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Ohtani's improbable 2023 season was sad on many fronts. Despite a second 40-20 season in three years along with his pitching prowess, he was not afforded the chance to play October baseball with his team breaking down as well as his right elbow for a second time in five years. Ohtani ended up having his elbow surgery in late September which rules him out for pitching in 2024. If he were to follow the Bryce Harper recovery timeline from a similar procedure, there is a decent chance Ohtani could still be ready for Opening Day. That said, it would be unfair to expect even this unique player to be 100% himself given what we just saw from Harper this past season as he attempted to regain his power stroke. Ohtani signed a unique 10-year pact with the Dodgers, guaranteeing himself an excellent home park for lefty power and superb teammates at the top of the lineup.

Acuna went as the No. 1 overall pick in most fantasy drafts last spring and rewarded that faith by filling up box scores every time he stepped on the field. Not only did he join Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano as the fifth member of the 40-40 club, Acuna also established the 40-50 club, the 40-60 club and the 40-70 club. It was a historically-great individual season that culminated in a unanimous selection for National League MVP. Some amount of natural regression has to be expected in 2024, but there is no evidence suggesting what Acuna did last year was fluky. He ranked in the 100th percentile in xwOBA, xBA, xSLG and average exit velocity while appearing in 159 of a possible 162 regular-season games for the NL East champions. Maybe the steals won't be fully repeatable -- Acuna ranked in just the 65th percentile in sprint speed in 2023 -- but he's a smart baserunner with a perpetual green light under manager Brian Snitker. Entering his age-26 campaign, the superstar outfielder should again be first off the board in every standard league.

Freeman was already great but got better because he jumped in on the steals fun last year. Freeman's other numbers were as amazing as they always were as he continues to produce at a Hall of Fame pace but added cherry on top by steals as many bases in 2023 as he did over the three previous seasons combined. Freeman's 23 steals was a great reminder that sprint speed is not everything for steals as Freeman's sprint speed was in the bottom third of the league. We raise that point because that is about the only risk in this area is that he is slowing down and the steals will continue eventually fade as Freeman continues to progress into his mid 30's. There is no doubt Freeman is a first round pick; the only doubt is how high he is taken in the first round . He outearned everyone not named Acuna Jr or Olson and sits very high on our 2024 projections and when you throw in the fact Freeman has avoided the IL since 2017, he is the epitome of a safe first round foundation.

De La Cruz took the baseball world by storm upon his arrival to the major leagues. He immediately flashed the incredible power/speed combo that made him a top prospect and hit for the cycle in just his 15th career game, helping spark the Reds to a 12-game winning streak in June. Eventually things went south for both player and team, though De La Cruz showed once again that speed doesn't slump with 18 steals in his final 50 games despite hitting just .199/.285/.361 during that stretch and falling to the bottom of the batting order. Overall, De La Cruz hit 25 homers and stole 46 bases in 136 games between Triple-A and the big leagues at the age of 21. There are swing-and-miss issues that he'll need to address and he may not reach his true potential for a while yet, but the loud tools combined with regular playing time in a band box park make it tempting to overlook his flaws. The downside potential is he ends up back in the minors after a prolonged slump.

Ozuna struggled to a .687 OPS in 2022 and appeared to be in danger of being cut out of Atlanta's regular lineup last season after going 5-for-59 in April, but he quickly turned things around and finished 2023 with a career-high 40 homers, 100 RBI, 84 runs and a .274/.346/.558 slash line in 144 contests. That was good for a 139 wRC+, which is a vast improvement on his 85 wRC+ over the previous two years. His 2023 production was supported by a career-high 16.6 percent barrel rate and 49.0 percent hard-hit rate, which helped lead to a .284 xBA and .583 xSLG. Ozuna almost exclusively served as Atlanta's designated hitter, as he made only two appearances (one start) in the outfield, so his positional eligibility will be limited to begin 2024. That'll hardly matter to fantasy managers if he's able to replicate his 2023 campaign, but year-to-year consistency has never been the 33-year-old's forte. Ozuna's results last season were supported by strong underlying numbers and sets him up for another productive campaign in 2024, but he still carries some risk for fantasy managers given his boom-or-bust trends the past few years.

We enter a new realm for Harper on draft day as we are forced to consider him as part of the first base pool now as he lost his outfield eligibility last year and with the announced divestiture from Rhys Hoskins, maybe permanently. Harper got off to an expected slow start in the power department coming off his surgery with just five homers through the end of July before he got red hot over the final two months with 16 homers and 41 RBIs capped with a 10 homer August around a .361 average. Once Harper got into his groove, everything fell back into place and he was his normal self as the final numbers show. We can excuse his lowest slugging percentage since 2018 to the post-surgical rust, but everything else looks as good as it ever was. The next hurdle is him resuming his 140+ game workload after two seasons of falling short of that much-needed mark given his lofty annual draft status.

Turner was playing in the first year of a new huge deal in a new city, so history tells us there would be some bumps in the road for the talented superstar. However, even his harshest critic would not have predicted Turner having a .235/.290/.368 line as last as Aug. 3 and hitting in the eighth spot of the lineup. Philly fans, as they are well-known for, cheered him into a hot streak? Turner got hot in a well-timed series against the lowly Royals in early August and hit .337/.389/.668 the rest of the season with 16 homers, 42 runs and 42 RBIs helping push his final numbers close to what he did in 2022. The batting average hole he dug for himself was too much to climb out of, and the lineup demotion cut into his RBIs, but the homers were up while the steals and runs held true. One would have to hope the worst of things is behind Turner and 2024 could be a MVP-type seasons for him if he can play at his late pace. That elusive 30-30 season should happen in 2024.

A marriage made in baseball heaven, Olson has done nothing but rake since Atlanta acquired him from Oakland in March of 2022. He turned it up to an even greater level in 2023, his second year with the organization, pacing all major-league hitters in home runs (54) and RBI (139) while registering the fourth-highest OPS in the bigs at .993. He finished in the 99th percentile in both average exit velocity and hard-hit rate and ranked in the 97th percentile in xSLG, all en route to a fourth-place finish for NL MVP. Olson enters his age-30 season firing on all cylinders and surrounded by one of the best supporting casts you can find. He again has a chance to lead the majors in homers and should feast on RBI opportunities as the locked-in cleanup man for the reigning National League East champions. With first base lacking some of the depth it had a decade ago, it's probably worth reaching for Olson in the opening rounds of drafts this spring.

Lindor played in all but two games for the Mets last season and posted an OPS above .800 for the first time since 2019. The 30-year-old set a career high with 31 stolen bases and also clubbed 31 homers, which made him one of four players in MLB to reach the 30-30 club. His .254 average is the second lowest of his career, but he also had career bests in barrel rate (10.4 percent) and hard-hit rate (43.9 percent). Linder's totals of 108 runs and 98 RBI were also the best figures among all shortstops. He also played through an elbow issue all season before undergoing surgery to have bone spurs removed in October, though he should fully healthy in plenty of time for spring training. Lindor remains locked in as the Mets' shortstop for the foreseeable future and should be an excellent fantasy option in 2024 as one of the more productive shortstops in baseball.

Tatis sat out the first 20 games of 2023 while serving the remainder of his PED suspension, though he still set a career high with 141 games played after missing the entirety of 2022 with shoulder and wrist injuries in addition to the suspension. The 25-year-old finished the first half with 16 homers, 14 steals and an .871 OPS, but he hit just .225 with nine homers and 15 steals in 71 contests after the All-Star break. It was still a productive season overall, but his above-average 113 wRC+ is a far cry from the elite 154 figure he posted across his first three big-league campaigns. The encouraging news is that Tatis was able to stay healthy in 2023, and he started in all but two games following the suspension. He also made a seamless transition to having right field be his primary position, and he led the league with 29 defensive runs saved. Tatis is a strong rebound candidate for 2024 following a down second half, though it may be optimistic to expect him to regain his 2019-21 form, when he was arguably the best hitter in MLB.

Betts would've easily captured his second career MVP award in 2023 if not for the bonkers season Ronald Acuna put up. The 31-year-old's .307 average, 39 home runs, 126 runs scored and 14 stolen bases were all highs during his time as a Dodger and his 107 RBI broke a major-league record for a leadoff hitter. Not only that, Betts further added to his defensive versatility, starting nearly as many games at second base (62) as he did in right field (77) while also adding his first career 12 starts at shortstop. He fell just shy of retaining shortstop eligibility, but Betts will enter 2024 with dual eligibility and is expected to be the Dodgers' regular at the keystone. You can make a strong argument for Betts being the second pick in fantasy drafts after Acuna.

A star is born. Carroll flashed tremendous potential as a late-season call-up in 2022 and then did nothing in 2023 to dissuade the notion that he is one of the brightest young players in the sport. He tallied 65 extra-base hits in 155 regular-season games, stole 54 bases in 59 attempts, and placed seventh among all major leaguers in runs scored (116) to help the Diamondbacks claim the final NL Wild Card spot and stage a run all the way to the World Series. The one legitimate knock against him is that he has a weak outfield arm, but fantasy managers have the luxury of simply ignoring that fact. At age 23 and absolutely dripping with category-spanning fantasy upside, Carroll is sure to be a first-round selection in every mixed-league draft this spring. He could even regularly come off the board within the first five picks. That eight-year, $111 million contract extension he signed with Arizona last March already looks incredibly team-friendly and gives the D-backs some leeway to build an even better supporting cast around him.

Schwarber continues his Adam Dunn impresssion with his three true outcome lines and poor batting averages on a near annual basis. The .266 average from 2021 is rather reminiscent of Dunn's batting average run in 2009-2010 before he became what Schwarber is doing here in recent seasons. Schwarber may be the most atypical leadoff hitter in baseball with his sub .200 batting average and body type, yet his OBP skills make him a solid fit for the job. Schwarber had amazing production in runs, RBIs, and homers, but complete lack of batting average and steals limits his ceiling as a fantasy producer. Thankfully, he retains his outfield eligibility on draft day since he was forced to play in the outfield while Harper monopolized the DH position most of the season. 2024 should be more of the same for Schwarber as the surrounding cast remains consistent and his three true outcome skills are unlikely to change anytime soon. Perhaps resuming full-time DH will refresh his legs for a few steals.

There have been some ups and downs for Albies in recent years, but the downs are mostly injury-related. When he's at his best and healthiest, he rates as a legitimate fantasy superstar with his blend of power and overall athleticism. The dynamic second baseman put it all together in 2023, delivering career highs in homers (33) and RBI (109) while tallying 96 runs scored as the primary No. 2 hitter for the runaway National League East champions. He also swiped 13 bases in 14 attempts despite a drop in sprint speed from where he was at his base-stealing peak. Sandwiched again among the likes of Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, Michael Harris and Sean Murphy, Albies should continue to rack up counting stats in bunches in 2024, what will be his age-27 campaign. It's truly remarkable that Atlanta only owes him $7 million annually over the next four seasons.

Riley and Ohtani are the only two players in baseball with at least 30 homers, 90 runs, and 90 RBIs in each of the past three seasons. Whereas Ohtani has had to do a lot of the heavy lifting on his club in previous seasons, Riley is just one very well-positioned player in the lineup with Acuna Jr and Albies in front of him and Olson behind him in the lineup. The presence of speed in front of him allows him to see a lot of fastballs, and he hit 22 of them for homers along with a .290 average. Getting on base in front of Olson and Ozuna is how someone with slightly better than average speed scored 117 runs, exceeding his previous career high by 26 runs. We see no reason why Riley cannot keep his 30/90/90 streak going another season as nothing is changing in the powerful Atlanta offense in 2024. Riley is not going to help you in the running game, but that is the only true flaw in his fantasy vitae as he heads into his peak power production years at the hot corner.

