5 Players Who Get an Underrated Fantasy Boost on Their New Team

5 Players Who Get an Underrated Fantasy Boost on Their New Team

Drew Epstein

4/2/22

Zack Greinke- Royals SP

Greinke is going back to Kansas City on a 1-year $13M contract where he started his career and won the 2009 Cy Young Award. It seems few people are talking about this and the benefit this can have on his 2022 season. At age 38, Greinke is certainly getting up there in age, but he's been serviceable at worst up until this point. At his best, he was one of the best pitchers in the league but it's probably safe to assume those days are over. This is a good chance for Greinke to return to where the bulk of his career was played and pitch in a great pitcher’s ballpark. Last season he was 11-6 with a 4.16 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 120 strikeouts. Greinke has been named the Royals opening day starter and if he uses this chance to produce similar numbers to what he was able to do last year, he’ll be a solid middle-of-the-rotation fantasy starter with the benefit of a massive ballpark upgrade. 

Anthony Rizzo- Yankees 1B

Before missing time with covid last year Rizzo had been great following his deadline trade to the Yankees. He then re-signed with them on a 2-year $32M contract. This is another underrated move because the Yankees had seemingly been in on both Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman to cover 1B, so Rizzo re-signing was a bit of a disappointment to many. Now that covid issues should be well behind him and he'll get a chance to hit in Yankee Stadium for a full season, Rizzo could be in for a much bigger season than people realize. He is still a very good hitter and could be looking to prove the Yankees made the right decision bringing him back. He also has an opt-out in his contract following this season so he'll be motivated to put up big numbers in order to find himself a bigger contract. 

Corey Knebel- Phillies RP

Knebel signed a 1-year $10M contract with the Phillies after spending time with the Dodgers in 2021. The only issue Knebel has ever really had is the number of injuries he's dealt with over his career. Last season with Los Angeles summed it up with his line of 4-0, 2.45 ERA, but he only was able to pitch in 27 games due to a lat strain. If Knebel is the closer for the Phillies, which manager Joe Girardi suggested he will be, he will have a huge fantasy boost with his new team. With the Dodgers last year, Knebel only had 3 saves so if he's the full-time closer in Philly, that would be very beneficial for his fantasy owners. This would put him in a position to be one of the game’s better closers in 2022 if he can just figure out how to stay healthy. Of course, there is a risk in betting on him to do that. 

Clint Frazier- Cubs OF

Clint Frazier is the poster boy for needing a fresh start. Once a top prospect, he just never seemed to fit in with the Yankees and playing in New York. He had also dealt with injury after injury and it has just been apparent the Yankees were going to need to move on. Once they did, Frazier signed a 1-year $1M deal with the Cubs where he will look to have an everyday opportunity in their outfield. Frazier even said it himself: “I feel like I’m playing baseball for the first time,” “I felt like I was in a reality TV show the last 5 years in New York with all the drama and how much news reporters were constantly following. It just feels good to come over here and focus on baseball for the first time”. There is no doubt about it, Frazier can hit. He has put together a solid spring training and will be playing his games in a good hitters park in Wrigley. It will be very interesting to see what kind of numbers Frazier can put together with a fresh start he obviously needed. 

Jon Gray- Rangers SP

Jon Gray signed a 4-year $56M deal with the Rangers this winter. This is huge news for his stock as a fantasy starter as he's finally getting out of Colorado where few pitchers succeed. Many people have said for years that Gray would breakout as a top of the rotation starter if he were to leave the Rockies and now we get to find out. Even pitching in the high altitude of Colorado, Gray pitched to an ERA of just under five over 829 innings in his career which isn't terrible for a Rockies pitcher. If he’s able to bring that number down as expected, Gray could be one of the better value starting pitchers in fantasy baseball this season. It's almost impossible to see him not benefiting from this move to Texas.