Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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21.
Hyun Jin Ryu
SP
Fantasy managers expected some regression from Ryu after his career season in 2019 and with him moving to the Blue Jays, but it really didn't come. He continued to be among the best in the game at limiting opposing batters' quality of contact, and upped his strikeout rate to 26.2%, second best of his career. Ryu's 2.69 ERA was a bit higher than the 2.32 mark he put up in in 2019, but his FIP, xFIP, SIERA, and xERA were all the same or better than the previous year. In short, other than the potential for injury, which hasn't been a factor in the last two seasons, there's no reason to doubt Ryu at this point.
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25.
Jose Berrios
SP
Berrios may not ever become the dominant pitcher many projected him to be, but he offers a strong floor for fantasy managers. Ignoring his 2016 cup of coffee, Berrios has pitched to a 3.89 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a strikeout per inning in his career. And although his walk rate went up a tad and he gave up a bit harder contact in 2020's shortened season, his numbers didn't vary from his usual output significantly. Bank on around a 4.00 ERA, a WHIP somewhere around 1.25, and plenty of strikeouts. In today's fantasy game, that's more than adequate for a strong fantasy staff.
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48.
Kevin Gausman
SP
Gausman had the best season of his career with the Giants last season, and accepted a qualifying offer to remain in San Francisco. Gausman not only put up an impressive 3.62 ERA, but he upped his strikeout rate by about nine points to 32.2%. He saw a nice velocity bump on his fastball and leaned into his excellent splitter a bit more than usual. The downside for Gausman is that he really is mostly a fastball/splitter pitcher, meaning that when his splitter isn't working, he's likely to get hit hard. But, we've now at least seen the upside over a full season, and he's a pretty ideal SP4/SP5 if you can get him in that range.
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78.
Jordan Romano
RP
Romano is poised to serve as the Blue Jays' closer after Kirby Yates suffered an elbow injury which will cost him the season. Romano's stuff isn't special, but he had a very solid 2020 campaign, and should see plenty of save chances with Toronto, assuming he's officially named the closer. The relief pitcher landscape for fantasy gets cloudy quickly, so despite the lack of certainty, Romano makes a decent option for your second reliever. Bump him higher if he's officially named the closer before the season.
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121.
Nate Pearson
SP,RP
Pearson is oozing with talent, but he just can't seem to stay healthy. Whether it was elbow soreness last year or the groin strain that is now going to keep him out of action for a bit, something seem to crop up to delay his success in the majors. He wound up pitching just 18 innings overall last year, but the stuff is there, without question. His fastball reaches triple digits, his slider is dominant, and his curveball and changeup are far above average. There's always a bit more uncertainty with young power pitchers, particularly when they've had elbow injuries like Pearson has. And, after trading for Steven Matz, the Blue Jays have plenty of rotation depth and shouldn't feel pressured into rushing Pearson back from injury. In keeper and dynasty formats, he's still a buy, but in redraft leagues, he's probably not worth a pick at this point.
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154.
Yimi Garcia
RP
Garcia was the favorite for saves in Miami until the team signed Anthony Bass, and now his exact role in the bullpen is unclear. He struck out 31.7% of the batter he faced last year, and put up a 0.80 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. He's got more prototypical "closer's stuff" than Bass does, and he has a lengthy relationship with Don Mattingly dating back to their Dodgers days. Draft Garcia late and hope he wins the job, but make sure you have other options.
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178.
Ross Stripling
SP,RP
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298.
David Phelps
RP
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375.
Julian Merryweather
SP,RP
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421.
Alek Manoah
SP
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465.
Ryan Borucki
RP
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476.
Adam Cimber
RP
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481.
Thomas Hatch
RP
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483.
Anthony Kay
RP,SP
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508.
Adam Kloffenstein
SP
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525.
Shaun Anderson
RP
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533.
Trent Thornton
SP,RP
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550.
Trevor Richards
SP,RP
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612.
Jose De Leon
RP
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657.
Tim Mayza
RP
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740.
Jeremy Beasley
RP
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773.
Anthony Castro
RP
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