4 years agoSt. Louis Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman didn't live up to expectations last year following his stellar 2019 debut season in which he slashed .304/.350/.500 with 11 home runs, 36 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 92 games. He was just 2-for-6 on stolen base attempts in 2020 and finished with a .250/.317/.368 batting line with five homers and 26 RBI over 204 at-bats. A jump in his ground-ball rate (41.9% to 51.3%) and a decrease in his fly-ball percentage (21.1% to 15.2%) from 2019 to 2020 explain the drop in his home run numbers. But Edman really shouldn't be counted on for power with his career 4.7% barrel rate. He still had solid plate discipline with an 88.7% zone contact rate and despite the lack of steals was still in the 95th percentile in sprint speed as well. The Cardinals faced some difficult circumstances last year with a three-week COVID-19 hiatus, followed by a run of 11 doubleheaders in 41 days, so we're taking all of Edman's numbers in a small sample size with a grain of salt. St. Louis declined Kolten Wong's option, giving Edman a chance to lead off every day in 2021. While his walk rate of 7% was still low, it was actually an improvement from 2019 (4.6%) and if he can continue to show improvement here it would serve him well as the Cardinals table-setter. His career 77% success rate on stolen bases could lead to plenty of run-scoring opportunities, too. His quad eligibility (2B, 3B, SS and OF) and speed make him an attractive option at his current ADP of 132. Just know you'll need to balance out your lineup to accommodate for his lack of power.--Jon Mathisen - RotoBaller