Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Fly, Little Berti

As a man of a certain age, sometimes I find myself longing for days gone by. I think about the innocence we all had way back in the good ol’ days – specifically, the winter of 2022. Perhaps you participated in a fantasy baseball draft or two during this era of good feelings. You may have left said draft brimming with confidence that you would dominate your league’s stolen base category after you drafted Adalberto Mondesi in the fifth round. If anyone scoffed at this notion, you would simply remind them all how well your 401(k) was doing, then you would storm off to the gas station, fill up your car for $40, and stop off at the store for some baby formula on the way home. Such wonderful times back then.

Some things have changed over the past few months and most of them are not for the better. Certainly, Mondesi did not pan out, as he amassed a .150 batting average in 15 games before promptly tearing his ACL and missing the rest of the 2022 season. But as despair and decay wreak havoc on our world, a beacon of light has shone through to offer us solace during these trying times. And though he cannot cure our greater societal ills, he can damn sure steal bases. This bastion of hope is none other than Jon Berti of the Miami Marlins. He has shot up my rankings in recent weeks, so keep reading to see how I value him moving forward.

Jon Berti Career Recap

If you are a veteran fantasy baseball player, you are probably well aware of Berti. After toiling in the Minor Leagues for affiliates of Cleveland and Toronto during the 2018 season, Berti signed with Miami that December. In 2019, Berti enjoyed his first brush with fantasy greatness. He played 73 games for the Marlins that year and stole 17 bases. The rest of his numbers were solid as well, specifically his 52 runs scored and .273 batting average. Given his multi-positional flexibility, he was an intriguing draft pick in 2020. I know I had him in multiple leagues. Unfortunately, those of us who invested were disappointed when Berti could not build off the year before. He was not terrible – .258 with nine steals and 21 runs scored in 39 games – but his fantasy usefulness was nothing to write home about.

If 2020 was a slight disappointment, 2021 was an utter disaster. Miami had a mix of veterans such as Starling Marte and Corey Dickerson to go along with younger players like Jazz Chisholm, Lewis Brinson, and Isan Diaz, to name a few. Berti was often the odd man out, and he could not gain any traction. He played in just 85 games for the Marlins. And the results weren’t pretty. He finished with a paltry .210 batting average and just eight stolen bases. Now in his thirties, it was looking as though Berti’s best days were behind him. As this year’s draft season played out, Berti was an afterthought. Fantasy managers drafted him in just 10 percent of leagues, and his ADP was well outside the top 500 players. But a funny thing happened on his journey to obscurity. Berti bounced back.

Berti’s 2022 Breakout and Outlook

As he had for much of his Marlins career, Berti spent most of the first two months of the year on the bench. Before Memorial Day weekend, he had just 45 plate appearances. The results were fine (.306 average with two home runs and two stolen bases in 36 at-bats) but not exactly the coveted commodity that draws a ton of attention on the waiver wire. However, injuries to Joey Wendle and Brian Anderson paved the way for Berti to earn more playing time. And he has certainly made the most of his recent opportunities. Over the last 30 days, Berti has 19 stolen bases. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. Here are the Major League leaders in stolen bases over the past month:

To say that Jon Berti has been a revelation recently would be an understatement. However, the question remains what Berti’s role will look like once Anderson and Wendle return. Anderson has already begun his rehab assignment, and will likely rejoin the Marlins by the end of this month. Wendle has yet to begin a rehab assignment, but he has participated in baseball activities including batting practice. I would imagine he is back with the Marlins in the next week or two. Berti has likely earned more playing time than he had been receiving over the first two months of the season. However, his situation is a bit unique compared to other players past the age of 30 who play on sub-.500 teams.

Despite his age, Berti is not a prototypical veteran in that he is arbitration-eligible for the next three seasons and will not hit free agency until his age-36 season. So Miami has no major incentive to trade him if and when they fall out of contention. At the same time, he has enough of a track record that it is not like the Marlins would give him an extended look over younger prospects if they become sellers before next month’s trade deadline. For those reasons, I do not have him as high in my rankings as his year-to-date numbers would suggest. Once the Marlins are at full strength, I expect Berti to play 3-4 times per week in a super-utility role. That will have some value, especially for fantasy managers looking for an edge in speed. Just don’t expect him to end the year with 60 stolen bases.

Rest of Season Fantasy Baseball Rankings