Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes

Position

Team

Zack Greinke Note
	29. Zack Greinke SP Greinke is entering his age-37 season, but still somehow keeps getting it done. His ERA of 4.03 last year was certainly higher than fantasy managers are used to seeing, but it came with a 2.80 FIP and 3.51 xFIP. His strikeout rate was his best since 2017 and his walk rate of 3.3% was the best of his entire career. But his velocity was down about two ticks, with his fastball clocking in at just 87.9 miles per hour. Greinke is as smart a pitcher as there is but it's going to be difficult to succeed over the course of a full 162-game season if his pure stuff continues to diminish. He's one of the few pitchers in the game who is probably capable of pitching 200 innings in 2021, but expect a continued downward trend in his performance. 3 weeks ago

Lance McCullers Jr. Note
	37. Lance McCullers Jr. SP McCullers made a successful return from Tommy John surgery after missing the 2019 season and looked almost exactly like the 2018 version of himself. His ERA (3.93) and WHIP (1.16) were within seven-tenths of a point of his 2018 numbers, and his walk and strikeout rates fell just slightly. McCullers relied a bit more on his sinker and less on his curveball than in past years, but the two work well together and he continued to throw them in combination about 80% of the time. In short, what you thought of McCullers heading into 2018 is pretty much what you should think of him now. Unfortunately, that includes concerns about his innings, because after a missed year and 55 innings last year, the chances of him topping 150 innings this season are remote. Buy him at his production, but understand that there's likely a hard cap on his innings total. 3 weeks ago

Ryan Pressly Note
	39. Ryan Pressly RP Pressly had his usual solid season, but got the benefit of closing for the Astros after Roberto Osuna's injury. His numbers fell off a bit from the previous two years (his 1.33 WHIP was particularly out of character), but he will almost certainly rebound from the .365 BABIP he allowed. He's slated to again be the Astros' closer, and as such, should provide plenty of saves while giving fantasy managers positive value in ratios. That makes him one of the few reliable closers worth drafting at more than a late-round price. 3 weeks ago

Jose Urquidy Note
	68. Jose Urquidy SP

Jake Odorizzi Note
	92. Jake Odorizzi SP

Cristian Javier Note
	94. Cristian Javier SP

Framber Valdez Note
	113. Framber Valdez SP,RP Valdez was shaping up to be a fine sleeper this year, after he had a highly successful stint in the Astros rotation last year. But he fractured his finger early in spring training and the expectation is that he'll miss significant time, though recent reports are far more optimistic than the initial season-ending variety. Drop him down a ton from where you initially had him ranked, but draft him toward the back end of your rotation where the risk/reward balance should equalize. 3 weeks ago

Pedro Baez Note
	240. Pedro Baez RP

Enoli Paredes Note
	253. Enoli Paredes RP

Joe Smith Note
	272. Joe Smith RP

Luis Garcia Note
	290. Luis Garcia P

Blake Taylor Note
	300. Blake Taylor RP

Brooks Raley Note
	389. Brooks Raley RP

Josh James Note
	402. Josh James RP

Justin Verlander Note
	417. Justin Verlander SP

Tyler Ivey Note
	424. Tyler Ivey RP

Ryne Stanek Note
	430. Ryne Stanek SP,RP

Andre Scrubb Note
	486. Andre Scrubb RP

Brandon Bielak Note
	622. Brandon Bielak SP,RP

Kent Emanuel Note
	665. Kent Emanuel RP

Bryan Abreu Note
	700. Bryan Abreu RP

Austin Pruitt Note
	705. Austin Pruitt RP

Francis Martes Note
	739. Francis Martes RP

Nivaldo Rodriguez Note
	836. Nivaldo Rodriguez RP