Drafts are in full swing and now I am 15+ drafts into the season, here are my current ranks for the second base position for 2021. I will post updates as things change with signings, injuries, or news in Major League Baseball.
See my other ranks here: C 1B 2B SS 3B OF SP RP
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Drafts are in full swing and now I am 15+ drafts into the season, here are my current ranks for the second base position for 2021. I will post updates as things change with signings, injuries, or news in Major League Baseball.
See my other ranks here: C 1B 2B SS 3B OF SP RP
Read the rest of this entry »
3/14/21
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!
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Drafts are in full swing and now I am 15+ drafts into the season, here are my current ranks for the second base position for 2021. I will post updates as things change with signings, injuries, or news in Major League Baseball.
Playing time rules the day in fantasy baseball. The more of it your players have, the better you will do. It should go without saying that you want quality players logging that playing time, but in case anyone was unclear, I obviously believe that to be the case. It can be difficult to take a platoon player (under 130 gms) – even a good one – over someone playing at a slightly lesser clip but doing so 85%+ (~140+ gms) of the time.
Brett Gardner isn’t as good as Jesse Winker on a per plate appearance basis (103 to 125 in wRC+ since 2018), but he has 416 more PA giving him massive counting category edges. Finding the guys who can increase their playing time load in season is often a key separator in the winners and the losers. Here are five players who could fantasy stars if they find regular reps.
Yesterday I ran what ended up inadvertently being an NL edition of this so I didn’t want to leave the AL-Only folks hanging. I’m giving a couple extras because so many of the AL candidates are outfielders and I didn’t want to leave the infield empty handed.
Victor Reyes | DET | OF
Reyes fans had to be bummed by the Robbie Grossman and Nomar Mazara signings for the Tigers as they seem to have pushed Reyes to the bench with JaCoby Jones fulfilling the other role. The speedy 4th OF has been an avenue for cheap fantasy upside in the past and Reyes could absolutely be a draft day bargain because of his uncertain role. The switch-hitting 26-year-old has a career .271 AVG in 724 PA and that’s a bit depressed by his .222 AVG debut after being a Rule 5 pickup in 2018. Since then he is hitting .293/.327/.414 with 7 HR and 17 SB in 505 PA.
The Mock Draft Episode of the Beat the Shift Podcast – a baseball podcast for fantasy baseball players.
Guest: Ray Murphy
Strategy Section
RotoBaller Mock Draft
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3/11/21
The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by subscribing to our Patreon!!
Follow us on Twitter
NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS/INJURIES/RUMORS
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During the offseason, I kept track of pitchers who saw a 2020 velocity drop or were coming back from injuries. I’ve decided to check in on them. I know some of the sources can be a little wonky (e.g. stadium guns), but it’s better than nothing. Also, the pitchers could add velocity as they continue through Spring Training even though it rarely happens. That said, any information is better than going in blind.
For the velocity readings, I used FanGraphs for the 2019 and 2020 readings and the 2021 information from my personally collected list.
Madison Bumgarner
2019: 91.4
2020: 88.4
2021: 90-91
Bumgarner seems to be caring after he blew off his pre-season throwing last year. Projections don’t like him projecting an ERA near 5.00 but if the velocity stands, he should at least be around 4.00 ERA pitcher.
Playing time rules the day in fantasy baseball. The more of it your players have, the better you will do. It should go without saying that you want quality players logging that playing time, but in case anyone was unclear, I obviously believe that to be the case. It can be difficult to take a platoon player (under 130 gms) – even a good one – over someone playing at a slightly lesser clip but doing so 85%+ (~140+ gms) of the time.
Brett Gardner isn’t as good as Jesse Winker on a per plate appearance basis (103 to 125 in wRC+ since 2018), but he has 416 more PA giving him massive counting category edges. Finding the guys who can increase their playing time load in season is often a key separator in the winners and the losers. Here are five players who could fantasy stars if they find regular reps.
Edwin Ríos | LAD | 4C (1B-3B-LF-RF)
Rios would start and bat in the top half of the lineup for at least half the league right now. While he is hardly a standout defender, his flexibility would help so many clubs fit his strong bat somewhere. Unfortunately, the Dodgers are definitely not one of those teams. All four positions he can play are blocked off by All Stars, but that same flexibility paired with the overall flexibility of this entire roster will give him a chance to be LA’s first man up should virtually any injury occur. The pieces can move to make Rios the man to cover any injury except catcher.
As part of my preseason prep, I watched a Kris Bubic start from last season. During it, Rex Hudler, who is never short on opinions, brought up an interesting point. The more pitches each batter sees, the quicker the batter becomes with the pitcher repertoire, and the more likely the batter gets a hit. At first, I thought someone else was speaking, but no, the concept warranted further investigation. It’s the same theory behind the times-through-the-order penalty but the new effect could be felt depending on how many pitches a pitcher throws per hitter and depth of arsenal for the pitcher. That idea started me down a wormhole that led to many questions and one subpar answer, but there seems to be at least one nugget of wisdom in Rex Hudler’s head.
First off, with less than a month before the season starts, it’s not an ideal time to start a study that could take weeks to iron out. I barely have enough time to report news, velocity readings, and draft my own teams. The following “answers” are not set in stone and there are so many more questions to investigate. I could either shelve the ideas for months or just make a snippet available and let others run with the ideas while I grind through the fantasy season. I’m giving others the chance to refine the ideas before I come back to them.
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