Nola shocked many when he decided to re-up with the Phillies for seven years rather than test the free agent waters in what was a lucrative market with multiple big market teams looking for pitching. Then again, Nola has pitched very well at Citizens Bank Ballpark over the years whereas his struggles have more recently been away from Philly. You may be surprised to learn that Nola pitched to a 3.29 ERA with 12 homers in 87.2 innings at home in 2023, but had a 5.43 ERA with 20 homers in 106 innings on the road last season. He is a rare bird in that he has not missed a single start since missing a handful of starts in the 2017 season and has pitched at least 180 innings in each of the past five full seasons. He has become rather stingy with walks in recent years while continuing to get 200+ strikeouts year after year. 2021 and 2023 have a familiar look to them and Nola absolutely has the ability to bounce back in 2024 as he did in 2022 while deciding to continue his career where it began.

The right-hander was limited to 18 outings (17 starts) in 2022 due to lat and shoulder injuries, but he was able to stay healthy in 2023 and set career highs in starts (30) and innings (165.2). Peralta was one of the best strikeout pitchers in the league, with his 30.9 percent strikeout rate ranking fourth, and his .211 batting average against was also elite. However, a 1.4 HR/9 (double his 2022 figure) helped lead to a less impressive 3.86 ERA, though his 1.12 WHIP and 7.9 percent walk rate were also strong. A 16 percent HR/FB ratio was well above his career average entering the season, which could indicate some incoming positive regression after giving up 26 homers. Peralta's career-high workload sets him up for a potential ace-level campaign in 2024, especially if he's able to cut down the long balls closer to his career average of 1.1 HR/9.

Cease finished second in voting for the AL Cy Young in 2022 after he posted a 2.20 ERA in 32 starts, but he stumbled to a 4.58 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 214:79 K:BB over 177 innings last season. Some regression wasn't surprising since the elite campaign had some underwhelming peripherals, but much like the White Sox in general, his fall in 2023 was steeper than anticipated. The underlying numbers flipped in the opposite direction, with a 3.72 FIP indicating he had some poor luck. Cease's strikeout rate dropped over three points to 27.3 percent, though he improved his walk rate slightly to 10.1 percent. A .330 BABIP and 41.5 percent hard-hit rate were both career worsts, the former of which was certainly affected by Chicago's horrid defense (minus-59 DRS). His true self likely falls somewhere in between the results of the past two seasons, making him somewhat of a volatile option for fantasy managers in 2024, though his strikeout floor is strong. Cease has also been regularly mentioned in trade rumors over the past year, and a move elsewhere would likely only improve his immediate outlook.

Wheeler heads into an interesting season in the final year of his five-year contract with Philadelphia. The righty has been everything the club had hoped for when it signed him to the deal as he has missed just five starts in his time with the club while giving the staff the consistency Aaron Nola could not. Wheeler had a strong regular season and an even stronger postseason with a 1.95 ERA over five games with 35 strikeouts and three walks in 27.2 innings of work. Wheeler turns 34 in the first third of the season and is pitching for his final big deal of his career. His four-seam fastball was exceptional last year with a .199 xBA and a 31% whiff rate, but his increased usage of the pitch has cut into the groundball tendencies from previous seasons. You should have supreme confidence in taking Wheeler as your staff ace because he has pitched like one as a Phillie and we see little reason why he won't do so again in what is likely his final year with the team.

For the third consecutive year, Yamamoto won the Eiji Sawamura Award, Japan's equivalent of the Cy Young. He did it in 2023 on the strength of a 1.16 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 171 innings spanning 24 appearances, including a no-hitter in front of notable MLB executives in September. The Orix Buffaloes posted the right-hander for MLB teams this winter and an unprecedented bidding war ensued, with Yamamoto ultimately signing with the Dodgers for 12 years and $325 million, the largest contract ever for a pitcher. Still just 25 years old, Yamamoto features a mid-90s fastball and three secondary pitches highlighted by the splitter, all helped immensely by exceptional command. There is already considerable hype and that may be boosted slightly by recency bias after Kodai Senga made the transition to the majors look easy last season. Yamamoto could enter SP1 range in drafts come springtime.

It's damning with faint praise, but Glasnow threw a career-high 120 innings as a 29-year-old in his final year with the Rays. Coming into 2023, Glasnow had never avoided the injured list around stretches of brilliance where he looks downright unhittable. He then has bouts of command issues where he struggles with fastball location and lineups jump on him. The extra pain point in 2023 was created with the new rules as his 6-foot-8 frame leverages long extension and a slow delivery to the plate which leaves him susceptible to steals - he permitted 19 steals in 2023. He also hit the IL at the start of the season with an oblique issue and had back spasms again later in the summer. The Dodgers traded for him and then extended him this offseason, so he should have excellent run support for the foreseeable future and there are no questions about where he will be pitching. He clearly has the stuff of an ace and will look to increase his career high in innings again, but he averaged less than 65 MLB innings per season prior to last year, so make sure you're not reliant on him staying healthy all season.

Sale made 11 starts before being diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left scapula. At the time, the southpaw had recorded a 4.58 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, with 71 strikeouts in 59 stanzas. However, a 3.63 xFIP suggested his ERA would drop had he stayed healthy. Sale missed just over 10 weeks, returning in mid-August. He made nine more starts, posting a 3.92 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in that span, fanning 54 in 43.3 innings. This time, Sale's 3.85 xFIP meshed with his actual ERA. For the season, Sale's 4.30 ERA was more than half a run over its estimators. This bodes well for a productive 2024, but with lingering durability concerns. Sale threw 102.2 innings last year, so he could handle in the 150 range, if he can stay healthy. His bloated ERA last year may keep his cost to a level where the reward outweighs the risk. The trick is to expect around 130 innings and plan accordingly. Anything more is icing on the cake.

Webb led the National League in both innings pitched and K/BB, and in the end he was the runner up for the Cy Young. The struggling Giants offense afforded Webb the worst run support in the league offering him 3.1 runs of support per game while Webb was out there holding opposing offenses to 3.25 runs in his outings. Webb's 11-13 record would have looked different if he had the 4.3 runs of support teammate Alex Cobb received. Webb's 2023 success was built around him trusting his changeup more and cutting back on his slider usage. The changeup is now his primary pitch and it has greatly aided him in limiting the damage from lefties which has been an issue for him in previous seasons. Webb has gone from a guy with questionable durability earlier in his career to someone who has exceeded 190 innings in each of the past two seasons. Now, just get him some run support!

Gallen had a fantastic season and received some deserved votes for the Cy Young Award as he helped carry the Diamondbacks to their improbable World Series run. Most of his performance indicators were right in line with 2022 but better run support helped raise his wins while a near full-run jump in his ERA can be excused by the BABIP regression which we expected would come after his rather fortunate .237 BABIP in 2022. Simply put, there is not a performance issue to be concerned with as much as a workload concern. Gallen ended up throwing 243.2 innings in 2023, which was almost exactly double what he threw just two seasons ago. He managed a 52% increase in workload just fine from 2021 to 2022, but now we add another 32% increase in workload along with the stress of working in the postseason for the first time and we cannot help but wonder about the impact of that for 2024. 2023 was an excellent season, but it would not surprise us to see Gallen take a step back this season.

At age 25 last season, Luzardo established himself as a legitimate frontline starter for Miami, and he may not be done ascending. He went into the All-Star break riding high, having allowed just two runs in 25.2 innings with a 35:5 K:BB in his final four starts of the first half. There was talk about what the Marlins might do to manage Luzardo's workload after injuries previously limited him to just over 100 innings in a big-league season. In the end the team didn't do anything to limit Luzardo and he soared past 180 innings when including his four-inning outing in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. It's the type of jump in innings that we're not used to seeing, and the results suffered down the stretch as the innings added up, though it's debatable whether the workload increase itself is a reason to be cautious with Luzardo entering 2024. He could be in the running to start Opening Day with Sandy Alcantara out after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Imanaga is a 30-year-old lefthanded starting pitcher who was with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball since 2016. He was posted by his former club and is slated to make his MLB debut this season. Imanaga recorded a 2.80 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 2023, fanning 174 in 148 innings. He throws a four-seam that's been reported between 92- and 94-mph, a slider, curveball, and split-finger changeup. The key to his success is fastball command and the effectiveness of his split-finger offering. Imanaga pitched for Team Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and was deemed to possess the best Stuff+ by the Athletics Eno Sarris. Imanaga's main concern is he carried a high home run rate, especially relative to some of the other pitchers coming to MLB from Japan. He'll be working in bigger parks, but also facing better hitters. Chances are, Imanaga's ability to keep the ball in the yard will drive his major league success. He's expected to fill a mid-rotation role but shouldn't be expected to make more than 25 or 26 starts as he transitions to his new environment.

Sanchez missed the last half of spring training with soreness in his left triceps. He came off the IL in late April to make a start in a doubleheader, then was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Sanchez wasn't pitching well, but the Phillies needed rotation help, so they recalled Sanchez in mid-June. Something clicked as the right-handers went on to start 17 more games, with one relief appearance. His 3.44 ERA was fully supported by its estimators, though Sanchez benefited from a .272 BABIP, which is low for a pitcher with a 57 percent ground ball rate. His four percent walk rate was much lower than previous seasons, while his 24.2 strikeout clip matched his minor league track record. Sanchez isn't assured of a spot in the opening day rotation, but he merits a long look in the spring. He'll be hard-pressed to match his 1.05 WHIP as his BABIP is likely to increase as well as giving back some of the control gains exhibited lasts season. Sanchez's three-pitch mix, featuring a 92-mph sinker, changeup and slider doesn't portend a front-end starter, but Sanchez could be a reliable back-end fantasy guy, shielded from the most potent lineups.

King was the Yankees' duct tape in 2023 as he fixed issues as the pitching situation broke down in New York. Need a starter? King started nine contests in the second half peaking with a 13-strikeout performance against Toronto on September 20th. Need a closer? King saved six games before the break. Need a long reliever? King had 24 outings in which he faced 5-9 batters. Throughout it all, King struck out 29.5% of the batters he faced holding them to a .223 average with solid ratios with a handful of wins and saves. He has a four-pitch repertoire against lefties with his changeup leading the way and zigs and zags against righties with sinkers and sweepers. King was the big-league headliner in the Padres' return for one year of Juan Soto, and San Diego has such little rotation depth that his role won't be in question as long as he stays healthy. It's a modest upgrade in home parks, as Yankee Stadium was close to neutral while San Diego has the second-best pitcher's park in the game, per Baseball Savant's three-year rolling park factors.

Greene didn't earn his first win until May 26 and a hip injury cost him two months during the summer. He struggled to a 6.52 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in eight starts following his return in August, leaving him with a 4.82 and 1.42 WHIP in 112 innings overall. The much-hyped flamethrowing righty hit 105 mph on the radar gun in his 2023 debut and the slider once again enjoyed a great deal of success (.175 xBA, 39.2 Whiff%) on the heels of the fastball. The ERA estimators paint an encouraging picture, but many of the same problems remain for Greene, namely the fact that the changeup is still a distant third pitch that he uses primarily against lefties to marginal success. Home runs have been a big problem in Great American Ball Park (2.2 HR/9, 20.7% HR/FB at home for his career). He will still be just 24 years old for most of 2024 and the Reds are trending upward as a team, but big-league hitters can catch up to elite velocity when they're sitting on it, and without further development of the changeup Greene will likely continue to battle inconsistency as a member of the Cincinnati rotation.

Keller earned his first career All-Star nod in 2023 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 19 starts during the first half, but he fell apart after the break with a 5.59 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 13 outings. The good news is that the right-hander stayed mostly healthy and set a career high with 194.1 innings, and he also improved his strikeout rate to 25.5 percent and walk rate to 6.7 percent. Keller also may have received some unfortunate results, as indicated by a 3.83 SIERA and 3.70 xFIP compared to a 4.21 ERA. Despite the struggles down the stretch in 2023, it's a season to build on as he enters his age-28 campaign. Keller certainly shouldn't be the ace of a staff but is a strong option to round out a rotation for fantasy managers in 2024, especially if he can maintain the decent strikeout and win (13) totals.

