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.
Nick Martini – 0%
Martini had his contract selected by the Rockies on Sunday, locking him into a potentially significant role in 2025, especially with Nolan Jones being traded to the Cleveland Guardians.
Martini hasn’t hit much against left-handed pitching in his career, and may only bat against right-handed opposition. Still, there’s plenty to like when he is in the lineup, and for fantasy managers in deeper leagues, the comparatively limited role shouldn’t be as much of a negative as it would be in a more standard-sized league where the waiver wire provides plenty more in terms of potential roster reinforcements.
Martini appeared in 52 games for the Cincinnati Reds last season, hitting .212 with a .272 on-base percentage, five home runs and a stolen base in 163 plate appearances while logging a 71 wRC+.
And while his overall numbers last season weren’t ideal from a surface-level standpoint, Martini is coming off a strong spring that saw him hit .389 with a .511 on-base percentage, two home runs and two stolen bases in his first 45 spring plate appearances, logging a 188 wRC+ in the process with seven walks compared to just six strikeouts.
More importantly, Martini has generally been very good (to put it plainly) against right-handed pitching in his career.
Admittedly, Martini’s overall numbers last year in another hitter-friendly locale in Cincinnati didn’t quite jump off the page, but pairing that type of ability against right-handed pitching with a steady stream of home games at Coors Field makes for some intriguing deep league fantasy upside.
Mark Canha – 0%
Mark Canha might not be the power threat he was earlier in his career.
The veteran connected on 17 home runs (411 plate appearances) in 2018 and 26 in 2019 (497 plate appearances) with the Oakland A’s, but since 2022 he’s yet to top 13 home runs in a season and has seen his power numbers drop across the board.
But what Canha has continued to do is get on base, and get on base a bunch thanks in part to a high walk rate, but reasonably low strikeout rates as well.
Last season, split between the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants, Mark Canha hit .242 with a .344 on-base percentage, seven home runs and seven stolen bases in 462 plate appearances.
There’s a real chance he has more fantasy upside in leagues where on-base percentage is part of the scoring – as opposed to more standard-scoring leagues – considering he’s hit above .250 just twice in the last five seasons and three times in the last seven.
Still, there’s a chance he could play a reasonably regular role in Kansas City on a Royals team that finished in the bottom half of the league in on-base percentage (.306) last season while also sporting the league’s third-lowest walk rate (7.2%).
And, truth be told, much of that ranking where on-base percentage was concerned was likely down to Bobby Witt Jr., who logged a .389 on-base percentage in 709 plate appearances, the sixth-most in the league.
Among Royals players with at least 100 plate appearances, no other player logged an on-base percentage north of .330.
Salvador Perez at .330 was the only batter with an on-base percentage even above the .320 mark.
With Canha’s ability to play both first base and the outfield, the veteran could be a candidate to see plenty of playing time early in the season considering Kansas City outfielders combined for the league’s second-lowest wRC+ last season with a 78 number.
Michael Massey – 2%
Sticking in Kansas City, Michael Massey provided some solid counting stats for the Royals last year, hitting .259 with a .294 on-base percentage, 14 home runs, a stolen base, 45 runs scored and 45 RBI in a 100 game, 356 plate appearance sample size.
Due in part to some strong contact numbers that saw him finish in the 84th percentile or better in strikeout rate (15.7%, 84th percentile) and whiff rate (17.9%, 86th percentile), the 27-year-old carved out a regular role in Kansas City.
He’s once again poised to see plenty of starting opportunities for the American League Central club, what with Jonathan India and Canha representing the team’s only significant additions at the Major League level.
The 27-year-old has also thrived this spring, batting .400 with a .472 on-base percentage and a stolen base in his first 53 plate appearances for the Royals so far in 2025, posting identical 9.4% strikeout and walk rates along the way.
If his 2024 quality of contact numbers repeat themselves, Massey is unlikely to post gaudy power numbers, but 20 home runs, solid runs scored and RBI totals and a regular place hitting near Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez further up the Kansas City lineup are all real possibilities.
All that in itself makes him worth a look in leagues with 14 or more teams.