Today we put the finishing touches on one of dynasty baseball’s toughest positions.
People just don’t trade speedy outfielders who can hit.
Or at least they shouldn’t.
Sure a Jarrod Dyson might get vacuumed up at basement pricing every now and then, but if you’ve got Starling Marte, Victor Robles or Oscar Mercado, you’re probably not that interested in the offers you’ve gotten for them. Speed players who contribute across the board are the dodo birds of our game. Outfield and middle infield are typically the only places to find them, apart from the occasional Jose Ramirez or prime-age Paul Goldschmidt. You flat out need some speed covering the green if you’re hoping to compete in the category, and I’m just not the type to advocate punting a category in 5x5. Trying to win leagues over here--not tell tales about fading saves and steals but hanging in with the top group anyway.
Anyway, best to get ‘em young while they’re cheap. I wouldn’t be paying up for all the guys like Pache who show aptitude in the lower minors, but if I can take a fistful of freemium fliers on guys like Jasiah Dixon and Jeferson Espinal, I’m doing that all day.
Hello, again. It's nice to be back in the saddle, writing up some fantasy baseball tidbits. I took a little hiatus after my COVID-19 Bargains series, but I'm kicking off a new one for yinz. If what's on the grapevine is true, then we'll finally get what I hope all of you have been waiting for: a DH for National League teams! I know you old-schoolers out there hate the idea - and trust me, I consider myself pretty old school in a lot of respects - but I don't give two soggy turds about watching a pitcher try to hit a baseball. Some can do it
okay, but the overwhelming majority cannot. It's largely a meaningless at-bat, as far as I'm concerned. And let's not even talk about pitchers running bases.
The 2020 fantasy baseball season is going to be a strange one, no doubt. I keep seeing this whole thing about 100 games and only three divisions total. Will these games be played in Spring Training parks? Regular parks? No one knows for sure. Are we gonna get doubleheaders like crazy? *shrug emoji* The
latest proposal suggests regular home parks without fans, but we'll see. For the sake of my sanity, I'm going to treat this series as if we're gonna get regular home parks, and I'm going to categorize each team in their regular divisions, since that's what we're (read "I'm") used to. Yes, Cardinals hitters facing more aces than just what the Cubs, Reds, Brewers, and Pirates would throw at them certainly changes things, but that's true for every lineup if this proposal comes to fruition. I'm not going to sit here and analyze how Tyler O'Neill might fare against Matthew Boyd. I'm just going to point out some NL bats you might want to pay attention to since they may become regular instead of platooning. Capeesh? Obviously, if this division re-alignment happens, there has to be a universal DH. Either that or make the AL teams use a pitcher in the lineup. Who wants that? I sure as hell don't.
Bear in mind, I'm not necessarily focusing on each team's potential DH. This series is more about which NL bat benefits the most on each squad due to said DH. Could be because said bat might be said DH, or could be because said bat might be a better defensive option for another bat who could be said DH. Capeesh?
So, without further ado, here are my biggest risers were we to indeed get the lovely universal DH:
Nostalgia can be a funny thing. In challenging times, especially, it can be nice to revisit things that you think back on fondly. It wraps you in a warm, comfy blanket of good memories and better times. Even now, as I'm writing this, I just put on a random 90s alternative rock/grunge playlist that I found on YouTube. I have some very nostalgic feelings about the music from that era. Alice in Chains? Yes please. Soundgarden? Mmm... so cozy. Better Than Ezra? Sure, why not. Underrated band. Tal Bachman? Ahhhh, that's... wait, what? Joan Osborne? Brrr... it's getting drafty in here. Savage Garden? Hey, where the hell did my blanket go? Time to pull a Randy Savage and drop the big elbow on this list. Magoo's gettin' angry!
Well, so much for my nostalgic musical trip. That brings us back to baseball. It's really the ultimate source of nostalgia for me. Whether playing, watching, or getting hooked on the fantasy side of things, it's been a constant in my life since I was about four years old. A nice, warm blanket that's always at the ready. So to be sitting here in late April with no baseball in sight feels weird. Really weird. And while nobody really knows when or where or in what form our national pastime will return, I'm hopeful that it will at some point this year. But instead of focusing on what we can't control, let's focus on what we can control, shall we?
Which brings us to the topic at hand. We might not know when and where baseball will be played this season, but we can certainly choose who we want playing on our fantasy teams. With that in mind, I'll be discussing all of the players who I've drafted in my fantasy baseball leagues in 2020. It might sound like a lot, but it'll just be covering five leagues in total - four NFBC Online Championship leagues, and one NFBC Draft Champions league. For some perspective, the four OC leagues are 12 team mixed with weekly lineup locks, weekly pickups, and the following starting lineup requirements: 2 C, 1 1B, 1 2B, 1 SS, 1 3B, 1 MI, 1 CI, 5 OF, 1 Util, and 9 P. There is a 1000 innings pitched minimum, but no specific minimum or starting requirements for starting or relief pitchers. The Draft Champions is a 15 team mixed league format with the same starting lineup requirements as the OC format, except it's a 50 round draft-and-hold with no in-season transactions. What you draft is what you're stuck with until the end of the season. There is no trading and no injured list in both formats as well.
I'll be breaking things down by position, briefly discussing my pre-draft strategies followed by a quick analysis of each player that I ended up pulling the trigger on. Since this article is already longer than a typical baby seal comment, I'll just be covering catchers and corner infielders today, with middle infielders, outfielders, and pitchers soon to follow.
The Blue Jays are exciting my nethers, or maybe that's the extra bleach I've been cleaning my underwears in. Yo, you can't be too careful. Corona coming for me? Bring it on, you pandemic bastard. I'm Kung Fu Fightin' that shizz with bleach, karate chops and tricks. Excuse me, not tricks, but allusions. Yesterday, I walked my dog Ted while doing The Robot, because the virus doesn't stick to metal. *points to brain* Smart. Last year
Teoscar Hernandez hit 26 homers and stole six bags in only 125 games. Okay, right now, 125 games sounds like the full season plus the playoffs, but you get the picture. Teoscar Hernandez going 26/6 in five months is completely overlooked or nah? Because I'm going with completely overlooked like Julia Garner in The Americans just waiting for her Ruthie role. Can we all bless Ruthie for this line:
Bless her, I demand you! Now I know what it's like to be a rich old man, because I am crushing on a younger woman. Old was my thing, but Ruthie has changed me. So, what can we expect from Teoscar Hernandez for 2020 fantasy baseball and what makes him a great dart throw?
