Fantasy Baseball: 30 MLB teams, 30 players to root for in 2024
Hope springs eternal in every spring training camp throughout Florida and Arizona. Fans of baseball teams flock to see their favorite squads, amped to see who they're going to be rooting for during the next six months.
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While there are teams like the Rangers, Dodgers, Braves and Orioles with legitimate World Series dreams, there are also teams that are facing an uphill climb because of a rebuild, where fanbases won't have much to root for beyond Memorial Day. But every team has at least a player or two to get excited about from a fantasy perspective, from an obvious superstar to an incoming rookie.
They're all players that MLB fans — and fantasy managers — can root, root, root for in the coming season.
National League
Arizona Diamondbacks, Corbin Carroll
Carroll was the engine who fired up the Diamondbacks to the World Series, hitting 25 homers and 54 stolen bases in 2023. It’s scary that he’s still 23 and getting better. He’ll make the desert extra hot as he goes for a 30-60 campaign.
Atlanta Braves, Ronald Acuña Jr.
At the risk of being redundant with all the flowers being thrown at Acuña this draft season, how do you pick anyone but the only 40-70 player in MLB history? Acuña can do something special on any given night, so stay in your seat when he’s coming to bat. The 1.01 with a bullet — let's just hope his recent knee ailment is just a hiccup.
Chicago Cubs, Seiya Suzuki
From July 1 on, Suzuki hit .311 with 14 home runs, 48 RBI and 50 runs scored in 76 games. Double that up in a lineup that was bolstered by the return of Cody Bellinger, and there will be many happy days in Wrigleyville.
Cincinnati Reds, Elly De La Cruz
Elly the Red can hit a ball 467 feet, has a sprint speed of 30.5 and can throw the ball in the high 90s from shortstop. If he can cut his strikeouts even a little, he’ll be even more than a highlight reel on a daily basis.
Colorado Rockies, Nolan Jones
After going 20-20 with a .297 batting average in roughly two-thirds of the season, Jones will go for a Rocky Mountain High by going for 30-30 as a middle-of-the-order fixture for a subpar Rockies lineup.
Los Angeles Dodgers, Mookie Betts
It was too obvious to put Shohei Ohtani in here, so we’re moving up one spot in the batting order. Betts was the rare leadoff hitter who banged out 39 home runs and drove in 107 runs to go with 126 runs scored. His OBP of .408 may be the floor hitting in front of Ohtani.
Miami Marlins, Eury Pérez
To face this 6-foot-8 goliath, it must feel like he’s practically handing the ball to the catcher. Featuring a 98-mph heater with nasty breaking stuff, Pérez struck out 108 batters in 91.1 innings after his call-up. Just 20 years old, Pérez will reward anyone drafting him at ADP 83.0 with 25-30 starts.
Milwaukee Brewers, Jackson Chourio
Few things excite a fan base — and fantasy managers — like a phenom making a major league debut. Chourio tore up the top two levels of the minor leagues, going 22-44 at age 19. Already signed to a long-term contract before playing in the bigs, Chourio’s ADP of 158.4 will be a bargain as he takes over center field in Milwaukee.
New York Mets, Francisco Lindor
Players who post every day are underrated in fantasy baseball, and Lindor has missed three games in the past two seasons. He also went 30-30 for the first time in his career in 2023 and almost went 100-100 in RBI and runs categories. Mr. Smile gives fantasy managers as good a reason as any to watch Mets games.
Philadelphia Phillies, Kyle Schwarber
A leadoff hitter batting .197? You bet, when he walks 126 times and slugs 47 home runs, scoring 108 and driving in 104. A lifetime OPS of .831 makes Schwarber a threat to start any Phillies game 1-0 with a patented Schwarbs leadoff bomb.
Pittsburgh Pirates, Oneil Cruz
The Pirates last finished with a winning record in 2018 and haven’t made the playoffs since 2015, so it’s been rough in Steel Town. Players like Cruz give Pirates fans hope though, after he played just nine games last year. He’s a year removed from posting a blinding-fast sprint speed (29.9) with a 91.9 average exit velocity. He's power and speed in a long-and-lean 6-foot-7 package.
San Diego Padres, Fernando Tatís Jr.
El Niño is still 25 and played 141 games last year after sitting out the 2022 season entirely. He has legit power to all fields and still runs (29 steals last year). Padres fans may lament the loss of Juan Soto, but Tatís will fill some of the void with his 30-30 skill set.
San Francisco Giants, Jung-Hoo Lee
[2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP]
The Giants have unsuccessfully tried to sign big-ticket free agents for years, so Lee’s batted-ball skills are going to inflame the Bay Area fan base. In the KBO in 2022, he hit .349 with 23 home runs and struck out just 32 times in 627 plate appearances. It will take time to acclimate to big league pitching, but when it clicks it’ll be fun to watch.
