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Sometimes the hardest part of fantasy baseball drafts is who to select in the later rounds. Those are the picks that wind up being the most important because if you can hit on a player going in the 14th or 15th round, that will make your fantasy team even stronger.
With the fantasy baseball season right around the corner, now is the perfect time to identify the best value picks in all six MLB divisions. I already went through the AL East and AL Central divisions, so check those out if you haven't already. The AL West is next up on this list, and this might have been the toughest division yet to identify sleepers.
This division has plenty of superstars going early in drafts like Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Mike Trout, and Corey Seager. But those players are off-limits on this piece. So, let's see which players you should target later in your drafts from the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, and Oakland Athletics.
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Texas Rangers: Nathaniel Lowe
The first sleeper on this list is Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe. It was quite shocking to see where Lowe is currently going in drafts, and you can often select him in the final two rounds. His ADP currently sits at 186, which is too low for a player who has been a consistent offensive piece for one of the top offenses in baseball.
Lowe might be coming off a down year in 2023 -- where he hit .262 with 17 HRs, 82 RBI, and 38 doubles-- but those are certainly solid numbers for a player going in the 19th round of fantasy baseball drafts. The Rangers first baseman also walked 93 times last season, or 12.8% of the time, which landed him in the 90th percentile in the entire league.
Gold Glove Winner
Silver Slugger Winner
World Series Champion@nathaniel_lowe | @Rangers | @BallySports pic.twitter.com/EzrqwME1YF— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) February 8, 2024
There's a lot to like about Lowe in fantasy this year. He hits third in an offense that averaged the third-most runs per game in 2023 (5.46), and he will have plenty of chances to drive in runs with Marcus Semien and Seager hitting in front of him. His 82 RBI last year were a career-high, and that number should only increase in 2024. Lowe is also just one year removed from a 27-home run season, so expect his HRs to reach over 20 this season.
Houston Astros: Jose Abreu
Determining a sleeper for the Astros was a little more difficult. Starting pitcher Hunter Brown -- who should have a better 2024 season -- was an option. But I ultimately landed on first baseman Jose Abreu. He's currently going undrafted in most fantasy drafts.
Abreu had a poor 2023 season after hitting .237 with 18 HRs, 90 RBI, and 23 doubles. It was a rough start for the first baseman to begin his Houston career as he entered his 60th game of the year with a .211 batting average, one home run, 23 RBI, and eight doubles. However, the veteran should be in store for a much better season in his second year with the Astros, especially since he will enter 2024 trending up at the plate.
Over the final 82 games of the 2023 season, he hit .256 with 17 HRs, 67 RBI, and 15 doubles. If the former 2020 MVP kept up that pace for an entire 162-game season, he would have finished with over 30 HRs and 120 RBI. While Abreu likely won't obtain those numbers this year, there's reason to believe he'll finish with solid stats in 2024.
For starters, Abreu should be hitting in the middle of the order again on a very elite offense. Last season, he hit fourth or fifth in more than half of the games despite struggling for most of the year. That means there will be more opportunities to drive in players like Jose Altuve, Tucker, and Alvarez. While his power might be in the past, he still has plenty left in the tank and can hit over 20 HRs to go with 85-100 RBI in 2024.
Seattle Mariners: Bryce Miller
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller is a sleeper that everyone should target in fantasy drafts this season. Miller, who is entering his second Major League Baseball season, has an ADP outside the top 180. His 2023 season might not have been the best, but there is a lot of optimism that he will perform better in 2024 with 25 career starts under his belt.
Last season, Miller finished with a 4.32 ERA, 119 strikeouts, and 26 walks across 131.1 innings pitched. However, there were a lot of strong starts from the right hander throughout his rookie campaign, which included allowing one run or less in 13 of his 25 starts. The Mariners pitcher did have some bumps along the way and gave up at least five earned runs in six starts. But he showcased more good stuff than bad in his first year.
The metrics also back up that statement, which should help Miller improve in his second year in the majors. The 25-year-old had just a 4.8% walk rate as a rookie, which landed him in the top 5% in all of baseball. On top of that, his average exit velocity (90.7 mph) and max exit velocity (116.9 mph) were some of the lowest in the MLB.
Somethin like that pic.twitter.com/vNFNSpwfT0
— B Money (@Bryce_miller9) February 10, 2024
The right hander is a great pick in the later rounds of your fantasy drafts because there should be much improvement on the mound from him. Miller has a mean fastball that tops out at 95.3 mph, which should help him big time in a hitter-friendly ballpark in Seattle.
Los Angeles Angels: Logan O'Hoppe
With Shohei Ohtani leaving this offseason to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels will need another hitter to step up. That hitter could be catcher Logan O'Hoppe.
O'Hoppe missed most of last year with a torn labrum after he suffered the injury in late April. He did return in late August, though his 51-game sample size is quite small. But he's a player that could be hitting in the middle of the order in Los Angeles while hitting anywhere from 20-25 HRs in 2024.
Last year, O'Hoppe's power was on full display as he hit 14 HRs in just those 51 games. He didn't contribute in many other categories, hitting just .236 at the plate with six doubles, 23 runs scored, 14 walks, and 29 RBI. But it's hard to ignore those home run numbers. If he kept that up for a 162-game season, the 24-year-old had a chance at 40 HRs in 2023 if he stayed healthy.
He didn't, but there's a lot to be excited about with O'Hoppe this year. Last season, the catcher hit the ball hard with a 46.7% hard-hit rate and an average exit velocity of 90.5 mph. The power should be there for the Angels hitter, making him a sneaky option in the later rounds.
Oakland Athletics: Zack Gelof
The final sleeper on this list is Oakland A's second baseman Zack Gelof. Gelof's ADP is a bit higher than most of the other players on here (138). But he's still a player you should take a chance on in the middle rounds of your fantasy drafts because of his upside at the position.
In his first year in the majors, there were a lot of positives from Gelof as he did it all at the plate. He hit .267 with 14 HRs, 20 doubles, 32 RBI, and 14 stolen bases across 69 games. If you're in a roto league, this is the type of hitter you want to select. The rookie also broke the A's franchise record for the fewest games to 10 HRs. The 24-year-old hit his 10th home run in just 35 games, breaking Mark McGwire's mark of 41 games during the 1987 season.
Of course, there's a slight decrease in value with Gelof playing on an A's team that will struggle offensively. However, the young second baseman showed last year that he can be an all-around fantasy baseball contributor. He's a player to target in the 12th to 14th round of fantasy drafts.
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