2023 Fantasy Baseball: Look For These Outfield Sleepers in Late Rounds
With Spring Training well underway, it’s time to buckle down and study up on your 2023 fantasy baseball sleepers. This will be a recurring series here on oddsseeker, breaking down each position, but today we’re starting with the outfielders.
While this year’s crop of outfielders may seem great on the surface level, a closer look makes you realize–it’s not as deep as it may seem. It’s very top-heavy thanks to Aaron Judge, Ronald Acuna Jr, and Julio Rodriguez, but once you move on from the top-15, you’re already going to be digging through the coal to find some diamonds.
Here are the top 15 outfielders, according to the Yahoo Sports average draft position:
Ronald Acuna Jr
Aaron Judge
Julio Rodriguez
Kyle Tucker
Yordan Alvarez
Juan Soto
Mookie Betts
Mike Trout
Michael Harris II
Luis Robert
Randy Arozarena
Cedric Mullins
Kyle Schwarber
George Springer
Daulton Varsho
Just to touch on a few things off the bat, I feel like you really can’t go wrong with Judge here. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, his over/under home run total is currently sitting at 45.5, which is very doable considering his 62 home run campaign last year. I’m hesitant to take Acuna at his current ADP, which is around the second overall pick, due to his injury history–but if he has a full season, he’s got some real 40/40 potential.
I love Mike Trout’s value, currently going in the middle of the second round. Again you have some injury worries, but even if he misses 30 games you’ve got yourself almost a guaranteed 40 home runs and a .280+ average. Randy Arozarena is someone I love this season as well, and you can find some real steal potential in him as apparent by his 32 steals last season.
But that’s enough of the chalk picks–time to scroll down and bit give out some sleepers that I love. Here are four 2023 fantasy baseball outfield sleepers.
Oscar Gonzalez, Cleveland Guardians (ADP 181.0)
Oscar Gonzalez really burst onto the scene in the 2022 postseason thanks to a big game-winning home run in the ALDS against the Yankees, but he really deserved your attention all year last season. He hit .296 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs in just 93 games. This season he’ll be starting the entire year, and will likely enjoy the benefits of hitting behind Jose Ramirez, one of the best players in the game. He’s got a huge RBI upside and could be a 20 home run hitter in 2023, and with an ADP in the 180s, he’s definitely worth a look.
Seth Brown, Oakland Athletics (ADP 237.0)
Someone on the Athletics has to produce runs–so why can’t it be Brown? Ignoring a lackluster average, he had a pretty decent season last year. He hit 25 home runs and 73 RBIs in 2022, and didn’t post an awful K-rate. With his deep ADP, Brown isn’t a bad bet to store on your bench for the beginning of the season.
Oswaldo Cabrera, New York Yankees (ADP 313.0)
Okay, this is a bit of a homer pick, but just hear me out. I watched almost every Yankee game last year, and Oswaldo Cabrera is exactly the type of player I’ve been asking for in the last few years. He’s scrappy, clutch, and has decent speed–all he needs to do is up his average (he hit .247 in just 44 games last year) and he’ll be an all-around talent. Cabrera will likely start the season in a platoon role with Aaron Hicks, but don’t worry, Hicks is awful, so that may not be the case for long.
Alek Thomas, Arizona Diamondbacks (ADP 473)
Thomas was one of the most highly touted prospects last season, and it didn’t really pan out. In 113 games he hit 8 home runs with 39 RBIs while hitting .231–so not awful, but the Diamondbacks definitely wanted more. All that said though, Thomas was a highly touted prospect for a reason–he’s got incredible raw talent, and another year of experience should do wonders for his stats.
