2024 Fantasy Baseball: Wyatt Langford leads 7 key draft sleepers from the outfield
Fantasy baseball analyst Dalton Del Don offers up a series of draft sleeper candidates per position — next up, the outfielders!
Wyatt Langford, OF, Texas Rangers
Langford is quickly losing "sleeper" status thanks to a hot start at the plate, but he still remains undervalued (131.8 Yahoo ADP over the last week). He put up ludicrous, eye-popping stats last year, including his debut across the minors. The No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, Langford possesses “70” grades in both speed and power, so he’s fantasy’s top prospect.
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It would be a major surprise if Langford doesn't open the season in Texas at this point, and Steamer projects him to post a 125 wRC+ during his rookie campaign. Langford looks like a special talent with huge upside, and Texas has boosted homers for righties by 12% over the last three seasons, which is the fourth most in baseball.
Langford could run away with this year's Rookie of the Year award.
Starling Marte, OF, New York Mets
Marte’s season was ruined by migraines and a groin injury last year, but he played in the Winter League and enters 2024 healthy. He’s a durability risk and likely in decline at age 35, but he also recorded a 133 wRC+ over 2021-2022 that ranked No. 22 among hitters — directly behind Matt Olson. Even during last season’s injury-ruined campaign, Marte went 24-for-28 on SB attempts (over just 315 ABs) and sported among the highest average exit velocities and Hard-Hit rates of his career. Marte has averaged 39 stolen bases per 600 plate appearances over the last three seasons and owns a career .287 batting average yet is available nearly 220 picks into Yahoo drafts.
Victor Scott, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Scott is a deeper fantasy sleeper who could get a chance in St. Louis sooner than expected. He has some power (he’s shown good pull rates in the minors) and “80” grade speed, swiping a mere 94 bases in 132 games across Single- and Double-A last season.
A potential Gold Glove center fielder, Scott could also be a fantasy force sooner than expected.
Mitch Haniger, OF, Seattle Mariners
Haniger ranked top-50 in wRC+ from 2017-2022 before injuries made him a bust in San Francisco last year. He returns to Seattle this season, where he hit 39 homers with 100 RBI and 110 runs scored in 2021. Durability is a concern, but a healthy Haniger can hit. He could quickly find himself batting in the middle of the Mariners’ order, and Haniger is available nearly 250 picks into drafts.
Will Benson, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Benson is a former first-round pick who quietly posted a 147 wRC+ against righties last season and has worked on improving versus left-handers so he can play every day this year. TJ Friedl recently suffered a fractured wrist, which will also open up playing time. Benson totaled 30 steals/homers over just 287 ABs last season and could go 20/30 in 2024. Great American Ballpark has increased homers for LHB an MLB-high 39% over the last three seasons.
Nelson Velázquez, OF, Kansas City Royals
Velázquez had the second-best barrel rate last season, sandwiched between Aaron Judge and Ronald Acuña Jr. He also recorded the third-best xwOBA against fastballs out of 476 hitters. Velázquez averaged one homer per 9.5 at-bats — Shohei Ohtani led all qualified hitters at 11.3. Velázquez is due to regress of course, but that’s an impressive power profile for an outfielder available 250 picks into drafts. Velázquez’s expected batting average (.255) was 20 points higher than his actual BA, and Kauffman Stadium is one of the best hitter’s parks in baseball for RHB.
Brenton Doyle, OF, Colorado Rockies
Doyle strikes out a lot, but his terrific defense should help keep him in Colorado's lineup. Doyle produced 32 homers/steals in fewer than 400 ABs last season despite not taking advantage of Coors Field; he somehow hit just .168 (with a .222 BABIP in the park that boosts hit rate the most) with a 19 wRC+ at home. Doyle ranked in the 99th percentile in Sprint Speed last year and put on 20 pounds of muscle during the offseason.
Sean Bouchard is a deeper fantasy sleeper in Colorado’s outfield, as Coors Field continues to provide a huge boost to hitters.
