First things first – THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading my articles this offseason, engaging on Twitter, and listening to the podcast. This is the most plugged in I’ve ever been to fantasy baseball yet there’s still so much more I wanted to get done before the season that I wasn’t able to. It feels as if there’s never enough time to do all the research and prep work that I’d like, not to mention create all the content I want to be putting out.

I’ve had a blast with these preseason articles. There’s a definitive list of all them at the bottom of this one. Be sure to check out as many of them as you can if you’re finalizing your draft prep this weekend. For as much as I love writing, though, it’s always tough to know just how many people are reading. That’s where Twitter comes in. I’ll always post anything I write on Twitter, @toomuchtuma. I highly encourage everyone to reach out on there anytime. Ask questions, crack jokes, challenge me on my analysis. It’s all welcomed. Engaging with other folks playing fantasy baseball is what makes this work so worthwhile.

As I’ve mentioned, there’s so much more I want to be doing. One area I really want to improve at this season is with the podcast. I have a new logo and a new idea (Monday AM publish for a 15-20 minute solo show covering the latest prospect news). We’ll see how it goes. I’ll mix in bonus episodes as often as I can, but any feedback is always appreciated. I’m also going to try and “go live” more, in addition to spearheading some newer social media platforms like Discord, Clubhouse, and Twitter Spaces.

I think that’s everything I wanted to say. Below is all the research and work I’ve put into the 2021 fantasy baseball season. Hopefully it’s a good one. Around this time last year it was unclear if we were going to have sports in 2020. We did, but it wasn’t the same. Spring training has felt “more normal” so far, but we’ll have to see where things go from here. As for everything that happened in the world last year? I’m using it as a reminder to be grateful for (hopefully) all the good things to come this summer. At its core fantasy baseball is a reason to interact with friends and a distraction from the outside world. I can’t think of anything more necessary in 2021.

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General Strategy/Advice for 2021

When I look at the 2021 fantasy landscape I notice a few things. First, there just aren’t many high-end starting pitchers, especially after a shortened 2020 campaign that saw a massive reduction in innings for everyone. When I say “high-end” pitcher what I mean is a starter capable of handling a big workload with strong ratios. Therefore, I want as many of these as I can get. It’s a supply and demand issue.

There also aren’t many steals available, though that isn’t due to what happened in 2020. Stolen bases are really only a point of emphasis in roto leagues, so don’t worry about speedsters in other scoring formats.

The last thing I notice is that there a ton of hitter values in the mid-to-late rounds. We only had 60 regular season games last year, and things were strange. There was no in-game video, sample sizes were small, and a lot of players didn’t go through their normal routines during the shutdown. Combine the hitter values with the lack of available aces, and my general strategy is to target pitching early on. Then continue taking value hitters later on.

Here is a little more analysis for each scoring system:

• Roto: I go in depth on my roto strategy in this piece titled SPSB, which stands for starting pitchers and stolen bases. These are the two most scarce categories in fantasy these days, so I want to gobble them up quickly. Then I spend the rest of the draft on those value bats.
• H2H Points: I’m still targeting SPs early and often, and it’s much easier to take them in this format since I also don’t need to worry about steals. Additionally, closers aren’t as critical since we can get by without true ninth-inning relievers.
• H2H Categories: This is the easiest format to “expose” depending on the categories used. For example, it’s easier to invest less in starting pitchers and assemble a lights out bullpen with premium bats. This is actually my preference since we only need to win one week at a time (and can easily stream starters). Load up on bats early with maybe once ace in this format!

Favorite Players By Position

• Catcher: Will Smith, Gary Sanchez, Mitch Garver, Max Stassi
• First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Matt Olson, Ryan Mountcastle, Andrew Vaughn, C.J. Cron
• Second Base: Jose Altuve, Max Muncy, Andres Gimenez, Nick Madrigal, Ty France
• Third Base: Anthony Rendon, Nolan Arenado, Yoan Moncada, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Austin Riley
• Shortstop: Trea Turner, Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Wander Franco
• Outfield: Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, Nick Castellanos, Austin Meadows, Jarred Kelenic, Aaron Hicks, Alex Kirilloff, Taylor Trammell
• UTIL: J.D. Martinez, Giancarlo Stanton, Shohei Ohtani
• Starting Pitcher: ALL THE ACES, Kyle Hendricks, Ian Anderson, Chris Paddack, Jesus Luzardo, Eduardo Rodriguez, Aaron Civale, Yusei Kikuchi
• Relief Pitcher: James Karinchak, Devin Williams, Craig Kimbrel, Will Smith, Amir Garrett, Jordan Romano, Freddy Peralta, Alex Reyes

Favorite Players By Round

• 1st: Any top-five hitter, top-three starter, Trea Turner
• 2nd: Trevor Bauer, Bryce Harper
• 3rd: Anthony Rendon, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager
• 4th: Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Judge
• 5th: Kenta Maeda, Vladimir Guerrero Jr
• 6th – 8th: Stephen Strasburg, Corbin Burnes, Kyle Hendricks, Nick Castellanos, Austin Meadows, Jose Altuve, Yoan Moncada
• 10th – 12th: Max Muncy, Dinelson Lamet, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Correa, Alex Verdugo
• 13th – 16th: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Trey Mancini, Franmil Reyes, Ian Happ, Ryan Mountcastle
• 17th – 20th: Andres Gimenez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Nick Madrigal, Aaron Civale, Jarred Kelenic, Austin Riley, John Means
• 21st – 25th: Andrew Vaughn, C.J. Cron, Amir Garrett, Alex Kirilloff, Ty France, Jordan Romano
• ADP 300 or later: Freddy Peralta, Tarik Skubal, Bobby Witt, Alex Reyes, Yusei Kikuchi, Taylor Trammell

Players to Shy Away From Near ADP

• Walker Buehler (20)
• Bo Bichette (25)
• Eloy Jimenez (34 – due to current injury)
• George Springer (44 – due to current injury)
• Blake Snell (45)
• Zac Gallen (49 – due to current injury)
• Tyler Glasnow (53)
• Cavan Biggio (61)
• Trent Grisham (73)
• Teoscar Hernandez (83)
• Salvador Perez (87)
• Julio Urias (120)
• Patrick Corbin (125)
• Dylan Moore (153)

Full List of Tuma’s Draft Prep Articles

SPSB Roto Strategy
Top 20 Rookies
Saves Plus Holds Leagues Primer
Breakout Players
Hitters To Reach For
Hitters To Avoid
Pitchers To Avoid
Top 300 Dynasty Rankings
Top 100 Prospects

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Brendan Tuma is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Brendan, check out his archive and follow him @toomuchtuma.