Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

Luzardo's 2020 campaign wasn't terrible, but it certainly left fantasy managers wanting more. The strikeouts were there, but not quite at the level that was expected. He rarely went deep into games. And he was just more hittable than he ever was in the minors or in his brief time as a reliever in 2019. Luzardo throws four quality pitches and is working to improve his arsenal as we head into the 2021 season, so there's little reason to downgrade your opinion of him too much from where it was prior to the 2020 campaign because of one nine-start stretch. He's an incredibly high-upside pitcher who carries with him plenty of injury risk, and the combination leaves him as a solid SP3 for fantasy leagues.

Despite his 5.09 ERA and mediocre strikeout rate in 2019, there was some buzz about Lopez heading into last season because of his outstanding changeup and his ability to keep his WHIP in check. He justified the expectations, cutting his ERA to 3.61 and striking out about a batter and a half more per nine innings than he had previously. He's still volatile, as he has seemingly random games where he lacks command with his changeup and gets hit hard. And he needs another pitch to complement his fastball and changeup. But if he can continue to develop either his curveball or cutter, he could be a true breakout candidate. Draft him as an SP4 with upside for more if his other pitches continue to improve.

Alcantara continued to build on what was a pretty strong foundation heading into 2020. He lowered his ERA to 3.00 and his WHIP to 1.19, and improved in both his strikeout and walk rate while adding velocity. He pitched only 42 innings last year because of COVID-19 issues, but he dominated over the latter three-quarters of the season, pitching to a 2.30 ERA with 30 strikeouts over his final 31 1/3 innings. There's not a ton to dislike about Alcantara, and there's room for continued growth. Draft him as a fourth starter with upside for more.

Sanchez built on his strong 2019 season in Double-A with an excellent seven-start stretch in the majors, during which he put up a 3.46 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Sanchez throws really hard (his fastball velocity is in the 98th percentile), but he doesn't put up a ton of strikeouts, either in the minors or during his stint in the majors last year. But his outstanding changeup (.148 BAA, .148 slugging against, .158 wOBA against) keeps hitters off balance, and allows him to avoid giving up too much hard contact. Combine that with his well above-average control and his almost comical ability to avoid giving up home runs, and you have a quality pitcher who can slide into the middle of your staff.

Hernandez was excellent in his six starts last season, tallying a 3.16 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and a 32.1% strikeout rate. But he allowed a lot of hard contact along the way, including a 91.8 MPH average exit velocity (bottom three percent in the league). He worked on his changeup this offseason in an effort to add a reliable third pitch (he threw his fastball and slider 94% of the time last year), and it has gotten rave reviews in camp. He's fourth in the pecking order of the Marlins starters, but if his changeup can be an effective pitch, he might be the one to provide the most value given his extremely modest ADP.