X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Franmil Reyes Is a League-Winner Hidden In Plain Sight

franmil reyes fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Antonio Losada examines Cleveland Indians Designated Hitter Franmil Reyes' season to date and assesses his fantasy baseball value through April and for the rest of the 2021 MLB season.

The San Diego Padres signed Franmil Reyes to their organization all the way back in November of 2011. It took the Padres almost eight years and a season-and-a-half of playing time to move on from him, as they opted to include him in the Trevor Bauer/Yasiel Puig/Taylor Trammell three-team trade that included the Indians and the Reds.

The Minnesota Twins have a much more straightforward story with outfielder Byron Buxton, the no. 2 pick of the 2012 MLB draft, and a Twin ever since. Buxton debuted early in 2015 vs. Texas, went hitless, and it's truly been an up-and-down rollercoaster for the often-injured, always-hyped-and-promising Buxton in his six-and-change-years career.

Those two paragraphs considered, Franmil Reyes and Byron Buxton have pretty much nothing to do with the other one. On top of that, one is a massive 6-foot-5, 265-pound bomber while the other is a springy 6-foot-2, 190-pound sprinter. They can't look more separate in the physical spectrum, and Buxton is leading the league in fWAR with a 2.3 mark compared to Reyes' 0.6 wins above replacement. But when it comes to bang-for-the-back and ROI value, Franmil is lapping Bux and that should change any time soon.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Franmil Reyes Has Never Stopped Growing

Literally, and figuratively, Reyes has improved on a yearly basis. Seriously. There is this video from 2012 on YouTube where you can watch Reyes batting in which seems to be a completely different human being not even remotely close to having his current frame. He's a walking mountain these days. He's listed as an outfielder, and he's played near the fences here and there, but the truth is that Reyes is just your casual Designated Hitter these days and will be for the remainder of his career.

Oh, and Reyes is just 25 years old, just in case. I don't want to get you lost in my words, so let me summarize what Reyes has been up to since debuting back in 2018 in a very simple image:

That's correct. Reyes has had his peaks and valleys, and while he was absolutely fantastic in the middle part of the shortened 2020 season, he still had his lows back then. This year, though? Bonkers production never falling below an above-average 100 wRC+ from Opening Day on.

 

MVP-Comparable Numbers (Hello, Buxton!)

One month into the season, this is how Franmil's percentiles and hits spray chart are looking, per Baseball Savant:

Here are the same charts, only now depicting Byron Buxton's 2021, MVP-through-April-games, season:

To be fair, Buxton has been quite impressive in what seems to be (at least until he gets injured) his true breakout, always-promised magnificent season to date. He's into the 94th+ percentile in eight of the above categories, his fWAR mark leads the league--yes, even above Mike Trout and his best-ever version--and as long as he can stay on the field he should keep racking up numbers.

What about Franmil Reyes, though? Obviously, a DH is not as flashy as a center fielder as fast as they come, hyped for a decade and going, and now the no. 1 player of his own franchise. But that's what is making Reyes one of the best values for fantasy GMs out there: league-winning numbers flying totally under the radar in a few leagues.

Franmil Reyes is slashing .279/.308/.616/.924 through April in 23 games and 91 PA entering May. His BABIP, in case you're wondering sits at a reasonable (we're still one month into the season) .340, which ranks in the 80th percentile among players with at least 70 PA on the year. In fact, reducing that group of players to those posting OPS marks of at least .900 on the season, Reyes' BABIP is below-average and in the bottom half of that 36-player group.

Reyes is not lucky--Reyes is just bombing balls away on a daily basis.

 

Man Of The Two True Outcomes

This is nothing new to baseball. Walking, striking out, and hitting homers are the things that keep on giving. Sadly, Franmil Reyes is not here to help you get points on the first of those three categories (3.3 BB%) while he'd make a living off the last two (33 K%, 7 HRs on the season).

Those walk-strikeout numbers are a little bit of a concern, sure, but Franmil Reyes is making up for it thanks to boasting one of the hardest-hitting profiles in the MLB this season. Reyes is getting hard contact (batted balls at 95+ mph) on 61.1% of his batted balls through April for a ridiculous xSLG of .650 (94th percentile; .616 actual SLG). He's barrelling 24.1% of the time, and he's on a league of his own there.

It's pretty much all or nothing for Reyes, with the only blemish that he's hitting 1.18 GB per FB these days. On the contrary, he's turning 32 percent of those flyballs into home runs. These are all players with similar production levels to those of Reyes (min. 70 PA, 30 FB%, 32% HR/FB): Buxton, Aaron Judge, Fernando Tatis Jr., Mike Trout, Adolis Garcia, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Willson Contreras, and Shohei Ohtani.

In case you don't have the data in front of you, here is a handy table I have crafted:

Reyes is one of just two players still rostered in fewer than 90% of Yahoo leagues. Only Adolis Garcia has a lower rostership, yet he's stepped up to the plate 20 fewer times and all of his numbers are worse than Reyes' across the board.

