#Aaron Judge, Yoenis Cespedes among fantasy baseball’s draft-board risers

By Howard Bender, Fantasy Alarm

Preparing for the 60-game sprint to a fantasy baseball championship is going to be a lot more difficult than most realize. With so many access restrictions to MLB’s spring training 2.0 , there is a greater sense of disconnect to normal spring coverage. Some beat writers are able to report on the action, but things haven’t been this quiet since the days leading up to the internet boom.

But some coverage is better than nothing and those who still need to draft or those already looking to their waiver wire are digging deep for news and turning to the limited mock drafts as a way to gauge which players warrant the early attention. Tracking those players who are rising in average draft position (ADP) should give you somewhat of a head start.

The easy ones to spot are players such as Aaron Judge and Yoenis Cespedes. Neither was expected to be ready for the start of the season and both look as if they could be in the lineup for Opening Day.

Judge’s rib injury and collapsed lung have healed and as of this past week, he was not only taking full cuts in the batting cage but was also in the lineup for the Yankees’ intrasquad games. Though we haven’t seen the moonshots we are used to, seeing him climb up draft boards in mock drafts means the rest of the world is encouraged by the progress.

Cespedes may not be at the same place as Judge right now, but his ever-increasing ADP indicates most believe he can be a full-time fantasy asset within a few short weeks. The latest reports don’t have him running at full-speed just yet, as he continues to work himself back into shape after double-heel surgery, but the implementation of the DH in the National League puts him closer to being in the lineup daily. He’s gone from being completely undrafted to a late-round grab.

Other intriguing ADP risers can be found both in Colorado, as outfielder Sam Hilliard grabs fantasy owners’ attention, and in Washington, with word that rookie Carter Kieboom will be the team’s starting third baseman. Hilliard is looking at full-time at-bats in a favorable home park with Ian Desmond opting out and Charlie Blackmon recovering from COVID-19. His recent ADP numbers have him now as a mid- to late-round option, but given his power/speed potential, he could climb even higher.

Though most fantasy owners seem to be shying away from the rookies right now, as many teams are reluctant to start the arbitration clock on their youngsters during this oddball season, but manager Dave Martinez seems to have full confidence that this kid can be a lasting figure at the hot corner. Even better for fantasy purposes is that Kieboom walks in with shortstop eligibility, which means within the first two weeks of this truncated season, he will have multi-position eligibility.

Using ADP as a substitute for rankings may be wrong, but gathering as much data for public perception is still likely your best bet. Limited camp coverage makes it difficult, but piecing any and all data right now is all you’ve got.

Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at Fantasy-Alarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 5-7 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball advice.