Fantasy Baseball - Yordan Alvarez vs. J.D. Martinez

Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don debate which player they would rather have on their fantasy baseball team this season and why.

Video Transcript

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: You know, I was checking the Yahoo staff rankings for outfielders. I just about spit up my soup when I saw that JD Martinez was ranked below Yordan Álvarez on the Dalton Del Don cheat sheet. So we got to have a throwdown about this.

I know the Red Sox lost Betts, and it sounds like Sale's hurt, and maybe it's a down year for Boston. They still have Xander Bogaerts, they still have Rafael Devers, they still have Fenway Park, and they have JD Martinez with a track record. This guy has been good for several years in a row. All Álvarez has done is been outstanding for half a year and get exposed a little bit in the playoffs.

I think you want to bank on a commodity you know. I think track record means a lot with those premium picks. I can't draft Álvarez before JD Martinez. Explain yourself, Dalton.

DALTON DEL DON: Well, I have to note that Álvarez right now is dealing with some knee issues, but he's been dealing with that throughout his career. And JD Martinez is 10 years older and he has chronic back issues himself. Both are full time DHs in real baseball which should help them stay healthy, yet they're both outfield eligible on Yahoo formats, which is huge.

So I hear you, it's a little crazy to have Air Yordan ranked a spot ahead of Martinez, especially since in ADP Martinez is a round costlier. But Álvarez hit .343 with 23 homers in just 56 games in Triple A. Then when he joined the Astros, he posted a better WRC+. That's a fancy way of weighing a player's true hitting value. It's league and park adjusted.

And only Mike Trout posted a better number in the Major Leagues than Álvarez. The StatCast numbers absolutely love him too. They're eye-popping. The Astros lineup is projected to score the most runs this year. He should hit in the middle of that. He's a special hitter with unreal raw power, and to me it's just insane that he's not costing a first round fantasy pick.

SCOTT PIANOWSKI: I'm just worried that pitchers will have a better attack for Álvarez. They've seen him a few times. And it's just unrealistic to apply what he's already done. Now granted, he can regress a fair amount and still be really good. But the second year worries me when a player doesn't even have a full Major League season under his belt.

DALTON DEL DON: I get it, he's riskier. A lower floor. But Air Yordan for me, he could just totally win your fantasy league for you as a third round pick. I mean, he could approach a Triple Crown. I mean, the upside, it's through the roof.