Smith had yet another above average offensive season at the dish, especially when you consider he was the only primary catcher to score at least 80 runs last season and just the fifth catcher to do so in the past 15 seasons joining Realmuto, Posey, Martin, and Mauer. Early on, it appeared that Smith was on his way to a huge season as he went into the break with a .279/.396/.494 triple-slash line with 13 homers and 46 RBIs, but hit .242/.320/.381 with just 6 homers and 30 RBIs after the break. Smith's production and outcomes have been consistently impressive as he handles the strains of trying to slow down opposing running games Dodger pitchers struggled to adjust to the new environment. Smith throws very well, yet the league has swiped 118 bases when he has caught over the past two seasons because he is just one part of the equation. Smith and Realmuto are the only two catcher eligible players with at least 125 games played each of the past three seasons. Invest with confidence.

Contreras fully stepped out of his older brother's shadow in 2023, and in fact led all catcher-eligible players in earned fantasy value. Traded from Atlanta to Milwaukee last winter, he logged 611 plate appearances in his first season with the Brewers -- a number padded by 29 starts at designated hitter, in addition to his 108 behind the dish. He hit .314 after the All-Star break to finish at .289 for the season, though Statcast puts his expected batting average at only .253. Contreras grounded into a whopping 23 double plays and still surpassed 160 runs-plus-RBI, and he will be in the middle of everything the Brewers do once again in 2024. While he may not see quite as many starts as the DH, his playing time is secure on account of his hitting and excellent blocking and framing metrics. There's already a lot to like and a jump in power is not out of the question.

Are the years of heavy volume behind the plate finally catching up with Realmuto? He has been an above-average offensive producer for seasons on end and still finished 2023 as the third-most valuable fantasy catcher behind only William Contreras and Adley Rutschman because unlike any other catcher, he steals bases. His 16 steals last season led all players who are still catcher eligible for 2024. However, Realmuto had both a career-worst batting average and the second-worst OBP of his career last season. Realmuto was once a high-contact hitter, but he's since slipped to the bottom half of the league while his chase rate has slipped near the bottom third. Kyle Schwarber's full-time presence on the roster at designated hitter doesn't afford Realmuto the ability to stick in the lineup when he gets days off behind the plate, but if healthy, Realmuto should still play around 130-to-140 games once again while offering production in all five categories.

When Atlanta acquired Murphy, it was coming off a season where he had collected 611 plate appearances for the Athletics. While it was anticipated Murphy wouldn't repeat that with Travis d'Arnaud in the mix, most expected Murphy would gather more than the 438 plate appearances he recorded. Confusing matters more is Murphy's 129 wRC+ was the highest of all catchers with at least as many plate appearances, and Murphy's defense was outstanding. Meanwhile, when healthy, d'Arnaud's offense and defense both displayed signs of decline. Perhaps the extra rest helped Murphy, as he posted career highs in average exit velocity, hard-hit rate and barrel percent. Even so, it's curious why Murphy didn't play more. Both backstops will be back with Atlanta this season, so it must be assumed Murphy will continue to lose playing time to his veteran counterpart. However, at some point, Atlanta should realize Murphy is the better option. Paying for more playing time is defensible, just don't take the leap to 2022 levels.

Contreras' first year in St. Louis was a bumpy one with a .438 winning percentage being the organization's worst since 1995. The drama started early with his new team, as he was pushed out from behind the plate in May due to poor defensive metrics, since the Cardinals apparently didn't realize he's always been a bat-first catcher. He still ended up making 97 appearances at catcher compared to 30 at designated hitter, but the early-season issues set the tone for what ended up being an awful season for St. Louis. Individually however, Contreras was his usual productive self offensively, as he delivered a fourth straight 20-homer campaign (the shortened 2020 season notwithstanding) and a 127 wRC+, which tied for best in baseball among catchers with at least 450 plate appearances. Volume is the only real concern for fantasy managers at this point -- his 495 plate appearances in 2023 being the second-highest total of his career -- with the lack of opportunities keeping his run production at modest levels (55 runs, 67 RBI last season). Despite that ceiling, Contreras should be locked in as one of the better fantasy catchers again in 2024.

After being selected first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft, Davis was limited to only 59 games in 2022 by a wrist injury. That appeared to set back his timeline to reach the majors, though he ripped through work at Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis to reach Pittsburgh by mid-June of 2023. Davis' opening sample in the majors wasn't all that inspiring, as he managed only a .653 OPS, .287 wOBA and 76 wRC+. That was driven primarily by a strikeout rate that spiked to 27 percent after sitting consistently in the high teens and low 20s throughout his minor-league stints. Considering he also played through a right hand injury, there were some positive underlying signs from his time in the majors despite the poor surface stats, highlighted by a 7.0 percent barrel rate and 88.6 average exit velocity - both of which were almost exactly league-average. In addition to proving he can stay healthy, the biggest question for Davis is where he'll play defensively. After playing primarily behind the plate in the minors, upon reaching the majors, he started exclusively in right field or at DH. He'll enter the 2024 season without catcher eligibility as a result, though general manager Ben Cherington stated early in the offseason that the team still views him as an option behind the dish. If he gets enough playing time to regain eligibility, he'll instantly be back on fantasy radars, but he's far less appealing as an outfielder and potentially first baseman.

Ruiz posted a .673 OPS with seven homers and 31 RBI in 112 games during 2022, and he showed some improvements last season. The 25-year-old inked an extension to keep him with the Nationals through at least 2030 just prior to the season, and he had a .260/.308/.409 slash line with 18 long balls, 67 RBI and 55 runs in 136 contests. Ruiz ranked fifth among catchers with 562 plate appearances and had an elite 10.3 percent strikeout rate, which ranked third in MLB. His strong bat-to-ball skills have translated to the majors, but he's been unable to make consistent hard contact with a 4.9 percent barrel rate and 31.9 percent hard-hit rate in his two years as a starter. Ruiz has a lower ceiling than the top catchers in the league with his power limitations amid a weak offense, but his regular spot in the lineup gives him a strong floor for fantasy managers, and there's still room to grow given he plays the most difficult position on the field.

Alvarez didn't break camp with the Mets, but he was called up a week into the season and became the regular backstop, catching two-thirds of the club's games, along with seven games as the designated hitters. Alvarez fanned 26 percent of the time, which was in range of his minor league track record. However, his walk rate was just eight percent, considerably lower than his minor league pedigree. An above average exit velocity on fly balls supported bashing 25 homers. However, Alvarez's .222 BABIP, along with an above average strikeout rate rendered him a batting average liability. Some of the low BABIP was an unusually low line drive rate, along with a low BABIP on grounders. Both should improve this season, but Alvarez's average will still likely be detrimental to a fantasy lineup. On the other hand, his power is real, and his run production should pick up as the Mets offense should improve. Alvarez's defense and framing were excellent, though he had trouble controlling the running game. Alvarez should be among the leaders in homers from catchers, just make sure you can absorb his low average.

Bailey slashed an uninspiring .225/.342/.419 at the High-A level in 2022 and entered the 2023 campaign behind Joey Bart and Roberto Perez, among others, on the Giants' catching depth chart. Needless to say, he didn't really seem to be on the fantasy radar heading into last season. As it turned out, he was promoted before the end of May and made a terrific first impression in batting .322/.347/.557 with five homers over his first 33 major-league contests. Although he continued to provide excellent defense, Bailey crashed hard at the plate the rest of the way with a .503 OPS and 29.1 percent strikeout rate from July on. A 10 percent barrel rate was nice to see, but Bailey's strikeout and walk rates were both in the 17th percentile and the switch-hitter sported just a .557 OPS against righties. His defense should provide job security, but Bailey should be reserved only for two-catcher leagues in fantasy.

Campusano entered 2023 with 92 big-league plate appearances over the previous three years, but he finally received a decent stretch of playing time last season. He made the Opening Day roster as San Diego's backup catcher but went down with a thumb injury in mid-April and was sidelined until after the All-Star break. Gary Sanchez had settled in behind the plate for the Padres, but Campusano saw regular action the rest of the way before a sprained ankle kept him out for the final week of the campaign. The 25-year-old didn't provide much defensive value but excelled offensively with seven homers, 27 runs, 30 RBI and a .319/.356/.491 slash line in 174 plate appearances. Campusano hit similarly in the minors and doesn't have much else to prove at Triple-A, and he should be the favorite to open 2024 as the Friars' starting backstop. Even if that's the case, his outlook is likely to be limited by volume since he's played over 100 games in a season just once in his professional career. Additionally, he hasn't proved he can produce at the major-league level for even a half season, let alone a full one, so there's plenty of risk that comes with his massive upside.

Reds manager David Bell said before the 2023 season that the goal was for Stephenson to catch roughly 65 games. Stephenson ended up making 92 appearances at catcher (78 starts) to go along with 43 appearances at designated hitter (40 starts) and eight at first base (four starts). While new arrivals to Cincinnati cemented themselves at the major-league level, Stephenson's play raised more questions than it answered in regards to his long-term future with the organization. He hit a mere five home runs in 271 plate appearances away from Great American Ball Park. By FanGraphs' WAR formula, Stephenson was below replacement level in his 142 games. He's suffered at least three concussions in his playing career and one more could force a move out from behind the plate, if his poor defense doesn't necessitate a move sooner. Now entering his arbitration years, Stephenson's starts at DH could take a big hit as the Reds find at-bats for other talented young players.

Every year, there is a player whose playoff exploits overshadow his regular season. In 380 regular season plate appearances, Moreno swatted seven homers. In 70 postseason trips to the dish, he clubbed four dingers. Perhaps the best approach is evaluating 2024 is combining the two, yielding 11 long balls in 450 plate appearances. In those 70 plate appearances, Moreno continued to hit a preponderance of ground balls, he just happened to drive a cluster of fly balls out of the yard. However, the high ground ball rate, combined with a nine-point jump to a 41.8 percent hard hit rate supports a high BABIP, which is Moreno's primary asset; a couple more homers is a bonus. He did strike out more last season, but his 19.7 percent mark was still below average, especially for a catcher. Moreno's pitch presentation is below average, but he's otherwise outstanding behind the plate, which should result in bell cow level of playing time. Moreno is in play for those favoring to pay for a solid catcher, just don't overpay for four playoff homers.

Haase was the Tigers' Opening Day catcher last season, but he ended the campaign back in the minors in a different organization. After he popped a combined 36 homers from 2021-22, Haase's power vanished. The slugging had been his saving grace, as he's always had strikeout issues, and without that, Haase became a liability. Detroit designated him for assignment at the end of August, and after only a brief period of time with Cleveland, he was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus. It was an unceremonious end to a brutal season -- Haase's 42 wRC+ was the worst among all players with 250-plus plate appearances -- but nonetheless he managed to land a big-league deal with the Brewers in free agency. Now entering his age-31 season, Haase projects as Milwaukee's third catcher behind William Contreras and part-time DH Gary Sanchez.

A fourth-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Memphis, Goodman tore his way through the Rockies' minor-league system, posting a combined .924 OPS with 72 home runs and 229 RBI in 263 games between Low-A Fresno, High-A Spokane, Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque. Many of those affiliates play in hitter-friendly ballparks and Goodman mostly struggled in his first taste of MLB action down the stretch in 2023, but to gloss over what he did on the farm seems foolish given that he'll have the pleasure of taking half of his big-league at-bats within the confines of Coors Field. The 24-year-old appears poised to be a regular presence in the Colorado lineup out of the gate in 2024 and has the feel of a sneaky breakout candidate in his first full major-league campaign.

