Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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8.
Brad Hand
Hand joins the Nationals on a one-year deal after Cleveland declined his option. His velocity declined a bit last season, but the league's collective lack of interest in Hand is surprising, given that he's coming off one of the best seasons of his career, led the league in saves, has been a top-10 reliever over the last five seasons, and is a lefty. Dave Martinez wants Hand to be the Nationals' closer based on his comments, but it's unclear whether he'll be the sole option. The Nationals barely have another lefty reliever in their bullpen, let alone a reliable one, so chances are that Hand will be deployed earlier in the game if the opposing team has multiple left-handed hitters due up. All that to say that Hand is a reliable reliever who you should draft for his overall numbers, but he may provide fewer saves than most traditional closers.
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17.
Jordan Romano
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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35.
Joakim Soria
The Diamondbacks gave Soria a one-year, $3.5 million deal after his successful stint with the A's. Soria fixed his home run problem from 2019, which was an outlier for his career anyway, and his 2020 numbers looked much more in line with his typical output. Soria hasn't been named the closer, but given that he has totaled at least 16 saves in eight separate seasons, it's a strong bet that he'll begin the year in the ninth inning. The Diamondbacks aren't expected to be competitive, so if you do draft him, bank on him being traded to another team, and into another role, by mid-season.
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70.
Rafael Dolis
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85.
Ross Stripling
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153.
David Phelps
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196.
Tyler Chatwood
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219.
Trevor Richards
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229.
Carl Edwards Jr.
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256.
Julian Merryweather
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276.
Tom Hatch
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287.
Jacob Barnes
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297.
Ryan Borucki
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311.
Adam Cimber
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323.
Tommy Milone
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334.
Anthony Kay
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345.
Travis Bergen
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383.
Tim Mayza
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385.
Patrick Murphy
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465.
Jeremy Beasley
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471.
A.J. Cole
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473.
Dany Jimenez
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496.
Anthony Castro
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539.
Jacob Waguespack
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