Unfortunately, there is cold and snow covering much of the country, including Texas. However, spring training is here! It is time for pitchers and catchers to report for the opening of training camp. Thank goodness! And since that’s the case, selecting players during fantasy drafts is not far in the future. Belly Up Sports would like to help fantasy managers decide which players to draft, and when. To that end, we will present profiles of different players during the spring. We will begin the series with this fantasy profile Trevor Bauer.

Trevor Bauer- Inconsistent Past

While Trevor Bauer made his major league debut with Arizona in 2012, he became a regular starting pitcher with Cleveland in 2015. During his time with the Indians, Bauer was known as an inconsistent pitcher with attitude issues. Most memorable of these was an incident when he launched a baseball into the stands when pulled from a start in 2019.

While with Cleveland, Bauer went 11-12 4.55, 12-8 4.26, 17-9 4.19, 12-6 2.21 and 9-8 3.79. Notice that when he won 12 games was his only season with an ERA below 4.00. Things weren’t any better when he was traded to the Reds during the 2019 season as he went 2-6 with an ugly 6.39 ERA. There were no indications that Bauer would be anything other than a mid rotation type at best entering the 2020 season.

Trevor Bauer- Cy Young Award Winner in 2020

All that can be said is that Bauer surprised everyone with his performance for the Reds in 2020. Bauer was top all over the leader board. He was first in ERA (1.73), WHIP (0.79), hits per nine, complete games and shutouts (two) and adjusted ERA+ (276). He had exactly 100 strikeouts and walked 18 in 73 innings.

The result was Bauer won the National League Cy Young Award. Additionally, Bauer was at the forefront as Cincinnati made the playoffs last season. In fact, everything came up roses for Bauer in 2020. He was the best pitcher in the league and he just happened to enter free agency after doing so.

Trevor Bauer- Prospects for the 2021 Season

Admittedly, it was a slow start in free agency for Bauer. However, he did hit the big time, agreeing to a deal March 11 with the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Bauer signed for three years for a guaranteed 102 million. Now that Bauer’s destination has been finalized, the question of what the fantasy implications are for the 2021 season can be answered on this fantasy profile Trevor Bauer edition.

It must be recognized that there isn’t a better landing spot for a pitcher than with the defending champions. The Dodgers have an excellent all around team that can hit and play defense. Without question, that helps any pitcher. However, it must be recognized that despite winning the Cy Young, Bauer is probably not the ace of the Dodgers’ staff. That distinction will most likely go to Walker Buehler or Clayton Kershaw.

In fact, Dodger manager Dave Roberts might separate the right handed Buehler and Bauer with the southpaw Kershaw. In that case, Bauer would be the number three starter. Currently, Bauer carries an ADP of 14 on Fantasy Pro. That is an awfully high price to pay for a pitcher that might be a team’s third starter, no matter how talented he is.

Trevor Bauer- The Final Word

It is recommended that fantasy managers monitor the Dodgers’ situation in training camp. Look to see if Roberts does make the unexpected decision to place Bauer at the top of his rotation. Unless that happens, the draft capital a manager would have to use to get Bauer is way too high a price to pay in my opinion. Even if he is named the ace, Bauer’s inconsistent past is hard to over look. The bottom line is when on the clock in the second round, especially early, pass on Bauer. Let someone else take the gamble.

Thanks all for joining me for this fantasy profile Trevor Bauer! As always, I welcome all input and comments from my readers. Follow me on twitter @kevin62wilsea, and be sure to turn to Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports and Picks for all the latest MLB and sports news!