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The 2020 fantasy baseball season will be one like never before and will require owners to have near-perfect drafts. Below, we call attention to the players most likely to be a bust in 2020 and who you should be avoiding in your fantasy baseball drafts.
There’ll be no time to wait on slow-starters and early-season slumps in the 60-game MLB season. This means it’ll be incredibly important to avoid a draft bust, particularly in the early rounds.
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2020 fantasy baseball busts to avoid
Jose Ramirez, 3B, Cleveland Indians
Here is where the term “bust” comes under scrutiny every year. By all means, draft Ramirez. He’s a fantastic player, but he won’t be worth a mid-second-round pick in 2020.
He has slashed .272/.347/.469 in the first half of the season for his career, compared to a .288/.356/.504 line in the second half – that split was even worse in 2019. Part of the problem is likely due to the cold March and April weather in Cleveland, but it’s also a sign he usually starts the year behind pitchers. There’s no time for that in a 60-game season.
Mitch Garver, C, Minnesota Twins
Garver crushed 31 home runs in just 93 games and 359 plate appearances for the Twins last year. He did it with a .357 ISO and 29.0% home run to fly ball ratio compared to his .146 and 8.0% marks across 103 games in 2018.
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Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City Royals
Perez’s start to the season is already in jeopardy after testing positive for COVID-19. Though he’s asymptomatic, he’s also recovering from a season lost to an elbow injury. Expect a serious power decline from his 27-home run seasons of 2017 and 2018.
Mallex Smith, OF, Seattle Mariners
Smith offers little fantasy value outside of his great contributions in the stolen bases category. He’s also another poor starter with a career .629 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in March and April.
Jon Berti, IF/OF, Miami Marlins
Berti is viewed by some as a sleeper this season after stealing 17 bases in 73 games last season. He struck out in 25.4% of his plate appearances, walked in just 8.4% and can’t get on base consistently enough to contribute at the same pace in the shortened campaign. He had a .273 batting average in 2019, but it was mainly the result of an inflated .360 BABIP (batting average on balls in play).
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Josh Hader, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
Hader is one example of the high-priced closers to fade this season, along with the saves category. There’ll be fewer opportunities in the unpredictable season as teams use less-defined pitcher roles. The mid-round pick isn’t worth leaving better and more predictable hitters on the board.
German Marquez, SP, Colorado Rockies
Two factors work against Marquez. He’ll play 30 of his 60 games in the hitter-friendly Coors Field, where he has a career 5.01 ERA compared to a 3.72 mark on the road, and he has also performed best in the second half of the season. Owners won’t be able to sit through those rough starts this season.
Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
Gallen was viewed as a favorite sleeper target by many back in March. He pitched to a stellar 2.81 ERA, but 4.15 xFIP across 15 starts and 80 innings in 2019. He won’t have the necessary time to develop in his shortened sophomore season and can’t be expected to pick up right where he left off.
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