Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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2.
Corbin Burnes
Corbin Burnes is in the last year of his contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, and it would be somewhat surprising if he still plays for them at the end of the year. The important thing to note is that his pending free agency makes him an even better draft pick in 2024 than usual. And his "usual" is still elite. Burnes landed at 200 strikeouts in 193 2/3 innings with a 3.39 ERA and microscopic 1.07 WHIP. Hitters struggle to make good contact on Burnes's pitches (avgEV of 86.4), but his K% dropped five percent to 25.5. As the third pitcher in Tier 1, he has the most to gain in 2024 and will make an excellent SP1 in fantasy.
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19.
Grayson Rodriguez
I think it's fair to say that Grayson Rodriguez stumbled onto the scene in 2023. In the first half of the season, the rookie threw 45 1/3 innings and gave up 13 home runs and 21 walks on his way to a 7.35 ERA and a trip back to Triple-A. When he returned, the prospect everyone wanted to see arrived. He allowed only three home runs over his final 76 2/3 innings and finished that half with a 2.58 ERA. The good news is that the 24-year-old's second season should be more in line with the latter half of 2023. With a 94th percentile (97.4 mph) fastball velocity, Rodriguez is best considered an SP3 with an SP2 upside in 2024.
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20.
Zach Eflin
Before 2023, Zach Eflin received an abundance of "sleeper" predictions because of the Tampa Bump. Pitchers going TO the Rays are targets. Pitchers going away from them are typically labeled busts. It was difficult to believe a guy with a career ERA over 4.00 would suddenly be worth chasing. Alas, Eflin bought into his hype, apparently. He had a career-high K/9 of 9.42, striking out 186 batters in 177 2/3 innings. He ended with an ERA of 3.50, and his xFIP of 3.12 suggests he was even better than that. His WHIP was 1.02 thanks to a BB% of 3.4 and a Chase% of 34. Eflin's 2024 outlook suggests some regression but nothing to scare fantasy managers away from his SP3 draft price.
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72.
Kyle Bradish
**The Orioles announced on February 15 that Bradish will open the season on the IL with a UCL sprain** Kyle Bradish had an excellent 2023 campaign. He struck out 168 batters in 168 2/3 innings, with a beautiful 2.83 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He should come with a bit of a warning for 2024, though. His xERA was 3.82, and a low .270 BABIP added a heavy filter to his Insta-worthy stats. Bradish's four-seam fastball got lit up by batters (.563 SLG), and he will need that to improve to accompany his elite slider, which induced a 36.4 Whiff%. With the injury, fantasy managers in redraft leagues should avoid the 27-year-old, only taking him as a flier in the late rounds.
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89.
Dean Kremer
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90.
John Means
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94.
Tyler Wells
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95.
Trevor Rogers
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278.
Chayce McDermott
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282.
Albert Suarez
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286.
Cade Povich
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299.
Julio Teheran
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419.
Justin Armbruester
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442.
Colin Selby
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445.
Corbin Martin
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483.
Levi Stoudt
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