2025 Fantasy Baseball: Tyler O'Neill Profile, Preview, Predictions
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Tyler O'Neill is a risk/reward bat with plenty of power. Unfortunately, he's never had 500 at-bats in any season in the majors. The Orioles helped his home run chances by moving in their left-field fence.
Tyler O'Neill is now your MLB home run leader with 7⃣! pic.twitter.com/zo63vHhF0n
— MLB (@MLB) April 14, 2024
OF – Tyler O’Neill, BAL (ADP – 197.6)
Over the past three seasons, O'Neill missed 207 games. He hit .234 over this span with 157 runs, 54 home runs, 140 RBIs, and 23 stolen bases over 983 at-bats, which translates to 88 runs, 30 home runs, 78 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases with 550 at-bats. O’Neill struggled in back-to-back seasons with runners on base (RBI rate – 7.0 in 2023 and 11.8 in 2024).
Last year, he had three stints on the injured list with a concussion, a right knee injury, and an illness while also sitting out some games with back and finger issues.
His power bat (.320/20/9/12/1) shined in April over 75 at-bats. After missing time in May, O’Neill helped the Red Sox over his next 39 games (.297 with 29 runs, 11 home runs, 28 RBIs, and two steals over 148 at-bats). He lost his swing over the final seven weeks (.174/16/9/16/1 over 115 at-bats) due to 51 strikeouts (38.1%). O’Neill was a beast vs. left-handed pitching (.313 over 128 at-bats with 26 runs, 16 home runs, 29 RBIs, and one stolen base).
He had a rebound in his exit velocity (90.9 mph) and hard-hit rate (48.4). O’Neill finished with a high launch angle (20.2), fly-ball rate (46.9), and HR/FB rate (26.1). His strikeout rate (33.6) suggests playing time risk, but he posted a career-best walk rate (11.2).
Fantasy Outlook: The investment in O’Neill is a pure power swing. He may surprise in steals while carrying plenty of batting average risk. His struggles in clutch situations and injury risk paint a wild card profile. The change in ballpark dimensions in Baltimore helps his floor in home runs. I can’t trust him to be in the lineup for 450 at-bats, so I’ll let him beat me in 2025. There is an upside of 30+ home runs and a downside of 60+ missed games.
RANKINGS
Top 5 Catchers | Catchers 6-10 | Catchers 11-15
Top 5 First Basemen | First Basemen 6-10 | First Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Second Basemen | Second Basemen 6-10 | Second Basemen 11-15
Top 5 Shortstops | Shortstops 6-10 | Shortstops 11-15
Top 5 Third Basemen | Third Basemen 6-10 | Third Basemen 11-15
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.
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