Franmil is hitting bombs on a daily basis and is currently tied for seventh in the HR leaderboard with seven fence-clearing hits for an HR% of 29.2, the fourth-highest among batters with at least 24 hits through April.

One of the things I like the most about Franmil Reyes is the fact that the only pitch Reyes is struggling against is the cutter, which he's seen 21 times this season over 5 PA and which he has still to hit for a base hit, having struck out three times on 10 swings. Other than that, though, Reyes is doing it in all shapes and forms, and although his pulling tendencies are easy to spot and defensive shifts are always going to hurt him, he's still blasting the ball away with such force that the approach is working for him.

Conclusion

It is not a coincidence that Franmil Reyes goes by the nickname of "La Mole", the mass/lump. While Reyes is not going to hand you a lot of goodies when it comes to walking, stealing bases, and avoiding striking out, he's a force of nature with a potent triple slash-line, massive upside on the HR department, and very tasty numbers in both the Runs and RBI cats on top of that.

Among true DH, Reyes shouldn't fall below the fifth or sixth positional rank, and that is assuming Ohtani makes the list. Fangraphs has Reyes projected to a neat 29 home runs ROS for a total of 36 on the year to go with a .259/.324/.502 slash-line, a positively-regressed 8.5 BB%, and a lower 31.2 K%. All things considered, ZiPS projections have Reyes finishing the year producing above-average value with a 111 wRC+ and 1.6 WAR when all is said and done.

Reyes is the 44th-best player in Yahoo leagues and 26th-best batter, yet his 88% rostership is the third-lowest in that group of players only behind Nate Lowe (77%) and Eduardo Escobar (81%). This doesn't mean that you will find him available for free whenever you manage a squad, of course, but odds are that you can be lucky on that front or in the worst-case scenario pull off a trade that lands you Reyes and his low-maintenance, still-under-the-radar excellent production.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Fantasy Baseball Advice




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Mike Evans

Making his Return in Primetime Against Detroit
Emeka Egbuka

Officially Active on Monday Night
Dereck Lively II

Mavericks Exercise Fourth-Year Option on Dereck Lively II
Patrik Laine

Remains Out Monday
Dyson Daniels

Agrees to Four-Year Rookie Contract Extension on Monday
Jared McCann

Out Against Flyers
Carson Soucy

Ready to Return Monday
Ja Morant

Expected to Suit Up Wednesday
Zach Bogosian

Unavailable Against Rangers
Marco Rossi

Misses Monday's Action
Shayne Gostisbehere

Sits Out Monday's Game
Christian Braun

Inks Contract Extension With Nuggets on Monday
Mark Stone

Out Week-to-Week
Michael Penix Jr.

Dealing With Bone Bruise in Foot, Considered Day-to-Day
Coby White

Ruled Out For First Two Weeks
Jayden Daniels

Avoids Long-Term Injury, Status Unknown for Week 8
Bilal Coulibaly

Ruled Out For Opener, Early Season Absence Expected
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Locked In As Starter For Rockets Opener
Jaylen Brown

Fully Cleared, Set To Lead Celtics In Season Opener
Tua Tagovailoa

Dolphins Sticking With Tua Tagovailoa as Their Starting QB
Josh Hart

Back Injury Puts Opening Night Status In Doubt
Daniel Gafford

Registers Limited Practice, Questionable for Opener
Brock Bowers

Expected Back After the Bye
Darren Waller

Week-to-Week Following MRI
Kendre Miller

Out for the Year After Suffering Torn ACL
Christian Braun

There's "Cautious Optimism" Around Christian Braun Signing Contract Extension
Bryce Young

Expected to Miss Week 8
Nikola Topić

Nikola Topic Has Third-Year Option Picked Up
Cason Wallace

Thunder Pick Up Fourth-Year Option for Cason Wallace
Brooklyn Nets

Nets Waive Kobe Bufkin
Justin Fields

to Lose Starting Job After Week 7 Benching?
Haywood Highsmith

Suffers Setback While Rehabbing Knee
Reinier de Ridder

Reinier De Ridder Suffers His First UFC Loss
Brendan Allen

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Kevin Holland

Drops Decision
Mike Malott

Wins Third Fight In A Row
Jordan Addison

Leads Minnesota With 128 Receiving Yards in Loss
Marlon Vera

Loses Third Consecutive Fight
Aiemann Zahabi

Gets A Razor-Thin Split Decision Win
Jasmine Jasudavicius

Suffers First-Round TKO Loss
Manon Fiorot

Gets Back In The Win Column
Ryan Donato

Leads Blackhawks to Victory Sunday
Tom Wilson

Registers Two Assists, Seven Hits Sunday
Conor Garland

Sends Out Two Assists Sunday
David Pastrnak

Pots Two Goals in Losing Effort
Davey Grant

Suffers Submission Loss
Emmitt Finnie

Notches Three Points Against Oilers
Dylan Larkin

Totals Four Points in Sunday's Win
Charles Jourdain

Gets First-Round Submission Win
Matt Frevola

Gets Dominated At UFC Vancouver
Matt Frevola

Kyle Nelson Dominates Matt Frevola
Josh Jacobs

Saves Fantasy Performance With Two Touchdowns Against Cardinals
Javonte Williams

Records Second 100-Yard Rushing Game in Week 7
Darren Waller

Suffers Pectoral Strain, Will Undergo MRI
Jake Ferguson

Scores Two TDs Despite Return of Top Dallas Receiver
Rashee Rice

Heavily Involved in Debut, Scores Two Touchdowns Against Raiders
Christian McCaffrey

