I’m continuing my attention on fringe starters. They are the starters who once the season starts, managers are going to have to make a quick decision on adding or dropping. These pitchers will be in play all season. I’m using NFBC’s ADP and starting at the bottom and selecting any starter drafted by half the teams.

Here is an evaluation of eight more starters. You can find the other editions here:

• Part 1: Houck, Akin, Dunn, Schmidt
• Part 2: Webb, Kremer, Stripling, Richards
• Part 3: Quintana, Minor, Hill, Peralta, Morejon
• Part 4: Margevicius, Chatwood, Plutko, Marquez, Lucchesi, Balazovic, Abbot
• Part 5: Lodolo, Castellani, Bailey, Chirinos, Rodon, Cody, Cobb, Hamels
• Part 6: Perez, Matz, Fiers, Porcello, Gray, Lynch
• Part 7: McClanahan, Jefferies, Sandoval, Lester, Voth, Velasquez
• Part 8: Barria, Loaisiga, Wood, DeSclafani, Freeland, Martin,
• Part 9: Wood (again), Dobnak, Suter, Archer, Senzatela, Brault, Whitley, Kelly
• Part 10: Wilson, Arihara, Wacha, Wright, Duffy, Mills
• Part 11: Manning, Pivetta, Bubic, Shoemaker, Brubaker, Gomber
• Part 12: Houser, Patiño, Gilbert, Ponce de Leon, Wainwright, Martinez
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2/2/21

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PAUL V. JUSTIN SPS

Paul HIGHER

• Mike Minor (2:30)
• Michael Kopech (7:15)
• Eduardo Rodriguez (10:05)
• David Price (12:33)
• Lance McCullers Jr. (15:40)

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It’s been just over four months since my last SP update so this was overdue. I’ll have an article and a podcast discussing these in more detail. For this piece, I’ll just have the rankings and then respond to your comments. Blue bar starts a new tier. Let me know what you think!

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This fable is inspired by Eric Hosmer and Dansby Swanson. In my last article, I noticed both improved in some of their StatCast metrics. So, I wondered how much should the values regress? After wasting more time than I’ll admit roaming for the answers, I remembered I already discovered the answers when creating my StatCast projections. Magically the season weightings work out to simply splitting the difference between 2019 and 2020 value. Normally, the most recent season would carry more weight, but with 2020’s limited sample, the two StatCast metrics (launch angle and max exit velocity) carry equal weight. Now, I can continue drudging through life. The end.

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Drafts are in full swing and now I am 10 drafts into the season, here are my current ranks for the catcher position for 2021. I will post updates every 2-4 weeks as things change with signings, injuries, or news in Major League Baseball. Read the rest of this entry »

Jeff wrote a great piece earlier today on bad hitters who go early in drafts. These are often speedsters who can be huge pieces to a fantasy lineup or find themselves out of a job six weeks into the season. I figured I would do a quick follow up on the other ends of the spectrum and identify 10 players going later (150+ ADP) with OPS totals at .800 or better.

Only one of these guys will do anything for your SB count, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be drafted with Jeff’s speedsters to offset their OPS struggles.

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In 2019, I participated in AL LABR and struggled to stay out of the cellar. Coming out of the auction, I thought I would accumulate too many stolen bases but could trade one of Mallex Smith or Dee Strange-Gordon. I ran into the simple problem, they played themselves out of their jobs. From that point forward, I told myself “I will no longer rely on sh##ty baseball players”. Talent declines during a draft, but I don’t want a core piece of any team demoted to the bench or the minors. I’m going to examine a few hitters drafted in the first 10 rounds and fall into this playing time trap.

Looking back at Smith and Gordon, I should have had an inkling that they’d disappoint. Going into the season, Steamer projected Smith for a .695 OPS and Gordon for a .664. For the 2020 edition of The Process (after the fact research), I researched the production level needed to keep a hitter in a lineup. Depending on the player’s defensive ability and position, the average production level that gets a hitter demoted is between .600 OPS and .650 OPS with the average being around .635 OPS. The following chart shows the chances a player’s in-season OPS may drop to knowing their projected OPS.
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With drafts beginning to ramp up, it is important to monitor where players are being draft on a regular basis. Throughout draft season, I will be doing that work for you with regular updates on the Average Draft Position on NFBC up until Opening Day. Read the rest of this entry »