jake Lamb
3B,DH,LF,RF
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1492.
Patrick Weigel
RP
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1583.
Phillips Valdez
RP
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