Fantasy Reflections: Buying Generic

For a game that’s all about numbers, we often tend to get more hung up on names. Fantasy owners naturally gravitate toward the ones they recognize. It’s understandable, and logical much of the time. These players became brand name assets because they’ve proven themselves capable of sustained success, or their skills or tools are immediately evident.

Yet at the end of the day, all that really matters are the numbers. Squeezing value out of the less sexy names is a critical component of most championship seasons.

With nearly a quarter of the season in books, here’s a look at five less-heralded players who, at minimum, are currently matching the production of another player at their position who is much more widely owned.

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Diving Into the Bargain Bin

This comparison admittedly isn’t completely fair to Zunino, who has put up his numbers in 40 fewer plate appearances than Chirinos. That said, they share similarly ugly plate discipline metrics (walk rates under 5%, strikeout rates above 37%) and power. Zunino is younger and quite probably more talented, but is that enough to justify such a large gap in ownership rate? Debatable.

Hosmer has had something of a strange career, and the latest twist is that he’s having more trouble than usual making contact. While his rate stats are fine anyway, he’s way off the run production pace he’d set the last couple of seasons. Cron, meanwhile, looks to have finally played his way into an everyday role in Tampa Bay after being dumped by the Angels.

Acknowledging the fact that Seager typically starts slowly, Candelario has been the clearly superior option thus far. Corey’s brother has also typically been more of a solid contributor than a star; he’s durable and you can count on .260 and 25 homers with solid run production. Based on early returns, that might not be much more than you can get from Candelario.

I wouldn’t bet on Semien finishing the season with a higher batting average than Bregman, but he could easily outpace his younger, flashier counterpart in run production and come close to duplicating his counting stats. Looking at their career totals, Semien has 63 HR and 41 SB in about twice the number of plate appearances as Bregman, who’s got 30 HR and 22 SB. Bregman’s in a better lineup, but Oakland’s offense is no slouch, and Semien’s hitting at the top of the order.

There are plenty of times you should opt for the boring vet over the shiny new toy. This may not be one of them. Cordero got a shot in San Diego thanks to a spate of injuries in their outfield, and with Hunter Renfroe and Wil Myers sidelined he’s hit his way into the middle of the order. Braun remains a useful player, but a lengthy injury history and advancing age make the prospect of him playing a full season dubious.

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