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.
Nolan Schanuel – 9%
Coming off a solid rookie season in which he hit .250 with a .343 on-base percentage, 13 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 147 games and 607 plate appearances last season, Nolan Schanuel is probably more of a hitter to consider in leagues where on-base percentage is part of the scoring.
Schanuel offers elite plate discipline and as such strong on-base percentage numbers.
The 23-year-old finished in the 87th percentile or better in walk rate, chase rate and whiff rate last season. His 17.0% strikeout rate just missed, finishing in the 78th percentile.
And while he’s likely not going to contribute significant power numbers if his 3.5% barrel rate and .331 xwOBAcon from last season carry over in the future, there’s enough here to offer quality fantasy upside in the right lineups and league formats.
There’s the on-base percentage upside for one, not to mention the stolen base potential at first base. Among players who played first base as their primary position last season, just six reached double digit stolen bases.
But along with all that – and perhaps most crucially from a fantasy standpoint – is that Schanuel made four of his first five starts batting second for the Angels. That meant hitting after Taylor Ward (.344 xwOBA, 25 home runs in 663 plate appearances last season) and Mike Trout (.405 xwOBA, 139 wRC+ in 126 plate appearances last season).
If that continues with even some regularity, Schanuel will be worth a look as a starting option in 14-team leagues with plenty of run-scoring upside – particularly in leagues that have corner infield starting spots to go along with first base and utility starting spots.
Rowdy Tellez – 0%
Sticking with first baseman, Tellez has just two plate appearances versus left-handed pitchers as of the beginning of play on Wednesday.
That’s generally been the case for Tellez the last few years. Well, not the two plate appearances part of the equation, but Tellez hasn’t logged more than 55 plate appearances in a season against left-handed pitchers in a season since 2022.
Still, the potential opportunity in Seattle when Tellez is in the lineup gives him plenty of fantasy upside in deeper leagues.
The Mariners finished in the bottom third of the league in runs scored last year and have outscored just five teams as of the beginning of play on Wednesday, and while numbers like that are generally not ideal for fantasy hitters, the top-heavy nature of the Mariners means there could be plenty of opportunity for Tellez to hit directly behind Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena, all three of whom were at least 14 percent better than league average last season from a wRC+ standpoint.
Even in a platoon role for much of the last few years, Tellez has reached double-digit home runs in each of the last five full seasons and has struck out more than 22% of the time just once in the last four years. He’s worth a look, particularly in deeper Roto leagues as an option for RBI production.
Gavin Lux – 6%
Acquired by the Cincinnati Reds during the offseason from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gavin Lux is off to a strong start at the plate with the National League Central club.
He’s hitting .250 with a .333 on-base percentage, a barrel, an RBI and a run scored in his first 18 plate appearances as of the beginning of play on Wednesday. It’s a small sample size, but looking past the batting average and on-base percentage, Lux is sporting a .401 xwOBA and a .417 xwOBAcon.
Similar to Tellez, Lux’s potential RBI (not to mention run-scoring) opportunities improve his fantasy ceiling considerably. Well, that plus his versatility – Lux is fantasy-eligible at second base, but has started four games in left field for the Reds so far – and the fact that Great American Ballpark is a launchpad of a hitter-friendly park.
But back to the RBI potential. It’s not just the home ballpark, but it’s more so that the Reds have hit Lux cleanup four out of the five times he’s started so far in 2025.
And each time Lux has hit cleanup, he’s batted right after Elly De La Cruz.
Elly De La Cruz, who led the league with 67 stolen bases last year.
Elly De La Cruz, who finished in the 86th percentile or better in barrel rate (12.7%, 86th percentile) and average bat speed (75.2 MPH, 90th percentile).
Elly De La Cruz, who entered play Wednesday already with four barrels to his name and a .694 xwOBAcon on 16 batted ball events.
In terms of RBI opportunities, hitting behind De La Cruz is a pretty ideal fantasy situation for someone like Lux. There are few hitters who provide those sort of consistently plentiful RBI opportunities to the hitters batting directly behind them and most of them were probably selected – like De La Cruz – in the first rounds of fantasy drafts this spring.
Lux’s career-high for RBI was 50 in 487 plate appearances last season for the Dodgers. If he’s hitting cleanup for the Reds more often than not this season, he could easily push for 70 to 80 (or more) RBI this season.
