Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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66.
Logan Webb
SP
Webb is going too high in drafts for my liking. He altered his pitching style after a horrid start last year, but will that be enough to continue to stymie hitters once they've had time to adjust to him? His hot finish to the 2021 season on a scorching Giants team propelled him higher on draft boards than his stats warrant. Fantasy managers can find a bunch of starting pitchers who'll finish the season within a couple ticks of Webb in ERA, WHIP and Ks and will be available 20-30 spots after Webb's seventh-round ADP.
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83.
Carlos Rodon
SP
After years of battling injuries and ineffectiveness, Rodon blossomed last year with a 2.37 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. Everything worked for the lefty, as his fastball (.199 BAA) and slider (.107 BAA) were borderline unhittable, and he ranked in the top four percent of the league in strikeout rate. He dealt with shoulder soreness and fatigue during the second half of the season, but that didn't stop the Giants from giving him a huge two-year deal. Oracle Park isn't quite the pitcher haven it once was, but it's a huge upgrade for Rodon after pitching in Guaranteed Rate Field last year. The injury risk will always be present for Rodon, but he's worth an investment if you make sure to bank on 150 innings or fewer.
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177.
Brandon Belt
1B
As he has often in his career, Belt missed time with various injuries last year, including a fractured thumb. But he crushed his career-high in home runs with 29, and in just 97 games. He's back with the Giants after accepting a qualifying offer and even with last year's numbers and the change in park factors in recent years, San Francisco was hardly the best place for Belt to end up. You can't deny the production last year and there really wasn't much different about what Belt did to make you think it's unsustainable. But at 34 years old, expecting an improvement in health is likely a bad idea. Draft him with 25 homers in mind, and anything else is gravy.
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184.
Brandon Crawford
SS
You don't often see 34-year-old shortstops putting up massive career years, but that's exactly what we saw from Crawford in 2021. He set career bests in each of the five rotisserie categories, while beating his averages in strikeout and walk percentage. Crawford's quality of contact improved a bit, but not enough to make you think he's suddenly a completely different player than he had been his whole career. Don't bet on a repeat performance, but don't completely ignore Crawford in your drafts, as many managers likely will. The San Francisco offense is strong, and the park is less pitcher-friendly than it used to be. Crawford is more than capable of being your middle infielder in fantasy.
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206.
Alex Wood
SP
Wood rebounded from two down years n a row, climbing back to a 3.83 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. His velocity saw a notable jump from his previous full seasons, as his sinker sat nearly two miles per hour more than he had back in 2019. Despite his strong strikeout rate, the fact that we're talking about Wood as having this excellent bounceback season with over a 3.80 ERA tells you all you need to know. Even if you buy that he can stay mostly healthy again, which is very much in question, his ceiling simply isn't high enough for you to draft him as anything but a late-round pick.
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207.
Anthony DeSclafani
SP
DeSclafani is back with the Giants after an impressive 2021 season during which he pitched to a 3.17 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. It's not going out on a limb to say that DeSclafani is not going to repeat those numbers this year, however. He's really mostly just a two-pitch pitcher at this point, with an excellent slider and decent fastball, and he doesn't have the strikeout rate to sustain the ratio stats we saw last year. But San Francisco is a good place to pitch, the Giants should boast a strong team again, and DeSclafani's control is good enough so that he should have a decent floor. Just take a point off his 2021 ERA when you consider where to draft him.
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219.
Camilo Doval
RP
Doval was outstanding in his limited innings last year, striking out more than a third of the batters he faced while pitching to a 3.00 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He's a two-pitch pitcher, but that's fine for a reliever so long as at least one of those pitches is elite, which his slider is (.167 BAA, .202 wOBA). He's got the stuff to close full-time, and many fantasy pundits believe he will this year. But Jake McGee remains, as does Tyler Rogers, and it takes a lot for Gabe Kapler to hand the closer reins over to a single pitcher. He'll get some saves at the very least and likely help your ratios, but don't plan on him locking down the role all year without a fight.
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240.
Mike Yastrzemski
CF,RF
Yastrzemski couldn't replicate his 2020 pace, though he did hit 25 home runs and total 155 combined runs and RBI. His batting average plummeted to just .224 (and his .222 xBA, one of the worst in the league, showed that number was earned), as pitchers continued their trends of throwing him fewer and fewer fastballs and more off-speed offerings.He performed terribly against non-fastballs last year, which led to a ridiculously low .254 BABIP, which was way out of character for him. Yastrzemski needs to adjust, but the good news is that the power he's shown appears to be real, and his counting stats should stay afloat batting in a strong San Francisco lineup. But until or unless he can improve against off-speed pitches, he'll likely struggle with batting average.
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244.
Alex Cobb
SP
Cobb joins the Giants after a successful one-year stint with the Angels where he put up his best numbers in years. He avoided hard contact well, upped his strikeout rate to a career high, and cut his home run rate to a miniscule level. It's unclear if his 2021 season was just a blip or if his gains are sustainable, but a move to San Francisco can't be a bad thing. If he just repeats last year and avoids injury, he'll be a steal at his ADP.
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253.
Jake McGee
RP
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302.
Joc Pederson
LF,CF,RF
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311.
Evan Longoria
3B
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360.
LaMonte Wade Jr.
1B,LF,RF
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382.
Joey Bart
C
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395.
Wilmer Flores
1B,2B,3B,DH
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413.
Tyler Rogers
RP
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423.
Darin Ruf
1B,LF,DH
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515.
Matthew Boyd
SP
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539.
Tommy La Stella
2B
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573.
Austin Slater
LF,CF,RF
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574.
Jarlin Garcia
RP
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604.
Dominic Leone
RP,SP
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654.
Zack Littell
RP
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739.
John Brebbia
RP
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747.
Kervin Castro
RP
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787.
Steven Duggar
CF
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795.
Curt Casali
C
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803.
Sam Long
SP,RP
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838.
Jose Alvarez
RP
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849.
Jakob Junis
SP,RP
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880.
Sean Hjelle
SP
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968.
Thairo Estrada
SS,2B
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998.
Darien Nunez
RP
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1063.
Pat Ruotolo
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1133.
Sam Delaplane
RP
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1179.
Scott Alexander
RP
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1194.
Yunior Marte
RP
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1212.
Joe Palumbo
RP
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1236.
Mauricio Llovera
RP
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1285.
Trevor Hildenberger
RP
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1286.
Heliot Ramos
CF
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1333.
Luke Williams
CF
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1370.
Gregory Santos
RP
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1376.
Isan Diaz
2B,3B
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1459.
Austin Dean
LF
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1487.
Stuart Fairchild
CF
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1500.
Ka'ai Tom
LF
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1521.
Michael Reed
LF
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1534.
Donovan Walton
2B
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1537.
Jason Vosler
3B
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1556.
Kevin Padlo
3B
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1629.
Wyatt Mathisen
1B
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