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Chris Clegg breaks down some top fantasy baseball prospect sleepers who are hidden gems in the infielders, and are prospects to watch out for in 2024.
Winning in a fantasy baseball redraft league requires a nice blend of high-floor players and upside shots. While prospects do present more risk in a one-year setting like a redraft league, if they hit, they pay big dividends. The reward could be huge if these players get adequate playing time and perform.
In my most recent article, I broke down some outfield hidden gem prospects to know for redraft leagues. Today, we check in the infield and see who might be sneaky prospect contributors that most are not paying enough attention to. Sleeper prospects, or hidden gems, per se, are the ones that can pay big dividends.
Even if you know these names, what kind of impact might they bring to fantasy baseball? Let's break down some outfield prospects to keep an eye on.
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Brooks Lee, SS, Minnesota Twins
Lee was among the highest-floor hitters in the 2022 draft, selected eighth overall by the Twins out of California Poly. After a strong debut post-draft in 2022, Lee posted a .275/.347/.461 slash with 16 home runs in Double- and Triple-A in 2023.
A switch-hitter, Lee has a better swing from the left side and posted a .860 OPS as a lefty and a .603 OPS as a righty. He struck out 14 percent from the left and 24 percent from the right.
Still, Lee made contact on 79 percent of pitches he saw this year and 90 percent of pitches in the zone. While he does have some aggressiveness to his in-the-box and does chase out of the zone at times, even when he does, he puts his bat on the ball.
His average exit velocity in Triple-A checked in north of 90 mph, which is solid, and his 90th percentile was close to 103 mph. He has the power to hit 20 home runs and the speed to steal 10 bases regularly.
Lee is a safe bet to be an MLB regular due to his high floor to hit. He may not possess any star traits, but Lee should be someone who posts high batting averages consistently. If he were healthy, he would already be with the MLB team as Royce Lewis went down with a quad injury. He is slated to be back in 3-4 weeks and should be on your radar.
Brooks Lee just hit his first HR of Spring Training with a 105.5 MPH blast 💣#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/MXC2JPuMzE
— Twins Player Development (@TwinsPlayerDev) March 17, 2024
Bryan Ramos, 3B, Chicago White Sox
Ramos’ 2023 season got started a bit late as he was dealing with a groin strain in the early part of the year. A short rehab stint in Single-A led to him Double-A where he spent 77 games and progressively improved throughout the year. Ramos finished Double-A with a .272/.369/.457 slash with 14 HRs in 77 games.
Ramos saw his 90th percentile exit velocity take a huge jump forward to over 106 mph while posting respectable contact rates. The power comes easily from a very athletic frame. Seeing Ramos in person, he stands out physically, but also moves extremely well.
After spending the 2023 season in Double-A, Ramos will head back to Birmingham but likely won't stay there long. The skill set is there for Ramos to be part of the White Sox infield sooner than later, so keep a close eye on him.
Addison Barger, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
Barger is one of the more underrated prospects, not only on the Blue Jays' top prospect lists, but also in prospect circles in general. Selected in the sixth round of the 2018 draft, Barger feels like he has been around forever, but the development path was stunted by injuries and then COVID, leading to him playing just 13 games between 2019 and 2020.
In 2022, Barger looked like a different player, making it to Triple-A and showing strong power. 2023 was a bit of a step backward, but Barger still showed intangibles we want to see out of hitters.
Barger often receives poor grades on his hit tool, but his strides in 2023 were noticeable. His zone-contact rate jumped from 83 percent to nearly 86.5 percent in 2023, while the overall rate jumped from 71 to 76 percent. Barger shows strong discipline, not chasing often out of the zone, posting a respectable 27 percent rate.
The power metrics are also solid, as Barger posted a 90th percentile exit velocity north of 106 mph with an average exit velocity above 89. It does not always translate to barrels or home runs due to launch angles and too many ground balls.
Barger’s profile has nice versatility as he can play multiple infield positions and get reps in the outfield in 2023. He may fit a super-utility role or potentially slot in as an everyday third baseman fairly soon in Toronto.
A Barger swing (and hit) we know and love pic.twitter.com/gBcNZxyPCZ
— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) March 29, 2024
Juan Brito, 2B, Cleveland Guardians
Brito was an underrated find by the Rockies on the international market in 2019 and immediately showed a strong hit tool in the DSL that summer. The pandemic set back developmental time, but Brito has continued to progress at a fast rate, reaching Triple-A as a 21-year-old in 2023.
The switch-hitter shows strong contact skills from both sides of the plate, having an overall contact rate of 80 percent with a zone contact rate of 88 percent. He controls the zone and picks up spin well, chasing just 23 percent of pitches outside of the zone.
The power is more to the pull side, hitting 14 home runs in 555 plate appearances last year. He was a doubles machine, though, collecting 31 and adding a triple. The 90th percentile exit velocity of 102 mph was close to the average for his age, but the frame does not suggest that more power could be on the way.
After reaching Triple-A in 2023, Brito is likely to begin the season there with a chance to debut by midseason. Having versatility, playing second, third, and shortstop, does allow Brito more flexibility in a Cleveland organization full of middle-infield prospects. Brito likely sticks at second base, but at least has experience in multiple spots.
FIRST HOMER OF THE SEASON FROM JUAN BRITO!!!! #ThisShipRocks⚓️ pic.twitter.com/dS3k3OBcWI
— Columbus Clippers (@CLBClippers) March 31, 2024
