Mariners: Kyle Lewis fantasy baseball advice

Kyle Lewis was one of the steals in fantasy baseball last year. The Mariners centerfielder was taken in the last round of the league I participated in and I still wonder to this day why I didn’t select him. So, to make sure that you don’t make the same mistake I did, we provide Kyle Lewis fantasy baseball advice.

Kyle Lewis fantasy baseball advice

Where is Kyle Lewis ranked this year?

Fantasy Pros is one of my favorite sites for fantasy preparation. They have Kyle Lewis ranked as the 146th overall fantasy player right behind Ryan Mountcastle and in front of Frankie Montas.

Some notable players in the area include Joey Gallo, Yasmani Grandal, Josh Donaldson, Gio Urshela, and Kevin Gausman????

Kyle was one of the best fantasy baseball players for the first couple of weeks but tapered off towards the end. So I can definitely understand why Fantasy Pros has him in the 100+.

But, rankings should never overrule your own gut feeling and Mariners fan bias for the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year.

Where is Kyle Lewis ranked among outfielders?

Among outfielders, Kyle is ranked 43rd. I feel like he is slightly undervalued again but if you take a step back, there are a lot of good outfielders out there in the league. Remember, for fantasy baseball, even if outfield isn’t a players primary position, they may have outfield eligibility. For example, Jeff McNeil, Whit Merrifield, and Cavan Biggio are considered outfielders due to past experiences.

In the rankings, outfielders like Wil Myers, Ramon Laureano and Alex Verdugo are well in front of him.  But I honestly think Lewis is better than all three of them. So, I think you should actually consider Kyle Lewis to be in the 30s.

When should you draft Kyle Lewis?

This question mostly depends on how many Mariners fans are in your fantasy league. If your league is full of Seattle fans, Kyle Lewis will be an extremely hot commodity because it’s Kyle.

If your league isn’t filled with Mariners fans, you will have a little more time to wait on the 2020 AL ROY. But at the same time, he is now nationally recognized so he won’t be as much of a sleeper pick like Marco Gonzales.

I think it is more than reasonable to reach for Kyle a couple of rounds before, just so you have him. He’s been solid in Spring Training thus far and had a great game against the White Sox the other day.

My recommendation would be to draft the Mariners center fielder or at least consider picking him  once you see Dominic Smith or Michael Brantley come off the board. Smith and Brantley are players that I both like, and are slightly ahead of Lewis on the rankings.

I doubt Smith or Brantley will fall, so they should give you a great indication of when the time is right for Kyle to join your team. But, if you are anxious and worried about how much longer Kyle will be on the draft board, always go for it before it’s too late. I don’t think Kyle Lewis will be an MVP candidate so as long as you don’t draft him in rounds 1-5, you can’t go wrong.

What to expect from Kyle Lewis this year

There has been a lot of talk about Kyle Lewis’ numbers and some websites say he will take a big step back this season. I’m not buying it; I’m staying on the Kyle Lewis hype even in fantasy baseball. Although fantasy baseball is very individual (you draft individual players), the team aspect is sort of overlooked.

A player’s supporting cast is very important for both pitchers and hitters in fantasy baseball. I think Kyle’s fantasy value is higher than last year because he has a better offensive support around him.

Why does a better support system make him more valuable? If Kyle gets on base often, he will score more runs (assuming his teammates will score him). If he hits in the middle of the order, he will drive in more runs (assuming more batters get on base). Another encouraging aspect of the Mariners is their emphasis on baserunning.

The staff has made it clear that they will steal a lot of bases again, which is another value adder for Kyle. Last season, he stole five bases so expect him to get at least 10 in 2021.

Whether Kyle Lewis has an off-year or another fantastic year, he is worthwhile to have on your team. He is the center of the Mariners organization and the spotlight will be on him. So far, all he has done is shine. It will be another fun year to watch Kyle perform, so make sure he’s on your fantasy team.