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

Kris Bryant Signs With Colorado Rockies - Fantasy Baseball Impact

The Colorado Rockies signed Kris Bryant to a seven-year contract ahead of the 2022 season. What is the fantasy baseball impact and his draft outlook?

Kris Bryant was one of the biggest names on the free-agent market in the 2021-2022 offseason, and the lockout caused a major delay in his signing.

Things finally got figured out on Wednesday, when the Rockies inked Bryant to a huge seven-year deal that included a no-trade clause. This was a bit of a surprise move, as most people figured on Bryant ending up on a contending team that did not just recently let another franchise third baseman walk away, but here we are.

Any time a hitter goes to Colorado, the fantasy impact is enormous. Let's talk about it.

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

 

Kris Bryant's Up and Down Career

It seemed like Bryant was going to be a top-five hitter in the game after his first couple of seasons, but the road has been a bumpy one since then. Since 2017, he has been more of a "good" hitter than a "great" one, as he has not been able to repeat the .900+

The fantasy results were actually pretty strong in 2021, and they may have been going overlooked before this signing. Bryant split time between the Cubs and Giants, two less-than-friendly home ballparks, and hit .265/.353/.481 with 25 homers, 73 RBI, and 10 steals. That's a very useful fantasy season, but Bryant's recent lackluster performances had his draft stock heading in the wrong direction. That should not be the case anymore.

 

The Coors Impact

Since professional baseball has been played in Colorado, their home stadium has been the most hitter-friendly park in the league. If you are reading fantasy baseball articles online, you already know this. The thin air results in batted balls carrying longer and further, which made the designers move the fences further back than a normal park, which made for a massive outfield.

Coors Field is good for home runs, to be sure, but the biggest effect is on batting average and slugging percentage. Here is a visual of batting average broken down by batted ball type and stadium.


What you see there is a big boost in the expected batting average when a ball is hit in Coors Field vs. the rest of the league. You see that the biggest difference is in fly balls. The league batting average on fly balls in Coors is .331, so basically you have a one-third chance of getting a hit if you hit a fly ball. Elsewhere, that number is way down at .279. That's pretty staggering and will result in Kris Bryant racking up hits at a higher rate this season.

Looking at slugging percentage, we see more of the same.

Hitters slugging percentages went up nearly 40 points on line drives and almost one-hundred(!) points on fly balls. Coors benefits fly-ball hitters the most. Last season, Bryant hit 38% of his batted balls on the ground, six points better than the league average of 44%. That's a good sign, and there's little doubt that he will prioritize repeating or even improving on that in 2021 given his new home park.

 

Projection Change

Before the signing, ATC had Bryant projected for a .265/.353/.481 slash line with 25 homers and 73 RBI. The move to Coors Field should boost that batting average projection at least 10 points, and the OBP and SLG projections should come up significantly as well. I'm not sure homers and RBI should move much, given that Coors doesn't help a ton with homers and the Rockies lineup in front of Bryant is pretty pathetic.

My new projection would be something like .278/.365/.505 with 27 homers and 75 RBI, which makes Bryant a top-five option at the hot corner for the 2022 season.



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 Offseason Moves




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

Pete Fairbanks

Picks Up Fourth Save On Thursday
Carlos Estévez

Carlos Estevez Picks Up Save On Thursday
Corbin Burnes

Picks Up Eight Strikeouts In Thursday Start
MacKenzie Gore

Strikes Out Eight In Loss On Thursday
Cade Povich

Picks Up Win On Thursday
Bobby Witt Jr.

Scores Three Runs, Steals A Base On Thursday
Alex Bregman

Homers In Loss To Seattle
Mike Yastrzemski

Homers, Drives In Two On Thursday
Salvador Perez

Notches Four Doubles, Four RBI In Thursday Doubleheader
Jordan Beck

Homers Three Times On Thursday
Jameson Williams

Lions Didn't Entertain Trade Offers For Jameson Williams
Dalton Rushing

Homers In Four-Hit Game
Qadir Ismail

Raiders Sign Qadir Ismail
New York Giants

Giants Plan To Exercise Kayvon Thibodeaux's Fifth-Year Option
Russell Wilson

Will Be Giants Starting Quarterback
Max Muncy

With A Pair Of Doubles Back At Triple-A
Michael Lorenzen

Tosses Quality Start
Kansas City Chiefs

Chiefs Close Out The First Round With Josh Simmons
Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles Trade Up One Spot In First Round To Select Jihaad Campbell
A.J. Puk

Likely To Miss Multiple Months
Marquis Grissom Jr.

