Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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27.
Corey Seager
SS
2020 was essentially a perfect season for Seager. More than a year removed from Tommy John surgery, he morphed into the player that most people expected him to be at this stage of his career. Seager increased his barrel rate from 7.3% to 15.8%, his average exit velocity from 88.8 MPH to 93.2 MPH, and his hard hit percentage from 38.2% to a remarkable 55.9%. Seager's 2020 season does not look fluky, but rather the product of a highly-touted prospect being fully recovered from injury and entering his prime. Seager may not reach the nearly 50-homers he was on pace to hit last year, but a 30-homer season with above a .300 average is well within reach. In other words, his performance over the shortened season is not one to write off.
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108.
Marcus Semien
2B,SS
Semien looked like he had made some major and sustainable gains in 2019, cutting his strikeout rate way down and being far more selective, which led to better contact. Unfortunately, Semien looked a lot like the old version of himself in 2020, with a strikeout rate over 20% and similar mediocre contact to that which he had made consistently prior to 2019. He signed a one-year deal with the Blue Jays, which is a great landing spot for him, as he'll likely bat near the top of a strong lineup, see an upgrade in home park, and earn second base eligibility. That makes Semien far more enticing as a potential draft-day target, but he should still be considered only a middle infield option in mixed leagues.
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177.
Nick Solak
2B
Solak hasn't shown a ton of power in the majors so far (just seven home runs in 91 career games), but he makes consistently strong contact and always had pop in the minors. His more than reasonable strikeout rate should generally keep his batting average in check, and his stolen base acuity (nine stolen bases in the majors, 91% in sprint speed) makes him a potential five-category player. Add to that multi-position eligibility, especially at the thin second base position, and he's an excellent mid-to-late round draft pick that should fill up the stat sheet without costing you as much as his numbers say he should.
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229.
Leody Taveras
CF
Taveras should be a cheap source of speed for fantasy managers this year, as he's set to lead off for the Rangers. He stole 32 bases across 131 minor league games in 2019 and eight last year in 33 games. He won't do a ton else for your fantasy team, but given that he ranked in the 96th percentile in sprint speed last year, his contributions in the stolen base category should more than make up for his lack of production in others.
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275.
Kole Calhoun
RF
Calhoun tore his knee meniscus in early March, and has a 4-6 week timetable for his recovery. When healthy, he offers a fairly reliable baseline of production: he will hit plenty of homers and drain your batting average, while offering passable but unspectacular counting statistics otherwise. He's a fine bench outfielder who can always be a plug-in, and he'll likely be essentially free in drafts this year with the injury.
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309.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
SS
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310.
Dane Dunning
SP
Dunning had an interesting seven-start run in 2020. He started out relying heavily on his outstanding slider and his fastball, which led to a strong swinging strike rate and plenty of punchouts in his first few starts. He then abandoned that approach to focus more on his changeup, which led to him missing fewer bats and being less successful. Now with the Rangers, Dunning should get a chance to compete for a rotation spot right out of the gate. He has the tools and skills necessary to be successful, and the draft capital necessary to acquire him should be minimal. He's worth a late-round pick in nearly all formats.
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334.
Nathaniel Lowe
1B
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351.
Willie Calhoun
DH,LF
Calhoun was set to build on his breakout 2019 season when an errant pitch fractured his jaw in spring training. Even with the delayed season, he was never able to fully recover, at least not mentally, and he had a lost campaign. He's now back and focused, particularly after working with a hitting coach in the offseason. He will likely earn everyday at-bats splitting time between DH and the outfield, but a low grade groin strain is going to keep him out of action for a couple of weeks. His draft price is negligible, so feel free to stash him with one of your last picks, and hopefully reap the rewards after the first week or two of the season.
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404.
Spencer Howard
SP
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497.
Sam Huff
C
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506.
Jonathan Hernandez
RP
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560.
Jose Trevino
C
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561.
Jon Gray
SP
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568.
Chase Anderson
SP
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578.
Taylor Hearn
SP,RP
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581.
Kohei Arihara
SP
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648.
Brett Martin
RP
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691.
Kyle Cody
SP
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705.
Jonah Heim
C
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729.
Kolby Allard
SP,RP
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879.
Brock Burke
SP
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884.
Josh Sborz
RP
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942.
Demarcus Evans
RP
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962.
Wes Benjamin
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1000.
Tyson Ross
SP
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1031.
John King
RP
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1067.
Meibrys Viloria
C
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1075.
Tyson Miller
SP
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1113.
Edubray Ramos
RP
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1164.
Dennis Santana
RP
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1169.
Eli White
CF,LF
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1238.
Edwar Colina
RP
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1258.
Josh Jung
3B
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1285.
Spencer Patton
RP
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1387.
Jesus Tinoco
RP
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1442.
Adolis Garcia
CF,LF
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1450.
Andy Ibanez
2B
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1487.
DJ Peters
CF
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1512.
Zach Reks
LF
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1527.
Sherten Apostel
1B
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