Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes

Zac Gallen Note
Zac Gallen photo 41. Zac Gallen SP
Gallen has a hairline stress fracture of his right forearm at the radial head. He's reportedly going to be able to continue playing catch at a "low stress level" while recovering, though there's no indication of how much time he'll miss. When healthy, he's a solid SP2. He built on his excellent 2019 season with an even more impressive 2020 campaign. Not only did he drop his ERA slightly to 2.75, but he cut way down on his walks (10.8% to 8.6%), which led to a much-improved 1.11 WHIP. Gallen has a 28.5% strikeout rate in 152 MLB innings, and an excellent fastball, curveball, and changeup. There's just not much negative you can say about him when he's healthy other than he might again struggle for wins playing for a mediocre team in a good division. Because of the injury and surrounding uncertainty, you shouldn't draft him as anything higher than an SP4, but he should perform extremely well when he does recover.
37 weeks ago
Mark Melancon Note
Mark Melancon photo 115. Mark Melancon RP
Melancon had another fine year as the Braves' closer, and now joins the back end of the Padres bullpen. It's unclear if he'll serve as the closer, a Drew Pomeranz and Emilio Pagan also may have a claim to the role. Melancon is entering his age-36 season and his strikeout rate is mediocre at best. Although he is still performing well, his lack of pure stuff suggests that the wheels could come off at any moment. That said, he'll have plenty of value if he can earn the ninth-inning role, so monitor the reports out of spring, and draft him late until and unless he's officially ruled out for the role.
37 weeks ago
Stefan Crichton Note
Stefan Crichton photo 135. Stefan Crichton RP
Crichton filled in admirably for Archie Bradley after Bradley was traded last season. His strikeout numbers weren't particularly impressive, but he had a 2.42 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, and tallied five saves. He doesn't have prototypical "closer's stuff," but he's more than capable of getting major league hitters out. The Diamondbacks signed Joakim Soria to a one-year deal (and added Tyler Clippard, too), so Crichton seems unlikely to begin the year as the closer, even though it's an open competition at the moment. He's not worth anything other than an extremely late-round pick as a speculative ninth-inning option.
37 weeks ago
Madison Bumgarner Note
Madison Bumgarner photo 138. Madison Bumgarner SP
Caleb Smith Note
Caleb Smith photo 144. Caleb Smith SP,RP
Luke Weaver Note
Luke Weaver photo 147. Luke Weaver SP
Merrill Kelly Note
Merrill Kelly photo 180. Merrill Kelly SP
J.B. Wendelken Note
J.B. Wendelken photo 199. J.B. Wendelken RP
Kevin Ginkel Note
Kevin Ginkel photo 238. Kevin Ginkel RP
Keynan Middleton Note
Keynan Middleton photo 336. Keynan Middleton RP
Corbin Martin Note
Corbin Martin photo 360. Corbin Martin SP
Noe Ramirez Note
Noe Ramirez photo 379. Noe Ramirez RP
Blake Walston Note
Blake Walston photo 427. Blake Walston SP
Chris Devenski Note
Chris Devenski photo 447. Chris Devenski RP
Bryce Jarvis Note
Bryce Jarvis photo 515. Bryce Jarvis SP
Riley Smith Note
Riley Smith photo 557. Riley Smith SP,RP
J.B. Bukauskas Note
J.B. Bukauskas photo 574. J.B. Bukauskas SP
Taylor Widener Note
Taylor Widener photo 586. Taylor Widener SP,RP
Humberto Mejia Note
Humberto Mejia photo 600. Humberto Mejia SP
Kyle Nelson Note
Kyle Nelson photo 668. Kyle Nelson RP
Ben Heller Note
Ben Heller photo 677. Ben Heller RP
Humberto Castellanos Note
Humberto Castellanos photo 727. Humberto Castellanos RP
Ty Tice Note
Ty Tice photo 768. Ty Tice RP
Matt Peacock Note
Matt Peacock photo 770. Matt Peacock RP
Shane Carle Note
Shane Carle photo 791. Shane Carle RP
Joe Mantiply Note
Joe Mantiply photo 802. Joe Mantiply RP
Sean Poppen Note
Sean Poppen photo 808. Sean Poppen RP
Jordan Weems Note
Jordan Weems photo 814. Jordan Weems
Zack Burdi Note
Zack Burdi photo 850. Zack Burdi RP
Brett de Geus Note
Brett de Geus photo 872. Brett de Geus RP