Amaya made his MLB debut in 2023, appearing in 53 games for the Cubs. The catcher batted .214 with a .688 OPS, five home runs and 18 RBI. Amaya struck out nearly 26% of the time, which isn't too surprising for a young player getting his feet wet in the majors. The 24-year-old's strikeout rate wasn't much lower during his time in the minors, however, so that part of his game may stick. In the minors, Amaya offset the swings and misses by consistently walking at a high rate, which propped up his on-base percentage. He only walked 7.7% of the time during his time with the Cubs in 2023, and it remains to be seen if he'll be able to push that figure upward as he settles in at the nig-league level. Amaya figures to back up veteran Yan Gomes to begin the 2024 season, which caps the former's fantasy upside in the short term. However, the Cubs may mix things up if they fall out of contention. Amaya doesn't look like a fantasy regular quite yet, but that could happen in the near future.

Freeman was already great but got better because he jumped in on the steals fun last year. Freeman's other numbers were as amazing as they always were as he continues to produce at a Hall of Fame pace but added cherry on top by steals as many bases in 2023 as he did over the three previous seasons combined. Freeman's 23 steals was a great reminder that sprint speed is not everything for steals as Freeman's sprint speed was in the bottom third of the league. We raise that point because that is about the only risk in this area is that he is slowing down and the steals will continue eventually fade as Freeman continues to progress into his mid 30's. There is no doubt Freeman is a first round pick; the only doubt is how high he is taken in the first round . He outearned everyone not named Acuna Jr or Olson and sits very high on our 2024 projections and when you throw in the fact Freeman has avoided the IL since 2017, he is the epitome of a safe first round foundation.

We enter a new realm for Harper on draft day as we are forced to consider him as part of the first base pool now as he lost his outfield eligibility last year and with the announced divestiture from Rhys Hoskins, maybe permanently. Harper got off to an expected slow start in the power department coming off his surgery with just five homers through the end of July before he got red hot over the final two months with 16 homers and 41 RBIs capped with a 10 homer August around a .361 average. Once Harper got into his groove, everything fell back into place and he was his normal self as the final numbers show. We can excuse his lowest slugging percentage since 2018 to the post-surgical rust, but everything else looks as good as it ever was. The next hurdle is him resuming his 140+ game workload after two seasons of falling short of that much-needed mark given his lofty annual draft status.

A marriage made in baseball heaven, Olson has done nothing but rake since Atlanta acquired him from Oakland in March of 2022. He turned it up to an even greater level in 2023, his second year with the organization, pacing all major-league hitters in home runs (54) and RBI (139) while registering the fourth-highest OPS in the bigs at .993. He finished in the 99th percentile in both average exit velocity and hard-hit rate and ranked in the 97th percentile in xSLG, all en route to a fourth-place finish for NL MVP. Olson enters his age-30 season firing on all cylinders and surrounded by one of the best supporting casts you can find. He again has a chance to lead the majors in homers and should feast on RBI opportunities as the locked-in cleanup man for the reigning National League East champions. With first base lacking some of the depth it had a decade ago, it's probably worth reaching for Olson in the opening rounds of drafts this spring.

Encarnacion-Strand kicked the door down with a .331/.405/.637 line and 20 homers in 67 games with Triple-A Louisville to earn a promotion to Cincinnati just after the All-Star break. At 23 years old, he continued to hit for impressive power at the highest level, totaling 20 extra-base hits in his first 241 MLB plate appearances. He struck out at a 28.6% clip but still managed to bat .270 on the strength of a 10.5% barrel rate. In declining Joey Votto's option in November, the Reds said they could not commit to the playing time Votto deserves, an acknowledgment of the need to get Encarnacion-Strand and others more at-bats in 2024. Acquired from Minnesota in 2022 as part of the Tyler Mahle deal, Encarnacion-Strand will likely split time between first base and designated hitter after the Reds signed Jeimer Candelario to a multi-year deal.

Hoskins had to be carted off the field during a Grapefruit League game last spring and it was later confirmed that he suffered a torn left ACL, as feared. The surgery to repair the injury knocked Hoskins out for the entirety of 2023. While there was talk that Hoskins could return for the World Series, the Phillies never made it that far, and as expected the team declined to extend him the qualifying offer after the season. Hoskins has been quite the productive hitter when healthy, blasting 148 home runs in 667 career MLB games to date, but the health concerns are significant (and only mounting) with Hoskins now on the wrong side of 30. He underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of 2020, needed abdominal surgery in 2021 and was coming off surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee last spring before suffering the left knee injury.

Candelario has always packed latent power, but Comerica Park kept most of his fly balls in the yard. Last season, he signed with Washington and homers ensued, buoyed by power-friendly Nationals Park and Wrigley Field in the summertime. Before he was traded to the Cubs, Candelario clubbed 16 homers, fueling a .258/.342/.481 line. He fell a bit after, posting a .234/.318/.445 line, but added six more homers to set a new career high. Candelario's .471 slugging mark was the second highest of his career, only bettered by .503 in the pandemic season. His strikeout and walk rate have been in the same range for many years, with no sign of changing this year. Candelario's BABIP has been all over the place, ranging from .257 to .333 over the past six seasons, omitting the .372 mark recorded in the shortened 2020 season. He finds himself in his best home park to date after signing a three-year, $45 million deal with the Reds. His dual eligibility makes for a decent late cornerman, and while he may get more days off than a true everyday player, the switch hitter should be in the middle of the lineup most days and is a must-play at home.

Arraez won the AL batting title and was dealt to Miami in a deal for Pablo Lopez over the winter. Rather than pout about leaving the only organization he has ever known, Arraez simply went out and won the NL batting title as well as the overall league batting title obliterating the competition. He was one of three qualified hitters who walked more than he struck out, which is quite the accomplishment given he only walked 35 times in 617 plate appearances in 2023. His extreme bat to ball skills with a willingness to use all fields gives him the highest batting average floor in fantasy baseball and his .326 career average in nearly 2200 plate appearance attests to that. He does not run well, but is on base at a high volume to score enough runs and is not a drag on RBIs like other "slappies" can be. Don't sell his power short as he can turn and burn on occasion as well. Arraez is to batting average what Esteury Ruiz is to steals without dragging down other categories.

Burger didn't even make the Opening Day roster last year, but he ended up having a big impact for both the White Sox and Marlins. He finished second on the White Sox in home runs with 25 despite playing in only 88 games with the club. Burger added nine more long balls in 53 games with Miami following a deadline trade, finishing 15th in MLB with 34 homers in total. In a surprising twist, Burger cut his strikeout rate by nearly 10 percentage points following the move to South Beach, which lends some hope to the idea that he could be more than a one-dimensional slugger. Thanks in large part to the improved contact rate, he hit .303 with a 131 wRC+ in his small sample with Miami. Burger, the 11th overall pick in 2017, lost multiple years of development time due to two tears of his left Achilles' tendon. The health history has to be taken into account, but even with those concerns Burger has quite a bit of appeal as a third baseman/corner infielder in fantasy.

Busch fits best defensively at designated hitter, but it's still to be determined whether his bat will produce enough value in the majors to be worth playing at the bottom of the defensive spectrum. With the addition of automated balls and strikes, the Pacific Coast League was even more of a hitter's paradise than in the past, and Busch took full advantage, slashing .323/.431/.618 with 27 home runs, an 18.8 K% and a 13.9 BB% in 98 games. In addition to the cartoonish hitting environment he played in, Busch was 25 years old, so there would be no excuse for him not to mash Triple-A pitching. Even in that juiced environment, Busch only managed a .795 OPS with two home runs in 167 plate appearances against lefties, so he may be platooned if he doesn't become passable somewhere defensively. He only got 81 plate appearances in the majors, struggling to an unlucky .167 average with 27 strikeouts, eight walks and two home runs. He is eligible at third base in 2024 but may not have anywhere to play for the Dodgers in the short term. There are some Quad-A hitter red flags, and Busch may need a trade to get a chance to show he belongs.

Flores put together the best offensive showing of his career in 2023 in what was his age-31 season. The veteran infielder's .284 average, .355 on-base percentage and .509 slugging percentage were all full-season career highs, as were his 23 home runs. Long known as a lefty masher, Flores did his usual tormenting of southpaws in producing an .886 OPS with eight homers in 181 plate appearances against them. He handled righties nearly as well, though, with an .847 OPS and 15 long balls across 273 plate appearances. A glance at Flores' expected stats via Statcast paint a picture of a guy who had luck on his side, as only 10 other players had a bigger spread than Flores' 32-point gap between his xwOBA (.336) and actual wOBA (.368). He's an extreme flyball hitter (46.7 percent) and pull hitter (46.1 percent), which is the recipe for overcoming a weak average exit velocity (86.4 mph), but some regression here is likely.

A string of knee issues derailed Wade in 2022 and prevented him from building on his breakout showing with the Giants from 2021, but he managed to stay mostly healthy in 2023 and returned to form as a reliable leadoff presence for San Francisco. He registered a .373 on-base percentage, which ranked 13th-best among all qualified major-league hitters, and he struck out only 95 times in 519 plate appearances while drawing 76 walks. Wade doesn't have a ton of raw power -- he finished in just the 32nd percentile last year in average exit velocity -- but the 30-year-old first baseman and corner outfielder should continue to be a fairly appealing option in OBP leagues and might be worthy of late-round or waiver-wire consideration in standard formats for his potential to rack up runs scored. It's worth nothing, however, that the offseason arrival of Jung Hoo Lee could seriously curtail Wade's tablesetting opportunities.

Rivas spent the majority of his 2023 season with Triple-A El Paso, though he was shipped to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline and got fairly regular run at first base for the final two months of the campaign. Across 106 plate appearances in that span, he hit .234/.305/.436 while striking out 27.3 percent of the time. Since the close of the season, he's been claimed by both the Guardians and Angels off waivers and could have the chance to earn a backup first base or DH role in Los Angeles behind Nolan Schanuel. Even with regular playing time, Rivas's skill profile isn't particularly inspiring, though it is worth noting that he raised his launch angle to 11.1 degrees and his flyball rate to 41 percent in 2023. If he can keep those improvements and find his way to some playing time, he could be a corner infield option in the deepest of leagues. Those hopes aren't worth the use of a draft pick.

Fresh off a 28-homer showing between the majors and minors, Yepez looked a year ago at this time like he could eventually slot into the middle part of the Cardinals' batting order. He had quite a fall in 2023, though, spending the overwhelming majority of his season back at Triple-A Memphis where he managed just a .736 OPS and nine home runs over 86 contests. The Cards non-tendered Yepez after the season even as he was not yet eligible for salary arbitration. He managed to land in a much more favorable situation for playing time when he inked a minor-league contract with the Nationals. Yepez is not on the 40-man roster and has options remaining, so he's not guaranteed anything. Still, the Nats haven't exactly set up roadblocks at the positions Yepez can play, so he could get a shot. At this point, the 26-year-old is more of a name to monitor in deeper formats.

Toglia played in 45 games for the Rockies last season but spent the final month of the campaign in the minors. He had a .163/.224/.284 slash line with four homers in 152 plate appearances, and he had a 34.6 percent strikeout rate through 76 career big-league contests. The 2019 first-round pick had an .842 OPS with 16 homers in 78 games at Triple-A in 2023, so he has little else to prove offensively at the minor-league level. Toglia should have a chance to earn a place on Colorado's Opening Day roster, but his opportunities are likely to be inconsistent without a significant improvement.

