With one week to go until the 2022 MLB All-Star game, who will be playing in primetime is front of mind for a lot of baseball fans. While there are not any fantasy baseball ramifications to it, MLB All-Star snubs are a popular debate these days in the latest MLB news. One player who appears at the top of just about all of these lists (and rightfully so) is Freddie Freeman. It would have been a home game for the former MVP with the Los Angeles Dodgers acting as the hosts. Given the circumstances, it is a good time to take a look at how Freeman has performed over the first three months of his career with the Dodgers. Has he lived up to his pre-season fantasy baseball rankings and average draft position? What are some MLB projections and expectations for Freeman moving forward? More concisely, was Freeman worth a second-round pick for fantasy baseball lineups before this season? Let's answer those questions and more in the latest Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight.

 

 

Freddie Freeman Fantasy Baseball Player Spotlight

 

 

There was a lot of buzz surrounding Freeman this offseason when he signed on with the Dodgers following a World Series title with the Braves. That all resurfaced a few weeks ago when he visited Atlanta for the first time since, but all we care about here is his fantasy impact. It likely cost a second-round pick to acquire him before this season as his NFBC ADP was 18th overall during fantasy baseball drafts. Was it worth it? 

The quick answer here is going to be no, but that also takes my bias and draft philosophy into account and is for another day. If we want to be fair and look at Freeman’s overall body of work, it is hard to argue with what we have gotten from him through the first 85 games of the season. 

If you were looking to argue with that statement, however, the starting point would be Freeman’s 11 home runs. After hitting 31 home runs last season and 38 in 2019, the first baseman is capable of more. His .190 ISO is not far off from last season’s .203, but it is a far cry from the .255 and .290 we saw in the two years prior. 

Even if Freeman ends the season closer to 20 home runs, how critical are those 10 to 15 home runs that we are left to make up? But is there hope that he picks up the pace over the remainder of the season?

After hitting four home runs in the first two months of the season, Freeman went deep five times in June and already has two home runs to begin July. There is no reason not to expect it to continue. 

From a Statcast perspective, Freeman is still doing everything right and it fits perfectly with his career profile:

  • Average Exit Velocity – 91.4 miles per hour
  • Launch Angle – 14 degrees
  • Barrel Rate – 10.6%
  • Hard Hit Rate – 47.1%

With that being said, it should not be a surprise that Freeman is hitting .304 with 55 runs scored and 54 RBI as a force in the middle of Los Angeles’ lineup. It is just another standard season with Freeman showing up in the upper percentile in all of his batted ball metrics and, ultimately, there is nothing to worry about here. If we are truly concerned about five to seven home runs from Freeman, and maybe a few RBI (although he only drove in 83 runs last season), then I am thinking you are pretty lucky overall. 

With all of the injuries and poor performances across the league, everyone’s problems should be as worse as Freeman’s. After all, his skill set is stable at a high level and comes along with a track record of elite success. Plus, Freeman hits in the middle of one of the best lineups in baseball. 

And while we can’t count on it, Freeman has stolen seven bases so far this season which certainly provides a nice bonus. With a career-high of 10 steals, Freeman often contributes with his legs which makes him an asset compared to the rest of the first base pool. Getting those stolen bases has proven to be a nice plus. 

While I would not have drafted Freeman in the second round of drafts, it is hard to argue with the results thus far. Either way, there's no denying that he's worthy of a spot in the 2022 MLB All-Star Game.

 

 

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