Kyle Farmer

Farmer was Minnesota's primary utility infielder and got significant playing time at third base and second base due to injuries. He has decent power for a glove-first infielder (11 HR and .152 ISO) and doesn't strike out too often (his 23.3% K% was his second season more than 20%). He was a plus defender at second and third base and can still hold his own at shortstop. His lack of premium power and lower contact rate (74.4%) get him exposed in more than short-term duty. He should get significant playing time in a utility role again.

Farmer worked as Cincinnati's primary shortstop for a second straight year and had a .255/.315/.386 slash line in 142 games last season. He's a solid infielder but profiles better as a utility option than a starter, and he'll now be filling the former role after he was traded to the Twins, especially with Carlos Correa back in the fold. Farmer has solid strikeout and walk rates (17 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively), but overall he provides a below-average bat and has a 91 wRC+ over the past two seasons. His opportunities could be more matchup oriented with Minnesota which could boost his rate stats with a higher concentration of at-bats against left-handed pitching, but Farmer doesn't offer much fantasy value as that potential upside is likely to diminish with more playing time.

Despite having his best major league season in 2021, Farmer is a source of frustration for Reds fans. That's not on Farmer, but on the Reds' front office, who opted not to improve the shortstop position in the offseason, instead settling first on Eugenio Suarez and then on Farmer after Suarez did not work out. While Farmer was fantastic in July (.395/.456/.691), he tapered off and his overall rate stats (.316 OBP, .416 SLG) were just ok for a player in Great American Ballpark. Just as it's inadequate for the Reds to rely upon Farmer as a full-time shortstop, he doesn't provide enough category juice to be your fantasy shortstop and is a good bet to regress in 2022. That being said, his opportunities are unlikely to decrease, as Cincinnati has committed to a full rebuild and Suarez is no longer in the infield mix.

In 2019, Farmer traded away contact in exchange to add power, but in 2020 he reversed the equation, going homerless in 70 plate appearances, but lowering his K% from 29.9 to 18.6. Sample size caveats aside, is the trade-off worth it? While it's generally true that OBP is undervalued and SLG overvalued, with Farmer the offense hasn't risen enough to the level for it to matter. He's the definition of a replacement-level utility player, one who can play multiple positions in a pinch, but one that you wouldn't want to start for your roto team unless you're in a pinch.

Farmer spent most of the 2019 campaign in the majors, logging time at all four infield positions as well as behind the plate. He also showed some pop with his bat for the first time in his big-league career, slugging nine home runs and registering a .180 ISO in 197 plate appearances. That touch of power was a nice surprise, but it came at a price as Farmer's 67.8% contact rate was well below his his major- and minor-league career norms. Not coincidentally, the 29-year-old's strikeout rate jumped to an uncharacteristic 30.3% while both his batting average (.230) and xBA (.226) tumbled. Farmer wasn't expected to make the team out of spring training last season, but he solidified his spot on the club with his versatility -- he even logged a garbage-time outing as a relief pitcher. That versatility should keep Farmer on the roster in 2020, but he isn't likely to be more than a utility player.