Ozzie Albies 2024 Fantasy Baseball Outlook: Youth and Multi-Category Production Make Him Top Option At 2B
5 months agoAfter an injury-riddled 2022, where he missed 68 games with foot and hand injuries, you wanted to see Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies bounce back in 2023, and he did- in a big way. Last season, he was among the league leaders for second basemen in home runs (2nd), RBI (1st), and runs (4th). He also set a career-high in wRC+ (124). Fantasy managers would like to see more than 13 SB from Albies (by comparison, a slower Freddie Freeman stole 23). Still, unfortunately, it appears Albies has lost a step (88th percentile speed in 2017, down to 54th percentile in 2023). Moreover, with Matt Olson (54 HR) and Austin Riley (37 HR) hitting behind him in the lineup, he may not take the chance of getting thrown out on a steal, so managers hoping for an uptick may be disappointed. Nevertheless, with his multi-category production, he's currently ranked as the No. 1 second baseman option at RotoBaller and ranked 21st overall, slightly ahead of his current NFBC ADP of 24. FGDC projections are .277-28-91-97-13 for the diminutive hitter, with a .350 WOBA and 118 wRC+. When looking at the counting stats, you're splitting hairs between Albies and the next-best 2B option (Marcus Semien, 24th overall), but when all else is essentially the same, go with the younger player. Semien will be 33 in the 2024 season, while Albies will be 27.