Fantrax Top 30 on Trial: Part Three
The (subjective) case for and against players 21-30 at their current draft price
Welcome to Day Three of Three in the Fantrax pre-draft court-house. We’ve seen twenty (20) names face judgement so far and, for those keeping score, Day One finished 7-3 in favour of the Defence, before Day Two saw a 5-5 draw. We now find ourselves entering Day Three with the Prosecution needing a huge 3-7 swing to draw level. It couldn’t happen. Could it?
Round 3 was a pretty interesting place last year, with some big hits (Odegaard, Trippier in particular) and some big misses (Sancho, Allan Saint-Maximin). Value was definitely there to be had though and it looks to be available once more.
Lets find out what the final day of action has in store. Court is, for the last time this Summer, in session.
CCR 21: Jarrod Bowen
Defence: West Ham had a torrid time in the League last year. But they stuck by David Moyes and got a European trophy to show for it. Now Declan Rice is out the door and West Ham need to reinvent their midfield to function without the England man. Despite that change though, Bowen remains a consistent link in the chain, with last years’ 69% Quality Starts and 26th Overall WAR output being a drop from the year before, but still very strong. He’s one of two West Ham assets I would still trust even if they take a step-back overall and he’s a great safe use of a third round pick. West Ham have finished 16th, 6th, 7th and 14th during Bowen’s time there. Through the highs and lows he’s been consistently around 0.45-0.55 npxG+xA / 90 throughout. Mr Reliable. The added responsibility without Declan Rice will probably suit him.
Prosecution: If you can only just stay up with Declan Rice in the middle of the field, you’re probably not feeling great about your chances without him. Not to mention the fact they’ve still got big questions at the striker position, with Gianluca Scamacca not looking like the answer to much. So you’ve got a team that will struggle to win / keep the ball in midfield and an attack without a trustable proven focal point. Bowen might keep or increase his proportional slice of the pie, but the pie looks set to be smaller than even last year.
Verdict: The Judge found this one of the toughest assignments of the whole exercise. In the spirit of innocent until proven guilty, the Defence takes a narrow victory. West Ham need to hurry up their transfer business, though.
CCR 22: Morgan Gibbs White
Defence: He’s 22nd in these ranks. He’s somehow as low as 40 in ADP. Yet, we’re looking at a young guy going into his second season at a club who has just finished 16th in Total WAR. It feels like there’s still a lot of distrust about his situation baked in but Forest should be more settled this year, having signed half of Europe’s eligible players last year, and Gibbs-White has every chance to continue to build on his output. There’s potentially a real bargain available here. A young guy (who was widely praised in his youth football days for his ability) who makes a breakout, despite his surroundings, sound like ideal criteria for a player to really kick on and develop into an established Fantrax star.
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