January 7, 2020

Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon proved once again that he is one of fantasy baseball’s most consistent producers at third base, posting a .319/.412/.598 slash line with 34 home runs, 117 runs scored, and 126 RBI in 646 plate appearances with the Nationals. This was the fourth straight season in which Rendon hit at least 20 HR, scored at least 81 runs, and had at least 85 RBI. Rendon is a consistent, high-floor fantasy option with a great profile. At 29 years old, he has a good eye (12.4% walk rate), doesn’t strike out much (13.3% strikeout rate), has a strong batted-ball profile (19.7-degree launch angle with a 46.6% hard-hit rate), and was in the top two percent for all of his expected statistics (batting average, slugging percentage, weighted on-base average). The caveat to all of these stats is that Rendon achieved them while hitting in the middle of a World Series-caliber offense, which will not be the case this season. The Nationals were sixth in OPS and seventh in RBI in 2019, compared to 18th and 16th for the Angels. That being said, the Halos do have some good bats in their lineup, so, while Rendon may not perform quite as well in his counting stats, there is no reason to think he won’t achieve at least the 20, 81, 85 marks he has hit each of the last four seasons. Rendon is currently being taken at pick 21 overall and is the fourth third baseman, sandwiched between Jose Ramirez and Rafael Devers. This seems like fair value given his consistently-excellent floor.--Connelly Doan