2025 Fantasy Baseball: Xavier Edwards Profile, Preview, Predictions
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Xavier Edwards was a speed out off the waiver wire midseason in 2024. His batting average has been edge over the past two years, but he gives away his two-category advantage due to weakness in home runs and RBIs.
Xavier Edwards first career home run swing 💣 pic.twitter.com/9nmiv45xRt
— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) July 28, 2024
SS – Xavier Edwards, MIA (ADP – 157.9)
Over six seasons in the minors, Edwards hit .313 with 295 runs, 14 home runs, 172 RBIs, and 119 stolen bases over 1,781 at-bats. He had about a year and a half of experience at AAA (.304/139/13/86/44 over 828 at-bats). He had strength in his walk rate (10.5) while being challenging to strike out (11.6).
Edwards suffered a left foot injury last March, leading to him not having a chance to make the Marlins out of spring training and starting his minor league year on the injured list. His first at-bat at AAA came in late May. He went 19-for-52 over his first 13 games with four runs, three RBIs, and three stolen bases, earning him a three-day pass to the big league. The Marlins shipped him back to the minors for another two weeks (.298/7/1/3/2 over 57 at-bats).
His bat shined in Miami in July (.395 over 86 at-bats with one home run, 12 RBIs, and nine steals). Other than missing 10 days in late August with a back issue, Edwards performed well over his final 170 at-bats (.300/24/0/14/22). He has a top-of-the-order walk rate (10.9) while finishing with a higher but favorable strikeout rate (17.2) than his time on the minors.
Edwards has a groundball swing path (50.7%) with barely a pulse in his HR/FB rate (1.8). Only 26.5% of his balls in play last year were fly balls. His exit velocity (86.1 mph) and hard-hit rate (23.9) give him no upside in power or RBI production. In his time with Miami, he had an outlier contact batting average (.400 – .361 in the minors), considering his lack of pop when putting the ball in play. His average hit rate (1.287) suggests hitting more than five home runs will be a tall task.
Fantasy Outlook: Edwards projects to have two assets (batting average and stolen bases), and he should finish with close to neutral stats in runs. A base stealer in waiting can be a great asset for a fantasy team loaded with power. Unfortunately, adding him to a roster instantly gives back any foundation gains in power and RBIs. Possible 60 stolen bases with 80 runs, five home runs, 50 RBIs, and a .300 batting average. Edwards is not my kind of dance based on his current price point.
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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