We recently released our Top 300 Ranks that was put together by some members of the staff here at Pitcher List. As I was going through our list, I noticed I was the highest and lowest on some pretty interesting guys. In the following list, I’ll make my case on whether the player should have been moved up or down in our overall ranks.
Move these guys up please:
Tommy Edman (2B, 3B, OF, Cardinals)
(My Rank: 123, Staff Rank: 184)
His NFBC ADP is 140.26 so why the hate fellow writers? At first glance at the Cardinals lineup, it might look like Edman does not have a place to play. But as soon as you look deeper, you can see many avenues where Edman is going to get plenty of playing time. Matt Carpenter is in ‘put up or shut up’ territory with his performance last season, and Edman should get plenty of time at 3B. I’ll take a gamble on a guy who gives me double-digit steals and doesn’t kill me in other categories (I’m looking at you Mallex Smith).
Victor Robles (OF, Nationals)
(My Rank: 63, Staff Rank: 98)
His NFBC ADP is 59.81 which is a little rich for me, but I still put him much higher than my fellow rankers. I understand that Robles’ Statcast data is just plain disgusting and not the good disgusting. However, he still hit 17 home runs to go along with 28 stolen bases. His defense is elite, and there is no one begging for playing time in the minors. Davey Martinez also said Robles will most likely be hitting leadoff for the defending champions, which should boost his runs scored and ability to steal bases.
Mitch Garver (C, Twins)
(My Rank: 111, Staff Rank: 136)
His NFBC ADP is 116.15, which puts me right in line with the market, but my fellow rankers are still not quite sure about the price. Garver hit the ball extremely hard, and barreled the ball an impressive 15.5% of the time last season. He, like many of the Twins last year, started to really pull the ball. So if he can keep those gains, he should be a lock to hit 30 plus home runs again. Sprinkle in hitting fourth or fifth in a LOADED Twins lineup, he is easily a top 5 catcher in my eyes.
Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS, Padres)
(My Rank: 18, Staff Rank: 24)
With an NFBC ADP of 14.63, I doubt I have many shares of Tatis Jr., but my fellow rankers were even bearish. In a pretty surprising move last spring, Tatis Jr. began the season in the majors without even playing a game in AAA. Tatis Jr. is an extremely fun player to watch, hitting 22 home runs, swiping 16 bags, and hitting 0.317 last season. However, to do that he had to overperform his xBA by 58 points! He still will continue to strike out, but he should be able to overperform his expected statistics due to his foot speed. Shortstop is an absolutely stacked position, so if you miss out on Tatis Jr., no worries. I might take the plunge in a few drafts just to have a few shares of this exciting player.
Draft Day Dangers:
Shohei Ohtani (SP/DH, Angels)
(My Rank: 258, Staff Rank: 65)
Ohtani has an NFBC ADP of 130.26, so I know I will not have any Ohtani shares this year. This isn’t going to be a hate post about Ohtani, because I really do love him. However, from a fantasy standpoint, I do not want to deal with the hassle of rostering him this year. He has just begun throwing bullpen sessions, so expecting him to really contribute as a pitcher this year is pretty much nil in my mind. He should be the Angels DH at the start of the season, but once he starts making rehab starts in the minors, he will move to a 5-game per week contributor. If this is a daily moves league, it makes rostering him much easier, but he is pretty much undraftable in a weekly moves league.
Justin Upton (OF, Angels)
(My Rank: 237, Staff Rank: 187)
I’ve always loved J-Up. He always seemed to go later than he should, but after turf toe and tendinitis in his patellar tendon stole most of his 2019 season, I’m not buying anymore. The market seems to be thinking the same way as me (NFBC ADP is 225.96) but my fellow rankers are still believing in him. It is really hard to look at Upton’s Statcast from last year, but other than hard hit% and barrel%, everything else seemed to be in line. If he is able to play consistently and get to his power, it will be a steal at this price, but I’m not taking that gamble.
Charlie Blackmon (OF, Rockies)
(My Rank: 44, Staff Rank: 35)
Wow, it seems that everyone here still believes in Chuck Nasty. Interestingly, I still like him more than the market, as his NFBC ADP is sitting at 51.15, which is criminally low in my mind. Blackmon, along with his Rockies teammates Nolan Arenado (for now) and Trevor Story, have been some of the most consistent power and run producers at the plate. He has hit 29 or more home runs and scored more than 111 runs in each of the last four seasons. There is little doubt that the level of production is not going to disappear this year, as his plate discipline numbers have held steady these last few years. Sure, the stolen bases are long gone, but the amount he does in every other category makes him valuable, albeit a bit later than my fellow rankers.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)