On our Steamer Fantasy Baseball Rankings, which have been updated to a 60-game season, we have 1,310 players ranked. 645 of them gained value. Some, for unstints, gained $0.1 of value like Juan Soto. Another hundred had zero value change like Christian Yelich. Another 600+ lost value. These are their stories. *Law & Order sound effect chung-chung* This post will feature the top 20 players who lost the most value from doing nothing but bingeing Netflix for the last three months. Who knew Love Is Blind could hurt one’s fantasy value? “I’m gonna go with George, he’s so funny.” “Okay, Jenn, here’s George…He’s a sign spinner for State Farm!” Anyway, here’s the top 20 biggest negative value changes for fantasy baseball pre vs. post-shutdown:
1. Kwang-Hyun Kim – $4.90 loss of value. Clarifications are good and fun. One clarification, $4.90 does not mean Kwang-Hyun Kim has $4.90 in value now. He’s worth $-5.70 now, which is about 397th overall on Steamer auction ranks, completely terrible, and about where I have him in my top 500. As alluded to in my top 20 biggest value gainers (Gloria Gainers has to be #1, no?), middle relievers’ fantasy value is being decimated in a 60-game season. Closers are everything; top three starters on a team are everything; end of the rotation and middle relievers? Garbage left in a glove compartment of a car parked on the sun. Hot and funky!
2. Alec Bohm – $4.60. Actually still think it’s a decent gamble to grab Alec Bohm for right now, but it’s also fair that Steamer has slashed his slash line to pieces like a Ginzu knife in the hands of a person jacked up on Red Bull and coke. Bohm’s fantasy value is iffy at best for 2020. Here’s my Alec Bohm sleeper from the shutdown.
3. Ross Stripling – $3.90. Okay, after this one I’m going to start skipping some middle relievers-slash-long men. If you want to chase Wins, a guy who could be out there for the 4th and 5th inning, could have value, but more options (Dodgers have those) is not necessarily better if a guy has no set role.
4. Sandy Alcantara – $3.80. Starters who takes dumps on occasion without eating prunes are gonna be deadly this year. If Alcantara, or any shizz starter, goes out and throws a 2 IP, 7 ER game, your team might not recover from that for two weeks and in an eight-week season it’s not, how do I say, good.
5. Spencer Turnbull – $3.70. Same dealie as Sandy A.
6. Luis Arraez – $3.70. On one hand, only a few players could hit .400 in a 60-game season. On the other hand, compilers are terrible in 60-game season. On a third hand that is actually a mitten on a mop handle, I never really liked Arraez.
7. Whit Merrifield – $3.40. Some prolly feel like he could steal a quick 15+ bags in 60 games and have value, and, if you think that, I wouldn’t discount him at all, but if he’s more like a 9-steal guy, then he’s a compiler and there will be no room for compilers this year.
8. Marcus Stroman – $3.10. In fairness to Stroman, my sanity and just, ya know, life, I still like Stroman. Steamer is down on him, in a non-sexual way, because he’s a good ratio guy and that usually has more value over 162 games.
9. Trevor Bauer – $3.00. This one was weird to me, so I asked Rudy, and found out some interesting info which I will share after this awkward expositional sentence. Bauer, and all NL pitchers, lost value, because of the NL DH. I do think Bauer still has some value in 60 games, i.e., I would roster him, and on Steamer auction values he’s still up at 109th overall.
10. Adam Eaton – $3.00. The ultimate compiler. He’s such a crap compiler I don’t even like rostering him in 162-game seasons. In a 60-game season, Adam’s Eaton up roster room! Yes! Give me a high-five! No? Okay.
11. Kyle Hendricks – $3.00. I skipped mentioning a lot of NL SPs, who lost value, for reasons explained in Bauer’s blurb. I did want to mention Hendricks specifically though, because he’s the type of guy who I think gets hurt with 60 games since he’s so dependent on a lot of IP with good ratios. A pitching version of a compiler like Adam Eaton. I will call him Eaton Innings.
12. Mitch Haniger – $3.00. Anyone, and I can’t stress this enough after this brief pause, who is already injured is not good in a 60-game season. Someone misses 15 games is going to miss a quarter of the season. Yes, I did the math.
13. Elvis Andrus – $2.90. Can put him in the Merrifield bin. They’re very similar in 60 games. Call them Elvis Merrifield. Whit Andrus? Elvit Merridrus? I’m gonna stop now.
14. Shohei Ohtani – $2.90. *rubs hands together* I love bagging on Ohtani and anyone that loves him, the Ohstanis! Line ’em up and I will dunk on ’em! All 5-foot and six-and-three-quarters inch of me! (I am wearing Tom Cruise high heels too, but irrelevant.) Ohtani throwing once a week for three to four innings and getting routed, then turns around and goes 1-for-4 with a run. Woohoo! Eat it you, dogs! Sorry, I’m losing my shizz. Ohtani is now 114th on Steamer auction ranks, and about the same for me. I just never saw him as a top 100 player.
15. Leury Garcia – $2.70. LG got dinged like my LG flip phone since Nick Madrigal appears to have the lead for the job. Sorry, LG. My phone, I don’t know Leury.
16. Aaron Nola – $2.50. Samesies as Bauer and many others. For those wondering, Nola fell from around an 85th overall pick to 115th overall on Steamer auction ranks.
17. David Fletcher – $2.40. In the discount bin for those shopping for cheap Elvit Merridrusses. (If you know what I’m talking about, you’re reading the whole post, so props to you.)
18. Jacob deGrom – $2.40. Samesies as Nola, et al. Crazy one here is deGrom fell from a top 10 pick, according to Steamer projections, to 18th overall, and became the third pitcher off the board, behind Cole and Verlander.
19. Lorenzo Cain – $2.30. Bit of a bummer to see Cain…Sugar! on this list because I was thinking I might actually get a little taste of *rubs gums* Cain now with the DH and shortened season. My guess is he’s just let another compiler in the eyes of Steamer.
20. Kevin Newman – $2.20. And, yet, another compiler. Lots of those in this post. Shows you that in a short season you need to go hard e’eryday. Don’t e’en ha’e time for the letter V, and it will bring ‘ictory.
