2025 Fantasy Baseball: Cody Bellinger Profile, Preview, Predictions
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A short right-field porch and a more confident power stroke by Cody Bellinger could lead to an elite home runs season with the Yankees. Over the past two seasons, he's done an excellent job cutting down his strikeouts, leading to more at-bats just trying to put the ball in play. Swing for the fences, my friend. New York is YOUR KIND of TOWN.
This @Cody_Bellinger home run is brought to you by CUBS FANS.#YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/zzlEqejRXa
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 3, 2024
1B – Cody Bellinger, NYY (ADP – 106.2
Since his breakout season in 2019 (.305/121/47/115/15), Bellinger has been a losing fantasy invested almost every year. He played well in 2023, but 32 missed games stole some shine off his overall production. Last year, rib and finger injuries led to two stints on the injured list and another 32 games on the sidelines.
From May 7th to July 10th, Bellinger hit .285 over 228 at-bats with weakness in his counting stats (29 runs, four home runs, 20 RBIs, and five home runs). His bat came around over the final third of the season (.260/33/9/41/4 over 204 at-bats). He handled himself well vs. left-handed pitching (.298 with 24 runs, four home runs, and 32 RBIs over 161 at-bats).
Over the past two years, Bellinger regained his plate coverage, highlighted by his improved strikeout rate (15.6). He finished 2024 with about a league-average walk rate (7.9). From 2017 to 2020, his walk rate (12.4) was an area of strength. Bellinger continues to have a fly-ball swing path (46.1), but his HR/FB rate (9.0) was the lowest of his career and well below his peak in 2019 (24.6%). Based on his fading exit velocity (87.8 mph) and hard-hit rate (32.4), he traded contact for power over the past two seasons.
Fantasy Outlook: Bellinger comes into this year with dual eligibility (1B and OF) while now playing in a left-handed power-favoring ballpark. In essence, he is playing in a contract year (player option in 2026 for $25 million). Based on his play over the past two seasons, Bellinger has the profile of a 90/24/95/16 player with 550 at-bats. Hitting behind Aaron Judge should lead to a spike in overall RBI chances (he hasn’t had more than 400 RBI chances since 2019). The bet on Bellinger is that he offers a balanced skill set in five categories while understanding that he could surprise in power. In fantasy baseball, there is something to be said for drafting a player one-off an elite bat. Keep an open mind with his potential and hope for a healthy season.
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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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