Your definition of fancy baseball sleeper may vary, but the following list of launchers contains underpriced options compared to ADP.
For even more overlooked players, Check out his sleeper hitters.
hunter brown no longer qualifies as a sleeper now that he’s likely to open the season in Houston’s rotation, but Lance McCullers‘ An arm injury also potentially opens the door for a deeper whimsical sleeper in Whitley. He suffered a litany of injuries and walked everyone in his brief return to action last season, but Whitley is a former first-round pick with SP1 stuff. He struck out 334 in 237.0 career minor league innings and is finally fully healthy.
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Whitley is just one more injury in Houston’s current rotation away from promotion, which usually translates to a bunch of wins.
Pfaadt could start the season in the minors, but could easily end it as the Diamondbacks’ second-best starter. It’s a legitimate prospect who posted a 2.63 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with a 10.8 K/9 rate in the batting friendly PCL last season. Pfaadt should be a real fantasy asset by the time Arizona gives him a chance.
Cabrera is completely overlooked with 65 SP ahead of him in Yahoo’s drafts. There is a risk of injury but has some really electric stuff and is healthy now. Sandy Alcantara will beat him in volume, but chances are Cabrera will be better than his teammate in all rate stats this season.
Harrison is baseball’s best left-handed pitching prospect who’s ready to contribute as soon as possible. The Giants’ rotation looks deep on paper, but it’s not a strong enough group to hold off a prospect who just struck out 186 batters in 113.0 innings as a 20-year-old. Harrisson won’t dive deep into games, but ZiPS predicts a 10.6K rate that would have been sixth-best among starters last season. San Francisco also made a point of improving its defense over the winter and still has a climate that prevents baseballs from traveling far (unless you are the goat).
Maeda enters the season fully healthy and unrestricted 18 months from Tommy John’s surgery. He has already impressed this spring, including two scoreless innings against batters who knew what pitches were coming. It wasn’t too long ago that Maeda’s peripherals put him among baseball’s true elite starters. He will also benefit from Minnesota’s strong defense.
Megill had a 2.43 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with a 9.7 K/9 rate in his first six starts last year before an implosion and injuries ruined the rest of his season. . He’ll likely start 2023 in the minors, but he’s stretched to start and will almost certainly get a chance in New York sooner rather than later given the age/injury risks in the team’s rotation (Carlos Carrasco is also a commercial candidate).
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Megill lost 15 pounds in the offseason (BSOHL alert!) and is a true fantasy sleeper while playing in baseball’s best pitching park. He also has a real shot at opening the season in the Mets rotation now that Jose Quintana has been off for three months.
Schmidt is a former first-round pick who should get his chance in New York’s rotation this season with Frankie Montas sidelined. Domingo German is another fantastic sleeper who could open the season as a starter, but Schmidt will have an opportunity soon after impressive this spring with a new cutter who produced amazing first results. Schmidt had a 26.6 K-BB% in Triple-A last season that would have led all MLB starters, and he’ll likely rack up pitching wins for the Yankees.
Go here for Dalton’s fantasy sleeper for every MLB team!