Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: 5 Home Run Hitters to Target Late in Drafts
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Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheet: Jen Piacenti’s Late-Round Player Targets for Rotisserie and Category Leagues- Home Runs
If you're light on power heading into the final rounds of your roto draft, here are five players to consider to boost the home run category. All these players are coming off the board in round 15 or later.
Remember to reference this category cheat sheet series as you head into your drafts. We'll also discuss runs, batting average, stolen bases, and RBI in separate articles.
Now, let's draft a winning team!
Home Run Category Sleepers in Fantasy Baseball
Tyler O'Neill (OF), BAL, ADP 182
Tyler O'Neill swatted 31 home runs across 113 games with Boston in 2024. If he had played all 162, he was on pace for forty-four.
Now, he moves to Camden Yards, where they are lowering the wall height and moving in the fences in left field. He is expected to hit sixth for the Orioles, and while he may strike out too much, his batting average and lineup have more promise than another on this list, Michael Toglia. O'Neill is just two seasons removed from a 15-steal season, so you might also get a handful of steals.
Heliot Ramos (OF), SFG, ADP 210
Ramos had an impressive rookie season, hitting 22 home runs across 121 games for the Giants. According to Statcast, His xSLG, barrel rate, and bat speed were all in the top 10% of MLB, and his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate were in the top 15%.
He'll be the primary center fielder for the Giants this year.
Michael Toglia - Colorado Rockies (21)
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 24, 2024
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Michael Toglia (1B), COL, ADP 211
This pick will almost certainly come at the expense of batting average, and Toglia had a 32.2% K-rate in 2024 and hit just .218- a particularly "impressive" feat for someone whose home park is Coors Field, but the power upside could be worth a swing. Toglia clubbed 25 homers across 116 games last season, a 35-home run pace for a 162-game season.
Toglia lit up the Statcast Leaderboard, with a barrel rate in the top 2% of the league and an xSLG, AVG Exit Velocity, and Hard-Hit rate in the top 9%. The switch-hitter is expected to bat fifth for the Rockies.
Jorge Soler (DH/OF), LAA, ADP 227
Jorge Soler is on this list every year. Soler hit 21 home runs combined for the Giants and Braves last season, but in 2023, he had 36 with Miami. Now he lands with the Angels, where he is expected to bat cleanup as the DH. Soler might lock up your utility spot, but if you need HR, he's an option that should still have juice. His average exit velocity remained elite last season in the top 4% of MLB, while his walk rate was in the top 8%.
Byron Buxton - Minnesota Twins (16)
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 11, 2024
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Byron Buxton (OF). MIN, ADP 236
Yes, I know. When will Buxton stay healthy? It's hard to know if we will ever see a full season of Buxton, as the most games he's ever played at the Major League level are 140, but it's hard not to bite at this price, especially if you have IR spots.
According to Statcast, Buxton's expected SLG was in the top 8% of the league for 2024, and his barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and average exit velocity were in the top 15%. And there was a new development- Buxton also had a .279 batting average last season. That was the second-best of his career (he hit .306 in 2021 across just 61 games.)
Buxton appeared in 102 games last season- the most since 2017, and though he may be platooned, if you're in a daily league, this is a bet to make.
Buxton's 18 homers, 56 RBI, 62 runs, and seven stolen bases would equate to 29 homers, 89 RBI, 98 runs, and 11 stolen bases if they stayed on pace for 162.
I know that's a big IF, but at pick 236, what have you got to lose?
Other Fantasy Baseball Sleepers for Home Runs
1B/3B Jake Burger (TEX),
1B Rhys Hoskins (MIL)
2B Tyler Fitzgerald (SF)
More Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Fantasy Baseball Sleepers for the 2025 MLB Season
Fantasy Baseball: Top Five Late-Round Sleepers for Stolen Bases
Jennifer was the number one ranked overall betting analyst among 415 Enterprise sharps for 2023 and 2024 according to Independent rankings agency, SharpRank- an industry standard. She maintained that top ranking for more than 10 consecutive months, ranking 1st over all in both MLB and NFL. Jennifer has been a Senior Betting and Fantasy Analyst for Sports Illustrated where she first started writing in 2021. She is a radio host for Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio, and she also hosted her own podcast, “Waiver Wired” in connection with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions on ESPN+. Jen has been a featured betting and fantasy expert on MLB TV, Apple TV pregame shows, and VSIN network. She’s a member Tout Wars, the fantasy baseball battle of the experts, and she is also an award-nominated member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. Jen was a 2020 Scott Fish Bowl Finalist and finished third overall in the NFFC post-season mini. She loves fantasy sports, player props, and plus-money payouts.