Bryce Harper hoping to get the Phillies into the playoffs in 2021
The 2021 MLB season is coming sooner than you'd think, judging by the temperatures we're seeing across the country.
As spring training is right around the corner, FindBet is releasing their initial power rankings for the 2021 season. These rankings will be updated throughout the season; but based on what teams have done since the end of last year, here are where we see all 30 teams standing going into this new campaign.
We have seen some superstar players find new homes this offseason including Nolan Arenado, Blake Snell, and Francisco Lindor, just to name a couple. With some major contenders making moves to put themselves in a position to unseat the Dodgers as the reigning champs, this year is already shaping up to be a hot summer.
Agents for Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa and Javier Baez upon seeing Fernando Tatis Jr. contract ex… https://t.co/1KPvsMMpOf— Bill Plunkett (@Bill Plunkett) 1613613535.0
Let's jump into the power rankings.
30. Pittsburgh Pirates
2020: Finished 5th in NL Central (19-41)
The Pirates finished with the worst record in baseball in the 60 game 2020 season. This offseason has seen them ship out starting pitchers, Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon along with all-star first baseman Josh Bell. 2021 is not going to be any better for Pirate fans, if anything it's going to be worse.
Monster win total of 104 for the Los Angeles #Dodgers. Meanwhile the poor Pittsburgh #Pirates are below 60. https://t.co/HhQIX1jyx2— . (@.) 1613772679.0
Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco, both new members of the New York Mets
Now that the Super Bowl has concluded, it's time to start looking towards Spring, which means baseball is right around the corner.
The hot corner to be exact.
The return of the MLB also means that it's time to start doing your research for your fantasy baseball league. We will get what should feel more like a normal baseball season in 2021 after the truncated 2020 campaign, which saw the L.A. Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. We saw some star players deal with some significant struggles in 2020, including recently traded third baseman, Nolan Arenado, who will hope to rebound in his new home of Saint Louis this year.
Yadi says he's been friends with Nolan Arenado for a while now ("I've been talking to him since the two years") and… https://t.co/Zs9GhbvJP3— FOX Sports Midwest (@FOX Sports Midwest) 1612917074.0
It is difficult, however. to hold any poor performances against any player considering the length of the season and the conditions they were playing under. As we know, baseball is a game of hot steaks and cold streaks and considering the MLB only played 60 regular season games last year, nearly two-thirds of the season wasn't played. Players can go through a cold streak of that length and then turn it around in the second half of the season.
We have seen perennial MVP candidate, Jose Ramirez do just that in 2019. In the first half of the 2019 season Ramirez hit for just .218, seven home runs, and 35 runs batted in over 85 games. After the all-star break Ramirez slashed .327, 16 home runs, and 48 runs batted in over 44 games.
The Cleveland Indians a 9-2 winner over KC today. Jose Ramirez 2 HR. The feel good story is Cookie 🍪 Carrasco’s ret… https://t.co/bfQfYfGKdJ— Tom Brunswick (@Tom Brunswick) 1595796385.0
As fantasy managers we know that talent always shines through, so there will certainly be some players to target in your upcoming fantasy baseball drafts that may slip farther than they should based on last year's stats. Don't be the one that loses out on a league winner because of one down year.
Let's look at three players looking to have big bounce back seasons in 2021 that should help you win your league this season.
J.D. Martinez Boston Red Sox DH
So this is the lowest hanging fruit here. Martinez had a flat out terrible 2020. J.D. hit just .217 with seven homers and 27 RBI over 54 games. The entire Red Sox organization felt off last year, and Martinez may have been the biggest example of that. Usually one of the most consistent power hitters in the game, and someone that was coming off draft boards in the first three rounds of drafts last year, was possibly the biggest fantasy disappointment in baseball in 2020.
JD Martinez when he sees this news https://t.co/vbmDYg6bE3 https://t.co/yG7RlEgxSu— Fitzy Mo Peña (@Fitzy Mo Peña) 1612883114.0
In 2019 Martinez hit for .306, 34 HR, and 105 RBI. In 2018 he slashed a line of .330, 43 HR, and 130 RBI and finished fourth in the American League in MVP voting. Boston's roster isn't quite as good as it was during those years, but they do still have Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers to help provide some protection in the lineup for their DH. Considering Martinez is a power hitter that you can likely grab in rounds 6-8 this offseason, if you are lacking power after your first few picks J.D. Martinez will be worth adding in the mid rounds.
