Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2020 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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2.
Kirby Yates
Yate led the league in saves last year with 41, and continued to lower his already impressive ERA and WHIP. He has an elite strikeout rate and is outstanding at limiting home runs, which is everything you want in a closer. Josh Hader should be the first reliever taken but Yates should be a close second.
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3.
Roberto Osuna
Osuna may not be quite the pitcher he was in his absolute prime, but he's not far off. He has yet to have a season in the majors with a WHIP above 1.00, and his strikeout rate has rebounded to above-average, if not elite, levels. He has immense job security on an excellent team and should once again provide all the numbers you could want from a closer. Draft him with confidence.
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5.
Liam Hendriks
If Hendriks' 2019 performance doesn't convince you to wait on closers, nothing will. An afterthought in drafts pitching behind Blake Treinen, Hendriks not only took the closer's role for the A's but also developed into one of the best relievers in the game. A velocity bump made his fastball nearly unhittable and he rarely gave up home runs. He'll be given the chance to repeat his performance, but whether he can is an entirely open question.
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7.
Brad Hand
Hand didn't have a bad year by any means, but there were two major areas of decline. The first was a cratering of his ground ball rate, and the second was that batters simply hit his fastball much, much better than in previous years. Hand is a reliever, which means volatility, and his strikeout rate remains well above-average. But with just a club option left on his deal, he could be a candidate to be dealt if the Indians struggle out of the gate.
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10.
Ken Giles
Giles may have had the quietest 1.87 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in the history of baseball. Add to that a a 14.09/9 strikeout rate and Giles was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2019. He'll be a free agent after this year so it seems unlikely he holds down the closer's role in Toronto all year. But he'll certainly help your overall numbers in the first half of the season at least.
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14.
Brandon Workman
Workman was never the guy for the Red Sox . . . until one day he just was. When he finally locked down the closer's role, he was fantastic, striking out batters at will and pitching to a 1.88 ERA. His WHIP hovered near 1.00 despite the fact that he walked more than 5.5 batters per nine innings, a feat which he's unlikely to duplicate. In short, while Workman will close for the Red Sox, he'll need to improve his control in order to hold the job for the whole year.
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17.
Alex Colome
Few expected Colome to hold the closer role for the White Sox all season, but he did, totaling 30 saves in the process. His numbers were solid, though his FIP and xFIP were significantly higher than his ERA. The White Sox have big plans for the season so, if they're in contention, don't be surprised if they make a move for a more established reliever. But, in the meantime, Colome should provide plenty of saves in the first half of the season.
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18.
Sean Doolittle
Doolittle should likely close for the Nationals again in 2020, though Daniel Hudson's emergence in the late- and post-season last year could throw a wrench in Davey Martinez's plans. More concerning is Doolittle's dip in performance, as his ERA and WHIP were by far the worst of his career. A free agent next year, Doolittle's job security should be minimal, so don't target him as a closer in your fantasy drafts.
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25.
Mark Melancon
Despite Melancon plainly not being the best reliever on his team, he'll likely enter the 2020 season as the Braves' closer. Melancon still has decent control, but the days of being a lockdown option are long gone. Draft him as a back-end closer, and understand that Will Smith will be looking over his shoulder all year.
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27.
Keone Kela
As of July 11th, Kela has not reported to camp. It's unclear if he is dealing with COVID-19 or when he is planning to report, if at all. Kela is an above-average major league reliever and will start the year as the Pittsburgh closer if healthy. But for now, drop him down your draft board a few spots.
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30.
Ian Kennedy
Kennedy was an afterthought on draft day last year, but a run of save chances in the middle of the summer boosted him to 30 saves. His peripherals didn't hurt fantasy owners and his strikeout numbers were solid, making Kennedy the poster child for the "wait on saves" crowd. In the final year of his deal, he'll again open as the closer for the Royals, but his chances of being dealt mid-season are extremely high. Draft him, of course, but don't bank on much more than 15 saves or so.
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42.
Brandon Kintzler
Kintzler will open the year as the Marlins' closer, and had a fine, bounceback season in 2019 with the Cubs. But his strikeout rate is poor and he'll be a prime candidate to get dealt at the trade deadline. With a shortened season, Kintzler's value is even lower than it otherwise would have been, which is not particularly high anyway.
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46.
Blake Treinen
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53.
Tony Watson
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67.
Yusmeiro Petit
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82.
Yoshi Hirano
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83.
Trevor May
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86.
Shane Greene
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87.
Pedro Baez
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89.
Joakim Soria
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91.
Sergio Romo
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95.
Nick Burdi
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96.
Tommy Kahnle
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103.
Brad Peacock
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108.
Pedro Strop
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109.
Chase Anderson
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111.
Steve Cishek
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122.
Justin Wilson
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125.
Trevor Rosenthal
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127.
Jeremy Jeffress
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129.
Michael Wacha
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131.
Anthony Bass
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133.
Oliver Drake
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134.
Cam Bedrosian
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142.
Sam Tuivailala
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143.
Junior Guerra
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146.
Hector Rondon
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147.
Andrew Chafin
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152.
Kelvin Herrera
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158.
Tyler Clippard
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159.
Drew Steckenrider
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160.
Brad Boxberger
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162.
Chris Devenski
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166.
Chaz Roe
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167.
Cody Allen
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169.
David Robertson
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173.
Tyler Chatwood
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174.
Brandon Morrow
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177.
Greg Holland
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181.
Oliver Perez
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182.
