Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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33.
Marcus Semien
2B,SS
Semien's 45 HRs last season were the most ever by a second baseman. His monster 2021 performance also included 115 runs, 102 RBI and 15 stolen bases. A 48% flyball rate makes Semien a launch angle darling and suggests that he'll keep clearing the fences. He's been a prolific run scorer for the last four seasons. On the other hand, there's some batting average risk here, and Semien probably maxed out his SB potential last year. He's going from a loaded Blue Jays lineup to a sketchy Rangers lineup, and Semien will turn 32 in September. Last year's numbers will make him irresistible to some investors, but a drop-off in value may be imminent.
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58.
Corey Seager
SS
Seager will play with an American League team for the first time after the Rangers gave him a 10-year $325 million deal. Seager will rake when healthy. He's batted .307 and .306 the last two years and has a career average of .297. He also makes solid contributions in HRs, RBI and runs. Seager won't offer much help in the SB department, however. There's little performance risk, but there's a lot of health risk. Seager had both hip surgery and Tommy John surgery in 2018, and he missed more than two months with a broken hand last year. He's in the prime of his career and figures to offer a satisfying return on investment if he can stay healthy.
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164.
Adolis Garcia
LF,CF,RF
Garcia came out of absolutely nowhere last season to become one of just five players to hit at least 31 home runs and steal at least 16 bases. His success largely came early in the season, as he blasted 11 home runs in May with a .312 batting average before, as most fantasy managers expected, pitchers adjusted. The adjustment hit Garcia hard, as he slashed just .211/.256/.370 in the second half, though he stole seven bases over the final month of the season to cushion the blow. The issue for Garcia is the same that plagues most largely unknown hitters who put up huge hot streaks - he lacks plate discipline. His strikeout rate (31.2%) and walk rate (5.1%) were both in the bottom six percent of MLB, and both were due largely to the fact that he simply swings too much at pitches outside of the zone (39.7 O-Swing%, ninth-worst in the league). The Rangers have a much-improved lineup and perhaps Garcia will improve in his second year, but unless he drastically changes his approach, his numbers are going to have a hard cap on them.
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208.
Nathaniel Lowe
1B
Lowe had plenty of exciting moments last year, especially early in the season, and ultimately ended up with a respectable 18 home runs and eight steals, along with a .264 batting average. He'll have significantly more help this year in the Texas lineup with the additions of Corey Seager, Mitch Garver, and Marcus Semien, so he can likely top the 147 combined runs and RBI he finished with last year. And if his above average exit velocity and hard hit rate can manifest itself into more power, it could be a big year for Lowe.
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234.
Jon Gray
SP
Fantasy managers have wondered for years what Gray would look like out of Coors Field, and now they get their chance to see. Gray has the pure stuff to succeed - a fastball that sits at 95 MPH, a strong slider, and decent command. If he benefits from moving not just out of Coors but to a pitcher's park in Texas, as everyone expects, then we could finally see a decent WHIP with a sub-4.00 ERA. He is 30 years old now, so this is a lot of hypotheticals for a veteran such as him. But he's definitely worth a gamble late in your draft.
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241.
Mitch Garver
C
Garver moved to Texas this offseason and even though he'll play at least half his games in a pitcher-friendly park, it's still a great move for his value. Garver has never had more than 359 plate appearances in a season, but he should easily top 400 this year, and he's going to bat behind Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. Garver doesn't strike out a ton for a catcher and has as much power as nearly anyone at the position, so 20 home runs should be the bare minimum if he stays healthy. Draft him late but fully understand that he has top-five catcher upside.
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268.
Joe Barlow
RP
Barlow saved 18 games between the majors and the minors last year, putting up excellent ratios. He'll get the first opportunity to close in Texas, but he doesn't have a lengthy track record with being the stopper, so the leash probably isn't that long. That's not a great thing considering his ERA metrics were far worse than his actual numbers and his walk-rate is sub par. Barlow is a closer, so he should be drafted, but don't go in expecting 25 saves given the risks.
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331.
Dane Dunning
SP
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350.
Nick Solak
2B,LF
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375.
Willie Calhoun
LF
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407.
Kole Calhoun
RF
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436.
Brad Miller
1B,2B,3B,LF,RF
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550.
Josh Jung
3B
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559.
Andy Ibanez
1B,2B,3B
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577.
Glenn Otto
SP
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588.
John King
RP
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590.
Josh Sborz
RP
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631.
Brock Burke
SP,RP
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657.
Spencer Howard
SP
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658.
Spencer Patton
RP
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670.
Matt Bush
RP
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677.
Leody Taveras
CF
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681.
Jose Leclerc
RP
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691.
Albert Abreu
RP
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693.
Kolby Allard
SP,RP
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703.
Brett Martin
RP
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723.
Jonah Heim
C
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770.
Garrett Richards
SP,RP
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910.
Jake Latz
SP
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919.
Cole Winn
SP
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976.
Demarcus Evans
RP
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996.
Taylor Hearn
SP,RP
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999.
Jonathan Hernandez
RP
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1000.
Kohei Arihara
SP
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1005.
Dennis Santana
RP
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1049.
A.J. Alexy
SP
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1076.
Nick Snyder
RP
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1146.
Sam Huff
C
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1156.
Martin Perez
SP,RP
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1196.
Kyle Cody
RP
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1278.
Charlie Culberson
3B,LF
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1282.
Eli White
LF,CF,RF
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1304.
Justin Anderson
RP
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1314.
Nick Tropeano
RP
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1339.
Matt Moore
SP,RP
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1421.
Zach Reks
Util
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1566.
Dan Winkler
RP
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1613.
Meibrys Viloria
C
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1617.
Jack Kruger
C
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1660.
Ryan Dorow
3B
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