Joey Gallo Texas Rangers OF/1B
Gallo has always been a polarizing commodity when it comes to fantasy baseball. His power has always been undeniable, but his batting average has never topped .253 in a season. In 2020 Gallo still wasn't able to hit for average, but his power also betrayed him leaving him with a final line of .181, 10 HR, and 26 RBI in 57 games. This has caused Gallo to be all but forgotten about until the end of drafts heading into 2021.
Kris Davis & Joey Gallo in the same lineup👀 https://t.co/XFXFHH4XqL— Uncle Jay$ell (@Uncle Jay$ell) 1612646139.0
But if you go back to the 2019 season, Gallo was having another fantastic power hitting season and was on pace to have his best statistical season before a wrist injury ended his season halfway through the season in July. Gallo had a .986 OPS, 22 HR and 49 RBI through 70 games before hitting the injured reserve list. Now you can't ever expect Gallo to become a .300 hitter, but at just 27 years old, you should expect Gallo to return to his home run hitting ways before this season is over.
Gallo is projected beyond the tenth round in most formats currently, and if you target him around there you can stack up on pitching or focus on filling out other stat categories with other players before snagging your power hitter in Gallo late.
Carlos Carrasco New York Mets SP
Carrasco will likely be drafted ahead of the other two players on this list, but depending on who's in your league and the depth of their baseball IQ, Carrasco could also fall a lot farther than he should be in this year's draft. If you remember, Carrasco dealt with battling leukemia in 2019 while he was with the Cleveland Indians. He returned in 2020 and started 12 games, going 3-4 with 82 Ks and a 2.91 ERA.
Now with the New York Mets, Carrasco will be behind Jacob deGrom and ahead of Marcus Stroman in the rotation. Last season we saw Carrasco pitch beyond the sixth inning in nine of his 12 starts, which is important as his stamina and effectiveness were in question once he returned.
He's always been a work horse pitcher that is expected to carry a big innings workload, so to see he was able to do that in short order after his return gave the Mets confidence to sign him, and it should give you confidence he will flourish in this new rotation.
Look I get the frustration to a point, anyway, but any offseason where you add Francisco Lindor AND Carlos Carrasco… https://t.co/Jrwj5m7qgM— Christopher Crawford (@Christopher Crawford) 1612557689.0
Not only do the Mets have a formidable rotation, but they have a dangerous lineup and the addition of Carrasco's former teammate in Cleveland, Francisco Lindor, gives the Mets a middle of the lineup that includes Lindor, Michael Conforto, and Pete Alonso. The Padres, Dodgers, and Cardinals have all considerable improvements as well this offseason, and the NL will be hotly contested. But if you want to run away with your fantasy league, drafting Carrasco to be your first or second pitcher will help get you there.
Alvin Kamara scored 6 TDs for fantasy managers during Championship Week
As Ferris Bueller might say: The world of sports moves pretty fast...
... If you don't stop and look around at least once a week, you could miss it. Here we'll review what you might have missed in the past week all in one place. Why spend hours scrolling through Twitter to catch up on the news you want? We've already done that for you, so remember to check back every Monday to get your dose of weekly sports review.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured their spot in the playoffs after Week 16 and now only three spots remain to be had in the NFC. The Cleveland Browns were unable to defeat the Jets, which would have clinched a playoff spot for them in the AFC for the first time in 17 years. The Browns' loss allowed for the Steelers to clinch the AFC North even after a recent three game losing streak.
Good morning 🤖 https://t.co/VlOJq31ny3— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Tampa Bay Buccaneers) 1609164190.0
Throughout 16 weeks, three teams in the AFC have clinched postseason berths: Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. In the NFC we have four teams that have clinched: the aforementioned Bucs along with Green Bay, New Orleans, and Seattle. With so many spots still up for grabs, we'll see plenty of important games being played in the final stanza of the 2020 regular season. The Dolphins, Browns, Colts, Bears, and Cardinals are all in must-win situations heading into Week 17 while the NFC East crown is still undecided as Washington, the Giants, and the Cowboys can all still stake their claim as division winners.
Alvin Kamara scored six touchdowns on Christmas Day. Today he’s riding his bike around downtown NOLA with a bunch o… https://t.co/nwG58T7vWd— Brett Michael (@Brett Michael) 1609100627.0
While the NFL still has another week before their postseason begins, for fantasy football managers Week 16 was Championship Week and titles were won and lost during a week we saw some huge performances. Alvin Kamara and Davante Adams were absolute monsters in Week 16, and if you had them in your fantasy championship matchup, you're probably spending most of today gloating to the rest of your league.