There have been some ups and downs for Albies in recent years, but the downs are mostly injury-related. When he's at his best and healthiest, he rates as a legitimate fantasy superstar with his blend of power and overall athleticism. The dynamic second baseman put it all together in 2023, delivering career highs in homers (33) and RBI (109) while tallying 96 runs scored as the primary No. 2 hitter for the runaway National League East champions. He also swiped 13 bases in 14 attempts despite a drop in sprint speed from where he was at his base-stealing peak. Sandwiched again among the likes of Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley, Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, Michael Harris and Sean Murphy, Albies should continue to rack up counting stats in bunches in 2024, what will be his age-27 campaign. It's truly remarkable that Atlanta only owes him $7 million annually over the next four seasons.

Marte capped a productive season with an even more impressive postseason run. He posted a career-high 650 regular-season plate appearances while recording a 127 wRC+, the third highest of his career. Contact continued to be Marte's calling card, though he did log the second highest walk rate of his career. His power rebounded after a down season, but Marte's xSLG suggests he was a bit fortunate in that department. Marte swiped eight bags on 10 attempts, but he was one of the few players not to take better advantage of the new rules. For the second straight season, He lowered his strikeout rate while walking at a higher clip, helping maintain one of the top two spots in the Diamondbacks lineup, resulting in the second most runs and RBI of his career, both bettered only by his production in 2019 when Marte took advantage of the happy fun ball. Marte played almost exclusively at second base, losing outfield eligibility. Marte will have a hard time matching last season's power, but he offers a bankable floor with batting average stabilization.

Gorman hit 14 homers with a .720 OPS in 89 games as a rookie in 2022, and he took a step forward last season with 27 home runs, 76 RBI and a .236/.328/.478 line in 119 contests. He missed some time due to back issues and finished the season on the IL due to a hamstring strain, but he should be healthy by spring training. Gorman improved his walk rate to 11.5 percent and also cut his strikeout rate a tick, but his 31.9 percent figure is still unsightly. He made 75 starts at second base and 12 at third but is a subpar defender, which could line him up for more time at designated hitter (where he made 27 starts). Gorman appears to have settled in against big-league pitching despite the heavy swing-and-miss in his stroke, and he's done so with a sustainable .298 BABIP. He should open 2024 with a regular spot in the Cardinals' lineup and certainly has upside if he's able to make a bit more contact, though that shouldn't be the expectation since his issues with strikeouts have persisted through the minors..

Hoerner took hold of a starting job for the Cubs in 2022 and produced a .281/.327/.410 slash line with 10 homers, 20 steals, 55 RBI and 60 runs in 135 games, and he followed up with similar production last season. He moved from shortstop to second base in 2023 following the signing of Dansby Swanson and had nine long balls, 43 steals, 98 runs and 68 RBI with a .729 OPS across 150 contests. Those figures resulted in a 102 wRC+, and he was sixth in the league in stolen bases while being caught seven times. He hit 46.9 percent of his balls on the ground and didn't consistently make solid contact with a 1.7 percent barrel rate and 33.0 percent hard-hit rate, both of which rank near the bottom for qualified hitters. However, none of those figures are significantly different from the previous year, which indicates his production over the past two seasons is sustainable. Hoerner should provide a strong average with plenty of runs and stolen bases for fantasy managers again in 2024 with his high-contact, low-power approach, though he's unlikely to be a significant contributor in other categories.

He hit the ground running in his first three major-league seasons, but it's fair to say Cronenworth played a role in the overall disappointment that emanated from San Diego last year. After registering a combined .770 OPS (117 OPS+) between 2020-22, he stumbled to a .689 OPS (92 OPS+) over 522 plate appearances in 2023. The batting average, the on-base skills, the slugging percentage -- all of his rate stats fell off in a major way, and with that came a drastic dip in counting-stats production. Cronenworth signed a seven-year, $80 million contract extension with the Padres last March and is not at risk of losing any sort of playing time in the immediate future, but he's also not a safe bet to fully rebound at age 30 and there are a lot of higher-upside options on the board at both first base and second base.

Turang's solid Triple-A season in 2022 did not carry over into any 2023 success at the big league level at the plate. The 23 year old struggled to square up the baseball and the league fed him a heavy diet of fastballs (56%) as they quickly figured out he was unlikely to do much with them as his .224 xBA and .325 xSLG validate. Turangs's redeeming offensive skill was his legs as he used his elite speed to swipe 26 bases in 30 attempts. Turang's fantasy upside is limited by both his weak bat as well as the fact he will not escape the 9th spot of the lineup unless that bat improves. He does have dual-position eligibility on draft day, but even that is not much to elevate his fantasy profile as he does have a remaining option the club can use should Turang not show any improvement at the plate. He can deftly field his position and run the bases, but the bat has to close the gap this season to gain more than end-game fantasy relevancy.

Stott superbly rebounded from a rough freshman campaign with an outstanding sophomore season which saw him finish as the eighth most valuable second baseman by earned auction value in standard leagues. His 31 steals were third best at the position and he provided volume in all five scoring categories while hitting in three different spots of the lineup over the course of the season. Stott's biggest improvements came from reducing his strikeout rate by 18% year over year and using all fields to vastly improve his batting average. It would be nice to see him drive up his walk rate so that his on base percentage was not so dependent upon batted ball fortunes. If he could push his OBP up over .350, 40-plus steals would be possible with more attempts as he was 91% successful in his 34 attempts last season. Stott is expected to hit in the bottom half of the lineup as the top three spots in Philadelphia are not moving and Stott lacks the thump to hit fourth or fifth.

Estrada followed up his breakout 2022 season with another impressive campaign, though it was truncated by a broken left hand. He returned to slash just .268/.298/.390 in his final 51 games (.272/.327/.434 before the injury). Still, despite playing in 20 fewer games, Estrada matched his homer total and exceeded his stolen-base total from the year prior. His appeal takes a hit in OBP leagues since Estrada owns a career 5.1 BB%, but he's a plus defender and carries dual eligibility into the 2024 season (second base, shortstop). While Estrada's batted-ball numbers do little to excite, he's now turned in three straight years of above-average offensive production. With better luck on the health front, Estrada could reach 600 plate appearances for the first time in his career as an everyday presence in the Giants' middle infield.

Coming off a National League batting title, McNeil needed a strong finishing kick in the final two months just to get his average up to .270, which was 37 points lower than the career .307 mark he carried into the season and 56 points lower than the .326 he hit in 2022. McNeil's contact skills were as good as ever with a strikeout rate of just 10 percent, but his already-weak quality of contact was even worse last season with a hard-hit rate in the fifth percentile and barrel rate in the second percentile. He also hit more flyballs, which helped him reach double digits in home runs for just the second time but also, when combined with feeble contact, led to a lot of lazy flyouts. It's possible McNeil was pressing after signing a long-term deal, and his .303/.342/.466 line from August on is probably closer to what we should expect in 2024. McNeil did end the season on the injured list with a partial tear of the UCL in his right elbow, but all signs point to that healing with rest.

When he made his major-league debut in August of 2020, just 90 days after his 20th birthday, it sure appeared that Garcia was headed toward a long and prosperous career. It could still happen -- he's still young -- but a lot of the prospect shine has already worn off as he enters his age-24 campaign. Garcia posted a greatly-improved 12.4 strikeout percentage last season, down from 22.3 percent the year before, but he got on base at only a .304 clip and owns a career .295 OBP through his first 1,245 big-league plate appearances. He's not particularly fast, nor does he hit the ball particularly hard, so it's difficult to envision a sudden breakout in 2024. On top of all that, the Nationals aren't guaranteeing that Garcia will be their starting second baseman come Opening Day.

In his seventh full season with the Dodgers, Taylor came off the bench more than ever before, starting only 82 of the 117 contests in which he played. Nonetheless, the utility man enjoyed a bit of a bounce-back in comparison to his 2022 campaign, increasing his OPS 69 points to .746 and recording more homers (15) and stolen bases (16) than the year prior despite logging 70 fewer plate appearances. However, Taylor struck out at a massive 32.6 percent rate -- an improvement over 2022, but still 17th-worst among MLB hitters with at least 300 plate appearances. Taylor's value to the Dodgers as a Swiss army knife capable of contributing strong defense all over the field (he played five different positions last year) is undeniable, but his contact issues and the team's depth will likely prevent him from maintaining an everyday spot in the lineup. There's some fantasy appeal due to his eligibility at multiple positions and middling power/speed skill set, though he's best deployed as an end-of-bench asset in leagues that allow daily lineup changes.

Donovan worked last offseason on tweaking his setup at the plate, standing more upright while attempting to pull the ball in the air more often. It seemed to mostly work, as he upped his flyball rate from 23.6 percent to 30.3 percent and his pull rate from 35.5 percent to 41.3 percent. The result was Donovan more than doubling his home run total, but unfortunately he played only 95 games before needing season-ending flexor tendon surgery. The new, more aggressive approach meant fewer walks for Donovan, but because he remained elite at making contact and also hit the ball harder, he boasted an xBA in the 91st percentile. Donovan is expected to recover from elbow surgery in time for Opening Day and seems like a good bet to hit either first or second in the Cardinals' lineup.

Lux was an offensive monster in the the Dodger farm system, but that success did not translate to the big league level over two seasons while his third was washed out by a gruesome knee injury in spring training. A look back at his 2022 rankings show an 89th percentile sprint speed which is almost certain to take a hit coming off his major leg injury leaving only his plate discipline as his major plus skill. To date as a major leaguer, Lux has done most of his damage off fastballs while struggling to handle pitches with wrinkles and changes of speed so it will be interesting to see how the year layoff from live action changes anything. On another team, Lux's plate discipline could earn him a higher spot in the lineup, but the top four of the Dodger lineup is set in stone so expect Lux to live in the bottom third of the lineup unless the third year breakout he missed due to injury last year surfaces early this season.

Gonzales was once viewed the second baseman of the future in Pittsburgh, though as he's risen through the minor-league system, his strikeout rate has followed suit. Despite punching out at a 26.6 percent rate at Triple-A Indianapolis to start the 2023 season, he was promoted to the majors on June 23. As could be projected due to his struggles in the minors, Gonzales struggled in his first taste of big-league pitching by posting just a 64 wRC+ with a horrific .268 wOBA across 213 plate appearances. As a result, he was demoted back to Indianapolis in August, leaving Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae to man second base. Gonzales will now enter 2024 in competition for the starting second base job with that duo. The good news is that neither of Bae nor Peguero were exceptional in their 2023 sample, though this is likely Gonzales's last chance to prove he won't turn into the latest disappointment in Pittsburgh.

Lopez saw just 10 plate appearances in the majors in 2023 as an oblique strain forced him onto the 60-day injured list in July, with the majority of his playing time coming across 346 plate appearances at Triple-A Buffalo. Lopez slashed .258/.313/.343 in Triple-A before the injury shortened his season. Capable of playing both middle infield roles as well as across the outfield, Lopez's path to major league playing time is pretty muddy. The signing of Isiah Kiner-Falefa knocks Lopez down the utility man depth chart for the Blue Jays as he'll likely compete with Ernie Clement for a bench role in 2024.

Riley and Ohtani are the only two players in baseball with at least 30 homers, 90 runs, and 90 RBIs in each of the past three seasons. Whereas Ohtani has had to do a lot of the heavy lifting on his club in previous seasons, Riley is just one very well-positioned player in the lineup with Acuna Jr and Albies in front of him and Olson behind him in the lineup. The presence of speed in front of him allows him to see a lot of fastballs, and he hit 22 of them for homers along with a .290 average. Getting on base in front of Olson and Ozuna is how someone with slightly better than average speed scored 117 runs, exceeding his previous career high by 26 runs. We see no reason why Riley cannot keep his 30/90/90 streak going another season as nothing is changing in the powerful Atlanta offense in 2024. Riley is not going to help you in the running game, but that is the only true flaw in his fantasy vitae as he heads into his peak power production years at the hot corner.

