Fantasy Baseball: Who could be better than Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2024?
Ronald Acuña Jr. was incredible last season, hitting .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBI, 149 runs scored and 73 steals. Although results vary slightly from one website to another, most calculators valued the Braves star's fantasy salary as worth roughly $25 more than any other player in a salary-cap draft. Even with a brief injury scare, any manager with the No. 1 pick this year should grab Acuña without a second thought.
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However, it is worth noting that the consensus No. 1 overall player rarely finishes the year in the top spot. In fact, no man in the past decade has finished atop the fantasy rankings in two consecutive seasons.
Let’s look at the players who are the most likely to knock Acuña from his perch.
Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Kansas City Royals
In his 2022 rookie season, Witt was much more of a fantasy star than a real-life one. The shortstop tallied 20 homers and 30 steals that year but reached base at a lowly .294 clip and posted a mediocre .722 OPS. For both the Royals and fantasy managers, the native Texan took a massive step forward in year two when he collected 30 homers and 49 steals while logging an .813 OPS. Still just 23 years old, Witt is at an age where his plate skills should continue to improve.
To catch Acuña though, he will need to overcome two external factors: a home park that inhibits power and a mediocre supporting cast. Still, there is potential for Witt to hit .300 with nearly 40 home runs.
Julio Rodríguez, OF, Seattle Mariners
In comparison to Witt, Rodríguez is slightly further ahead as a hitter but slightly behind as a speedster. The 23-year-old has hit .279 with 60 homers, 62 steals and an .834 OPS across his initial two seasons, which included a brief sophomore slump that led to a .721 OPS in the first half of last year. He went deep 15 times in the final two months of 2023, which offers hope that a 40-homer season is on the horizon. Like Witt, Rodríguez is not helped by his home park or unremarkable lineup mates.
Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
In comparison to Witt and Rodríguez, Carroll has a similar ceiling but a lower floor. The 23-year-old has just one full season of MLB experience, but that one year was quite the campaign. Carroll hit .285 with 25 homers, 116 runs scored and 54 steals during the regular season and wrapped up the year by sparking Arizona’s offense during its run to the World Series. There are reasons to be wary of Carroll, namely that his power skills tailed off after he dealt with a shoulder scare in July that seemed reminiscent of a torn labrum that kept him out for most of 2021.
[2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP]
However, there is a glass-half-full outlook on Carroll where his shoulder is fine this year and he hits .300 with 30 home runs. His aggressiveness on the basepaths increased as last season progressed, which makes the D-backs sparkplug one of the top candidates to challenge Acuña for the steals crown. Finally, although Arizona’s offense can’t match the one in Atlanta, the Diamondbacks have a solid group that was bolstered over the winter.
Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees
It would be negligent to dismiss the man who was the No. 1 overall finisher just two years ago. Judge was a cheat code in 2022, hitting .311 with 62 homers, 131 RBI, 133 runs and 16 steals. The hulking slugger played in just 106 games last year, but his 1.019 OPS would have finished second in the Majors if he had qualified, and he was on pace to go deep 57 times across 162 games. Now paired in the lineup with on-base machine Juan Soto, Judge should have numerous opportunities to drive in runs, especially when playing in the bandbox that is Yankee Stadium. A long history of IL stints gives Judge a lower floor than others on this list, but his ceiling is similar.
Spencer Strider, SP, Atlanta Braves
Pitchers are receiving fewer headlines this year, which is fine for those of us who are open to drafting a hurler in the first round. There have been many seasons where a starter catches fire and outperforms all hitters, and after recording 44 more whiffs than any other 2023 hurler, Strider is the man with the strikeout skills to reach the top of the fantasy podium this year. The right-hander’s chances are bolstered by the Braves' high-scoring offense, which helped him to be the Majors' only 20-game winner last year. For Strider, the path to No. 1 overall involves meshing his '23 counting stats (20 W, 281 K's) with his '22 ratios (2.67 ERA, 0.99 WHIP).