Kamara amassed 172 total yards and six(!) touchdowns against the Vikings, and Adams hauled in 11 catches for 142 yards and three scores. Kamara and Adams put exclamation marks on the end of their fantasy season's and should head into 2021 drafts as top three options at their respective positions.
You Shouldn't Have Mocked the Belt Mini Series: Davante Adams #GoPackGo https://t.co/LjObluVkkx— Alexander Basara 🇵🇱🐺 (@Alexander Basara 🇵🇱🐺) 1609133213.0
The NBA began their season last week, and we were also treated to a full slate of action on Christmas Day to breakup the unwrapping, unboxing, and food induced naps throughout the day. We saw Jimmy Butler sit out the second half of their game against the Pelicans, as he's nursing an injured ankle, and Zion Williamson dropped 32 points on Christmas Day. The Heat managed to pull off the win however behind a strong outing from Duncan Robinson.
32 PTS | 14 REB @Zionwilliamson put on a show in his first Christmas game 🎁 https://t.co/FK5qk9KRP4— Bleacher Report (@Bleacher Report) 1608927781.0
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving look ready to dominate the Eastern Conference, as they have Brooklyn rolling early on, and with support players such as Joe Harris, DeAndre Jordan, and Landry Shamet, we saw them handle a good Boston team on Christmas 123-95.
KD and Kyrie's ELITE start 🍿 Kyrie: 31.5ppg/6apg KD: 25.5ppg/4.5rpg The 2-0 @BrooklynNets take on the Hornets ton… https://t.co/dIx4IhvBpw— NBA (@NBA) 1609092001.0
LeBron and the Lakers beat Luka Doncic's Mavericks on Christmas Day and the Clippers bested the Nuggets, but on Sunday the Clippers were embarrassed by the Mavericks as they went into halftime with only 27 points. The Clippers look like a team in need of what Montrezl Harrell left behind, and Harrell is fitting right in with the Lakers as he looks to be assuming a big role with the team right out of the gates with his new team.
There are currently five undefeated teams in the league, but they're probably not the teams you'd expect. Orlando (3-0), Cleveland (3-0), Indiana (3-0), Atlanta (2-0), and Oklahoma City (1-0) are the only teams with goose eggs in the loss column so far. The Celtics and Bucks have both started 1-2, and in the Western Conference the Nuggets have started out 0-2.
Just a wild day in the NBA 🤯 - Mavs blowout Clippers by 51 - Hornets give Nets their first loss - Knicks blowout B… https://t.co/vPsa8AjOlf— Overtime (@Overtime) 1609124427.0
With such a short offseason it's easy to forget some of the new faces in new places including Chris Paul in Phoenix. There is a lot of potential for the Suns to make a jump this year behind the veteran leadership of Paul. We saw him help expedite the progression of young players in Oklahoma City last season, and the Suns are hoping he can do the same for Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges. The Suns are 2-1 to start the year and are currently sitting in fourth place in the west.
There have been two recent trades in the MLB that will improve playoff contenders. The Nationals acquired Josh Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for pitchers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean. Bell had a down year in what was a truncated season last season, but in 2019 he made an All-Star team and smashed 37 homeruns and 116 RBI.
TRADE: We have acquired RHP Wil Crowe and RHP Eddy Yean from the Washington Nationals in exchange for 1B Josh Bell.… https://t.co/k53hxfP6lY— Pirates (@Pirates) 1608838263.0
The Pirates on the other hand gets to avoid a pay day for Bell and bring in to promising young arms. Crowe, a former second-round pick, projects to land in the Pirates rotation this year while the younger Yean (19 years old) will likely require a year or two in the farm system before getting a call up to the show.
The bigger news coming out of the world of baseball came on Sunday night when we learned that the Tampa Bay Rays agreed to send Cy Young winner Blake Snell to the Padres for a package of highly touted prospects. The Padres will add an all-star caliber starter to the top of their rotation to pair with Dinelson Lamet and once Mike Clevinger returns from Tommy John, San Diego will have one of the scariest rotations in all of baseball.
Dodger fans rn: #Padres #BlakeSnell https://t.co/wRu1Yhm2EP— Austin Garmo (@Austin Garmo) 1609130990.0
The Rays fresh off a World Series appearance will add one of the best pitching prospects in baseball in Luis Patino and may get a shot with the pro club as early as this year. Also included in the deal were catchers Francisco Mejia and Blake Hunt as well as Cole Wilcox who should need some additional seasoning in the minors before getting a shot with the Padres.
