Braves Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Don’t Sleep On Ozzie Albies

Atlanta Braves fans know exactly what they can expect from Ozzie Albies when he is right, but is he being undervalued in fantasy baseball by some going into 2021?

Fantasy baseball season is right around the corner and we are back with another article previewing an Atlanta Braves player for the upcoming fantasy season. Today, we look at the exciting 2nd baseman, Ozzie Albies.

Fantasy Pro’s ADP: 32

2020 stats: .271/.306/.466 6 HRs, 21 Rs, 19 RBIs, 3 SBs, and 103 wrc+

162-game pace: 16.2 HRs, 56.7 Rs, 51.3 RBIs, 8.1 SBs

2021 ZiPs projection: .286/.335/.506 28 HRs, 105 Rs, 91 RBIs, 18 SBs, and 114 wrc+.

The 2020 season stat line looks worse than it really is because Albies missed a month with a wrist injury. Missing one month of a two month season really brings down the counting stats for the 162-game pace.

While he did bounce back nicely in the NLCS, it looks like the injury riddled season may have caused people to forget exactly who Albies is.

Albies is not the 10th best 2B in baseball. He is easily in the top three and has a strong case as the best 2B in the entire game.

For fantasy baseball purposes, a healthy Albies is an elite option at a shallow position.

In standard 12 team leagues, Albies is currently averaging around a late 3rd to early 4th round pick. There are some leagues where he is falling into the late 4th or even the early 5th.

At that price, Albies has the potential to be a steal in drafts. There is a reason Albies is a top 20 dynasty asset in fantasy baseball.

The power/speed combination that Albies possesses makes him super valuable in categories and roto leagues. When he is on, he can contribute to a variety of categories that can help fantasy owners find success in their leagues.

Albies could easily hit .280+ with an .850 OPS and add in 25+ HRs, 15+ SBs, and 200+ runs and RBI. If he comes anywhere close to the ZiPS projection mentioned earlier in the article, he will provide a great return on investment. Regardless of whether he was a 3rd round pick or if he was a 5th rounder.

There is only one concern with Albies for fantasy purposes and that is that he could have a lower walk rate and thus a lower OBP than one would like. The hope is that as Albies gets older, he will become more patient and eventually start raising his OBP.

This could also be helped by pitchers beginning to be more cautious with Albies at the plate and being careful with what pitches they throw him. We know that Albies can be dangerous at the plate, and some of the advanced metrics on his baseball savant page backs it up.

Ozzie Albies career (league average in parenthesis):

Sweet Spot %: 35.5% (32.8%)
xBA: .266 (.243)
xSLG: .441 (.402)
wOBA: .339 (.318)
xwOBA: .326 (.312)

However, Albies figures to hit somewhere in between Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna, and the rest of the Braves dangerous lineup. Meaning he will probably see some good pitches to hit.

It also provides Albies with the opportunity to potentially put up some nice runs and RBI totals in 2021.

Albies can handle himself at the plate. With a strong Braves lineup around him, it only increases his fantasy value because of his ability to increase his counting stats going forward.

Albies looks poised for a big 2021.

If Albies can stay healthy, it is possible we could be looking at him taking another step forward in 2021. We already know how good he can be, just imagine if he takes the next step in his development and becomes more consistent at the plate.

Albies’ fantasy value is increased some due to 2B being a wasteland for fantasy baseball purposes. However, we know that Ozzie Albies is one of the best, if not the best, second baseman in all of fantasy baseball and baseball in general.