Machado collected 30 homers and 91 RBI to go along with a .781 OPS -- his lowest since 2017 -- in 138 games last season. He played through an elbow injury for much of the campaign and made 33 appearances as a designated hitter before undergoing surgery to repair a tendon immediately after the regular season. The procedure carries a 4-to-6 month recovery timeline, which clouds his availability for the start of the 2024 campaign. He provided strong defense in his 105 games at the hot corner and still delivered plenty of power despite the injury with a second straight 30-homer season. Machado isn't likely to be at full strength for the start of spring training, but it's possible he's ready to go by Opening Day. He could also be limited to serving as the designated hitter early on to help ease him back into things at third base, but his true availability won't be known until he gets further into his recovery and rehab work. Even if he does end up missing some time in April, Machado is likely to be a strong fantasy producer in 2024.

Muncy continued to take the launch angle revolution to an extreme, but at least it paid off with tying his career best in homers and setting a new personal high with 105 RBI. Muncy's average exit velocity and hard-hit rate were around 80th percentile, but even with a 49.3 percent fly ball rate, Muncy collected only 17 doubles, resulting in a low .221 BABIP. As usual, Muncy walked at an elevated 14.7 percent clip, so he was still better suited for on-base and points leagues than standard 5x5 with batting average. The Dodgers extended Muncy's contract through 2025 with a club option for 2026, so they are clearly happy with his production and his skill set generally ages well. Buffer his batting average in standard leagues and like the Dodgers, you'll be happy with his three-category contributions. Just keep in mind for the first time in several drafts, Muncy does not have multiple-position eligibility; he's third base only to begin the campaign.

By Arenado's lofty standards, his 2023 season was a disappointment. He totaled just 26 home runs, his fewest in a full season since 2014. His average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard-hit rate all ranked in the bottom 40 percent of the league, per Statcast. It wasn't a disastrous season by any means as Arenado was an All-Star and still ranked above league average by most offensive measures, but it was a sizable step back from the previous year when he was an MVP finalist in the National League. The final month of the season was particularly rough as Arenado limped to the finish line with a .509 OPS in his final 17 games before back spasms ended his campaign. Despite the missed time at the end, Arenado still cleared 600 plate appearances, meaning he's now done so in each of the last eight full seasons. He's probably a future Hall of Famer and should be expected to bounce back to an extent, but his best days are likely behind him as he nears 33 years old.

Paredes had a wonderful breakout season becoming a full-time threat in the Tampa Bay lineup while playing three of the four infield positions. Paredes has a simple approach in that he is up there to pull baseballs, ideally over the fence since he is not the fleetest of foot. Paredes hit all 31 of his homers to left field, and in fact has hit all 53 of his career major league homers to left field. Not only does he pull a lot of baseballs, he also hits a high volume of flyballs which limits his batting average upside despite that he is both accepting of walks and does not strike out as much as one would imagine. His 98 RBI season appeared with him hitting .295 with runners in scoring position after hitting just .175 in those same situations in 2022. RISP production is not a skill so this could evaporate as quickly as it appeared which means the variability of his potential fantasy value in 2024 is rather wide. 2022 is a reminder of his downside.

Despite finishing second behind Aaron Judge in Statcast hard-hit rate and ranking in the 98th percentile in barrel rate, Chapman was only 10% better than league average by wRC+ in 2023, a step backward from his first season in Toronto. He managed a modest 17 homers and a .424 SLG in 581 plate appearances. The third baseman limped to the finish line with a .663 OPS in his final 52 games around a stint on the injured list with a right middle finger sprain. That issue aside, Chapman has been remarkably healthy throughout his career, exceeding 600 PA in each of the last four full seasons prior to last year. Barring significant changes in the batter's box, Chapman seems destined to fan at an elevated rate pushing 30%, and those swing-and-miss issues will likely continue to temper his production. That said, Chapman's defense is holding up well and he's just entering his age-31 season. His playing time will be locked in no matter where he ends up in free agency.

McMahon and Max Muncy are distant relatives insomuch as they are the only two players to hit at least 20 homers while hitting below .255 in each of the past four full seasons of baseball. Muncy brings much more to the table in run production, but we still find that to be an interesting stat. McMahon is like most Rockies in that he is better at Coors (.261, .816 OPS) than he is on the road (.219, .690 OPS) and his righty/lefty splits are not getting better as time goes on. The reliance on his home park and facing right handed pitching is what limits his upside despite the sweet dual-position eligibility he carries on draft day at second and third base. There is no reason to expect anything different from him in 2024 because he would be fooling to take a conditional opt-out of his current contract given how much of his production is married to his current home park. Set expectations at 20 homers and a .250 average and be content with that.

Bohm's wRC+ increased for the second straight season, and while he exhibited better plate skills, his batted-ball metrics took a small step back. Specifically, his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate dipped a tad from 2022. A slight increase in launch angle helped counter hitting the ball with less authority, resulting in Bohm's first 20-homer season. He only attempted five steals, the same as the previous season, but Bohm was successful four times as opposed to twice in 2022, hinting he could run a little more this season. Bohm's defense improved, but it was still well below average, and with Bryce Harper entrenched at first base, Bohm is ticketed for the hot corner. He's also probably also going to continue to hit lower in the order, costing Bohm some plate appearances. Bohm is solid, but expecting another level is risky.

Hayes had some up and down moments in 2023. Hayes took forever to get things going hitting .221 with just 2 homers through the end of May before waking up to hit .337 with 3 homers in June alone. An early back injury in July shelved him until mid-August and he returned with aplomb hitting .299 with 10 homers the rest of the way. His 15 homers in 2023 were just three fewer than he hit from 2020-2022, but his 10 steals was half of what he did the previous season at a time when most guys saw their totals jump a bit. He made positive gains in elevating the ball more frequently while not sacrificing his ability to make contact as he lowered his strikeout rate for a fourth consecutive season. Hayes has the tools to be a 20-20 player in 2024 if he can continue his growth from the late summer and get back to running. Either way, he feels prime for the breakout season many have wanted from him each of the past two seasons.

Suarez has been one of the most consistent sources of power over the past five-plus years, but the veteran third baseman was only able to go deep 22 times in 2023 with a .391 slugging mark; his lowest since his rookie year with the Tigers in 2014. He also once again led baseball in strikeouts with 214 while hitting just .232, and only his 96 RBI kept him fantasy-relevant for the majority of the summer. While the numbers were disappointing, the metrics suggest that Suarez deserved better in several categories. His expected slugging percentage of .423 was markedly higher, and his barrel percentage of 13.2 ranked in the 87th percentile of qualified hitters. He also was able to draw 70 walks for a second straight season, and his excellent defense at the hot corner kept him in the lineup for all 162 games even when the hits weren't falling. Suarez is a good bounceback candidate for anyone looking for power from the hot corner, and he receives a modest home-park upgrade after getting dealt from Seattle to Arizona this offseason.

Vientos earned a promotion to the big club in mid-May following a monster start to the season at Triple-A Syracuse. He struggled to replicate the success with the Mets, as he banged out nine home runs over 233 plate appearances but also posted a .620 OPS while striking out at a 30.5 percent clip. Vientos has fanned at a 27 percent rate during his time at Double- and Triple-A, so we probably can't count on much of an improvement with his strikeout rate in 2024. He did also draw walks at a 10.1 percent rate during those stops in the minors, so the 4.3 percent rate he had with the Mets could tick up. Ultimately, Vientos is likely to go as far as his power will take him, and he did collect a robust 51 percent hard-hit rate and 10.7 percent barrel rate. The 24-year-old could only have designated hitter eligibility initially in your fantasy league, and that spot might be his clearest path to playing time with the Mets.

The definition of a spare piece for Baltimore, Ortiz was shipped to Milwaukee along with DL Hall in exchange for Corbin Burnes in a contract year. The righty-hitting Ortiz is a plus defender who can play all over the infield, but he didn't project to provide enough offensive impact to play ahead of players like Jackson Holliday or Gunnar Henderson long term. Ortiz is a capable offensive player - he slashed .321/.378/.507 with nine home runs, 11 steals and a 17.7 percent strikeout rate in 88 games at Triple-A, good for a 121 wRC+. However, his .373 BABIP and the fact he turns 26 in July make that Triple-A production less impressive. Ortiz is a candidate to hit 10 homers and steal 10 bases without hurting your batting average, but he could hit at the bottom of the lineup against righties. He enters the season only eligible at second base, but Ortiz should play pretty regularly at third base early this season and he could be the shortstop of the future if Willy Adames leaves next offseason in free agency or gets traded during the season.

The 23-year old Baty had a tale of two seasons in that he absolutely raked in Triple-A Syracuse but struggled at the big league level. Baty had a .298/.388/.625 line in 121 plate appearances with Syracuse to force his way to the big league roster, but finished the season in Queens with a .212/.275/.323 line as other rookies around the league flourished. Baty handles fastballs well last season with a .283 xBA and six of his nine homers coming off the pitch, but a .151 xBA against breaking balls and a .239 xBA against offspeed pitches did him in as he saw those pitches 44% of the time from opposing pitchers. Facing lefties was mostly a mystery for him as he hit .176 with 29 strikeouts in 91 at bats while doing what damage he did against righties. Baty has the upside to be a better fantasy contributor than what he has shown thus far, but he will have to show that before he gets moved to the top half of the lineup. He is currently a liability at a position demanding production.

The two things working against Norby for 2024 are his middling defense at second base and in left field and Baltimore's impressive depth. If he were on a team like the White Sox, he could be ticketed for everyday work at second base to start the season and he might even climb to the first or second spot in the lineup. He is a professional hitter and enters his age-23/24 season with a career .295/.362/.498 slash line, 25 home runs, 10 steals and a 21 percent strikeout rate in 147 games at Triple-A. Norby bats right-handed and Oriole Park at Camden Yards had the second-worst overall 2023 Statcast park factor for right-handed batters and was third-worst for righty homers, so the depth chart isn't the only reason he could benefit from a trade. Norby has average speed and could chip in a handful of steals if he is playing every day.

Despite being selected in the third round of the 2019 draft, Triolo never carried much prospect pedigree or hype. That's because Triolo's carrying tool is his defense, as he's played every position along the infield since joining the organization. That set him up well to take advantage of openings along the team's infield in a utility role, and he did just that to close 2023 by playing 35 games at second base, 13 at second base, seven at first base and one at DH in his first sample in the majors. That versatility could also mean he maintains a role in 2024, but the question then becomes whether that will make him fantasy relevant. Across any significant sample in the minors, Triolo never posted an ISO above .176 and that mark was just .099 in 209 plate appearances with Pittsburgh. That lack of power will put a lot of pressure on his hit and speed tools. Triolo regularly hit above .280 in the minors, and it appears that success carried over after his promotion. However, his strikeout rate spiked to 30.1 percent and he relied on a .440 BABIP to hit .298 with the Pirates. That's a concerning sign for his batting average potential, but if he can secure an everyday role and get on base (11.5 BB% in majors), Triolo should be a source of stolen bases. He had consistent success in that regard in the minors and then stole six of seven bags successfully upon reaching the majors. That was backed by a 77th percentile sprint speed, leaving stolen bases as his primary path to fantasy relevance.

De La Cruz took the baseball world by storm upon his arrival to the major leagues. He immediately flashed the incredible power/speed combo that made him a top prospect and hit for the cycle in just his 15th career game, helping spark the Reds to a 12-game winning streak in June. Eventually things went south for both player and team, though De La Cruz showed once again that speed doesn't slump with 18 steals in his final 50 games despite hitting just .199/.285/.361 during that stretch and falling to the bottom of the batting order. Overall, De La Cruz hit 25 homers and stole 46 bases in 136 games between Triple-A and the big leagues at the age of 21. There are swing-and-miss issues that he'll need to address and he may not reach his true potential for a while yet, but the loud tools combined with regular playing time in a band box park make it tempting to overlook his flaws. The downside potential is he ends up back in the minors after a prolonged slump.

