Fantasy Baseball 2019: 4 Players Who Can Prove Defense Does Matter In Fantasy

Defense doesn’t matter for fantasy owners, except, sometimes it does. You won’t directly earn any points from your players when they have their gloves on, however, some players can earn or lose playing time based on their defense. Below you’ll find players who might be able to work their way into fantasy relevance through opportunities earned on the defensive side of the game.

DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Yankees (ADP: 222): LeMahieu is no superstar, but he offers very valuable production in batting average – a commodity nearly as rare as stolen bases these days – for the low, low price of a 19th-round pick in 12-team leagues. There are two major issues affecting his perception right now. First, he is leaving the Rockies, and therefore won’t have home games in Coors Field. Second, he’s not actually starting for the Yankees. It looks like Troy Tulowitzki will be the Yankees’ shortstop until Didi Gregorius heals up from his injury while Gleyber Torres handles second base full time. But that’s where defense comes in.

LeMahieu was worth 12.9 runs with his glove in 2018, the fifth-best mark in baseball per Fangraphs. In fact, he was so good defensively that the Yankees plan to use him as a backup at first base, second base and possibly even third base, where Miguel Andujar’s poor defense may force the team’s hand into using their DH slot more for him. Additionally, Tulowitzki’s injury history, a longer document than War and Peace, could force Torres over to short, and create an everyday lineup spot for LeMahieu at second. In a perfect world, LeMahieu would man first base against left-handers with Greg Bird winning the job in Spring Training; on days in which Bird plays, LeMahieu can spell Torres or Andujar at second or third, and slot in at second base whenever Tulowitzki is resting. Regardless, LeMahieu has many avenues to playing time, and he’s pretty much a .300 hitter over the course of his career. Combine that with the potential three-position eligibility, and he could become a nice little late round gem.

Marcus Semien, SS, Athletics (ADP: 230): Semien has been around long enough that the breakout train has long left the station. With that said, his excellent glove has kept him hanging around Oakland’s starting lineup year after year, and he offers decent upside in counting stats at a shallow-ish position. At his best, Semien smoked 27 home runs and stole 10 bags, albeit with a mediocre .238/.300/.388 slash line. That’s been the story of Semien’s career; he will occasionally intrigue you with his power and speed, only to eventually disappoint with the overall product. Fantasy owners are no longer banking on him for anything though, and the skepticism is built into his late ADP. Now, you have 30 HR, 15 SB upside at the SS position, and you no longer have to chase it – along with weak batting average and OBP figures – in the middle rounds.

Jackie Bradley Jr., OF, Red Sox (ADP: 242): In 2016, Bradley hit 26 home runs and slashed .267/.349/.486. He was viewed as a breakout star, destined to offer power and speed at the top of a perennially potent Red Sox lineup. Fantasy superstar. It hasn’t been like that. Bradley hasn’t even hit .250 over the course of a full season since that breakout, while missing chunks of the next two seasons, and failing to reach either 20 home runs or 20 stolen bases. Last season was particularly abysmal, as his average sunk to .234 despite a respectable .299 BABIP. Simply put, his bat doesn’t warrant an everyday spot in the lineup these days. Bradley is, however, an exceptional defensive center fielder, so the Red Sox continue to give him every opportunity to play because of his impact with the glove.

Bradley hasn’t given us much to dream on in the last two years, but he has shown us that he can produce counting stats at a useful level at one point in his career. His two awful seasons have buried his ADP to the point where it might now be worth a gamble with a late pick, a la Semien. At his best, Bradley will deliver in runs, home runs, and provide somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 stolen bases. At his worst, he was a late round pick you won’t feel bad dropping onto waivers.

Dansby Swanson, SS, Braves (ADP: 310): Swanson was a major prospect at one point in his career. In fact, he was so highly thought of that Atlanta felt they could trade away Andrelton Simmons, unquestionably the top glove in MLB at any position (and the original inspiration for the first iteration of this article). Swanson originally impressed in his first MLB cameo, hitting .302 with three homers in his first 38 games in the bigs. Once the Braves handed him the keys for good, though, he cratered, slashing an ugly .232/.312/.324 in 2017. 2018 wasn’t much kinder, as he posted a sadly similar slash line, although with a significant improvement in slugging percentage. More importantly, though, was that Swanson was worth 10 runs defensively to the Braves, which means that he’ll be an everyday player with tons of chances to figure out major league pitching.

Swanson’s minor league numbers are a little weird. He began his pro career hitting for very high average with little power, then saw his average dip to .261 but his home runs jump once he left High-A for Double-A. He was only in Triple-A briefly before being called up to The Show. It’s likely that when he’s right, Swanson should be a hitter whose batting average rests in the .275 to .285 range, with the potential for big power, and meaningful (but unspectacular) contributions on the bases. I’m not much of a believer that he’ll meet his high expectations, but it’s impossible to make mistakes after pick No. 300 of a fantasy draft. It’s rare to find this level of upside at such a late stage, so feel free to take a stab at him. At least you know he’ll be getting substantial at-bats.