Andrew Benintendi Cody Bellinger
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It’s a proven idea of any fantasy sport, especially fantasy baseball: Never overdraft players based purely on name recognition.

It’s hard to ignore big names when it comes to the fantasy baseball draft. There are players constantly drafted too high in almost every round to such an extent it’s sometimes tough to stay away from.

The following are blind resumes that will surprise you and help you prep to ignore the big name when production doesn’t quite match up to the value.

Blind Resume 1:

Player A: Average draft position (ADP) 34

2018 stats:

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.290 .366 103 16 97 21

Player B: ADP 75

2018 stats:

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.275 .367 102 21 63 15

Player A is Andrew Benintendi and player B is Tommy Pham.

Benintendi is being drafted in round three and Tommy Pham is being drafted in round eight. There isn’t much of a difference between these two and you can grab a much better player in round three then Benintendi. Kris Bryant is being drafted after him and he was hurt for most of the 2018 season.

In the previous two seasons, Bryant, when healthy, has averaged 116 runs, 34 homers, and 87 RBIs. You can draft the same caliber of player in Tommy Pham six rounds later and build a better more rounded team.

You could also draft an ace in round three such as Gerrit Cole, Aaron Nola, Clayton Kershaw or Luis Severino. Finding dependable pitchers gets tough the deeper you get in your draft, and these pitchers will get you over 200 strikeouts with solid pitching contributions across the board.

Benintendi is a great real-life player, but he doesn’t give you elite production in one category besides runs. Wait a couple of rounds in your draft to get Tommy Pham and improve your team with a better pick in round three.

Example 2:

Player A: ADP 54

Batting  Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.284 .417 67 12 67 2

Player B: ADP 213

Batting  Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.305 .364 64 17 83 1

Player A is Joey Votto and player B is Jose Martinez.

In leagues in which OBP is not a category, Votto shouldn’t be drafted anywhere near where he is going. Votto didn’t look like the MVP caliber player he did in previous years and most 35-year-olds don’t get better later in their careers. He should bounce back and play better than he did last season, but I am not drafting him in round five or six.

Look at players like Vlad Guerrero Jr. (he’s going to be special, so do whatever you can in your drafts this year to get him), Corey Seager, or Walker Buehler. They are all more than 10 years younger and could be top five players at their position for 2020.

Jose Martinez is going undrafted in most leagues and will give you numbers pretty similar to Votto across the board. Martinez has been involved in trade talks since the Cardinals traded for Paul Goldschmidt and if he snags everyday at-bats with a new team, he is a player who will hit around 300 and drive in over 90 runs.

First base is deep this year. Don’t reach for a player who seems to be in decline when you can draft a younger player who can be a keeper for you for the next decade.

Mets Blast Three First Inning Home Runs, Still Manage To Lose 7-4
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Example 3:

Player A: ADP 44

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.260 .343 84 25 76 14

Player B: ADP 126

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.293 .352 75 30 87 4

Player A is Cody Bellinger and player B is David Peralta.

Bellinger is being drafted in the first five rounds while Peralta is going in round 13. Bellinger’s numbers dropped across the board in 2018 from his break out rookie year (he even played 30 more games in 2018 then 2017). His upper cut swing has a ton of holes in it and I am not looking to draft a player that early in drafts and hoping he turns it around. Draft players like Whit Merrifield (lead league in steals and batted .300), Trevor Bauer, or George Springer who will give you better numbers across the board.

There were only 10 players in Major League Baseball to hit 30 or more home runs and hit over .300 last season, David Peralta was one of them. Peralta is being undervalued in all drafts this year and is a good player to target in the middle to late part of drafts.

Example 4:

Player A: ADP 117

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.249 .339 50 10 54 4

Player B: ADP 388

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.248 .328 50 10 46 0

Player A is Willson Contreras who is ranked as a top three catcher and player B is Tucker Barnhart who is going undrafted in most leagues.

This goes with my theory of if you aren’t the first to draft a catcher, be the last. There is no difference in catchers this year between the third ranked catcher to one that isn’t being draft in most leagues. My advice, wait on catchers this year.

Example 5:

Player A: ADP 79

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.288 .323 87 24 77 9

Player B: ADP 166

Batting Average On-Base Percentage Runs Scored Home Runs RBI’s Stolen Bases
.272 .334 75 23 84 8

Player A is Eddie Rosario who is getting drafted in round eight and player B is Eduardo Escobar who is going in round 17.

This one doesn’t make much sense to me. Rosario is being drafted close to 10 rounds before Escobar and their stats are similar across the board.

Round eight is when you can draft players like Josh Donaldson, Mike Clevinger or Madison Bumgarner. In the middle of your draft, you should look to draft players who could have a bounce back year or look for pitchers.

I’ve done a ton of mock drafts this year and the later you get in your draft, the harder it is to find a reliable pitcher. Look for pitchers who have big upside. Make sure you don’t reach for Rosario who could hurt your depth if you reach for him too early in the draft.


If you have any fantasy questions, reach out to me on twitter @lawrencedoto and I will be glad to help you to be better prepared for your upcoming baseball draft.

I love fantasy sports more than you love most things in life. I am great at giving fantasy advice because if it doesn't work out, it's the players fault not mine. I love to help others with their fantasy sports questions and instead of following politics or other important topics that are going on in the world, I do fantasy research. Let me help you guys win your leagues and in daily sports.