Turner was playing in the first year of a new huge deal in a new city, so history tells us there would be some bumps in the road for the talented superstar. However, even his harshest critic would not have predicted Turner having a .235/.290/.368 line as last as Aug. 3 and hitting in the eighth spot of the lineup. Philly fans, as they are well-known for, cheered him into a hot streak? Turner got hot in a well-timed series against the lowly Royals in early August and hit .337/.389/.668 the rest of the season with 16 homers, 42 runs and 42 RBIs helping push his final numbers close to what he did in 2022. The batting average hole he dug for himself was too much to climb out of, and the lineup demotion cut into his RBIs, but the homers were up while the steals and runs held true. One would have to hope the worst of things is behind Turner and 2024 could be a MVP-type seasons for him if he can play at his late pace. That elusive 30-30 season should happen in 2024.

Lindor played in all but two games for the Mets last season and posted an OPS above .800 for the first time since 2019. The 30-year-old set a career high with 31 stolen bases and also clubbed 31 homers, which made him one of four players in MLB to reach the 30-30 club. His .254 average is the second lowest of his career, but he also had career bests in barrel rate (10.4 percent) and hard-hit rate (43.9 percent). Linder's totals of 108 runs and 98 RBI were also the best figures among all shortstops. He also played through an elbow issue all season before undergoing surgery to have bone spurs removed in October, though he should fully healthy in plenty of time for spring training. Lindor remains locked in as the Mets' shortstop for the foreseeable future and should be an excellent fantasy option in 2024 as one of the more productive shortstops in baseball.

The centerpiece of the Nationals' return for Juan Soto, Abrams laid the foundation for what could be a long and prosperous MLB career in his first full season with Washington. At 22 years old, Abrams hit 18 homers and stole 47 bases in 151 games, finishing fifth in the majors in the latter category behind Ronald Acuna, Esteury Ruiz, Corbin Carroll and Bobby Witt. Abrams made 71 starts out of the leadoff spot and totaled 83 runs scored. His batting average was .228 or lower in four separate months of the season, and his Statcast page is icy blue, which for some may appear reminiscent of Victor Robles' 2019. No player is a sure thing, but it would be a surprise if Abrams went the way of Robles as Abrams has more speed, more pedigree and more discernible skill already at this stage. Now 23, Abrams will look to build on his 2023 showing as the Nationals' everyday shortstop.

Fresh off signing a seven-year, $177 million contract with the Cubs last offseason, Swanson underwhelmed at the plate in 2023 with a .744 OPS, which was his lowest mark since 2018. He still eclipsed 20 homers and 80 RBI for the third straight year, but his nine stolen bases were only half his total from 2022 despite the rule changes in favor of base stealers. He spent some rare time on the injured list with a heel issue, which is the first time he's missed more than two games in a season since 2019. Swanson provided elite defense at shortstop, as his 18 DRS led the league. He also cut his strikeout rate two points to 24.1 percent and improved his walk rate over three points to 10.5 percent, though his hard-hit rate dropped below 40 percent for the first time in five seasons. Now entering his age-30 campaign, Swanson is a safe option for another productive campaign in 2024 and is a decent bet for a minor rebound.

There are players who are better real baseball players than fantasy ones while there are others who are more meaningful in fantasy than real baseball. Tovar falls into the latter as he finished the season as the 15th best shortstop with 15 homers, 70+ runs and RBIs and 11 steals. His .253 batting average was slightly above the league average, but his 70 wRC+ shows what his real baseball offensive value was. Tovar did what most Rockies do: rake at home (.276) and struggle on the road (.229) but did nearly evenly split his homers. His handedness splits were nearly dead even in his rookie season, but it doesn't matter as his excellent defense keeps him in the lineup every day. Truth be told, this was an excellent rookie season for a 21 year old with just 23 plate appearances above Double-A before making his big league debut. He must improve his suspect plate discipline to keep the sophomore slump concerns at bay.

Bogaerts delivered six homers and a .914 OPS in his first month with the Padres, but the summer months weren't quite so productive. The veteran shortstop also had a 1.122 OPS during the final month of the season, but his .244/.308./358 slash line in between made for an underwhelming debut campaign in San Diego. In total it was a solid overall season with 19 homers, a career-high 19 steals, 83 runs and 58 RBI to go along with a .790 OPS, though that production certainly doesn't live up to the 11-year, $280 million contract he signed last offseason. His hard-hit rate also dropped over five points to 34.3 percent, while a .252 xBA and .395 xSLG indicate he was fortunate to hit .285 and slug .440. Bogaerts has regularly outperformed those expected figures throughout his career and may continue to do so, but less hard contact will make that trend more difficult to maintain. He's likely to be a productive fantasy shortstop again in 2024 and could improve his counting stats if the Padres' lineup gets back on track, but Bogaerts' longer-term outlook is looking a bit less rosy heading into his age-31 campaign.

Seemingly everyone in the fantasy community wanted Vaughn Grissom to open the season as Atlanta's starting shortstop. Manager Brian Snitker had other ideas, though, as Grissom was sent back to the minors and Arcia was signed to a three-year contract extension and named the starter at short. It wound up looking like the right call, as Arcia posted career highs with a .741 OPS and 17 home runs while solidifying the team's defense at short. The 29-year-old put up a 1.006 OPS with eight homers in 112 plate appearances against lefties versus just a .674 OPS against righties. Arcia hasn't had drastic splits like that before, though, so it's difficult to know what, if anything, to take away from it. He'll bat toward the bottom of the lineup and won't help in stolen bases, but it's a good lineup to be in and Arcia could show enough pop again in 2024 to be mixed-league relevant.

The youngest qualified hitter at Triple-A last season, Winn went on a summer-long heater that earned him a call to the majors late enough in the calendar to preserve his rookie status. He had a .553 OPS in his first 21 games at Triple-A and slashed .309/.383/.520 with 17 home runs and nine steals on 11 attempts over his final 83 games before getting the call. Over that stretch, his 14.7 percent strikeout rate and 9.5 percent walk rate were particularly impressive, even considering the automated balls and strikes system at Triple-A. Winn, a former two-way prospect, is probably known best known for his 80-grade arm at shortstop, however he's a great all-around athlete with plus speed and plus bat speed. He will turn 22 during spring training and is a shoo-in to enter the year as the everyday shortstop. Winn won't wow anyone with his exit velocities at this stage of his development, but his 81.7 percent contact rate, steady playing time and speed on the bases portends a fairly high floor. It should have surprised no one that he struggled initially in the majors, given his age, and a .196 BABIP played a role in that as well.

It's difficult to overstate just how hard Anderson crashed and burned in 2023. The 30-year-old came into the year having slashed .318/.347/.474 over his previous four seasons. He won one batting title during that stretch and, among regulars, no one sported a higher batting average than Anderson. Last season, the shortstop fell off to an anemic .245/.286/.296 line, with his .582 OPS ranking 133rd out of 133 qualifiers. The Statcast data matched the production, with Anderson's xwOBA ranking in the bottom eighth percentile. Anderson's sprint speed also cratered to the 45th percentile, which could indicate his early-season knee issue continued to nag at him after his stint on the injured list. After the White Sox decided against picking up his $14 million option for 2024, Anderson eventually landed with the Marlins on a one-year, $5 million deal. He is expected to serve as Miami's everyday shortstop.

The Giants reportedly want to give Luciano a chance to be the everyday shortstop in 2024, and that motivation from the club is arguably the best thing he has going for him in redraft leagues. Steamer projects the 22-year-old shortstop to hit .219 with a .296 OBP, and while he is a good defensive shortstop, it remains to be seen if San Francisco would allow him keep the everyday job all season if he is producing at that level. Known for his high pedigree as the headliner of the 2018 J-2 international signing class and his plus raw power, Luciano's strikeout rate has steadily trended in the wrong direction. He struck out at a 29.8 percent clip at Double-A, a 35.9 percent clip at Triple-A and a 37.8 percent clip in 45 MLB plate appearances. Unlike many other talented shortstops with questionable hit tools, Luciano doesn't provide much speed on the bases, so he needs to hit for a decent average to avoid being a player who perpetually hits in the bottom third of the lineup and is only rostered in deep leagues for his power and playing time. He missed time in 2023 with back and hamstring injuries and has only played 56 games at Double-A and 18 games at Triple-A, so it would be understandable if he needed more developmental time in the minors.

Fitzgerald really struggled in 2022 at Double-A Richmond but bounced back in a major way in 2023, slashing an impressive .292/.365/.511 with 22 home runs and 32 stolen bases between Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento. It earned him a late-season cup of coffee with the Giants and the 26-year-old popped two more homers and stole a couple more bases in 10 games. Fitzgerald struck out at a 29.4 percent rate with the big club after fanning at a 28.3 percent rate in the minors, so making contact could be an ongoing issue. He has legitimate pull-side power and stolen-base chops, though, offering some deep-league intrigue should he land a utility job.

No one in the National League with at least 70 plate appearances had a higher OPS in April than Perdomo's 1.073 mark, as the young infielder came storming out of the gates with a .383/.456/.617 batting line in his first 22 games. However, to say luck was on Perdomo's side that month would be an understatement. He had just a 14 percent hard-hit rate and a .237 xBA but benefitted from a bloated .477 BABIP during that stretch. Regression came hard from that point forward, with Perdomo slashing just .222/.337/.314 the rest of the way. The 24-year-old did rebound with a .275/.362/.392 line and a couple homers in the postseason, operating as the Diamondbacks' everyday shortstop in their surprise run to the NL pennant. Perdomo should enter 2024 with a leg up on the shortstop gig, but Jordan Lawlar is lurking and Eugenio Suarez is now at third base. He has a terrific eye at the plate with a career 11.6 percent walk rate, but Perdomo's quality of contact is so weak (19.5 percent hard-hit rate in 2023) that it's hard to see him as a long-term road block for Lawlar.

Peguero got his first significant sample in the majors in 2023, splitting his time almost exactly evenly between second base and shortstop. From a strictly fantasy perspective, he showed plenty of intrigue by racking up seven homers and six stolen bases in only 213 plate appearances. Those marks would suggest he has 20-20 potential, though there are red flags in his profile that call into question his ability to maintain a full-time job at the big-league level. First was his spiked strikeout rate. Throughout much of his minor-league career, Peguero struck out at a rate in the high teens or low 20s. During his first stint in Pittsburgh, that jumped to 31 percent. Regarded as at least an average defender by most scouting reports, Peguero struggled in that regard as well by delivering well below-average marks in defensive runs saved and range. Despite those warning signs, the Pirates don't have a clear plan at second base, and Peguero could get the first chance at the job. Given his prospect pedigree and surface-level success, he's a worthwhile dart throw in deeper draft formats.

Lawlar had a really rough start to the minor-league season (.629 OPS, 31.7 K% in his first 32 games), but from May 23 on, he slashed .323/.411/.557 with 15 home runs, 26 steals on 30 attempts and a 16.1 K% in 300 at-bats across Double-A and Triple-A. He doesn't have elite raw power (109-mph max exit velocity at Triple-A), but Lawlar is great at barreling balls to the pull side, so he could end up with plus game power in his prime. Arizona promoted him to the majors in early September, and he played sparingly for the contending Diamondbacks, although all of his action came at shortstop. His numbers in 34 MLB plate appearances are awful: 32.4 K%, .129 AVG and zero extra-base hits. However, his smooth defense and elite speed (99th percentile sprint speed) were on display, and he won't turn 22 until July, so the upper-level minors performance is the main thing to focus on when projecting ahead. Lawlar, the sixth-overall pick in 2021, clearly projects as the team's shortstop of the future, but with Geraldo Perdomo coming off his best season (2.7 fWAR), there is some uncertainty about what the infield hierarchy will look like in early 2024.