St. Louis Cardinals, Jordan Walker
From June 6 to July 2 last year, Walker hit .362 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 20 games. That’s a taste of what he can do after torching Double-A pitching for a .306 average, .898 OPS and missing a 20-20 season by a single home run in 2022. Now, he’ll have right field to himself and is a great post-hype sleeper for the Cardinals.
Washington Nationals, CJ Abrams
Abrams was moved to the top of the lineup during a lost 2023 season for the Nats, and he found a different gear by stealing 47 bases and hitting 18 home runs. That’s an amazing 24-homer/83-steal pace over 162 games. Nationals fans will scream for Abrams to go every time he gets on base.
American League
Baltimore Orioles, Gunnar Henderson
Can the AL Rookie of the Year get better? He had an .885 OPS against righties, but just .618 vs. lefties. He’s young (turns 23 on June 29) and in a dynamic lineup. He might even run some more after stealing 10 bags last year, as his 28.8 sprint speed is in the 82nd percentile in MLB.
Boston Red Sox, Triston Casas
Built like George Kittle (6-foot-5, 244 pounds), Casas is scratching the surface after hitting 24 homers and walking 70 times in 502 plate appearances. He has as good raw power as any Boston first baseman since Mo Vaughn.
Chicago White Sox, Luis Robert Jr.
The South Siders don’t have much going for them, but Robert coming off a 38-homer, 20-steal season is plenty to be excited about. Only question is, who will protect him in the lineup? He may put up some numbers in games that are out of hand.
Cleveland Guardians, José Ramírez
The drop from 126 RBI in 2022 to 80 last year is alarming, but Ramírez remains one of the most consistent power-speed players in the game. He’s gone at least 20-20 in each of the past five full seasons. Get him some help in that Guardians lineup!
Detroit Tigers, Colt Keith
If the Tigers are going to contend in the AL Central, Keith taking over the keystone would be key (no pun intended). After tearing up the top two levels of the minor leagues for 27 home runs, 101 RBI and an OPS of .932 last year, Keith is primed to enter the AL Rookie of the Year race while winning over fans in Motown. Middle infielders with pop are always welcome in fantasy.
Houston Astros, Yordan Álvarez
Álvarez is one of those players who’s even better when runners are aboard, as last year he hit .365 with a remarkable 1.233 OPS, 11 home runs and 71 RBI in just 104 at-bats with runners in scoring position. When José Altuve and Alex Bregman get on base ahead of him, watch out!
Kansas City Royals, Bobby Witt Jr.
Seeing Witt hit, and run, are worth the price of admission to Royals games, as he was just a stolen base shy of joining the 30-50 club. The consensus 1.02 pick by Yahoo ADP won’t turn 24 until June, so watch him grow and improve his game while enjoying the fantasy benefits.
Los Angeles Angels, Mike Trout
He’s still MIKE TROUT, future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Last year in 82 games, he hit 18 home runs, scored 54 runs and drove in 44. Double that, and it’s a great season for 99% of the league. Enjoy him on the field whenever possible, because he hasn’t played in more than 120 games in a season since 2019.
Minnesota Twins, Jhoan Duran
Few things are more fun than a 6-foot-5 fireballer coming in the ninth inning to close out games. Duran averaged 101.8 mph on his fastball, tops in the big leagues. With 84 strikeouts in just 62.1 innings last year, he'll close many games with a big K.
New York Yankees, Juan Soto
Just pencil him in for 30-40 homers, 100+ runs and RBI and a few thousand shuffles between pitches. The Bronx will rename a thoroughfare Soto Street after the season the All-Star outfielder is going to have.
Oakland Athletics, Zack Gelof
With not much reason to watch the A’s during another rebuild, Gelof came up last year and hit 14 home runs with 14 stolen bases. He had a .381 OBP in the minor leagues, which means better things could be ahead in the East Bay.
Seattle Mariners, Julio Rodríguez
There may not be a better home run celebration than that of the Mariners. Rodríguez was phenomenal from July 1 on last year, hitting .312 with 19 homers and stealing 19 bases, adding 61 RBI and 55 runs scored. That’s a 40-40 season over 162 games. Book it for the 1.03 to challenge Acuña for the top spot.
Tampa Bay Rays, Randy Arozarena
The native of Havana and El Hombre on Team Mexico, Arozarena is a power-speed machine with three straight 20-20 seasons. Few play with his style and passion, and he fills up the box score to boot. Viva!
Texas Rangers, Evan Carter
Who gets called up on Sept. 8 and hits .306 to help his team to the playoffs? Not only is Carter the answer, but he hit .300 in the postseason, coolly hitting third in the lineup for the World Series champions. Now he gets to play a full season and has a shot at AL Rookie of the Year.
Toronto Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Two seasons removed from hitting 48 bombs, Guerrero somehow disappointed on his way to hitting only 26 home runs with 94 RBI. He’s going into just his age-25 season and had an adjusted exit velocity of 96.5 that was 11th in MLB. Vladdy’s still going to put on a show north of the border.