The return for Snell is only as good as the prospects turn out however. So an immediate reaction to this trade is the Padres got the better end of this deal, but with Snell's history of being injury prone combined with the promise of Patino, Mejia, and Hunt we may be singing a different tune a few years down the road.
What's most confusing though is why Snell was on the trade block to begin with, and Monday morning we also saw reports that Kevin Kiermaier, the Rays centerfielder, is also available in trades. Randy Arozarena posted a great postseason, but he's not going to be enough to bring the Rays back to the World Series by himself.
As Ferris Bueller might say: The world of sports moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around at least once a week, you could miss it.
Here we'll review what you might have missed in the past week all in one place. Why spend hours scrolling through Twitter to catch up on the news you want? We've already done that for you, so remember to check back every Monday to get your dose of weekly sports review.
Golf
The 84th Masters Tournament saw history made this past weekend, as Dustin Johnson turned in a record setting performance at Augusta finishing at 20 under par in 72 holes. The World No. 1 continued his hot run of play in this major and added his first green jacket and second major victory of his career.
Dustin Johnson wins the 84th Masters Tournament. #themasters https://t.co/aI2zjbuE7h— The Masters (@The Masters) 1605469912.0
Tiger Woods looked primed to defend his title after the first two rounds, limiting mistakes and playing with the careful consideration for every shot he's been known for throughout his career. He stumbled on day three, though, and only managed to shoot par which allowed Johnson to put pressure on Woods and the rest of the field heading into day four.
Woods took a 10 on the 12th hole on Sunday which knocked him out of contention, but then followed up with five birdies over the next six holes, which saved his round allowing him to finish with a four over 76. Tiger finished tied for 38th place at -1.
That's how you respond. 💪 Tiger Woods never stopped fighting. https://t.co/CGAH1vxWre— PGA TOUR (@PGA TOUR) 1605464386.0
Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im finished tied for second at -15. Justin Thomas took fourth place at -12. Rory McIlroy and Dylan Frittelli were tied at -11 to round out the top five.
MLB
The 2020 Major League Baseball awards have been handed out to spotlight this year's winners:
AL MVP
The American League’s best in 2020. José Abreu is the AL MVP. 👏 https://t.co/eWMVJpr74T— MLB (@MLB) 1605223338.0
Abreu led the AL in RBI (60), finished second in HRs (19), and fourth in BA (.317). He helped a young White Sox team to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. Providing a steady bat in the middle of an explosive lineup, Abreu benefitted from having protection around him for the first time in his career. A former Rookie of the Year, Abreu now sits atop the American League as its most valuable player.
NL MVP
Freddie Freeman Atlanta Braves
#MVFree indeed. @FreddieFreeman5 is your 2020 NL MVP. 👏 https://t.co/FUBGRHnvy3— MLB (@MLB) 1605225131.0
Freeman put together an impressive campaign in the truncated season, finishing second in the MLB in OPS (1.102) and led the MLB in runs (51). Freeman also finished second in the NL in batting average (.341), on base percentage (.462), and slugging percentage (.640).
Although the Braves fell short of the World Series, Freeman's achievement, like Abreu's, represents a veteran leader helping the development of a talented young team around him. Expect a step forward for the Braves next year behind the reigning NL MVP.
AL Cy Young
Shane Bieber Cleveland Indians
UNANIMOUS! Congrats to 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber! 🏆 https://t.co/vOLku4Os3F— FOX Sports Cleveland (@FOX Sports Cleveland) 1605137196.0
For the first time since 2011, the AL Cy Young was awarded unanimously. Bieber had a historic season setting a league record for strikeout rate (41.1%) and recorded the lowest qualifying ERA (1.63) since 1969. Opposing batters averaged a paltry .167 against Bieber in 2020, which is also the best opposing BA since 1969. Considering the Indians are not in the business of keeping its talent once their payday comes due, enjoy him while you can Cleveland. Yankees, you're on the clock.
NL Cy Young
Trevor Bauer Cincinnati Reds
Name a better way to celebrate. You can’t. @budweiserusa https://t.co/9WxTXPC7C5— Trevor Bauer (@Trevor Bauer) 1605295731.0
Speaking of the Indians not retaining talent, the NL Cy Young winner is former Cleveland Indian, Trevor Bauer. Imagine if Cleveland was able to send out Bieber and Bauer on back to back nights this season with Bauer bringing his 1.73 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. We can only speculate what the results would've been, but Bauer led a good pitching group in Cincinnati and brought them to the playoffs. Often outspoken, rarely outdueled.
