I could write a whole article on what “late round” means in fantasy baseball.
That definition is different for everyone depending on your league format. A late pick in your 10-team H2H points league is much different than a late pick in your 12-team roto league. Simply adding two teams means 40-60 more players are going to be drafted depending on roster size. None of this is even thinking about entirely different league types like keeper, dynasty, and draft champion formats. For this article, I’m defining “late round” as going around pick 200 or later. In 10-team leagues, that puts you at round 20 and in 12-teamers we’re talking the end of the 16th round.
The resurgence of offense around the league last year has made finding some of these late-round power options easier. In 2023, 26 players hit 30 or home runs, and 77 players hit at least 20. In 2022, only 21 and 60 players hit those respective thresholds. There are always diamonds in the rough, but in this draft season there are definitely more fun options than there were a year ago if you’re doing some late-round shopping.
Let’s dig in and see what power threats we can find that can put those finishing touches on your championship-caliber roster.
Rhys Hoskins – Milwaukee Brewers, 1B
ADP: 183 NFBC/233 ESPN/194 Yahoo!/185 CBS
Since signing in Milwaukee, Hoskins’ ADP has been rising so he may no longer be a late-round power option by the time your draft rolls around, but he’s certainly one of the better bats going around ADP 200 or later right now.
If you need a refresher, Hoskins’ 2022 stat line sat at .246/.332/.462 with 30 home runs, 81 runs, and 79 RBI. The big-bopping first baseman has hit 27+ home runs in each of his past four full seasons, and he should rack up a good amount of runs and RBI hitting in the middle of the Brewers’ lineup. He may even see a bump in his batting average with the shift ban in place. Hoskins has a 47.2% career pull rate and was shifted against 68.4% of the time in 2022.
Hoskins is leaving hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park but will call another one of the game’s best-hitting parks home in American Family Field. His pull-friendly, high-barrel rate profile should allow him to acclimate quickly to his new home and threaten another 30+ homer season.
Of course, the big question surrounding Hoskins is health. He missed the entirety of the 2023 season after suffering a torn left ACL in spring training. Encouragingly, Hoskins’ health was good enough by the end of the season that he was an option for the Phillies’ roster if they had advanced to the World Series. If he was potentially healthy enough to play on the game’s biggest stage, another four months of recovery should give him a clean bill of health heading into 2024, and I’m excited to grab him at his current going rate.
Christopher Morel – Chicago Cubs, DH
ADP: 203 NFBC/257 ESPN/202 Yahoo!/208 CBS
For my money, Morel is one of the most fun players to watch in the game today. He’s flashy. He’s fun. When he makes contact, it’s often LOUD. Morel slashed .247/.313/.508 last year with 26 home runs, 62 runs, 70 RBI, and six stolen bases. Each of his average exit velocity (92.1 mph), barrel rate (15.9%), and hard-hit rate (50%) were all in the 90th percentile or better among qualified hitters.
Morel is still just 24 years old and has yet to eclipse 430 plate appearances in a season. If he gets the full amount of playing time, it doesn’t take much imagination to see him threatening 40 home runs, especially if he can rein in that 31% strikeout rate in his third big league season.
The biggest obstacle facing a Morel breakout is his lack of defensive home. He appeared at six different positions last year, and although he didn’t play any of them well, all signs point to his continued super-utility role. He should see most of his time as the North Siders’ DH, and with the Cubs currently lacking many true power bats, he should be a player Craig Counsell is penciling into his lineup nearly every day.
Brandon Drury – Los Angeles Angels, 1B/2B
ADP: 217 NFBC/255 ESPN/232 Yahoo!/242 CBS
Drury followed up his 2022 breakout season with another solid performance in 2023 — .262/.306/.497 with 26 home runs, 61 runs, and 83 RBI. He may be the most undervalued hitter on this entire list, especially considering his dual eligibility at both first base and second base makes him a phenomenal late-round choice to fill your corner or middle-infield slots with consistent production.
The Angels’ infield utility man has reached the mid-20s in home runs two seasons in a row while posting back-to-back career-best barrel rates of 10.4% and 11%. Drury’s outperformed his Statcast expected statistics each of those two seasons, but his .474 xSLG and .327 xwOBA are still well above league average. Like so many others on this list, Drury struggles with plate discipline. His 4.8% walk rate was bottom 10th percentile league-wide, so you’ll want to lower him in your OBP ranks a touch, but none of these late-round options are without flaws.
