Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2022 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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7.
Zack Wheeler
SP
It's not often a player in a major media market puts up a career season, finishes second in the Cy Young voting and ... nobody seems to notice. Well, friends, Mr. Wheeler would like some more of your attention in 2022, albeit with some caution. His 2.78 ERA last season was a career low. It's likely some regression is coming and his ERA will be in the low 3s. He usually strikes out about a batter an inning, but Wheeler punched out 247 in 213 IP last year. Will he be able to equal that pace? The Phillies are counting on him to do just that at the top of their rotation, but you'd be wise to treat him more like a solid All-Star than a Cy Young favorite. If he's your SP2, life is good. If he's your ace, make sure to load up on solid starting pitching in the mid rounds to bolster your staff behind him.
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10.
Aaron Nola
SP
Don't overpay for what you hope Nola will be - the 2018 version of the pitcher who looked like he was on a path to superstardom. Nola's name still resonates, but his stats can be easily replicated four or five rounds after his fourth-round ADP. His 2022 ZiPS projection has him finishing 12-7 with a 3.46 ERA. Other systems are projecting his ERA to be closer to 3.75, which basically makes him Frankie Montas. You'd feel foolish drafting Montas 39th, right? Well, if that was your draft slot plan for Nola, think again.
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67.
Corey Knebel
SP,RP
Knebel was labeled as the tentative closer by Joe Girardi early in the spring, and he's done nothing to lose the job since. He rebounded from a terrible 2020 season to put up a 2.45 ERA and 0.97 WHIP with the Dodgers last year, and his fastball velocity sat at a robust 96.3 mile per hour. He's already throwing harder than that this spring, and combined with his outstanding curveball, his fastball can perform at an elite level. Knebel has closing experience from his days with Milwaukee, so as long as he can avoid injury, there's every reason to expect him to hold the role all year long. He could easily end up as a top-5 closer if everything breaks right.
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74.
Ranger Suarez
SP,RP
Suarez was fantastic as both a reliever and a starter last year, compiling a 1.36 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. He was almost equally dominant as a starter and a reliever, though it's worth noting that he had a very soft run of opponents during his 12 starts. More troubling for projecting Suarez is that he had a comically low home run rate (just 0.34/9 innings). Yes, his sinker moves a ton and avoids hard contact, but that's simply not a sustsainable number. He's dealt with visa issues this spring, though looks to be on track for the season, so don't let that concern you much. Instead, just understand that he's due for some major regression, and is likely to pitch closer to a 4.00 ERA this year.
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124.
Zach Eflin
SP
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148.
Kyle Gibson
SP
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180.
Brad Hand
RP
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204.
Jose Alvarado
RP
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281.
Connor Brogdon
RP
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305.
Sam Coonrod
RP
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339.
Bailey Falter
RP
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343.
Jeurys Familia
RP
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419.
Seranthony Dominguez
RP
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446.
Nick Nelson
RP
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542.
Ryan Sherriff
RP
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586.
James McArthur
RP
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648.
Hans Crouse
SP
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706.
James Norwood
RP
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726.
Andrew Bellatti
RP
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729.
Kent Emanuel
RP
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754.
Corey Oswalt
P
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781.
Kyle Dohy
RP
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803.
Cam Bedrosian
RP
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807.
Cristopher Sanchez
RP
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822.
JoJo Romero
RP
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856.
Dillon Maples
RP
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862.
Damon Jones
RP
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868.
Jake Newberry
RP
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948.
Scott Moss
SP
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950.
James Marvel
SP
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