Andrew Kittredge
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185.
Darren O'Day
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188.
Jesse Chavez
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190.
Mike Montgomery
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191.
Roenis Elias
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192.
Sam Gaviglio
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193.
Blake Parker
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197.
Jeff Gray
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198.
Dan Wheeler
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199.
Chris Ray
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201.
Ubaldo Jimenez
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204.
Tommy Hunter
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206.
Mauricio Robles
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208.
Wilmer Font
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212.
Blake Wood
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215.
Pat Neshek
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216.
Zack Godley
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218.
Jose Alvarez
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224.
Adam Morgan
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232.
Wade LeBlanc
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234.
Luis Escobar
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238.
Austin Adams
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248.
Carl Edwards Jr.
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250.
Jake Faria
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252.
Zack Littell
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254.
Heath Hembree
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258.
Hunter Wood
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261.
Brian Johnson
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262.
Andrew Triggs
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265.
Derek Holland
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266.
Ryan Buchter
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270.
Trevor Cahill
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277.
Bo Takahashi
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281.
Shelby Miller
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291.
Luke Farrell
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292.
Adam Warren
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301.
Matt Moore
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303.
Robbie Erlin
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309.
David Phelps
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316.
Jake McGee
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322.
Sean Gilmartin
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326.
Tommy Milone
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327.
T.J. McFarland
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332.
Manny Banuelos
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338.
Tim Melville
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341.
Bryan Shaw
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343.
Yohander Mendez
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345.
Edinson Volquez
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350.
Luis Perdomo
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355.
Randy Rosario
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359.
Dovydas Neverauskas
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360.
Nate Jones
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361.
Odrisamer Despaigne
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365.
Nestor Cortes Jr.
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368.
Francisco Liriano
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369.
Andrew Cashner
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378.
Aaron Brooks
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381.
Joe Biagini
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383.
Brett Cecil
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387.
Shawn Kelley
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388.
Kohl Stewart
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389.
Matt Reynolds
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393.
Jared Hughes
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395.
Juan Nicasio
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397.
Drew VerHagen
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404.
Sam Dyson
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407.
Ross Detwiler
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412.
Matt Albers
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417.
David Hess
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418.
Luis Garcia
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419.
Tony Cingrani
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423.
Zac Grotz
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432.
Fernando Rodney
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434.
Aaron Loup
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435.
Brian Moran
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436.
James Sherfy
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438.
Wei-Yin Chen
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440.
Jake Petricka
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444.
Jacob Rhame
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445.
Cy Sneed
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448.
Jerry Blevins
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450.
David Hernandez
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454.
Dan Otero
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455.
Enderson Franco
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456.
Nick Ramirez
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460.
Luis Avilan
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464.
Nick Vincent
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465.
Jay Jackson
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468.
Blaine Hardy
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469.
Tyler Olson
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470.
Addison Reed
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471.
Fernando Abad
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474.
Bud Norris
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482.
Kevin Quackenbush
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483.
Zach Duke
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485.
Trevor Hildenberger
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490.
Edubray Ramos
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491.
Matt Grace
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492.
Jonny Venters
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493.
Justin Miller
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496.
Alex Wilson
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498.
Mike Shawaryn
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499.
Justin Shafer
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501.
Adalberto Mejia
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503.
Xavier Cedeno
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507.
Chad Bettis
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508.
Austen Williams
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509.
Fernando Salas
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512.
Kyle Barraclough
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513.
AJ Ramos
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514.
James Bourque
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515.
Victor Alcantara
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523.
Cody Anderson
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525.
Lucas Luetge
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534.
Branden Kline
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540.
Chris Rusin
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543.
Ryan Dull
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545.
Ryan Cook
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546.
David Carpenter
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548.
David Carpenter
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549.
Brian Duensing
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550.
Mike Dunn
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551.
Tyler Thornburg
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552.
Danny Hultzen
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554.
Javy Guerra
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556.
Brian Flynn
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559.
Heath Fillmyer
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563.
Jesse Biddle
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564.
Kyle Bird
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565.
Rex Brothers
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567.
Donnie Hart
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574.
Justin Grimm
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582.
Aaron Wilkerson
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590.
Sam Freeman
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592.
Tim Collins
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594.
JC Ramirez
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595.
Wes Parsons
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598.
Drew Rucinski
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600.
Yefry Ramirez
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602.
Caleb Frare
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604.
Joe Harvey
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605.
Ben Lively
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607.
Gabriel Ynoa
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609.
Zac Rosscup
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613.
Tim Peterson
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614.
Drew Storen
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615.
Tony Zych
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616.
Carlos Torres
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618.
Brooks Pounders
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619.
Locke St. John
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620.
Neil Ramirez
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621.
Adonis Rosa
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622.
Reymin Guduan
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623.
Taylor Guerrieri
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627.
J.T. Chargois
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629.
Jaime Schultz
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636.
Erasmo Ramirez
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639.
Brock Stewart
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640.
Christian Bethancourt
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642.
Luiz Gohara
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644.
Tony Barnette
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650.
Artie Lewicki
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652.
Thyago Vieira
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655.
Nick Rumbelow
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656.
Ryan Garton
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657.
Chris Ellis
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658.
Shane Carle
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660.
Jimmy Yacabonis
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661.
Michael Blazek
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662.
Preston Guilmet
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663.
Braden Shipley
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664.
Rookie Davis
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666.
Sandy Baez
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667.
Mike Wright
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