Notches Fifth Save At Double-A
Buffalo Bills

Bills Address Secondary And Take Maxwell Hairston With 30th Overall Pick
Félix Bautista

Felix Bautista Records Third Save
NFL

Eagles, Chiefs Swap First-Round Picks
Washington Commanders

Josh Conerly Jr. Goes At No. 29 Overall To Commanders

Giants Trade Up For Jaxson Dart At No. 25
Detroit Lions

Tyleik Williams Taken By Lions At No. 28 Overall
Shane Smith

Tosses Five Shutout Frames
Roman Anthony

With Home Run No. 5 On Thursday
Baltimore Ravens

Ravens Go With Malaki Starks At No. 27 Overall In NFL Draft
Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Takes Donovan Jackson No. 24 Overall
NFL

Rams Trade The 26th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Falcons
Andrés Muñoz

Andres Munoz Secures Ninth Save
Atlanta Falcons

Falcons Trade Back Into First Round To Draft James Pearce Jr. At No. 26 Overall

Matthew Golden Selected No. 23 Overall By Green Bay
NFL

Texans Trade The 25th Pick In The 2025 NFL Draft To The Giants
Jakob Marsee

Up To 18 Steals At Triple-A

Omarion Hampton Taken No. 22 Overall By Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Selects Derrick Harmon At No. 21 Overall
Denver Broncos

Broncos Build Secondary By Selecting Jahdae Barron At No. 20

Buccaneers Add Emeka Egbuka At No. 19
Jeff McNeil

Activated From Injured List
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Isaiah Stewart

Remains Out For Game 3
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Linus Ullmark

Attempts To Overcome Playoff Struggles Thursday
Anthony Cirelli

A Game-Time Call Thursday
Logan Thompson

Comes Up Big In Game 2
Connor McMichael

Strikes Twice In Wednesday's Win
Anze Kopitar

Tallies Four Points In Game 2 Victory
Adrian Kempe

Notches Two Goals, Two Assists In Wednesday's Win
Tyler Seguin

Gives Stars Series Lead With Overtime Winner
Gabriel Landeskog

Delivers Six Hits In First Game Since 2022
Tyler Herro

Scores Game-High 33 Points In Wednesday's Loss
Donovan Mitchell

Fires In 30 Points In Game 2 Win
Paolo Banchero

Notches 32 Points In Game 2 Loss
Jaylen Brown

Posts 36-Point Double-Double Wednesday
Jalen Green

Erupts For 38 Points In Game 2 Victory
Brandin Podziemski

Limited To 14 Minutes Wednesday
Jimmy Butler III

Set For MRI Thursday
Brandin Podziemski

Upgraded To Available
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Michael Porter Jr.

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Davion Mitchell

Moves Into Starting Lineup Wednesday
Brandin Podziemski

Picks Up Questionable Tag
Al Horford

Starts Game 2
Michael Porter Jr.

Practices On Wednesday
Jayson Tatum

Out On Wednesday
Isaiah Stewart

May Miss Another Game Thursday
NYI

Cal Clutterbuck Announces Retirement
Pavel Zacha

Recovering From Small Procedure
Nikolaj Ehlers

To Miss At Least Two More Games
Miro Heiskanen

Still Out On Wednesday
John Klingberg

Enters Oilers Lineup For Game 2
Evander Kane

To Make Season Debut Wednesday Night
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Posts Team-High 26 Points In Tuesday's Loss
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Notches 27 Points Despite Poor Shooting
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Pascal Siakam

Scores Team-High 24 Points In Game 2 Win
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF