LAD
L.A. Dodgers
• #5
•
Age: 36
NFBC ADP
63.7
Scott’s Ranking
33
AVG
.295
HR
24
RBI
90
R
81
OPS
.869
AB
556
Freeman is a stand-in for an entire tier of first basemen that, in my estimation, goes about 20 spots too late. Others in the tier include Matt Olson, Bryce Harper and Rafael Devers, and if you wanted to rope Josh Naylor in there as well, I wouldn’t argue. The four (Naylor excluded) have been second-round fixtures throughout their careers, and while none is coming off his best season, I wouldn’t say any shows telltale signs of decline. The most concerning would be Devers with his escalating strikeout rate, but he’s also the youngest at age 29 and was navigating the most tumultuous season of his career in a number of respects. I’m singling out Freeman here because I think the perception with him is most out of step with reality. Yes, he’s 36 and saw his strikeout rate climb last year, but remember, he was hobbled by his recovery from ankle surgery early on. His strikeout rate dropped to a more typical 16 percent in August and September, during which he hit 13 of his 24 homers overall. He offers a reliably high batting average at a point when you may be desperate for it and should remain a run and RBI monster as the projected cleanup hitter in a stacked Dodgers lineup.
CIN
Cincinnati
• #28
•
Age: 34
NFBC ADP
92.8
Scott’s Ranking
70
AVG
.228
HR
49
RBI
118
R
91
AB
588
K
196
You see how many home runs Eugenio Suarez hit, right? Sure, 50-homer men Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber go in Rounds 1 and 2, but when Suarez falls just one short, he’s relegated to Round 8? He’s a third baseman, for crying out loud! There aren’t enough of those to go around. OK, so consistency has been an issue, and yeah, the batting average raises some concerns. But remember, he finished last year in Seattle, where we already knew he can’t hit from the two years he spent there previously. He was batting .248 when the Diamondbacks traded him back to Seattle in July, and he hit .280 with a .921 OPS in his 24 road games after re-joining the Mariners. It was just their home ballpark that gave him fits. Well, now he’s at Great American Ball Park, which is on the opposite end of hitter friendliness. That’s where he hit 49 home runs the first time, remember, back in 2019.
MIL
Milwaukee
• #22
•
Age: 34
NFBC ADP
125.2
Scott’s Ranking
67
AVG
.264
HR
29
RBI
103
R
88
SB
16
OPS
.795
I truly don’t get this one. Christian Yelich finally gives in to back surgery last offseason, addressing a problem that had plagued him for years, and he comes back to deliver by far his highest home run total since his incredible 2018-19 run, when he hit 36 and 44, respectively. His shift to DH helps to keep him in the lineup every day, and he delivers massive run and RBI totals — the kind normally only available to early-rounders — for a competitive Brewers team. So why are we drafting him two rounds later than a year ago, when we still had no idea how his back would respond and had no assurances that he’d ever be even a 20-homer guy again? Sure, he had outfield eligibility then, but Yelich’s DH-only status is no reason to relegate him to a lower tier of hitters, as his ADP would suggest.
PIT
Pittsburgh
• #5
•
Age: 31
NFBC ADP
175.5
Scott’s Ranking
118
AVG
.256
HR
31
RBI
83
R
79
OPS
.785
AB
507
Brandon Lowe has forever paced out as a 30-homer guy, so the numbers he delivered last year were the kind we knew he always could if only A) he could stay healthy and B) the Rays would stop sitting him so often. Well, he’s not any less injury-prone with the Pirates, but it’s fair to say his platoon days are done. With the possible exceptions of Jazz Chisholm and Ketel Marte, who are both off the board before the end of Round 3, Lowe is the preeminent power bat at second base, and considering it’s a position with so little impact to be found, it’s a wonder he lasts as long as he does.
KC
Kansas City
• #50
•
Age: 28
NFBC ADP
197.3
Scott’s Ranking
153
W-L
8-7
ERA
2.55
WHIP
1.18
INN
116.1
BB
39
K
116
Didn’t we just do this with Kris Bubic? He already made the successful transition from the bullpen back to the starting rotation. The stuff held, and he looked like an ace for two-thirds of a season, with a swinging-strike rate rivaling Garrett Crochet’s. I guess the reason for hesitance is that it was only two-thirds of a season. He missed the final third with a strained rotator cuff, which may sound scary to some, but he’s come back this spring looking no worse for wear. So enjoy doubling down on this sleeper, I guess.
LAD
L.A. Dodgers
• #13
•
Age: 35
NFBC ADP
228.5
Scott’s Ranking
169
AVG
.243
HR
19
OPS
.846
AB
313
BB
64
K
83
You’ve heard third base is weak, no doubt, which makes it all the more surprising that a mainstay like Max Muncy could become an afterthought there. Sure, he’s getting older, but his production hasn’t diminished at all. I would note it improved, in fact, after he was fitted for glasses in late April, leading to a .268 batting average, 19 homers and .969 OPS the rest of the way. But the rest of the way was fragmented by injury, which I imagine factors into the skepticism, as does the fear of him sitting all the more against left-handed pitchers. Still, when we’re at the point where such concerns are causing him to be drafted behind Otto Lopez and Jordan Beck, it’s fair to say the concerns are overblown. His sporadic playing time last September was more about easing him back from an oblique injury than any loss of faith on the Dodgers’ part, and to whatever degree they can justify sitting him against left-handed starters, you have to imagine Muncy will be pinch-hitting just as soon as a righty comes out of the ‘pen. Santiago Espinal is no great shakes, after all.