SportsLine imitations the Entire MLB Season and Identifies the 2024 Fantasy Baseball Breakout
The 2022-23 MLB offseason was the shortstop’s year with Tread Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson signing contracts worth nearly $1 billion. And while they all played well last season, none finished among the top-three full-time shortstops in fantasy baseball scoring average. Corey Seager, who signatured a mega-deal in 2021, led the path, while young players like Bobby Witt Jr. and Matt McClain topped them all in scoring average.
Now the search is on for 2024 fantasy baseball breakouts as fantasy baseball drafts begin ticking the clock in the coming weeks. Which Overlooked Players Could Bring a Big Return to Their Current 2024 Fantasy Baseball ADP? Before confirming your 2024 fantasy baseball trace preparation, be sure to cheque out the 2024 fantasy baseball rankings and hype sheets from the tested computer models at SportsLine.
The No. 1 prospect in baseball entering 2022, Witt showed some potential as a rookie but also had holes in his game. He hit just .254, had the seventh-worst walk percentage in all of MLB (4.8%) and committed the third-most errors, which limited his playing time. However, the model saw all of these problems as correctable, and Witt did not disappoint as a sophomore in 2023. He displayed more patience at the plate and became the first player in MLB history to record 30 home runs, 10 triples and 45 steals. bases in a season, also leads the AL with 11 triples.
The model prophecy he would outperform more proven shortstops like Carlos Correa and Javier Baez, and anyone who took a chance on Witt in the middle of their draft got a multi-category contributor to a fantasy baseball lineup.
The SportsLine model is engineered by the same people who run the conjectures for the three major fantasy places. And that same group is sharing its 2024 fantasy baseball rankings and hype sheet with SportsLine, helping you search fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts long before your competition. Their hype sheets, obtainable for leagues on many major sites, are updated multiple times daily.
Anytime more MLB news comes out about free agency signings or fantasy baseball injuries, SportsLine’s team updates its estimates. Visit SportsLine now to check out these proven fantasy baseball cheat sheets.
The best 2024 fantasy baseball breakouts
A 2024 model high among fantasy baseball breakouts: Reds shortstop Matt McLane. He made his MLB debut last year, hitting .290 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI in 89 games. He added worth to fantasy baseball lineups with 14 theft bases, even though he played in halves of Cincinnati’s games.
McLane’s initial struggles came with his plate discipline, as he struck out in 29% of plate appearances and walked just 8% of the time. He had very good rates in both categories during his time in the minor leagues, so improvement should be expected. SportsLine’s model ranks him higher than popular teammate Eli De La Cruz, though De La Cruz is going off the board much earlier than MacLane in the draft average.
The model suggests one of the 2024 fantasy baseball breakout targets: Pirates third baseman K’Brian Hayes. The 27-year-old is entering his fifth MLB season, but this will be his third as a full-time starter. He finished 17th in fantasy points among third basemen last season, but there are plenty of encouraging signs as he saw improvements in home runs, hits, RBIs, batting average, OPS and slugging percentage over 2022.
If he continues these tendency, he has a possibility to be a top-10 fantasy third baseman this season. He’s going off the board around the No. 221 pick in 2024 fantasy baseball drafts, but SportsLine’s model says he’ll surpass players who went several rounds earlier, such as Junior Caminero, Jake Berger and Alec Boehm. See more breakouts at Sportsline.
How to find tested 2024 fantasy baseball rankings
SportsLine’s model is also high on the surprise third baseman, who was solid in limited playing time last season, but is projected to finish in the top 10 of the positional rankings this year, with a full slate of plate appearances. The player falls outside of the top 100 picks but is projected to surpass more established third basemen like Max Muncie and Josh Jung. This pick could be the difference between you winning the league or going home with nothing. You can only see who is here.