Each week we’ll look at a handful of different players whom 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 Friday afternoon.
All 2024 stats are as of the beginning of play on Friday.
Mark Canha – 9%
Pretty much everywhere he’s gone, ok everywhere, Mark Canha has reached base a bunch. Or, in slightly more eloquent fashion, he’s always registered decidedly above-average marks in terms of on-base percentage.
And he’s doing it again in Detroit with the Tigers. In his first season with the American League Central club, the outfielder is sporting a .417 on-base percentage through his first 24 plate appearances with the Tigers. It’s a tiny sample size, but it isn’t anything new for the veteran.
And while seeing the number stay above the .400 line seems unlikely, Canha should continue to get on base at a high rate with the Tigers.
That in itself makes him a borderline must-add in leagues where on-base percentage is part of the scoring.
His placement in an improving Tigers lineup takes that distinction from more borderline to slam dunk in those on-base percentage leagues.
Canha has hit either fourth or fifth in Detroit’s lineup this season after leadoff hitter Parker Meadows and some combination of Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter, and Andy Ibáñez.
Manager A.J. Hinch has regularly utilized Ibanez against left-handers, whether as a starter or a pinch-hitter for someone like Carpenter depending on the matchup.
All told, there are certainly the players around Canha for the outfielder to find plenty of success from a counting stat standpoint where runs scored and RBI are concerned. The presence of top prospect Colt Keith in the lineup should only help matters as the season goes on.
However, the biggest thing to watch here is Canha’s power production.
The outfielder has topped 20 home runs just once in his career and has never finished with a double-digit barrel rate in a season. This is not to say he’s a lock to achieve both those feats in 2024, but Canha is already sporting two barrels and a home run before the second week of the season (and first full week) is through. That power potential gives the veteran plenty of fantasy ceiling to go along with an already stable fantasy floor in multiple categories.
José Caballero – 3%
Caballero, like Canha, is probably more of an addition for managers in leagues where on-base percentage is part of the scoring, particularly after logging a 10.0% walk rate and a .343 on-base percentage in 280 plate appearances for the Seattle Mariners.
Now with the Tampa Bay Rays, Caballero has settled into a regular role for the American League East club. And while he’s yet to draw a walk so far, the infielder is off to a strong start at the plate, hitting .316 with a .364 on-base percentage in 22 plate appearances.
Most importantly, he’s doing what he did best as a rookie with the Mariners last season: stealing bases.
The 27-year-old already has three stolen bases, including one in each of his last three games entering Friday after swiping 26 bases in only 104 games in 2023.
And while Caballero’s .316 average looks a tad unsustainable considering a 25% hard-hit rate and a .375 BABIP so far, he should be much more consistent on the base paths.
Not only does he have a track record of stealing bases, but the Rays have a recent track record of putting runners in motion on the basepaths. Last season, only four teams stole more bases than Tampa Bay’s 160 total. This year, the Rays have already stolen nine bases, tied for the third-most in the league.
Caballero is mainly an addition for stolen bases, but he could be an impact player in that category for fantasy managers.
Daniel Hudson – 12%
This early in the year, we’re still dealing with tiny sample sizes across the board, but it’s hard to ignore how quickly Hudson has established himself as a key high-leverage reliever in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ bullpen.
In four innings of work spanning four appearances, the veteran has pitched to a 2.25 ERA and a 4.01 FIP while striking out five batters and allowing a pair of hits and a home run.
More importantly, though, Hudson has made an impact from a fantasy counting stat standpoint in each of his appearances.
The Dodgers, who once again should be one of baseball’s best teams, should provide Hudson and the rest of their relievers with plenty of save and hold chances. Just last season, the team finished with the ninth-most saves and the 10th-most holds in the sport.
And while Evan Phillips looks set to continue as the team’s primary closer – he’s logged three saves already – there should be ample room for Hudson to continue to log some ancillary saves while also being a steady source of holds.
Three pitchers besides Phillips, Hudson among them, have already logged a save this year, though Ryan Yarbrough’s was a three-inning save.
Still, this is the same bullpen that saw Brusdar Graterol and Caleb Ferguson combine for 10 saves last year to Phillips’ 24.
It’s still early, but with Graterol on the 60-day injured list and Ferguson in New York as a member of the Yankees, Hudson looks like the early favorite to step into a top setup role in Los Angeles moving forward.
Charlie Blackmon – 9%
While he’s no longer the home run and stolen base threat he was earlier in his career, Charlie Blackmon has continued to post generally low strikeout rates, including a career-low 13.3% metric last season. Generally speaking, that’s a good thing for a player who plays half his games at Coors Field. The more contact there, the better.
But, the veteran outfield has notably struggled, at least comparatively, away from Coors Field in recent years.
Which brings us to 2024.
Blackmon and the Rockies have played exclusively on the road to open up the 2024 slate, and the veteran is hitting .417 with a .440 on-base percentage, a stolen base, three runs scored, five RBI, and no strikeouts. Sure, his BABIP (.417) is identical to his similarly sky-high average, and it’s a (again) a small sample size, but it’s an encouraging start nonetheless for someone who hasn’t been nearly as productive on the road and is coming off a 2023 season in which he logged a .905 OPS in 235 home plate appearances.
The early stolen base could just be an added bonus, although more production on the base paths certainly wouldn’t hurt. Blackmon hasn’t topped five stolen bases in a season since 2018. That being said, there’s viable fantasy upside here in most fantasy leagues, let alone deep leagues, if his road production is even just a bit better on the road. At worst, he’s someone to start with confidence in an outfield spot when the schedule shows him at home. At best, he could be a quality contributor in all of the following categories, regardless of venue: batting average, on-base percentage, RBI, and runs scored. Either way, he needs to be rostered in more leagues.
Photo by Adobe Stock | Adapted by Carlos Leano