The Sharp & The Fish: Round Five
A series where I pick out the best and worst picks in each round
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Round five:
SHARP: AUSTIN RILEY
There will be a lot of buying the injury dip in this series. But I stand by it. It’s the right approach. There are guys you should be afraid of due to injury, but there are plenty of guys that you really shouldn’t, and you get a nice discount because of it.
And this isn’t a case where the production was down even while he was healthy. The guy was still mashing last year.
His placement in the position is another reason I think he’s super sharp this year. I love getting in before “the cliffs”, meaning to get your starter at each position before the first large drop-off in value. Riley and Maikel Garcia are right there on the ledge at third base.
There’s a clear top six, and Riley lets you have Caminero-like upside 60 picks later. That’s a beautiful thing.
FISH: FREDDY PERALTA
I can take care of this one with one data table:
Same indicators as always, and yet you’re having to pick him 40 picks sooner this year. He benefited from a career-low .243 BABIP and a career-high 85.5% LOB% last year, and that’s what turned the 3.68 SIERA into a 2.70 ERA. I’m surprised the NFBC bro’s are falling for it in the way they are. I think he’ll be fine, and he could win a ton of games with the Mets, but the price is wrong. Don’t be a fish.