2025 Fantasy Baseball: Christian Encarnacion-Strand Profile, Preview, Predictions
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After an injury-plagued season, the fantasy market had tapered back their opinion on Christian Encarnacion-Strand's bat based on his more favorable ADP in the early draft season. His high power ceiling makes him a player to fight for in drafts in 2025.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand hits this out for the lead. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/JNJvclCvb5
— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2024
1B – Christian Encarnacion-Strand, CIN (ADP – 227.4)
The Twins drafted Encarnacion-Strand in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft after an excellent season at Oklahoma State (.361/47/15/66/4 over 227 at-bats).
His bat shined in 2022 between High A and AA (.304 with 76 runs, 32 home runs, 114 RBIs, and eight steals over 484 at-bats). The following year, Encarnacion-Strand was even better over 278 at-bats at AAA (.331/65/20/62/2), earning him a chance with Big Red Machine. His power stats (13 home runs and 37 RBIs) held form over 222 at-bats, but he had a spike in his strikeout rate (28.6%) compared to his minor league career (21.8% at AAA, 25.0 at AA, and 25.8 at High A).
In 2022 and 2023, Encarnacion-Strand had strength in his average hit rate (1.929) in the minors with an elite contact batting average (.430). His RBI rate (17) with Cincinnati graded well, with only slight pullbacks in his AVH (1.767) and CTBA (.392).
Last season, Encarnacion-Strand saw his season end in early May with a right wrist injury, followed by ligament surgery in June. When on the field, his bat offered losing fantasy stats (.190/13/2/16 over 116 at-bats), with weakness in his strikeout rate (28.5).
His hard-hit rate (48.4 – 49th), exit velocity (90.3 – 99th), and launch angle (18.6 – 43rd) checked the explosive boxes for power in 2023. Encarnacion-Strand has had an HR/FB rate (22.0%) with the Reds before last season.
Fantasy Outlook: I’m sticking with my 2024 outlook for him this year: The Reds need a cleanup batter in the worst way, and Encarnacion-Strand’s bat screams put me in coach. His minor-league approach is strong enough to give Cincinnati what they need in power while not being a trainwreck swing-and-miss bat. When putting the ball in play, his contact batting average grades him as an elite player, supported by his Statcast metrics. At the very least, he is a .270 hitter with 80 runs, 30 home runs, and 90 RBIs, and I expect him to get 500 at-bats. If you don’t see him as a value fantasy option, someone just picked your pocket.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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