Carries Niners Offense Again, has First 100-Yard Rushing Game
D'Andre Swift

Goes for Season-High 124 Rushing Yards in Week 7 Win
CeeDee Lamb

Tops 100 Receiving Yards in First Game Back From Injury
Keenan Allen

Turns Back the Clock in Dominant Week 7 Outing
Trey McBride

Explodes for 10 Catches, 74 Yards, Two Touchdowns in Loss
Toumani Camara

Gets Four-Year Contract Extension from Portland
Shaedon Sharpe

Blazers Agree on a Contract Extension
Kevin Durant

Lands Two-Year Contract Extension with Houston
George Springer

Returns to Lineup for Game 6 of ALCS
Domantas Sabonis

to Miss at Least a Few Games, Will be Re-Evaluated in One Week
Spencer Knight

Takes on Ducks Sunday
Shakir Mukhamadullin

Sharks Place Shakir Mukhamadullin on Injured Reserve
Kasperi Kapanen

Exits With Injury Sunday
Jonathan Lekkerimaki

Suffers Injury Sunday
Filip Chytil

Injured on Sunday
Teddy Blueger

Hurt in Sunday's WIn
Jason Dickinson

Remains Out Sunday
CFB

Colorado State Fires Head Coach Jay Norvell After Four Seasons
CFB

Florida Fires Head Coach Billy Napier After Four Years
Nils Lundkvist

Expected to Miss Time
Chase Elliott

Can Chase Elliott Deliver Another Clutch Win to Make Championship 4?
William Byron

Seeks First Win at Talladega to Overcome Las Vegas Crash
Chase Briscoe

Likely to Finish Worse Than he Starts
Kyle Larson

Despite No Wins on Drafting Tracks, Kyle Larson is Improving
Tyler Reddick

Despite Winning at Talladega, Tyler Reddick's Drafting Record Is Not So Hot
Ross Chastain

Poor Qualifying Makes him a Strong DFS Option at Talladega
Chris Buescher

Excellent Crash Avoidance Could Reap Dividends at Talladega
Ty Gibbs

If Ty Gibbs' Team Executes a Better Strategy, he Could Win at Talladega
Daniel Suarez

Hopes for Clutch Talladega Win to Remain in the NASCAR Cup Series
Josh Berry

Might Contend at Talladega
Austin Dillon

Doesn't Lead Enough at Talladega to Contend for Wins
Rob Dillingham

Timberwolves Exercise Team Option on Rob Dillingham
Scotty Pippen Jr.

to Undergo Surgery, Out at Least 12 Weeks
Brendan Donovan

Undergoes Sports Hernia Surgery
George Springer

Exits Game 5 Early After HBP on his Knee
Jackson Chourio

Back in Game 4 Lineup Against Dodgers
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Has Bone Spurs Removed From his Elbow
Brendan Allen

Set For UFC Vancouver Main Event
Reinier de Ridder

Reinier De Ridder A Favorite At UFC Vancouver
Mike Malott

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Kevin Holland

Set For UFC Vancouver Co-Main Event
Aiemann Zahabi

Looks For His Seventh Consecutive Win
Marlon Vera

Returns At UFC Vancouver
Jasmine Jasudavicius

Looks To Extend Her Win Streak
Manon Fiorot

Looks To Bounce Back
Aoriqileng

Aori Aoriqileng Looks To Rebound
CFB

Curt Cignetti Signs Eight-Year, $11.6 Million Extension With Indiana
Carlos Rodón

Carlos Rodon Unlikely to Be Ready for Opening Day After Elbow Surgery
Anthony Santander

Removed From ALCS Roster With Back Injury
Jackson Chourio

Aggravates Hamstring, Pulled Early in Game 3 of NLCS
Aaron Judge

Will Not Need Elbow Surgery
Anthony Volpe

Won't be Ready for Start of Next Season
Gerrit Cole

Won't be Ready for Opening Day Next Year
CFB

Jermod McCoy Officially Out for Alabama Matchup
CFB

Jam Miller Questionable to Face Tennessee
CFB

Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt Probable For Saturday
Anthony Volpe

Undergoes Left-Shoulder Surgery
CFB

Jayden Gibson No Longer with Oklahoma Program
Emmanuel Clase

to be Banished for Life After Gambling Allegations?
Alex Bregman

Plans to Opt Out of Contract With Red Sox

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP