Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2021 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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1.
Fernando Tatis Jr.
SD
Tatis Jr. had an outstanding rookie year, but because he had outperformed his statcast data so significantly, many fantasy managers were worried that his numbers would regress in 2020. Although his batting average did come down (to a still respectable .277), he not only staved off regression, but he improved significantly in most areas. He cut his strikeout rate by 6%, upped his walk rate by 2.5%, and led the league in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel percentage. The fact that he's likely to throw in 25-30 steals over the course of a full season is just the cherry on top of elite fantasy production. He's a top-five overall pick with little or no downside and massive upside even off his incredible 2020 numbers.
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2.
Trea Turner
WSH
Turner was the best version of himself in 2020, slashing his strikeout rate to below 14% and setting career bests in batting average, OBP, slugging percentage, wOBA, and wRC+. Above all, Turner locks down two incredibly scarce categories for fantasy managers, stolen bases and batting average, while offering production in the other three hitting categories. Still just entering his age-28 season, Turner is in the prime of his career, and should continue to put up stellar numbers. He's a top-seven pick in rotisserie leagues.
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3.
Trevor Story
COL
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4.
Francisco Lindor
NYM
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5.
Xander Bogaerts
BOS
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6.
Bo Bichette
TOR
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7.
Adalberto Mondesi
KC
Even in a shortened year, it was a tale of two seasons for Mondesi. In 35 games in July and August, he batted just .186 with 11 runs, two RBI, no home runs, and eight steals. In his final 24 games, he batted .356 with six home runs, 22 runs scored, 20 RBI, and 16 steals. In the end, Mondesi delivered exactly the type of season that fantasy managers have come to expect, and his 24 steals were eight more than the next highest total. Mondesi won't help in batting average and offers minimal power, but he's an unmatched source of steals. And given that much of his lackluster first month can probably be written off to offseason shoulder surgery, fantasy managers should be able to expect closer to the second-half version of Mondesi rather than the firs this year.
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8.
Corey Seager
LAD
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9.
Tim Anderson
CWS
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10.
Javier Baez
CHC
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11.
Gleyber Torres
NYY
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12.
Carlos Correa
HOU
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13.
Dansby Swanson
ATL
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14.
Marcus Semien
FA
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15.
Ketel Marte
ARI
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16.
Manny Machado
SD
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17.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
TOR
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18.
Alex Bregman
HOU
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19.
Jonathan Villar
FA
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20.
Jake Cronenworth
SD
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21.
Tommy Edman
STL
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22.
Ryan Mountcastle
BAL
Mountcastle followed up a successful minor-league career with a strong 35-game stint in the majors last year. Not only did he bat .333 with an .878 OPS and a 139 wRC+, but he also walked 7.9% of the time, far above what he showed in the minors. The batting average is unsustainable - he was a .295 hitter in the minors and last year he relied on a .398 BABIP despite sub-par average exit velocity and a middling line drive rate. But playing in Camden Yards should certainly keep his production high, and batting in the middle of the Orioles lineup should lead to enough RBI chances to make him a rosterable, if not startable, fantasy option.
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23.
Didi Gregorius
FA
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24.
Jorge Polanco
MIN
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25.
Jean Segura
PHI
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26.
Nick Madrigal
CWS
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27.
David Fletcher
LAA
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28.
Wander Franco
TB
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29.
Dylan Moore
SEA
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30.
Ha-seong Kim
SD
Kim joins a loaded Padres team after a successful career in the KBO. He had a particularly strong 2020 season, slashing .306/.397/.523 with 30 home runs and 23 steals. Although he split time between shortstop and third base in the KBO, he'll man second for the Padres, which is better for his fantasy value given the relative lack of strength of the position. Kim is younger than most hitters coming over from the KBO - only 25 - and he has the speed and power to reach double digits in steals and homers pretty easily. But he's more of a 15-15 type of player, rather than the potential 30-25 he was last year, and he'll likely bat near the bottom of the order, limiting his plate appearance and runs and RBI opportunities. Draft him as a middle infield option, but with upside.
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31.
Paul DeJong
STL
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32.
Chris Taylor
LAD
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33.
Gavin Lux
LAD
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34.
Amed Rosario
CLE
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35.
Willi Castro
DET
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36.
Jurickson Profar
FA
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37.
Andres Gimenez
CLE
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38.
Eduardo Escobar
ARI
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39.
Garrett Hampson
COL
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40.
Willy Adames
TB
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41.
Jon Berti
MIA
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42.
Jose Iglesias
LAA
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43.
Mauricio Dubon
SF
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44.
Joey Wendle
TB
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45.
Elvis Andrus
TEX
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46.
Scott Kingery
PHI
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47.
Nick Ahmed
ARI
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48.
Miguel Rojas
MIA
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49.
Niko Goodrum
DET
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50.
Nico Hoerner
CHC
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51.
Donovan Solano
SF
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52.
J.P. Crawford
SEA
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53.
Kevin Newman
PIT
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54.
Jazz Chisholm
MIA
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55.
Luis Garcia
WSH
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56.
Myles Straw
HOU
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57.
Danny Santana
FA
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58.
Hanser Alberto
FA
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59.
Luis Urias
MIL
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60.
Brendan Rodgers
COL
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61.
Anderson Tejada
TEX
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62.
Andrelton Simmons
FA
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63.
Jeter Downs
BOS
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64.
Carter Kieboom
WSH
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65.
Brandon Crawford
SF
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66.
Asdrubal Cabrera
FA
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67.
Orlando Arcia
MIL
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68.
Kike Hernandez
FA
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69.
Jose Garcia
CIN
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70.
Isaac Paredes
DET
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71.
Royce Lewis
MIN
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72.
Marwin Gonzalez
FA
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73.
Thairo Estrada
NYY
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74.
Anderson Tejeda
TEX
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75.
Jose Peraza
NYM
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