2K19: Joey Wendle

[revo]

Wendle was one of those players who I didn't even notice was in baseball, let alone a starter, until around late-summer. And he had a really good year: .300/.354/.435, with 62 Runs, 7 HRs, 61 HRs and 16 SBs. Now he's the 17th ranked 2B by ADP, going just before Lourdes Gurriel, Marwin Gonzalez & DJ LeMahieu.

He was a decent, if unspectacular hitter in the minors. He had a .353 BABIP last season, so it's likely his BA was buoyed by that. He doesn't have a lot of power or speed (his 16 SBs appear to be his upper limit), and the Rays have a few 2B options -- namely Brandon Lowe & Nick Solak -- so why is the fantasy community expecting either similar or better results, and bypassing more stable fantasy options?

[kldub4life]

His 2017 AAA numbers are quite similar to his 2018 MLB numbers with a 24 point uptick in BABIP being the biggest difference. Being ranked at 17th in ADP isn't that much of a reach as long as he is playing, depending on league rules he may also have interesting position eligibility. In standard types of leagues he may be a fringe player but in deeper leagues where getting decent at bats and stats help I like him. But he could easily lose out on playing time if a prospect emerges.

[Ken]

I think the fact that he came out of nowhere and put up a .300 avg over 545 ABs gives him more name recognition than the underlying talent deserves. I'd think that 17th in the 2B list is higher even than his ceiling. Like others have said the BABIP is going to come down, and then you have a .260 hitter with limited power and 15 SB. There's some marginal value there, but not 17th 2B value. I'll pass at that price.

[Sour Masher]

I am a Brandon Lowe fan, so I'd be wary of investing in Wendle. As everyone is saying, there are options for the Rays, so Wendle will have to keep up outproducing expectations to keep his job.

[mgwiz22]

The Ray's are likely to use multiple players at the position.

[virgonomic]

Wendle was one of those players who I didn't even notice was in baseball, let alone a starter, until around late-summer. And he had a really good year: .300/.354/.435, with 62 Runs, 7 HRs, 61 HRs and 16 SBs. Now he's the 17th ranked 2B by ADP, going just before Lourdes Gurriel, Marwin Gonzalez & DJ LeMahieu.

He hit 68 HRs?

[Moonlight J]

The roster is chock full of players that can play multiple positions. Wendle reminds me of LeMahieu in that as long as he's willing to spray the crap out of the ball and use all fields, he has a high batting average floor. If he gets pull happy, as LeMahieu did last year, that changes things.

[joncarlos]

Is he the best defensive option at 2B? If so, is it by a lot? I think that's the main question. He was certainly good last year. I think he can get 500+ ABs if he plays that well again, even if the average falls.