Acuna went as the No. 1 overall pick in most fantasy drafts last spring and rewarded that faith by filling up box scores every time he stepped on the field. Not only did he join Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano as the fifth member of the 40-40 club, Acuna also established the 40-50 club, the 40-60 club and the 40-70 club. It was a historically-great individual season that culminated in a unanimous selection for National League MVP. Some amount of natural regression has to be expected in 2024, but there is no evidence suggesting what Acuna did last year was fluky. He ranked in the 100th percentile in xwOBA, xBA, xSLG and average exit velocity while appearing in 159 of a possible 162 regular-season games for the NL East champions. Maybe the steals won't be fully repeatable -- Acuna ranked in just the 65th percentile in sprint speed in 2023 -- but he's a smart baserunner with a perpetual green light under manager Brian Snitker. Entering his age-26 campaign, the superstar outfielder should again be first off the board in every standard league.

Tatis sat out the first 20 games of 2023 while serving the remainder of his PED suspension, though he still set a career high with 141 games played after missing the entirety of 2022 with shoulder and wrist injuries in addition to the suspension. The 25-year-old finished the first half with 16 homers, 14 steals and an .871 OPS, but he hit just .225 with nine homers and 15 steals in 71 contests after the All-Star break. It was still a productive season overall, but his above-average 113 wRC+ is a far cry from the elite 154 figure he posted across his first three big-league campaigns. The encouraging news is that Tatis was able to stay healthy in 2023, and he started in all but two games following the suspension. He also made a seamless transition to having right field be his primary position, and he led the league with 29 defensive runs saved. Tatis is a strong rebound candidate for 2024 following a down second half, though it may be optimistic to expect him to regain his 2019-21 form, when he was arguably the best hitter in MLB.

Betts would've easily captured his second career MVP award in 2023 if not for the bonkers season Ronald Acuna put up. The 31-year-old's .307 average, 39 home runs, 126 runs scored and 14 stolen bases were all highs during his time as a Dodger and his 107 RBI broke a major-league record for a leadoff hitter. Not only that, Betts further added to his defensive versatility, starting nearly as many games at second base (62) as he did in right field (77) while also adding his first career 12 starts at shortstop. He fell just shy of retaining shortstop eligibility, but Betts will enter 2024 with dual eligibility and is expected to be the Dodgers' regular at the keystone. You can make a strong argument for Betts being the second pick in fantasy drafts after Acuna.

A star is born. Carroll flashed tremendous potential as a late-season call-up in 2022 and then did nothing in 2023 to dissuade the notion that he is one of the brightest young players in the sport. He tallied 65 extra-base hits in 155 regular-season games, stole 54 bases in 59 attempts, and placed seventh among all major leaguers in runs scored (116) to help the Diamondbacks claim the final NL Wild Card spot and stage a run all the way to the World Series. The one legitimate knock against him is that he has a weak outfield arm, but fantasy managers have the luxury of simply ignoring that fact. At age 23 and absolutely dripping with category-spanning fantasy upside, Carroll is sure to be a first-round selection in every mixed-league draft this spring. He could even regularly come off the board within the first five picks. That eight-year, $111 million contract extension he signed with Arizona last March already looks incredibly team-friendly and gives the D-backs some leeway to build an even better supporting cast around him.

Cruz's season lasted all of nine games before he fractured his ankle on a contact play April 9 against the Chicago White Sox. He attempted to come back before the end of the season, but the soreness in his ankle never quite went away and the team decided to shut him down and get him healthy for 2024. It is best if we just wash 2023 away and look back at 2022 where we saw him strike out at a high volume, yet his O-Swing percentage as well as his overall contact percentage improved as the season went on. Cruz should have the double blessing of hitting in the middle of the Pittsburgh lineup as well as the permission to play every day that his ankle permits him on the field. We may not see the same speed we saw from him right away, but the power should be there as he is reacclimated himself to the grind of daily games at the big league level. This is more of a rust/reward issue than a risk/reward one.

Reyolds appeared on the way out of Pittsburgh after requesting a trade last offseason, but he instead inked an eight-year, $106.75 million extension early in 2023 to end the contract drama. On the field it was more of the same for the outfielder, as he played in 145 games for the second straight year, though his .790 OPS, 24 homers and 8.5 percent walk rate were a bit down from 2022. However, he set a career high with 12 stolen bases and improved his strikeout rate to 21.6 percent to go along with 85 runs and 84 RBI. He's been well above average at the plate over the past two years but has been unable to replicate the .302/.390/.522 slash line he posted in 2021, and the recent production may be more realistic to expect moving forward. With that said, Reynolds enters 2024 as a reliable and extremely productive fantasy option in the outfield as he enters his age-29 campaign.

Steer tends to be overshadowed a bit in the Reds' rebuild, as he doesn't have the power of Christian Encarnacion-Strand or the speed of Elly De La Cruz or the hit tool of Matt McLain. However, Steer does a lot well and showed in his first full season in Cincinnati that he has the potential to be a long-term foundational piece for the organization. At 25 years old, Steer struck out just over 20 percent of the time and notched 23 homers and 15 steals while moving around between first base (73 games), third base (47 games), outfield (47 games) and second base (16 games). While he may not light up Statcast with his batted-ball numbers -- in fact Steer ranked in the bottom 26 percent of the league in hard-hit rate -- he has an exceptional approach at the plate and does not often go chasing outside the strike zone. He had more homers and a higher OPS on the road than he did at home last season, so it wasn't all GABP-driven.

The veteran outfielder broke out of his two-year funk in 2023, finishing with a .278/.370/.447 slash line to go along with 19 homers, 28 steals (31 attempts) and 78 RBI in 144 games. It's a far cry from the MVP-level production Yelich posted during his first two years in Milwaukee, but it's still a marked improvement on his .737 OPS from the previous two seasons. A .342 BABIP was backed up by an xBA of .277 and xSLG of .450, which indicates his 2023 results should be sustainable. Yelich's chronic back issues continue to linger and cost him nearly two weeks in September, but he's still played in all but 26 games over the last two years. That MVP form is likely long gone as he enters his age-32 campaign, but Yelich will still have plenty of fantasy value with a decent chance at a 20-20 campaign in 2024.

Nimmo re-signed with the Mets on an eight-year, $162 million contract last offseason, and he delivered an impressive campaign in 2023 with 24 homers, 68 RBI, 89 runs and a .274/.363/.466 slash line in 152 games. Most of Nimmo's numbers were nearly identical to his 2022 production, though he clubbed eight more home runs as he set career highs in flyball rate (39.2 percent), barrel rate (9.5 percent) and hard-hit rate (47.7 percent). It's the second straight year he's played in over 150 games, as it appears the durability issues that plagued him earlier in his career are now behind him (though he did spend the final two days of the season on the IL with a shoulder sprain). He's not much of a threat on the bases with three steals in each of the past two seasons, but he otherwise provides fantasy managers with well-rounded production. Assuming the injury concerns are fully behind him, Nimmo should be a top-100 option again in 2024.

Happ inked a three-year, $61 million extension just before the season in March and delivered another solid campaign in left field for the Cubs. His 118 wRC+ was marginally worse than 2022, though he still set career highs in stolen bases (14), RBI (84) and runs (86). Happ also clubbed 21 home runs, which is the third time in five full big-league seasons he's eclipsed the 20-homer mark. He also illustrated more patience, as a 14.6 percent walk rate was an increase of more than five points over 2022. He's not a great fit for the No. 3 spot in the order, but that's still where he was primarily deployed by Chicago for the second straight year. His RBI and run totals could come down if that changes in 2024. Happ doesn't provide big numbers in any one category, but his above-average bat is still an asset for fantasy managers that grab him at the appropriate price.

Philadelphia inked Castellanos to a five-year deal for $100 million after the 2021 season, but the organization is reportedly already having a bit of buyer's remorse as there are rumors it would like to move on from his streaky bat and terrible defense. The fact Castellanos has three more years and $60 million left on his deal makes trading him rather tough. The Phillies are frustrated because Castellanos is streaky; he hit .313 in April and .351 in June, but .162 in July, .235 in the second half of the season and has been abysmal in the postseason for them. Fantasy managers are not as concerned because the volume of production was still there even if Castellanos's run production slipped in conjunction with his outlier on-base percentage from 2021. Kyle Schwarber's continued presence on the roster clogs up the DH spot most of the time, so the much-needed move to DH for Castellanos is not happening as long as he remains with the club. For now, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Some may write off Harris's 2023 struggles as a prototypical sophomore slump, but it is not that easy. Harris was being taken as early as the end of the second round last winter but finished the season just inside the top 100 overall and just inside the top 70 for hitters based on our final earned auction values. Harris got injured early in the season and he took awhile to shake off the rust to resume his production. He did perform better against lefties than he did as a rookie, but what ultimately limited his 2023 production was hitting 9th in 88 of the 138 games he played. It is incredibly tough for a high round draft pick to max out their production out of the bottom of the lineup. On another team, Harris is likely hitting high in the lineup most days but Atlanta has more traffic on its depth chart than it does on its local highways. It would take an injury to someone else to get Harris into the top half of the lineup, so do not go back to the second or third round well.

Outman began the season on the busier side of a center field platoon, but it wasn't long before the rookie became an everyday player, appearing in 151 contests. The lefty swinger still must hit for more power facing southpaws, as evidenced by his .254/.357/.308 line, but a 246/.351/.484 effort facing right-handers landed Outman third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. Outman stole 16 bases in 19 tries, for an 84 percent success rate, which could lead to being given the green light more this season. Strikeouts are Outman's primary concern since his 44th percentile hard-hit rate doesn't support maintaining the .343 BABIP Outman registered last season. He doesn't chase much, but when he swings at pitches out of the zone, his contact rate is terrible. This is fixable, especially since Outman's walk rate is above average, but he's a batting average liability until he can demonstrate more contact. This restricts him to the lower half of the Dodgers order, but with his power and speed combination, and the potency of the lineup, Outman is still a strong mixed league asset, just don't pay for upside that may not immediately manifest.

It was another miserable year for the Rockies in 2023 with an NL-worst 59 wins, but Jones excelled after being acquired from the Guardians during the offseason. He missed Colorado's Opening Day roster but was called up for his season debut in late May, and he hit the ground running with a .942 OPS in his first 28 games. Jones put up similar numbers the rest of the way and finished his rookie campaign with a .297/.389/.542 slash line, 20 homers, 20 steals, 62 RBI and 60 runs in 106 contests. Encouragingly, the Coors Field effect didn't appear to have much of an impact on him, as he posted a .928 OPS at home compared to a .935 OPS on the road. However, his .404 BABIP isn't sustainable, which combined with a 29.7 percent strikeout rate is a strong indication of overperformance (that is also backed up by an xBA of .247 and xSLG of .492. Even taking that into account, it was an excellent season for Jones, who will open 2024 as an everyday starter in the Rockies outfield and should provide strong fantasy production even if he's unable to fully replicate last season's numbers.

Chourio became the fourth teenager to go 20-40 in the past 60 seasons, with Ronald Acuna being the most recent to accomplish the feat in 2017. He was also the first teenager to go 20-20 solely in the upper levels of the minors since Delmon Young in 2005. Chourio's surface stats weren't outstanding early in the year, in part due to the pre-tacked balls the Southern League used in the first half of the season. However, with standard balls back in play, Chourio slashed .324/.379/.538 with 11 home runs, 21 steals and a 13.4 percent strikeout rate in his final 57 games across Double-A and Triple-A, and he doesn't turn 20 until March. He has all the makings of a future first-round pick in fantasy, and he also happens to be an excellent defensive center fielder. The Brewers already have three very capable young defensive center fielders in Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell and Joey Wiemer, but they inked Chourio to a record-setting $80 million contract this offseason, so there are no financial incentives for the team to start him in the minors.