It’s not shaping up to be a fun season for the Angels, but right now the team doesn’t have any young, upcoming players to push Drury for playing time. He should be locked into a spot in the middle of the lineup, but with an expiring contract, Drury will be a prime trade candidate come this summer.
J.D. Martinez – Free Agent, DH
ADP: 237 NFBC/256 ESPN/205 Yahoo!/247 CBS
Martinez is probably one of the hardest guys to evaluate in the player pool. I was firmly out on Martinez entering drafts last year. His disappointing 2022 season made it look like Father Time was nipping at his heels, and all he did was go out and put up one of the best seasons of his career at 35.
Last year Martinez slashed .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs, 61 runs, and 103 RBI. His 17% barrel rate was the second-best mark of his storied career, and each of his xwOBA, xSLG, and hard-hit rate were 91st percentile or better.
Those impressive numbers landed Martinez as the 50th-best hitter on the FanGraphs’ Auction Calculator and the 72nd-best player overall on Razzball’s Player Rater. Not only is he a good late power option, but if you’re looking for a proven track record with the opportunity to vastly outperform ADP this late, look no further. It’s exactly what he did a season ago.
Of course, as a 36-year-old DH, the downside risk here is high. His 31.1% strikeout rate was by far the worst of his career, and it seems like MLB teams are concerned about it too seeing that he doesn’t have a job with Spring Training under way. He should latch on somewhere soon enough, and there’s no question the intention will be to play him as much as he can handle.
Jack Suwinski – Pittsburgh Pirates, OF
ADP: 239 NFBC/259 ESPN/251 Yahoo!/249 CBS
Suwinksi took a big step forward from his rookie season to his sophomore campaign in 2023. He upped his wRC+ from 98 to 112, bumped up his walk rate by three points to an elite 14%, and pushed his barrel rate from 12.2% to 15.7%.
The lefty-masher is just 25 years old and has room for even more growth. His 32.2% strikeout rate is on the upper end of acceptable for an everyday player, and cutting it is his opportunity to reach new levels of production. The key to that may actually be a more aggressive approach. Suwinski’s 39% swing rate is in the 4th percentile and his 19.5% called-strike rate is in the 17th percentile. Put those two together and it makes you wonder just how many good hittable pitches he watches go by.
If Suwinski decides to be more aggressive, I can easily see him repaying those drafting him this late handsomely. The power in his bat is legit, and his strong eye at the plate boosts his profile in OBP leagues.
Nelson Velázquez – Kansas City Royals, OF
ADP: 281 NFBC/260 ESPN/242 Yahoo!/— CBS
After struggling to find time in the Cubs’ outfield mix, a midseason trade to Kansas City opened up the door to a Velázquez second-half breakout. In just 147 plate appearances, Velázquez went deep 14 times with a .233/.299/.579 slash line, especially impressive given how strongly Kauffman Stadium suppresses home runs.
If Velázquez earns a starting gig, he’s one of the best late power threats on this list. His 21.4% barrel rate was the second-best in the league among players with at least 170 plate appearances. You may be familiar with the only guy he trailed in that department – Aaron Judge.
The Royals signed Hunter Renfroe this offseason and that creates a big playing time question for Velázquez. They’ll have to fit those two, Kyle Isbel, MJ Melendez, Drew Waters, Adam Frazier, and more into their outfield rotation. There’s not much downside this late in drafts, but the difference in production between playing six to seven games a week and four to five games a week is a big one. Keep an eye on spring training lineups for an idea of how this could play out.
Eugenio Suárez – Arizona Diamondbacks, 3B
ADP: 287 NFBC/256 ESPN/251 Yahoo!/178 CBS
Find someone who loves you the way that CBS drafters love Eugenio Suárez. Seriously, he’s going nearly 100 picks higher on CBS than any other site and may not even qualify as a late-round option there.
Regardless of where you’re drafting, Suárez is one of the best power bats in the game. He’s eclipsed 30 home runs four times in his career and should finish with somewhere around 160 or so R+RBI to accompany the power threat. Suárez has always struggled to contain the swing-and-miss in his profile, and that’s only become more apparent as he’s aged. He’s seen his swinging strike rate increase each of the last three seasons, and his strikeout rate has surpassed 30% in two consecutive years. He’ll turn 33 in July and this isn’t a part of a hitter’s game that usually bounces back much.
