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Power Rankings Countdown: No. 25 Marlins still have something worth buying in fantasy despite bad roster

Editor’s note: We continue our countdown of how MLB’s 30 teams rank in terms of fantasy baseball assets. At No. 25, here’s Scott Pianowski’s snapshot of the Miami Marlins.

The key to Jonathan Villar is minding the gap between fantasy value and real-life value; he’s a much better player in our game about a game. But I don’t understand the Great Stolen Base Freakout of 2020; with bags disappearing, we need fewer of them to be competitive. I’m not dismissing Villar out of hand, but I’m not prioritizing him either, now that his 2019 breakthrough has been baked into his price. He also has the stress of a position switch, and obviously the ballpark change is a drag.

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Miami’s a dead-lock for last place in a deep division, but there’s always something worth buying on the bad rosters. Maybe it’s catcher Jorge Alfaro (Yahoo: 228), who has 18-homer power and some latent speed.

[Yahoo Rankings: Overall | C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP]

Corey Dickerson is well-traveled, despite batting .299 for Colorado, making an All-Star team in Tampa, and acquitting himself well in Pittsburgh and Philly last year. His career OPS+ is 119 (that’s a park-adjusted metric where 100 is average), and he’s been a plus hitter for six straight years. He’s not going to walk a ton, but he’ll put the ball in play. Look for contenders to keep an eye on him when trade season begins.

Miami Marlins projected lineup (Photo by Paul Rosales/Yahoo Sports)
Miami Marlins projected lineup (Photo by Paul Rosales/Yahoo Sports)

The raw skills of Caleb Smith and Sandy Alcantara put them on my streaming and DFS radar, but the stench of the roster makes me less interested as seasonal investments. The Marlins would love to see Brandon Kintzler rack up three months of saves, then hit the trade market — that was Sergio Romo’s angle last year. That’s worth a penny investment during the endgame.

Likely Buy/Fade: Alfaro and Dickerson; Smith.

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