Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes

Aaron Nola Note
Aaron Nola photo 8. Aaron Nola SP
Nola bounced back from his disappointing 2019 campaign, and looked much closer to the 2018 breakout version of himself last year. His set a career mark in strikeout rate (33.2%, which ranked in the top nine percent in the league) and swinging strike rate (13.4%), and brought his walk rate down to just eight percent. Nola also got batters to swing at pitches outside the strike zone at a rate of 38.1%, far better than he had ever done in his career, and they made contact less than ever, at a rate of only 59.1%. The reason for the change was Nola relying far less on his fastball and more on his changeup, which kept hitters off balance and made both pitches more effective. Nola doesn't throw particularly hard, so his success relies much more on command and finding the right pitch mix, both of which he excelled at in 2020. If he can keep that going in 2021, and it's a good bet he will, he should be considered a fantasy ace.
36 weeks ago
Zack Wheeler Note
Zack Wheeler photo 30. Zack Wheeler SP
Wheeler's first season in Philadelphia was a success, in that he had the lowest ERA of his career (2.92) and a strong 1.17 WHIP. But his strikeout numbers plummeted, as he struck out just 18.4% of batters. The whiff rate on all of Wheeler's pitches, other than his "show me" curveball, dropped significantly, despite the fact that his velocity remained the same. If Wheeler can again excel at completely limiting hard contact like he did last season (his 85.7 MPH average exit velocity allowed ranked in the top 10% in baseball), then he can probably get away with the lack of strikeouts. Otherwise, he's unlikely to repeat his 2020 success. Given the shortened season, it's a good bet that Wheeler's strikeouts will bounce back, and you can slot him in as an SP3 without much worry.
36 weeks ago
Zach Eflin Note
Zach Eflin photo 69. Zach Eflin SP
Jose Alvarado Note
Jose Alvarado photo 173. Jose Alvarado RP
Kyle Gibson Note
Kyle Gibson photo 229. Kyle Gibson SP,RP
Connor Brogdon Note
Connor Brogdon photo 242. Connor Brogdon RP
Mick Abel Note
Mick Abel photo 394. Mick Abel SP
Nick Nelson Note
Nick Nelson photo 398. Nick Nelson RP
JoJo Romero Note
JoJo Romero photo 428. JoJo Romero RP
Ryan Sherriff Note
Ryan Sherriff photo 454. Ryan Sherriff RP
Ranger Suarez Note
Ranger Suarez photo 461. Ranger Suarez RP,SP
Tyler Phillips Note
Tyler Phillips photo 477. Tyler Phillips SP
Seranthony Dominguez Note
Seranthony Dominguez photo 491. Seranthony Dominguez RP
Yoan Lopez Note
Yoan Lopez photo 494. Yoan Lopez RP
Damon Jones Note
Damon Jones photo 524. Damon Jones RP,SP
Scott Moss Note
Scott Moss photo 605. Scott Moss SP
Sam Coonrod Note
Sam Coonrod photo 606. Sam Coonrod RP
Adonis Medina Note
Adonis Medina photo 634. Adonis Medina RP,SP
Kent Emanuel Note
Kent Emanuel photo 665. Kent Emanuel RP