Seattle Mariners: Dylan Moore fantasy baseball advice

We are here with another fantasy baseball breakdown. Today, we look at the versatile Mariners infielder Dylan Moore.

D-Moore was a huge surprise for M’s fans last season and we have high expectations for him in 2021. So, how should you look at Dylan from a fantasy perspective?

Dylan Moore fantasy baseball advice

Where does Dylan Moore rank?

According to Fantasy Pros, Dylan Moore is the 164th ranked player among all players and positions. Something to keep in mind, Moore is listed as a 2B, 3B, SS, and OF on Fantasy Pros (it may not reflect ESPN and Yahoo’s position eligibility).

Marco Gonzales is right before him as the 163rd ranked fantasy player. For context, Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud is ranked 159th. Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner is ranked 161st. Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen is ranked 168th. And Angels pitcher/DH Shohei Ohtani is ranked 170th.

Now, let’s go down the list position by position.

Among second baseman, Dylan Moore is the 13th ranked player! That’s super good and exciting! Over the years, Mariners players have become more and more irrelevant in fantasy baseball so it is good to see D-Moore getting some respect and representing Seattle. He is right behind Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres and right in front of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Blue Jays.

At third base, Moore is a lot further down the list, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. There are just way too many good hitting third basemen around the league. Moore is the 28th ranked third baseman behind Miguel Sano, and in front of Ian Happ.

At shortstop, Dylan is the 24th ranked player behind Jonathan Villar and in front of Jean Segura. I think Moore could be ranked a bit higher but there are a handful of good shortstops in the late 10’s.

And finally, in the outfield, Dylan Moore’s fantasy value is ranked 53rd.

All this to say, it really doesn’t matter where Moore ranks among specific positions, because he is ranked pretty well in the overall rankings. As you might notice, I went down a long list of positions he is eligible for (in Fantasy Pros). In any type of fantasy sports, position flexibility is a huge deal.

Arguably, Dylan Moore’s value should be higher because of his versatility (I don’t know if Fantasy Pros takes that into account or not).

Especially in fantasy baseball where you want to fill your roster out every single day, having a guy like Moore helps move players around to ensure you maximize your players. You hate that feeling when you have two to three players sitting on your bench because you don’t have enough position flexibility. So, here is your reminder to draft players with multiple position eligibility.

When should you draft Dylan Moore?

That’s a good transition into when you should draft D-Moore. Dylan Moore is the second-highest ranked Mariners player in Fantasy Pros. Kyle Lewis is the highest as the 144th. I think a good time to draft D-Moore is right after Kyle Lewis comes off the board.

Something to keep in mind, Dylan Moore is not as well known as the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year. Moore could very easily fall in the draft if you are participating in a non-Mariners fan league.

I could imagine Kyle Lewis going earlier than his draft value, so some better players to look for might be Max Kepler, Tommy Edman, and Ian Happ. Once those names start to go, D-Moore should be your next pick immediately. Honestly, I think Moore might even come off the board before the three players I just named, who are ranked higher than Dylan.

For me, Kepler, Edman, and Happ aren’t all that special in fantasy baseball.

What to expect from Dylan Moore this year

There is a little bit of risk with drafting Dylan Moore, because he had a breakout season last year. That can mean one of two things: 1) he is trending upwards, 2) last year was a fluke.

Although there is an inherent risk, if you are a Mariners fan like me, I would think you have faith in Dylan. It’s not like D-Moore was flat-out lucky last year either. His advanced metrics were pretty good on Baseball Savant.

He was in the 89th percentile for barrel percentage and the 77th percentile for exit velocity. In addition, his sprint speed was in the 71st percentile last year.

It’s no secret that Dylan has a combination of speed and pop. He won’t hit 30 home runs this year (or will he?), but he will give you plenty of support in other categories.

The human swiss army knife will give you a solid batting average, great OBP, and lots of stolen bases. And in the event that he doesn’t churn out 2020 numbers, Dylan will still get ample playtime to give you modest numbers. It won’t be a situation where he gets relegated to the bench and becomes completely useless in fantasy baseball.

One last thing to note, Dylan Moore finished in the 26th percentile for strikeout percentage. If you are playing in a points league, sometimes strikeouts deduct a point. So, as valuable as Dylan might be, he may offset some of his offensive output with high strikeouts.

But overall, Dylan Moore is a great fantasy asset. I think you should have him as a high-priority Mariners player to draft this season.

Stay tuned for more Mariners fantasy baseball breakdowns.