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National League hitters will benefit from the universal DH in 2020. Todd Salem identifies players that could be risers for runs batted in (RBI) in fantasy baseball leagues.
With the advent of the designated hitter in the National League for 2020, NL lineup production will go up; it's inevitable. Pitchers will have a harder time of things in the NL, and hitters will produce more. It's what happens when a near-zero at the plate is replaced by a Major League hitter.
Where that additional hitter is slotted into a lineup -- and who that hitter is -- impacts the rest of his lineup. The player seeing time at DH will obviously see more production than he otherwise would have sitting on the bench, but his teammates can see an uptick in production as well.
For RBI producers in the bottom half of a lineup, slotting a new DH in the top half will do wonders. Having a big on-base guy flooding the bases gives more opportunities for the later hitters to knock him in.
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Victor Robles (OF, WSH)
Last year was Robles' first chance at regular playing time in the Majors. He performed pretty well, though there remain obvious opportunities for improvement. He looks like a standard, slap-heavy hitter who will survive and excel with his speed. Robles ranked in the 95th percentile in sprint speed and was below-average or worse in pretty much all batted-ball profile rankings.
What this means is that much of Robles' RBI production at the bottom of Washington's lineup will come down to how many people are on base ahead of him. He is not driving in many guys with extra-base hits, nor will he drive himself in more than a few times this season. Robles' best chance at becoming more than a two-category player is if more people are in scoring position when he steps to the plate.
Enter new National DH Howie Kendrick. Kendrick should bat ahead of Robles in pretty much every game. He got on base 39.5 percent of the time in partial duty last year, making him one of the premier NL DH options. Kendrick could have a big year; Robles could too thanks to Kendrick.
Tommy Edman (2B/3B, STL)
As a rookie last year, Edman proved that he belonged. In his shortened 2020, he will hope to prove he can maintain his production. He will never be a huge RBI producer hitting at the bottom of the St. Louis lineup, but placing another quality bat ahead of him would do wonders. Luckily for Edman and Cardinals fans, this team has a few options to lengthen the meat of its order.
Matt Carpenter and Dexter Fowler struggled in 2019 and '18, respectively. But they both have a track record of success, and more specifically, a track record of being elite on-base men. Carpenter has a career .372 OBP and 13.3 percent walk rate. Fowler is similarly above average with a .359 OBP and 12.6 percent walk rate.
It's also worth considering the possibility (and evident upside) of Tyler O'Neill garnering at-bats at DH. No matter where St. Louis turns, there are guys who should get on base ahead of Edman.
Avisail Garcia (OF, MIL)
Garcia has been a pedestrian RBI man for much of his career. It doesn't help that he is expected to slot in near the back end of the Milwaukee lineup in 2020. What will certainly help is the expected inclusion of both Ryan Braun and Justin Smoak (the latter of whom will hit at least against all righties) in the everyday lineup ahead of him.
It was previously expected that one of Garcia or Smoak would have to be absent from the lineup without the DH; that is no longer the case. Both players are on the wrong side of their primes, but will undoubtedly be assets to this Brewer lineup.
Garcia won't be the only beneficiary, but if he ends up being a big RBI producer thanks to clogged bases ahead of him, he suddenly turns into a 3.5-category contributor. It remains to be seen if his double-digit steals total from last year was for real, but a lot of other boxes will be checked.
Corey Seager (SS, LAD); Will Smith (C, LAD)
Every rule change seems to benefit the Dodgers because they are the most talented and deepest team in their league. Adding a DH is no exception. No matter who Los Angeles chooses to give DH at-bats to, a really good hitter will be placed somewhere in the middle of the lineup to get on base ahead of Seager and Smith. Both were already underrated guys at their respective positions. The addition of the DH bumps each up thanks to Seager's extra-base hitting and Smith's premiere upside at the catcher position.
Dansby Swanson (SS, ATL)
There was an assumption that Swanson has maxed out as a below-average fantasy option at shortstop. That still may be the case, but his 2020 outlook got a considerable bump when it was determined that the young Austin Riley could be hitting ahead of him every day.
Riley is obviously a question mark, though the upside is undeniable. He is expected to join a cadre of sluggers in the Atlanta lineup, which is where Swanson can turn from an underwhelming 10-10 guy to a potential multi-category producer very late in drafts.
Conclusion
The hitters at the bottom of a lineup are not always the best options in fantasy; this doesn't require much explanation. If they were better players, they'd be batting earlier, and thus, garnering more plate appearances.
Nevertheless, with the addition of the DH in the National League, a number of these late hitters will see increased opportunities to drive in runs: the name of the game. That should boost their value in fantasy from where we would have slotted them years prior.
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