Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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2.
Juan Soto
RF
Ahh, the Juan Soto conundrum. Soto is one of the best hitters in baseball. At 23 years old, he's on a Hall of Fame trajectory. His raw power is astounding. But he plays for the suddenly terrible and powerless Washington Nationals. A few years removed from the World Series, the team is now a collection of "That guy is still playing?" and "Never heard of him" types. Soto's HR numbers will be huge, but his R and RBI numbers will take a big hit.
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99.
Nelson Cruz
Util
This ageless wonder will turn 42 on July 1 but continues to mash. He'll do his mashing for the Nationals this year after signing a one-year deal. Cruz belted 32 home runs last year, which was actually his lowest total for a full season since 2013. He was batting .294 for Minnesota before being traded to Tampa, where he hit only .226 the rest of the way. At his age, the decline could come quickly, but exit velocity, barrel rate and other power peripherals say he's still going strong.
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109.
Josh Bell
1B,LF
Bell had a horrid .464 OPS in April, likely because his timing was off after missing time because of a COVID-19 diagnosis. But once he found his footing, he was everything that Nationals hoped he would be. He batted .277 with an .887 OPS in the second half, and even played plenty of outfield so Washington could keep his bat in the lineup even with Ryan Zimmerman playing well. His walk percentage and strikeout rate largely returned to their pre-2020 levels, and he got better and better as the season went along. With Zimmerman now retired and the DH in the National League, Bell's bat should remain in the lineup nearly every day, and the presence of Juan Soto and Nelson Cruz should offer him plenty of RBI opportunities. He's not a fantasy superstar, but he's a capable starter at first base for your fantasy team.
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228.
Keibert Ruiz
C
Ruiz will be the starting catcher for the Nationals this year and will bat in the middle of the lineup. Ignore his mediocre numbers from last year, because he has the upside to be a top-5 catcher if everything breaks right. Ruiz's power hasn't quite developed as projected, but he hit 19 home runs in 81 games between the majors and minors last year. He has elite contact skills and rarely strikes out, so his batting average should be a plus, especially for a catcher. Don't be concerned to reach a bit given his upside.
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276.
Stephen Strasburg
SP
Strasburg is coming back from surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome, and we've seen that surgery derail promising careers before. He's thrown just 26.2 innings over the last two seasons, and although he's reportedly healthy and feeling good, he probably won't make his debut until May at this point. Despite his elite career numbers, fantasy managers cannot go into 2022 expecting to get anything from Strasburg as a starter. Drafting him for your bench and hoping you get 10 good starts out of him at some point is the safe way to go, but at this point, you should be rooting for Strasburg more from the standpoint of a baseball fan, not a fantasy manager.
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285.
Josiah Gray
SP
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317.
Lane Thomas
LF,CF,RF
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318.
Cesar Hernandez
2B
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344.
Kyle Finnegan
RP
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356.
Patrick Corbin
SP
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387.
Victor Robles
CF
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388.
Tanner Rainey
RP
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537.
Yadiel Hernandez
LF,RF
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546.
Sean Doolittle
RP
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607.
Carter Kieboom
3B
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656.
Luis Garcia
2B,SS
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684.
Maikel Franco
3B
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687.
Patrick Murphy
RP
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702.
Austin Voth
RP
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735.
Alcides Escobar
2B,SS
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758.
Steve Cishek
RP
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766.
Will Harris
RP
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812.
Tyler Clippard
RP
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827.
Riley Adams
C
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833.
Andrew Stevenson
LF,CF,RF
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891.
Joe Ross
SP
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924.
Gerardo Carrillo
SP
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1006.
Cade Cavalli
SP
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1033.
Andres Machado
RP
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1038.
Francisco Perez
RP
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1097.
Victor Arano
RP
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1101.
Tres Barrera
C
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1118.
Paolo Espino
SP,RP
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1142.
Aaron Sanchez
SP
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1150.
Seth Romero
RP
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1165.
Erick Fedde
SP
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1192.
Carl Edwards Jr.
RP
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1220.
Josh Rogers
SP,RP
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1225.
Anibal Sanchez
SP
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1254.
Ehire Adrianza
3B,LF,RF
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1318.
Hunter Harvey
RP
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1342.
Jace Fry
RP
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1350.
Alberto Baldonado
RP
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1398.
Joan Adon
SP
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1411.
Luis Avilan
RP
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1434.
Josh Palacios
RF
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1439.
Donovan Casey
CF
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1528.
Sam Clay
RP
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1555.
Erasmo Ramirez
RP
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1559.
Jake Noll
3B
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1570.
Mason Thompson
RP
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1573.
Adrian Sanchez
2B
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1575.
Lucius Fox
SS
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1585.
Andrew Young
2B
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1590.
Zack Burdi
RP
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1605.
Cory Abbott
RP
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1643.
Dee Strange-Gordon
2B,SS,LF
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1657.
Yasel Antuna
SS
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