March 15, 2022

In 2021, Alex Verdugo was one of only 15 outfielders to reach 600 plate appearances, with a career-high of 604. That was largely due to being the Red Sox no.2 hitter for the majority of the season, although he did find himself hitting in the bottom half of the lineup more as the season progressed. And it's his position in the lineup that will dictate how valuable Verdugo will be as a fantasy option this year. His ADP is ~159 and he's just outside the top-40 outfielders being drafted. That's largely down to a lack of much power or speed, with 31 homers and 14 stolen bases in 305 games over the last three seasons. His projections of ~15 HR and ~7 SB mirror his career numbers and he's put up a .294/.351/.451 slash line in that time too. Of all Red Sox hitters who played 50+ games in 2021, only Xander Bogaerts (.370) and Rafael Devers (.352) had a better OBP so it makes sense for Verdugo to bat atop the lineup. Although his struggles against lefties (.228/.269/.286 line in 2021) will likely see him hit lower down the order when facing southpaws leaving him as more of a platoon-type option. Verdugo scored 88 runs and tallied 63 RBIs last year and is projected for similar numbers in 2022. Providing he can reach ~600 PA's again, he should be a good source of batting average while contributing across all four counting stats. He certainly won't be hurting you anywhere and has slightly more value in OBP leagues.--Jamie Steed