Seattle Mariners: Kyle Seager fantasy baseball advice

There’s been plenty of Kyle Seager talk over the last year or so, most of which revolves around whether he should be traded or not.

That’s going to make up part of this, but we are going to focus on something else for today. What kind of fantasy baseball value does Kyle Seager have for the 2021 season? I don’t know about you, but it’s always nice having someone from the team that I root for on my fantasy baseball team as well.

Seager has had some nice seasons throughout the years, and now, as he approaches his age 33 season, we need to take a look and see what he’s got left in the tank.

Kyle Seager fantasy baseball advice and potential fantasy impact

It seems like a lot of fans are worried that Kyle Seager isn’t worth his deal (okay, maybe that’s just jackwad Kevin Mather), or that he is outside the Mariners’ window to contend. That second part may be true. The first part definitely isn’t. Taking a low-end value-added per win, he has still come in WAY ahead of what the contract amounts to. He’s made $81.5 million over six years from this deal so far while providing $137.2 million over that time. ($7 million per WAR is a low estimate.)

This isn’t about whether Kevin Mather was wrong in what he said (he was), but it’s providing some context for his value, especially when it comes to fantasy baseball. We will continue to use the numbers from the fine folks at Fantasy Pros for our rankings since combining sites is always helpful. Let’s take a trip down memory lane too.

Where is Kyle Seager ranked?

Really? I’m gonna have to disagree a bit with them, as they have him ranked at 233rd overall. Part of this might come from his sole eligibility at third. What it comes down to is how you think his batting average is going to perform this year. With a strong average with his normal production elsewhere, he could be ranked higher.

Where is Kyle Seager ranked amongst the third baseman?

He’s down as the 31st ranked third-base eligible player this year. Again, this seems crazy. We will get into it quite a bit more at the end. Let’s move on before I get too worked up. Ian Happ, teammate Dylan Moore, and Miguel Sano slot in the three spots above him.

Who is going to get drafted around Kyle Seager?

I let you know those that are position eligible around him, but that isn’t always as helpful when it comes to actual draft position. In fact, those three listed above come in around 70 spots ahead of Seager, at 164,163, and 161, respectively.

Instead, you would want to keep an eye out for David Fletcher, Tony Gonsolin, and Brian Anderson. They all sit around 10 spots ahead of Seager and are some of the better-known names that people would trend towards in that area.

Should I draft Kyle Seager for my fantasy baseball team?

Seager’s glove was a bit off last year, but that doesn’t matter in standard fantasy. We want runs, RBI, HR, BA, and SB. Guess what? He is going to give you value across the board, with the big dependency coming down to batting average.

Through 41 games last year, Seager was batting .283. He fell into a slump as the season finished. Swings go down and back up though, so you can’t say that he was also “just” a .241 hitter. I’d project him more likely to his average of .256 for his career. On the positive side, let’s give him .260.

We know he is good for 20+ HR, having done so every year since getting the gig in 2013. He was on pace for 24 last year. Positive again, I’m projecting 25 HR. He found a burst of speed last year, stealing five bags, putting him on pace to tie his career-high of 13. I don’t think he gets there, especially at his age, but getting around eight is completely reasonable to expect. Especially because the Mariners will be aggressive on the basepaths again this year.

With a younger, aggressive, and more talented team around Seager, I would think the runs and RBI are going to be a strong number as well. From 2014-2017 he averaged 79 R and 89 RBI. There is no doubt in my mind he is capable of the mid-’70s and mid-’80s there.

.260 BA, 25 HR, 75 R, 85 RBI, 8 SB. That’s going to put him into the low 100’s overall, and I have a lot of confidence that Seager has a lot of life left in him, whether it’s to show he wants to stick around and retire as a Mariner or get traded to a contender.

When it comes down to it, I say yes. Look for him somewhere around the mid-teens for the third baseman, near Ke’Bryan Hayes, Alec Bohm, and Kris Bryant. That will give him around 10th-12th round value in a standard 12 team league.

But as always, read the market. Do you have a lot of Mariners fans in your league? Are there lots of third basemen left on the board? All good questions to consider. Stay tuned for more fantasy-related pieces like this Kyle Seager fantasy baseball advice article.