Fantasy Baseball: Cleveland Guardians Studs, Breakouts, and Sleepers
The Guardians have a way of developing front-line starters, which has kept them in playoff contention over the past few seasons. Jose Ramirez remains their foundation stud, but he needs multiple players to have breakout seasons to win the AL Central.
Deep Sleeper: Kyle Manzardo, Cleveland Guardians
Manzardo was a stud over his first 111 games in the minors (.317/83/24/91/1 over 382 at-bats). His batting average (.252) regressed over 635 at-bats at AAA, but he was productive in runs (114), home runs (37), and RBIs (103). Manzardo wasn't major league ready in his rookie season (.234 with 11 runs, five home runs, and 15 RBIs over 145 at-bats).
Josh Naylor's trade clears a winning path for Manzardo, and his bat has been on the uptick in spring training (.385/4/2/5 over 26 at-bats).
Deep Sleeper: Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
Pairing an elite fastball with two elite swing-and-miss breaking pitches should lead to much higher success on the mound. Williams doesn’t have an off-speed pitch of value, and the command of his heater isn’t there in and out of the strike zone. I liked his arm in 2024, but his added injury risk does paint a questionable picture this draft season. Williams isn’t far off, so pay attention to his arm this spring, as his arm could come fast.
Williams has been sensational over his first three appearances in spring training (one run, seven baserunners, and 16 strikeouts over eight innings), putting his right arm on more fantasy team's radar.
Breakout: Bo Naylor, Cleveland Guardians
Naylor has a much higher ceiling in power with complementary speed for the catcher position. The key to him securing more playing time starts with success at the plate and an improved approach. Possible jump to 25 home runs with double-digit stolen bases, painting a profile similar to Dalton Varsho when he qualified at catcher in 2022. Naylor has breakout upside.
Over his first 10 games in spring training, Naylor went 7-for-28 with four runs, three home runs, and seven RBIs.
Breakout: Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians
Bibee is on a trajectory similar to Bryce Miller. He throws strikes with the stuff to put away batters with swings and misses. His fastball location in the strike zone must improve against lefties to reach ace status. Last year, Bibee ranked 21st in FPGscore (2.13) for starting pitchers. Next step: 15+ wins with a sub-3.00 ERA and 200+ strikeouts.
Over his only game this spring, Bibee pitched three shutout innings with three baserunners and three strikeouts.
Fantasy Stud: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
Over the past four seasons, Ramirez finished 5th (8.45), 5th (9.12), 21st (4.49), and 4th (12.04) in FPGscore for hitters. Based on his best three seasons over the last four years, he looks well worth his current ADP (4.9). I don’t respect Cleveland's supporting cast heading into 2025, suggesting regression in four categories for Ramirez. I saw a video over the past month where he looked trimmer, so he may be motivated to run more this year. I only see a .280/90/30/90/25 player with 600 at-bats, making him a late first-round pick in 15-team leagues.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.