Each week, we’ll look at a handful of different hitters who fantasy managers should consider picking up in deeper fantasy baseball leagues. Many of these players will have the most value in larger leagues where waiver wire options aren’t as plentiful. Still, they could also occasionally be useful additions in other, more standard-sized leagues, depending on your options at their position.
All roster percentages mentioned in this column are via FantasyPros as of Wednesday afternoon.
Dominic Smith – 0%
The San Francisco Giants haven’t utilized Dominic Smith much in lineups against left-handed pitching, but the veteran is quietly enjoying his best season at the plate in years.
That platoon role might limit his fantasy upside to teams in leagues with 14 or more teams, but Smith should be able to provide quality production across the board for fantasy managers in said leagues in the short term.
Entering play on Wednesday, the first baseman was batting .282 with a .343 on-base percentage, three home runs and a pair of stolen bases in 166 plate appearances, striking out just 18.1% of the time while logging his best wRC+ (113) in a season with 100 or more plate appearances since 2020.
Furthermore, Smith has started to hit in the middle of the Giants lineup with regularity.
Dating back to July 30, all 13 of the veteran’s starts have either come hitting cleanup or fifth for San Francisco. As long as that continues, he should continue to log solid fantasy scoring numbers moving forward.
For fantasy managers looking for short-term streaming options, he’s a quality addition.
Paul DeJong – 3%
Paul DeJong is batting .254 with a .305 on-base percentage in just 141 plate appearances, but he’s sporting a wRC+ seven points above league average in part due to the trademark power the veteran has consistently hit for in his career.
DeJong logged 24 home runs and a .200 ISO in 482 plate appearances last season. His 146 home runs since the start of 2017 – when he made his Major League debut – only 11 qualified shortstops have more homers.
Among the hitters with fewer home runs in similar plate appearance sample sizes include Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette.
DeJong has been particularly impactful at the plate as of late, with five home runs since the start of August, a stretch that has seen the veteran hit .308 with a .357 on-base percentage, the five home runs and a stolen base in 42 plate appearances, not to mention registering a seven-game hit streak.
With fantasy eligibility at both third base and at shortstop, DeJong should be able to help a number of fantasy teams in search of power production in the short term. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s primarily hitting either third or fourth for the Washington Nationals during that stretch.
Warming Bernabel – 15%
With fantasy eligibility at both infield corners, Bernabel, like DeJong, can help a variety of fantasy teams, depending on specific positions of need.
So far this season, the rookie is batting .314 with a .344 on-base percentage, four home runs and a .380 wOBA in his first 90 Major League plate appearances.
With a lower walk rate so far (it’s just 4.4% as of the start of play on Wednesday), Bernabel probably has more fantasy value in leagues that use batting average as part of the scoring instead of on-base percentage.
And while there might be a bit unsustainability in terms of the 23-year-old’s surface-level stats, what with a .313 xwOBA, a 4.0% barrel rate and a 34.7% hard-hit rate, Bernabel’s ability to make a bunch of contact should help him maintain both a quality batting average and quality counting stats considering he’ll be playing half of his games at Coors Field.
Elsewhere, or at Coors Field specifically, Bernabel is batting .364 in 44 plate appearances at the Rockies’ home stadium, with two of his home runs there. His OPS and ISO at home both sit at .995 and .227, respectively.