Suárez still has plenty of room to be a fantasy asset even with the worsening plate discipline. He finished with 22 home runs and a .232/.323/.391 slash line in 2023, and is getting out of the least hitter-friendly park in the big leagues with his move to Arizona. Chase Field actually suppresses home runs a bit more than T-Mobile Park does, but it’ll at least help him rack up additional doubles, RBI, and runs complementing his overall fantasy profile.
Brent Rooker – Oakland Athletics, OF
ADP: 290 NFBC/259 ESPN/252 Yahoo!/— CBS
Rooker was a fantastic surprise in a dismal 2023 season for A’s fans, slashing .246/.329/.488 with 30 home runs, a .348 wOBA, and a 127 wRC+. His 15.6% barrel rate is a top-10 mark across the league, so his power should continue to play even in the comically large Oakland Coliseum. He’s also a phenomenal Twitter follow.
Like many others on this list, Rooker sells out to get that power and is going to post a strikeout rate much higher than you’d like, but at this point in the draft, there aren’t many other options who have the potential to post 30+ bombs for your fantasy squad. On top of that, the sad state of the A’s roster means Rooker should see as much playing time as he can handle, and there aren’t many useful bats going this late that have a full-time starting role all but guaranteed.
Giancarlo Stanton – New York Yankees, OF/DH
ADP: 306 NFBC/252 ESPN/229 Yahoo!/307 CBS
You can’t talk about power threats without talking about THE power threat himself. Stanton has been hitting majestic home runs for the past 14 years, and although injuries have slowed him down, his power metrics are still elite.
Stanton’s coming off one of the worst seasons of his career. He slashed .191/.275/.420 with 24 home runs over 415 plate appearances last year. His 89 wRC+ was his first season below 100. Despite those ugly numbers, he still posted a 15.7% barrel rate and a 119.5 mph maxEV.
A bounce-back campaign certainly isn’t out of the question for a player of Stanton’s caliber, but even if he can’t bring the overall numbers back up, he’ll still be a threat to hit 30 bombs. The addition of Juan Soto should bring a boost to the Yankees lineup as a whole which should mean more RBI chances too.
Adam Duvall – Free Agent, OF
ADP: 495 NFBC/260 ESPN/— Yahoo!/— CBS
Duvall’s played for three different teams over the last three seasons, and the odds are he’s going to add a fourth to the list when he finally signs a contract this spring. Unfortunately, he’ll likely wind up as a part-time player, but even then he’ll still be a formidable power threat.
He’s combined to hit 33 home runs over 668 plate appearances in 2022 and 2023, and he went deep 38 times as a full-time starter in 2021. His 14.4% barrel rate since 2019 is the 16th-best mark in the majors. No matter where he signs, a 20+ homer campaign should be in store.
Patrick Wisdom – Chicago Cubs, 3B
ADP: 649 NFBC/260 ESPN/239 Yahoo!/— CBS
Wisdom’s posted three straight seasons with 20+ home runs with last year being his best from a power metric standpoint. His career-best 19.5% barrel rate was the second-best among all hitters with at least 300 plate appearances, and his 114.4 mph maxEV wasn’t shabby either finishing 36th in that same group.
The Cubs seem primed for another big roster addition this spring which could impact Wisdom’s playing time pretty severely. As things currently stand, Wisdom should share hot corner duties with Nick Madrigal, but if a rumored Matt Chapman deal comes together, Wisdom’s fantasy stock becomes almost non-existent.
DJ Stewart – New York Mets, OF
ADP: 711 NFBC/260 ESPN/— Yahoo!/— CBS
Stewart flashed some serious pop in his first season as a Met. He went deep 11 times in just 185 plate appearances, slashing .244/.333/.506 with a 130 wRC+ and 12.1% barrel rate. His 61.3% pull rate was the highest among any hitter who reached 180 plate appearances last year, so if he can keep hitting the ball in the air his power numbers should hold up going forward.
The Mets are in a weird limbo between winning and retooling, but as currently constructed, it looks like Stewart should at the very least play the strong side of the DH platoon split while garnering some outfield starts as well. Playing time will make or break any player going this late, and I like the odds of Stewart seeing enough at-bats to very easily pay off this late of an investment.
Photos by Icon Sports Wire | Adapted by Carlos Leano