2025 Fantasy Baseball: TJ Friedl Profile, Preview, Predictions
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Injuries have been an issue for TJ Friedl in his time with the Cincinnati Reds. When on the field, he has been productive in four categories, putting him in the risk/reward category.
TJ FRIEDL SOLO HOME RUN!!! pic.twitter.com/C5NY4wJs7d
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) September 14, 2024
OF – TJ Friedl, CIN (ADP – 251.7)
Friedl made 126 starts in centerfield in 2023, leading to a productive five-category season (.279/73/18/66/27 over 488 at-bats). He spent two trips on the injury list over the first half of the year with oblique and hamstring issues. Over his final 40 games, his bat (.293 with 26 runs, eight home runs, 20 RBIs, and five steals over 140 at-bats) helped fantasy teams move up the standings. Friedl was at his best against left-handed pitching (.354 with three home runs and 12 RBIs over 96 at-bats). His best production (13 home runs and 41 RBIs) came at home.
A mid-March right wrist strain led to Friedl starting the season on the injured list for 38 days. He suffered a broken thumb a week later, leading to another 16 games out of action. His back luck (hamstring issue) continued about three weeks later (32 days on the IL).
Friedl played well over his short at-bats (67) in June (.239/12/4/13/4). He hit .230 over his final 200 at-bats with 21 runs, nine home runs, 39 RBIs, and three stolen bases. His bat had less value against left-handed pitching (.209/7/2/13/4 over 67 at-bats).
His strikeout rate (15.3) aligned with his career average while posting a slightly below-league-average walk rate (7.6). Friedl had career-low exit velocity (86.0 mph) while increasing his weak hard-hit rate (31.5). He has a fly-ball swing path (45.4%) with a slight increase in his HR/FB rate (11.9).
Fantasy Outlook: His high number of injuries is a factor in his draft capital in 2025, but his production over the past two years (.259/108/31/121/36 over 785 at-bats) does fill multiple categories for his discounted price point. With 550 at-bats, Friedl has the foundation of stats to support a 77/22/85/25 season with some batting average risk. He’s worth a dart, especially in shallow leagues, as the replacement value in the free-agent pool is much higher than in 15-team formats.
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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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