Washington Nationals: Can Fantasy Baseball owners believe in Ryan Zimmerman?

Fantasy baseball drafts are nearing. Can owners trust Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals to carry the load at first base?

Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman did more than rebound in 2017. He grabbed the rebound, slam-dunked it with one hand, and broke the backboard. Mentioning the positives from Zimmerman’s 2017 campaign is futile. The past is the past, and fantasy baseball owners want to know what he can do for them in 2018.

No one on earth other than maybe his mother expects Zimmerman to hit .303/.358/.573 again. We should also see a decline in the 36 home runs and 108 RBI produced last season. Still, that doesn’t mean Zimmerman will sit around into the later rounds of drafts, eventually going as a backup.

Where does Ryan Zimmerman rank?

There are obvious choices to take ahead of Ryan Zimmerman. In no particular order, Joey Votto and Paul Goldschmidt are definite favorites. Each has the reputation and consistency of doing a little bit of everything. They hit for power, average, and do it on a yearly basis. Likely, both are gone by the end of round two.

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Zimmerman falls somewhere closer to the middle. Fantasy Pros lists him at number 16. Looking at their list, it’s hard to move Zimmerman much higher.

However, ahead of him on this list are Rhys Hoskins and Buster Posey. While each may qualify as a first baseman, most fantasy owners would select them for the outfield or catcher, respectively.

Unfortunately for dynasty players who have Zimmerman, the outlook is not very bright according to these pros. According to them, Justin Smoak’s miraculous 2017 campaign carries more weight than what Zimmerman did. I’m not sure I agree. Given a choice between the two, Zimmerman receives the nod from me.

A warning about Ryan Zimmerman

One thing we should always consider in the draft is how often a guy may play. This is probably most essential with catchers. Ryan Zimmerman won’t play as much as other first basemen this season. The Washington Nationals made sure of that with their signing of Matt Adams. Though this is far from a platoon, we should see Zimmerman take a seat once or twice a week.

Rather than flush Zimmerman away as an option, maybe it’s best to pair him with a first base eligible player that can plug in elsewhere. It can’t hurt having the amazingly versatile Marwin Gonzalez on your fantasy baseball roster regardless of who your first baseman is.

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The Washington Nationals got a lot of production from Zimmerman in 2017. Your fantasy baseball team, the Washington Irrationals or whatever it is you call yourselves, will need some protection with Zimmerman at first base.