Austin Nola

Nola began last season with eligibility only at first base, but it wasn't long before he qualified at catcher, having taken over as Seattle's chief backstop with Tom Murphy sidelined. At the trade deadline, Nola was slashing .307/.377/.525, prompting a deal to the Padres. Nola slipped to .217/.314/.383 the final month but provided value with his glove. Despite the second-half swoon, Nola finished with a lower K% and higher BB% than his freshman campaign. He only has a career 451 MLB PA, but when analyzed in tandem with his minor-league history, Nola projects to offer a nice BA floor at a spot where most inflict harm. He also sports a HR/FB rate a tick above average with ample flyballs to contribute pop from behind the plate. San Diego has a crowded roster, but Nola's versatility should lead to ample volume, supporting a top-10 ranking at the position.

After spending parts of five seasons at Triple-A, Nola finally reached the major leagues at age 29. He even became a popular fantasy add, though he was appealing in large part because he was catcher-eligible, and unfortunately, he has lost that eligibility in most leagues heading into 2020 (seven appearances at catcher). As a 1B-only player in 20-game formats, with 2B-eligibility in leagues with a 15-game minimum, Nola is in the glut of fringe-useful position players. He was better than average in his 79 games with the Mariners, but it seems we can safely attribute a large portion of his 2019 success to the juiced ball, as Nola had never slugged even .400 at any stop prior to last year. The plate skills are strong enough for Nola to stick around in a super-utility role, but it's not a role that projects to be conducive to mixed-league relevance unless he were to regain C-eligibility in-season.