Our Fantasy EPL 22/23 Draft Kit promises to be the most comprehensive set of pre-season Draft Premier League articles ever produced! A key component of our Draft Kit will be the Team Preview articles which analyze key assets to sit alongside our all-important Draft Rankings. This article delves into the Best Fantrax Fantasy EPL Players from West Ham, as we take a deep dive into the prospects of their three best assets! Click here for details on how you can access our 22/23 Draft Kit.
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West Ham Best Fantasy Players
As noted above, these are the Best West Ham Players for the Fantrax Fantasy EPL platform. We analyze the Hammers' top three prospects ahead of the new season, with a recommended draft pick for each player.
Jarrod Bowen
Position: Midfielder
21/22 Points: 451.5 (2nd best midfielder)
21/22 Points Per Start: 13.3 (34 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 11.5 (34 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 12-18 (12 Team League: Early-Mid Round 2)
Overview: Bowen made a mockery of his 88 ADP with a huge breakout season! Bowen was transformed, becoming West Ham's main goal threat and creative outlet clocking in 12 goals & 17 assists on the way to ranking 7th in total FPts. That is some serious return on investment for those lucky enough to have drafted him!
So should you be taking Bowen in the first round? While those numbers are highly impressive, we need to dig a bit deeper to understand whether Bowen's breakout year is sustainable or not. Firstly, of those 17 assists, 7 were fantasy assists (including 2 PKD) and secondly, his 10 normal assists came from just 5.7xA. His overperformance of xA/90 was by a factor of 1.76 which was much higher than in 20/21 (1.13). So he could have potentially lost around 9 of those assists had a lucky bounce or some elite finishing from his teammates not occurred. Discounting those 9 assists knocks his PPS by 1.5 which is significant when you're looking at a top 10/15 player. However, it's not all bad news on the 'expected' front, Bowen actually overperformed his xG by a factor of just 1.08, which was less than in 20/21 (1.27). This means we can be more assured that his goal tally is repeatable if he can keep generating the same number of goal scoring opportunities.
As a Fantrax fantasy asset, Bowen could frustrate at times, while he had the amazing tally of goals and assists, his ghost points didn't really match up to someone in that elite bracket. Bowen managed 7.6 gPP90 which ranked him just148th (for 6+ starts). This wasn't dissimilar to his previous season and it means you are usually relying on him returning to gain you a 10+ score. Of his 34 starts, he scored over 20 points a whopping 10 times - now this is outright win your gameweek territory. He also scored in the 10-20 range a solid 8 times, however he posted <10 points, 16 times. So approximately half of the time you trotted him out he was contributing to you winning your gameweek, the other half not so much. In overall context though this is great, that 'upside' heavily contributes to you winning gameweeks, he ranked 6th for total WAR, but 13th for avgWAR (6+ starts). This hit or miss nature became more pronounced towards the end of the season, probably in part due to his growing involvement in the knockout run to the Europa League semi-finals. However, his PPS actually improved in the 2nd half of the season (1H: 12.6, 2H: 14.0), he just had higher highs and lower lows.
Looking forward I would expect some regression in terms of PPS numbers due to assists falling away but if he can keep improving on his shot creation I don't think we'll see as much of a fall in terms of output that you might expect. That being said I wouldn't put him in the top 10 bracket which he deserved to be in last season, but by the time you get to the very end of the 1st round he will start to get very tempting. Bowen is the talisman for his team and I don't expect any less starts this season (given a similar season with an even lower level European Competition). This makes him a much less risky option than some of the other players at the start of the 2nd round such as Darwin Nunez.
Michail Antonio
Position: Forward
21/22 Points: 362.5 (7th best forward)
21/22 Points Per Start: 10.3 (34 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 10.8 (30 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 36-44 (12 Team League: Early-Mid Round 4)
Overview: Antonio surprised everyone last season, not with his fantasy output, but by actually staying fit the entire year! He somehow kept his hamstrings healthy enough to start 34 games in the Premier League with 9 starts in the Europa League on top of that. He's an explosive asset and while he tailed off in the 2nd half of last season, with a full season under his belt for the first time and a nice break during the World Cup, he should be someone managers are looking at very closely!
