There's a simple reason why fantasy managers care so much about Kansas City Royals SS Adalberto Mondesi. When healthy and when he's performing well, this is one of the best players in fantasy baseball. Few can match Mondesi at his top level. He carried fantasy managers to championships last September by hitting .356/.408/.667 with six home runs, 20 RBI and 16 stolen bases over 24 games. Yes, we overlooked the fact that he is brittle and possesses barely a shred of plate discipline because the numbers, put very simply, were amazing.
Ask me where to rank Mondesi for the 2022 season and I cannot give you a strong, confident answer -- because one can make a case for just about any answer. A first-round statistical talent surely lurks. We saw it back in 2018 when he hit 14 home runs and stole 32 bases in less than half of a season. He swiped 43 bags the next year, though he missed 60 games. The first month of the truncated 2021 campaign was surely a disaster, but then he was the best player in fantasy in the second month. Where is my shrug emoji?
