Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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38.
Paul Goldschmidt
1B
Eventually, Father Time will catch up with the Cardinals slugger. But not this year. If your rival fantasy managers fade Goldy because of his age, take advantage. He can ho-hum his way to 95/30/100/.300, with five to eight stolen bases as a bonus. Goldschmidt will be taken after Austin Riley in most drafts but could easily end up with better numbers at the end of the year.
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52.
Tyler O'Neill
LF
You could do a lot worse than O'Neil as your second outfielder. You're in great shape if somehow your third outfielder. He's a second-tier five-category guy, although O'Neill's .366 BABIP in 2021 suggests that he's probably not going to bat .286 again. The peripherals suggest that O'Neill's power is legit, however. He's not a guy you reach for, but if he starts to fall, grab him. O'Neill is only 26, so it's possible he'll turn in a season that ends up much better than his ADP.
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62.
Nolan Arenado
3B
If only fantasy baseball awarded points for spectacular defensive plays. Alas, you're stuck relying only on Arenado's bat. That ain't half bad - but it's no longer worth overpaying for. In his first season outside of Colorado, the highlight-reel third baseman showed that he can still rake. But as anticipated, his BA, OBP and OPS all dropped. Now on the wrong side of 30, Arenado is realistically a 2.5-category guy. He'll help you in HR and RBI, and he won't hurt you in runs, but let someone else in your league jump on him early based on name recognition. You can get 80 percent of his production from other third basemen three to four rounds later than Arenado is expected to go.
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114.
Tommy Edman
2B,RF
There's a lot to like here. The biggest draws are speed and multi-position (OF/2B) eligibility. Edman stole 30 bases last year, tying for fourth in MLB. Statcast says he's in the 92nd percentile for sprint speed. There's a little bit of power here, too. Edman hit only 11 HRs last year but clubbed 41 doubles. Edman has a .272 batting average over three seasons, and there could be room for growth there. His contact rate improved to 85% last year, and he sprays hits to both sides of the diamond. Edman doesn't take many walks, but that's a minor nit to pick.
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132.
Giovanny Gallegos
RP
Gallegos hasn't been named the closer and both the coaching staff and front office have gone out of their way to avoid annointing him the ninth-inning man. But considering his success the past two years and Alex Reyes's injury, there seems to be little doubt. Gallegos has everything you want in a closer - strong strikeout numbers, good command, and two elite pitches with his fastball and slider. You'll need to drop him below some of the more established closers because of the current uncertainty, but if you bet on him to be the primary closing option for St. Louis, you'll almost certainly be correct.
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144.
Dylan Carlson
LF,CF,RF
Carlson rebounded from a disastrous 2020 season to put up a respectable .266/.343/.437 line with 18 home runs last year. But the dreams of fantasy superstardom after his 2019 minor-league season (26 homers, 20 steals) have been put on hold, as he seems to have little interest in stealing bases in the majors (three total in two seasons), and his hard-hit rate was in the bottom nine percent of the league last year. His numbers and underlying metrics suggest that he's a slightly above-average MLB player, though it's worth remembering that he's just 23 years old and there's certainly potential for more. Drafting Carlson as a fourth outfielder with upside for more is the right approach, as he should bring a fairly solid floor with potential for a high ceiling if everything comes together.
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196.
Jack Flaherty
SP
Here's a guy you just can't go wrong with. He has immaculate control, ace-level stuff, a really high floor and an exceptional Cy Young-level ceiling. Flaherty only pitched 78 innings last season due to shoulder and oblique injuries, but he didn't suffer any structural damage in his shoulder - it was just a strain - so that shouldn't have any lingering impact this season. He's otherwise been pretty durable. One thing to consider is that after being limited last year, Flaherty may have a cap of about 140-150 innings.
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202.
Adam Wainwright
SP
Wainwright found the fountain of youth last year, pitching to a 3.05 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP and totaling 17 wins, his most since 2014. He benefitted greatly from the weak NL Central and an outstanding defense, but the bottom line is that Wainwright was just . . . good. His curveball remained effective, his sinker worked well, and he topped 200 innings pitched. Expecting this again as he enters his age-41 season would be overly optimistic, but if you have a strong staff and just need a filler for the back end of your rotation, then Wainwright is your guy.
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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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255.
Steven Matz
SP
Matz had a surprisingly effective year despite moving to the AL East and Toronto, pitching 150 2/3 innings with a 3.82 ERA. We know what he is by now in his career - a strikeout rate that won't hurt you, a decent walk rate that isn't enough to keep his WHIP in check, and a ceiling of about 160 innings. Moving to St. Louis is a great thing for him, however, as he'll benefit from the Cardinals' excellent infield defense (Matz has a 47.1% ground ball rate). But he's essentially a replacement level fantasy starter at this point, and entering his age-31 season, we're probably not going to see much growth.
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339.
Paul DeJong
SS
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367.
Yadier Molina
C
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435.
Alex Reyes
RP
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465.
Miles Mikolas
SP
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480.
Jordan Hicks
SP,RP
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504.
Dakota Hudson
SP
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523.
Genesis Cabrera
RP
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581.
Nick Wittgren
RP
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653.
Edmundo Sosa
2B,SS
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660.
Corey Dickerson
LF,CF
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705.
Juan Yepez
1B,3B,LF,RF
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709.
Ryan Helsley
RP
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742.
Drew VerHagen
RP
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754.
Kodi Whitley
RP
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760.
Lars Nootbaar
RF
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792.
Andrew Knizner
C
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806.
Nolan Gorman
3B
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814.
Matthew Liberatore
SP
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826.
Albert Pujols
1B
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866.
Blake Parker
RP
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873.
T.J. McFarland
RP
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900.
T.J. Zeuch
SP
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1003.
Packy Naughton
SP,RP
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1036.
Johan Oviedo
SP
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1065.
Jake Woodford
SP,RP
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1107.
Junior Fernandez
RP
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1139.
Ali Sanchez
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1162.
Angel Rondon
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1173.
Jake Walsh
RP
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1321.
Freddy Pacheco
RP
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1542.
Scott Hurst
CF
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1591.
Brendan Donovan
2B,SS
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