As the adjusted 60-game MLB season approaches, we take a closer look at some fantasy baseball sleeper picks. In a season that will involve more use of organizational depth and have a wider strength-of-schedule disparity than perhaps any other in the modern era, sleeper candidates figure to loom large in clocking points this season.
Let’s look at the top five players who fall into this category.
Top 5 Fantasy Baseball sleepers
Los Angeles Dodgers 2B Gavin Lux
Lux scuffled in his debut season, batting a whiff-heavy .240 in a 23-game stint. The Dodgers’ second sacker has a skill set to get to an OPS in the high 700s. The former first-round draft pick (Dodgers – 2016) has potential in all the fantasy scoring categories.
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Boston Red Sox OF Alex Verdugo
The 24-year-old comes over to the Red Sox after batting .294 with 12 home runs for the Dodgers in 377 plate appearances last year. A lot of line drives and a lot of Fenway Park on the schedule is a combination that never hurt anyone, unless you pitch for a living. The Statcast analytics – improved launch angle, an uptick in exit velocity – and improved performance against southpaws were factors somewhat masked by late-season injury issues (oblique strain). Verdugo benefits from the delayed start to the season, and fantasy managers will, as well.
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Colorado Rockies RP Scott Oberg
Oberg logged a 2.25 ERA across 56 innings pitched a year ago, and he figures to have a very real opportunity to unseat RP Wade Davis as the incumbent closer in Denver. The 30-year-old right-hander is an extreme groundball pitcher, and that’s helped him post tremendous numbers at Coors Field the last couple seasons.
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Miami Marlins OF Jon Berti
Berti registered an impressive late-bloomer rookie season in 2019. Position-wise, the 30-year-old is a Swiss Army Knife, and a year ago he clocked a .348 on-base percentage and stole 17 bases. A thief of 270 bags in nine Minor League seasons, Berti’s straight-line sprint speed measured as 13th-fastest in the 2019 MLB season.
The .348 OBP would appear ripe for regression, but the 2020 season brings more roster flexibility and playing-time potential for down-roster types.
Oakland Athletics SP Frankie Montas
Can a 16-start, 2.63 ERA pitcher still be considered a sleeper the following season? In this case, yes. Montas returned from a PED suspension last year to strike out 9.66 batters per nine innings over 96 frames. An improved splitter last summer, improved velocity this summer, and a shortened season that mitigates some potential durability issues all point to good things for Montas.
He certainly wouldn’t be the first MLB pitcher to really get in high gear around the age of 27 (his current age). A schedule featuring 67% of games against the AL West doesn’t hurt. An early look at average draft positioning shows the Oakland hurler being undervalued.
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