We knew that some team was going to trade for former Pittsburgh Pirates 2B Adam Frazier before the looming deadline, but the San Diego Padres seemed unlikely to be that team. After all, the Padres already have All-Star Jake Cronenworth at second base. Well, that hardly stopped them, and the team says that Frazier, who is also eligible in the outfield for fantasy baseball purposes, will assume more of a super-utility role. Cronenworth investors need not worry.
Frazier leads all of baseball in hits and he may just win the NL batting title, but he is not for everyone in the fantasy world. Frazier has never hit more than 10 home runs in any big-league season and he is not much of a base stealer, either, having fallen short of reaching double-digits in every season of his career. This year, he has four home runs and is 5-of-9 on steal attempts. Still, he is among the top-10 second basemen on the ESPN Player Rater due to his high batting average and runs scored total, and he sits just outside the top five at the position in points formats.
This level of production figures to continue with the Padres, with Frazier likely to assume the valuable leadoff role that has recently been the domain of (mostly) outfielders Trent Grisham (versus RHP) and Tommy Pham (versus LHP). The left-handed hitting Frazier is an elite contact option against all pitching, striking out less than 11% of the time. He should score runs at a higher rate with the Padres, with Fernando Tatis Jr., Cronenworth and Manny Machado following him in the batting order. The Padres can now field a starting infield of 2021 All-Stars and sit underwhelming first baseman Eric Hosmer, if they so desire, as Cronenworth plays first base as well.
Ultimately, Frazier's fantasy value adjusts little with this transaction. Leaving behind a pitcher's park in Pittsburgh for San Diego would help most batters for power purposes, but probably not him. Frazier is a solid, two-category roto option (and a stronger points league one) enjoying a career season, and the Padres get him for 2022 as well. His arrival likely takes plate appearances from not only Hosmer, Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim, but potentially Wil Myers, whose OPS is down nearly 200 points from last season.
The interesting return in the trade may be Tucupita Marcano, the highest profile of the three prospects heading back to Pittsburgh. He is somewhat similar to Frazier, but eight years younger, under team control for six seasons, and only needing an opportunity to play. Now he may get it. Marcano, 21, has showed elite contact skills through the minor leagues, with very little power or base-stealing efficiency. The Venezuelan may need more time in the minor leagues, but many believe he has a bright future for batting average in time. Well, that time may occur in 2021.
Time to deploy Eloy
While Frazier should debut for the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics, the Chicago White Sox expect outfielder Eloy Jimenez to make his 2021 debut on Monday at Kansas City against the Royals. Jimenez ruptured a pectoral tendon in a spring game in March, and the White Sox initially expected him to miss most of the season. Fantasy managers moved on, definitely not expecting Jimenez -- a coveted third-round pick in many early-March live drafts -- to play again before August, if at all, in 2021. Yet, here we are!
The power-hitting Jimenez hit well on his rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte and remains available, as of Sunday night, in more than 27% of ESPN standard leagues. Look for that figure to fall rather quickly as fantasy managers get around to looking on their free-agent lists to see if he is available. His presence in the lineup (either in left field or at DH) helps Jose Abreu, Yoan Moncada and other middle-of-the-order batsmen. It hurts the player who ends up losing those plate appearances, which will likely be some combination of rookies Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger, plus veteran Brian Goodwin.
A near Halo no-no
Los Angeles Angels LHP Patrick Sandoval just missed no-hitting the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night, falling two outs shy of the feat when Brent Rooker doubled off him with one out in the ninth. It really was not a fluke. For one, a Twins lineup without the traded DH Nelson Cruz (and without injured OF Byron Buxton) is quite unimpressive -- approaching the level of offenses accustomed to getting no-hit, such as the Texas Rangers and Cleveland. However, we do need to note that Sandoval, rostered in only 36% of ESPN standard leagues, is rather underrated. Perhaps his weekend effort gets him more noticed.
Sandoval is among the top-20 starting pitchers for the past 30 days on the ESPN Player Rater. He has 35 strikeouts in 27 2/3 July innings, with a 2.93 ERA and an 0.86 WHIP, though with only one victory. Still, a 3.52 ERA for the season with 10.1 K/9 must appeal to more fantasy managers. Sandoval had a 5.65 ERA in 2020. The current version is among the league-leaders in swing-and-miss percentage, thanks to a wicked changeup he throws nearly one-third of the time. Yes, there is some BABIP magic happening here, but still, Sandoval is better than most realize -- and he should appear on the most-added list soon.