Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2020 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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9.
Trea Turner
SS
It just feels like there's a 60-steal season waiting in Turner's future, and you simply can't say that about too many other players in the game at this point. With stolen bases as a whole on the decline, Turner has an absolute floor of 40 (barring injury) and a much higher ceiling. Add to that the fact that he should help fantasy owners in three other categories and be neutral in the fourth (RBI), and he should be taken in the first round of all rotisserie leagues.
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10.
Juan Soto
LF
It seemed impossible that Soto could be even better than his rookie year but that is just what we got with 34 homers, 110 RBIs, 110 runs and a .282 batting average to go with 12 steals. Considering how young he is, we may see even more in 2020 which would make his second round ADP a steal.
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15.
Max Scherzer
SP
Scherzer struggled a bit through the first month of the season, but went on a patented run in May and June that made him look like the Scherzer of old. Unfortunately, a back injury largely derailed his second half, as he was limited to just over 20 innings over July and August. Scherzer is entering his age-36 season and is a max effort pitcher, so the fact that we finally saw a bit of a breakdown (Scherzer has reached at least 200 innings in his six previous seasons) is concerning. But his numbers are still elite and he should be taken as one of the first pitchers off the board despite the back scare.
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27.
Stephen Strasburg
SP
Strasburg reached the 200-inning plateau for the second time in his career, and set a career high in wins with 18. Other than staying completely healthy, however, his numbers looked pretty much as they always have - just below the truly elite pitchers, but worthy of coming from your ace. Don't be sucked in by his magical postseason (1.98 ERA, 0.94 WHIP). Draft Strasburg as a top-10 pitcher, but expect his usual low-3.00 ERA and solid all around numbers.
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52.
Patrick Corbin
SP
Corbin largely followed up on his breakout 2018 season with the Nationals last year, again reaching the 200-inning plateau and pitching to a low-3.00 ERA. He continued to lean heavily on his outstanding slider, against which batters hit just .158. His walk rate and strikeout rate rose and fell just a tad from his peak, a trend that fantasy owners can expect to continue. But Corbin's baseline is excellent and even with further slow decline in skills, he should be an outstanding starter for a fantasy rotation.
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74.
Victor Robles
CF,RF
Robles did not help from a batting average standpoint but he is still young enough that progress can be expected. Where he did help, however, was on the basepaths with nearly 30 steals to go with 86 runs. He has sufficient power and should grow into more so his seventh-round ADP seems perfect.
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163.
Adam Eaton
LF,RF
Eaton missed a lot of time in 2017 and 2018 but has played three complete seasons in the last five years and gave fantasy owners 15/15, .280 with 90+ runs in all of them. With his ADP still sitting outside the top 200, he makes for an excellent fifth fantasy outfielder.
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176.
Sean Doolittle
RP
Doolittle should likely close for the Nationals again in 2020, though Daniel Hudson's emergence in the late- and post-season last year could throw a wrench in Davey Martinez's plans. More concerning is Doolittle's dip in performance, as his ERA and WHIP were by far the worst of his career. A free agent next year, Doolittle's job security should be minimal, so don't target him as a closer in your fantasy drafts.
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251.
Starlin Castro
2B,3B
Castro never developed into the fantasy stud he looked like he might become earlier in his career, but he quietly set a career high in home runs and RBI last year with the Marlins. Now with the Nationals, where he'll bat anywhere from third to fifth, there are going to be RBI opportunities aplenty for the veteran. A career .336/.358/.513 hitter in Nationals Park, Castro makes a fine middle infield option in mixed leagues.
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283.
Anibal Sanchez
SP
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294.
Howie Kendrick
1B,2B,3B
At-bat for at-bat, Kendrick was one of the best hitters in the MLB last season despite his old age. He somehow went from a 4 home run hitter to 17 bombs with a .344 batting average. It is hard to tell if it will stick around for a full year but he is well worth a late-round investment.
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303.
Carter Kieboom
SS
While Kieboom may not be the phenom Gavin Lux is considered to be, this is still a very polished young bat who went .303/.409/.493 in Triple-A last season. Much like Andrew Benintendi, though, he should be more useful in real-life than the bigs where his advanced eye is Kieboom's top calling card.
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310.
Daniel Hudson
RP
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352.
Eric Thames
1B,RF
Thames probably won't play every day for Washington but even with just 396 at-bats last year, he managed 25 homers, 67 runs and 61 RBIs. Fantasy owners would love that production repeated out of a last round pick.
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384.
Kurt Suzuki
C
Suzuki's bat took off last year with 17 homers, 63 RBIs and a .264 BA in just 280 at-bats. It seems likely that Gomes will take more of a back seat this year which would make Suzuki a plenty useful offensive catcher for fantasy owners.
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388.
Asdrubal Cabrera
2B,3B,SS
Cabrera never feels exciting to draft but there is much to be said for someone who you can count on for 15 homers, 80 RBIs, 65 runs and a batting average that won't kill you late in drafts.
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426.
Will Harris
RP
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430.
Austin Voth
SP
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472.
Yan Gomes
C
It was Kurt Suzuki who took the bull by the horns last year among the Nationals catchers, but Gomes still had more playing time. If that continues, he'll be a useful C2 source of RBIs and runs.
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635.
Tanner Rainey
RP
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668.
Kyle Finnegan
RP
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701.
Roenis Elias
RP
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733.
Wander Suero
RP
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903.
Michael A. Taylor
CF
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993.
Ben Braymer
SP,RP
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1007.
Josh Harrison
2B
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1023.
Wil Crowe
SP
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1087.
Ryne Harper
RP
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1176.
Erick Fedde
SP,RP
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1204.
Tres Barrera
C
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1229.
Raudy Read
C
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1235.
Aaron Barrett
RP
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1246.
Austen Williams
RP
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1252.
Kevin Quackenbush
RP
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1254.
James Bourque
RP
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1264.
Wilmer Difo
2B,SS
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1290.
Kyle McGowin
SP,RP
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1322.
Tony Sipp
RP
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1338.
Jake Noll
1B,2B
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1340.
Josh Lucas
RP
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1379.
Andrew Stevenson
LF,RF
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1401.
Yadiel Hernandez
OF
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1414.
Sam Freeman
RP
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1442.
Javy Guerra
RP
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1500.
Emilio Bonifacio
2B,3B,LF
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1510.
Luis Garcia
2B,SS
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1552.
Adrian Sanchez
2B,3B
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1563.
Brandon Snyder
3B
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