I am personally in six leagues for the upcoming 2021 fantasy baseball season, and also did two mock drafts for a total of eight. As of the writing of this, I’ve completed six of the eight drafts, but feel confident that the themes thus far will project over the final two drafts.
You’ll notice that most of these guys are mid-to-late round guys. Generally in fantasy, getting the early-round guys is usually is just a matter of draft order. But once you get into the mid or late rounds that is where preference really takes over and you can find your value.
So, here are the guys that I’ve ended up with the most shares of and a quick pitch on their bull cases.
Jose Urquidy (HOU)
I guess I’m just the Urquidy guy, having him in all but one of my leagues. He goes 192 overall on average, so usually, the Round 16 range where I’m trying to either get my last starting SP or get some bench depth. He’s only 25 and has shown promise in his two short years in the majors. He’s going to be the No.3 on a good Astros team and if he can go 150 innings with a high 3s or very low 4s ERA it’s going to be pure profit at his price. I love him to start on the bench to start the year and be a great replacement when one of your starting SPs inevitably gets injured.
Marco Gonzales (SEA)
I think I have Marco in all my points leagues. He’s definitely better in the points than Roto format as he’s probably not going to be above-average in strikeouts and live around the 4.00 ERA mark, but he’s going to eat innings and just be a solid guy. Think high-floor, low-ceiling. Going at pick 160, a little ahead of the Urquidy range, I love the value to round out my rotation.
Xander Bogaerts (BOS)
He’s on average the 8th shortstop off the board, which is bananaland in my opinion. Since 2015 he has the fourth-highest wOBA among all shortstops, behind Trevor Story, Corey Seager, and Manny Machado. ATC projects him to have the fourth-highest OPS this year among shortstops. Bogaerts is just consistently very good.
Alex Dickerson (SFG)
Usually one of my very last picks, going on average at 294. If it weren’t for playing in San Francisco he might be getting a lot more love. He’ll live in the low-to-mid .800s OPS which is solid as a bench guy going into the season.
Andrew Heaney (LAA)
Another boring, overlooked SP going in the mid rounds right after Urquidy at 194. It seems like I’m able to get both a lot of times as solid bench SPs that I’d be happy to have step in to starting roles on my teams. Let’s just hope he stays healthy.
Anthony Santander (BAL)
Will get 600 PAs this year, half of which are in a sand box Camden Yards. 26 year old serious breakout candidate who can hit for power without hurting average.
Starling Marte (MIA)
One of my favorite steals sources in Roto. Older, boring guy who’s going to hit .280 and be a 20/20 producer in HR/SB.
Brandon Belt (SFG)
Great points league guy to get with your last pick. You don’t want to be a baseball in the strike zone near Brandon Belt’s bad, ’cause you getting hit:
Kris Bryant (CHC)
I feel like people are overlooking Kris Bryant at pick 111. He had a bad year in a small sample size 2020, so what get over it.
Luis Severino (NYY)
Stash him, forget about him, hope he can return to elite levels in August.
Sonny Gray (CIN)
Since getting to Cincinnati he has a 3.07 ERA and 10.8 K/9. I like him as my No.3 SP rather than my No.2 SP though. He had his first bullpen session since the back issue, so should be back just after Opening Day.
Charlie Morton (ATL)
People are discriminating against my guy because of his age. So what if he was drafted when Lehman Brothers was still a thing, at pick 110 he’s getting disrespected.
Diego Castillo (TBR)
Nick Anderson is a little hurt, the Rays are weird with their bullpen, Castillo could end up being a sneaky great saves source.
Keston Hiura (MIL)
24 years old, prospect pedigree and goes as the seventh second baseman off the board. He has much higher upside than his current price, let’s just hope he can put his 2020 season behind him.
Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Fantasy expert, Adam Gruttadaro, is a guest contributor for Bat Flips and Nerds. Check out his website and follow him on Twitter
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