AL Rookie of the Year
Kyle Lewis Seattle Mariners
Lewis burst onto the national scene with his five tool skills. He can hit home runs as well as rob them and is reminiscent of another transcendent talent that used to roam the outfields of Seattle.
Kyle Lewis x Ken Griffey Jr. (first 72 games) Lewis Griffey Jr. 17 HR 11 41… https://t.co/bPhJXlbweu— Danny Vietti (@Danny Vietti) 1600910043.0
NL Rookie of the Year
Devin Williams Milwaukee Brewers
Williams became the first reliever to win the ROY award since Craig Kimbrel in 2011. Williams posted a 0.33 ERA and struck out 53% of the batters he faced this season.
AL Manager of the Year
Kevin Cash Tampa Bay Rays
It was a foregone conclusion that the Yankees would win the AL East this year, but the Rays came out of nowhere with a bunch of unknown players to take the division convincingly. Cash's trademark is player usage and tinkering with lineups. The mind of Kevin Cash is a big reason the Rays got to the World Series, but his decision to replace Blake Snell in Game 6 might have cost them a shot at a Game 7 against the Dodgers. Still, the Rays have a bevy of young talent under cost controlled contracts and they should continue to compete for the AL pennant for the foreseeable future.
NL Manager of the Year
Don Mattingly Miami Marlins
Mattingly became the fifth person to win both an MVP award and Manager of the Year award after leading the Marlins to the postseason in 2020. It was their first appearance in 17 years in what was supposed to be a transition year as they look to rebuild. Mattingly certainly got the most from his players and may be the kind of presence to make Miami a free agent destination if ownership is willing to spend.
Don Mattingly has been named the 2020 National League Manager of the Year. He is the 5th former MVP to win the awa… https://t.co/iGeZvpfyaA— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPN Stats & Info) 1605050970.0
NBA
Now that the league has set December 22 as the start date for the 2020-2021 season the offseason, which historically provides plenty of rumors and player movement, has been dramatically shortened. That will likely mean less transactions preseason, but may set us up for an exciting trade deadline.
That doesn't mean there aren't some interesting rumors floating around, however. A deal appears to be in place to send Dennis Schroder to the Lakers in exchange for Danny Green and the Lakers' 28th overall pick in the upcoming draft. This would provide the newly minted NBA Champions a versatile scoring guard that can play both on and off the ball. Schroder will be coming from Oklahoma City, where he played with Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who are both ball handlers.
Lakers and Thunder have agreement in principle on deal to send Dennis Schroder to Los Angeles, and No. 28 pick in W… https://t.co/tyH2iPPZZJ— Shams Charania (@Shams Charania) 1605459149.0
Having to share ball handling duties with LeBron shouldn't affect Schroder's effectiveness, and the playmaking LA will be losing in Rajon Rondo will likely be made up for by a veteran free agent signing later in the offseason.
The biggest trade rumor going around NBA Twitter right now involves the future of James Harden. Now that Mike D'Antoni and Daryl Morey have parted ways with the Rockets, Houston has a problem. It was just a year ago that the Rockets were thought to have the team and the plan to win an NBA title. Now they're looking for a new identity.
ESPN Sources with @RamonaShelburne and @ZachLowe_NBA: As Houston’s James Harden considers his future with franchise… https://t.co/Uf9k102itA— Adrian Wojnarowski (@Adrian Wojnarowski) 1605477080.0
Harden's preferred landing spot has emerged, and it's in Brooklyn. That would reunite him with former teammate Kevin Durant and form a backcourt of Harden and Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn would likely have to send DeAndre Jordan and some players to match contracts up along with a slew of draft picks, but just the thought of this super team is making December 22 feel too far away.
NFL Quick Bites
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens fall on Sunday night to the Patriots. Baltimore falls to 6-3 and gives up some ground to Cleveland in the AFC North.
On Thursday night, the Colts dominated the Titans in an important division matchup. With the win the Colts draw even with the Tennessee at 6-3. The Titans have lost three of their last four games.
The Buccaneers get back on track with a 46-23 win over Carolina. Tom Brady made good use of his receivers in this one. Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Antonio Brown all had at least six receptions in this game.
Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins keep rolling with their fifth win in a row. They beat the Chargers 29-21 and are now 6-3.
Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins connected on a last second Hail Mary to beat the Bills 32-30. A contender for play of the year, and a competitive game that may have been a Super Bowl preview.
Drew Brees left the game against the 49ers with a rib injury. His status for Week 11 is uncertain. If he's unable to go Jameis Winston will be under center for the Saints.
