Jake Burger

Burger didn't even make the Opening Day roster last year, but he ended up having a big impact for both the White Sox and Marlins. He finished second on the White Sox in home runs with 25 despite playing in only 88 games with the club. Burger added nine more long balls in 53 games with Miami following a deadline trade, finishing 15th in MLB with 34 homers in total. In a surprising twist, Burger cut his strikeout rate by nearly 10 percentage points following the move to South Beach, which lends some hope to the idea that he could be more than a one-dimensional slugger. Thanks in large part to the improved contact rate, he hit .303 with a 131 wRC+ in his small sample with Miami. Burger, the 11th overall pick in 2017, lost multiple years of development time due to two tears of his left Achilles' tendon. The health history has to be taken into account, but even with those concerns Burger has quite a bit of appeal as a third baseman/corner infielder in fantasy.

Burger spent another season on the CLT to MDW shuttle as he continues his efforts to stay healthy over the course of a full season. He has had absolutely rotten luck with injury as he has played just three professional seasons since being drafted in the June 2017 draft. Burger found himself in a complementary role with the White Sox on the short side of a platoon as he hit lefties 100 points better than righties with much better contact as well. The injuries were still there as he dealt with a hand/wrist bruise mid-summer. Burger's time in 2023 will come should Moncada continue his downward trend because DH is clogged by Jimenez. The limited path to playing time makes Burger draftable in solely 50-round draft and hold formats.

It's hard to overstate how impressive Burger's 2021 season was, given the context. He missed 2018 and 2019 while recovering from multiple Achilles injuries and only worked at the alternate training site in 2020. Since he was 25 and already on the 40-man roster, Burger was given an aggressive assignment to Triple-A after having never played above Low-A. The No. 11 overall pick in 2017 held his own, hitting .274/.332/.513 with 18 home runs in 82 games, good for a 122 wRC+. He was rewarded with a brief run in the majors in July, during which he hit .263/.333/.474 with one home run, a 115.2 maxEV and 60.9 Hard% in 23 batted-ball events. Burger's 0.26 BB/K at Triple-A and 35.7 K% in the majors are red flags, but it's not like he was going to be a flawless hitter in his first game action since 2017. At the very least, he established that he has a future in the majors, especially considering he improved his defense at third base from when he was drafted. He should head back to Triple-A to work on improving his approach, and an injury to any of a handful of players in the majors could result in him getting the call. His plus power, proximity and the possibility that he is still improving as a hitter make him an appealing player to hold in deeper dynasty leagues.

It's easy to look at the aptly surnamed Burger's body and question why he was the 11th player selected in the 2017 draft. The White Sox were able to sign him for $500,000 under slot, which allowed them to go way over slot with their next pick (Gavin Sheets), but in addition to being a bargain, he has some intriguing offensive tools and has surprised evaluators with his defense at third base. For a college bat, his approach was a little too pull heavy (48.7 percent), but he excelled at making contact (14 percent strikeout rate), so it's easy to buy into him posting relatively high batting averages as he moves up the ladder. His top tool is his plus power, and he hit five home runs in his first taste of pro ball, which is notable considering the two college corner infielders who went ahead of him (Brendan McKay and Pavin Smith) combined for four home runs. The ingredients are here for a third baseman who hits 25-to-30 home runs with a .275 average. He should arrive in 2019 or 2020.