After the sale of Sebastien Haller in January the season before, Antonio became the only recognised striker at West Ham last season and this gamble by Moyes came off to some extent. Antonio had quite the rollercoaster of a season, he started off like a house on fire putting up a frankly absurd 19.6 PPS in the first 9 GWs producing 6 goals and 4 assists (which included a -4 point game after getting sent off). However, the rest of the season didn't go quite so swimmingly at just 7.5 PPS, with fatigue setting in given he has never completed a full season before. Antonio really uses his physicality on the pitch to dominate, so any drop off fatigue wise can really hamper his fantasy output. Looking forward I think there are a few things that should help him sustain longer periods of form next season. Firstly the World Cup will provide him an excellent opportunity to rest up and effectively get in a 2nd pre-season. Secondly, West Ham are looking at bring in a forward (with the likes of Jesse Lingard, Armando Broja and Gianluca Scamacca linked at the time of writing) , this could mean a few less starts but it should mean he can keep much fresher. Lastly the fact that he seems to have become more resilient to the pesky hamstring injuries will give managers more confidence that he stays fit the whole season. His current ADP of 44 clearly factors in his poor 2nd half of season form, so if he drops to you in Round 4 you could potentially have an absolute bargain on your hands!
Declan Rice
Position: Midfielder
21/22 Points: 282 (24th best midfielder)
21/22 Points Per Start: 8.1 (35 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 7.6 (35 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 85-95 (12 Team League: Round 8)
Overview: Declan Rice really pushed on after his stellar Euro's performances, switching roles with Soucek and becoming the more progressive midfielder in the pairing. While he's not the most explosive asset you can guarantee he'll start every week and give you a solid floor of 7.3 gPP90.
Many people will be wondering why I haven't included Said Benrahma here. The main reason is I think he's the first on the chopping block if/when West Ham sign a new attacking player. Benrahma did produce a solid 10.3 PPS but managed just 26 starts, with Moyes not completely convinced on him, so any competition further reduces his opportunities. I think he's pretty big risk to take even at his current ADP of 81.
Rice on the other hand, has a solid season as a set and forget midfielder rewarding managers for their late punt in the draft (112 ADP!), producing a solid 8.1 PPS which placed him 55th overall in total FPts. His early season form was quite something, putting up 12.0 PPS in the first 10 gameweeks. However, he did tail off in the 2nd half of the season mainly as a result of West Ham's down turn in form and later involvement in the Europa League knockouts. This coming season West Ham have qualified for the Europa Conference League, a competition even more pointless than the Europa League (unless you're Jose Mourinho it seems). I see Moyes fielding a full second string in the group stages given how condensed the schedule is prior to the World Cup, which would provide a good rest for their first XI including Rice. Hopefully we can see a bit more of that early season form from him in the lead up to the World Cup where he'll want to prove to Southgate that he's the main man for his midfield.
Honorable Mention(s):
It pains me not to include Tomas Soucek above after his heroics for my fantasy teams in the 20/21 season, however his role switch with Declan Rice meant his ghost point production went down from 7.9 gPP90 in 20/21 to 7.0 in 21/22 and his goals dried up from 10 (9.2 xG) in 20/21 to 5 (4.8 xG). The goals I think are partly due to teams figuring out how to deal with West Ham's set piece tactics and stifling Soucek's opportunities given how much of a danger he is. Short of a new statement attacking signing, at West Ham he's your next best bet at a solid set and forget midfielder, available at a cut price ADP of 83. At this point in the draft he's got to be worth a punt if you need a more dependable player who did at least give you 62% 'quality starts' last season.
More Best Fantasy Players: Arsenal | Aston Villa | Bournemouth | Brentford | Brighton | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Fulham | Leeds | Leicester | Liverpool | Man City | Man United | Newcastle | Nottm Forest | Southampton | Tottenham | Wolves
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