I think you've got a bad misread there
He's been forced/ persuaded (doesn't matter which) to outline some of his broad policy positions. Now he has to tread a bit of a fine line. Being seen to be starting a personal campaign for 2020 in the shadow of the mid-terms is something of a no/no so these statement can't really be detailed. That comes later when people start asking him questions like how is he going to pay for it? etc Now obviously that's the sort of exchange he wants to begin, because that starts to legitimise the ideas and starts a conversation etc. What he's done is draw up some thoughts which allows people to place him somewhere on the political spectrum by way of his influences.
It's perfectly obvious to anyone reading his 2 sides of A4 that he's on Bernie's platform. There isn't a lot between them in three of Bernie's touchstone policy areas like health, education, campaign finance reform. In addition there's overlap on other areas. The only area that appears to be a bit opaque is international trade. Sometime in 2019 Bernie Sanders and Michael Avenatti are going to need to have a chat if this continues
Bernie's base is worth about 30% of the Democrat caucus. That's enough to win early primaries in a crowded field (which is what they're expecting). It's the same thing that Trump benefited from in a field of 16. If you win those early primaries you get momentum, and as candidates begin to fall by the wayside your own vote starts to pick some of them up.
Most people's first exposure will be through the debates. There can be little doubt that Avenatti is articulate and a smooth talker. Provided he's able to demonstrate a command of the policy detail, he'll do well. Where he's going to be vulnerable is a tendency to talk about himself (not necessarily a barrier in American politics) and lose his temper. He's also going to need to survive some digging into his past which isn't squeaky clean
Avenatti is 100/1 with Ladbrokes, Bernie Sanders is 14/1 with Coral. Of the two, I'd say Avenatti is the more likely to run on that platform right now