Spring training accomplishments are always difficult to gauge when doing your 2023 fantasy baseball draft prep because you don’t know how much material to put into it. Players like Nolan Arenado, Juan Soto and Matt Olson all have 1,300+ OPS, but there are others in this company that surprise. Kyle Lewis, the 2020 AL Rookie of the Year, has 1.387 OPS in the Cactus League after just .143 in 18 games last season. Should Lewis be on your radar as a possible 2023 fantasy baseball sleeper?
After losing his starting job to Julio Rodriguez, Lewis was traded to the Diamondbacks in the offseason, and MLB history is replete with players who found success after a change of scene. The potential is obviously there and he’s only 27, but where does Lewis fall in the 2023 fantasy baseball rankings? Before you clock the clock in a 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft, be sure to check out the 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings and Cheat Sheets from the Trusted Computer Model at SportsLine.
Over the past season, SportsLine’s projection model identified several top fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts, including Reds first baseman Joey Votto. The SportsLine team was all over Votto as a fantasy bust from the start after a resurgent 2021 season that saw him drafted as one of the top 12 first basemen in the 2022 fantasy baseball draft. After Votto cut .266/.375/.563 the year prior with 36 homers and 99 RBIs, Votto cut .205/.319/.370 in 2022 with 11 homers and 41 RBIs. He landed in his position outside of the top 45 players and anyone who took SportsLine’s advice avoided a major headache.
Your model is run by the same people who ran the projections for all three major fantasy sites. And the same group shares their 2023 fantasy baseball rankings and cheat sheets at SportsLine, helping you find fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts long before your competition. Their cheat sheets, available for leagues on many major websites, are updated several times a day.
Every time there is more MLB news about the updated 2023 MLB schedule or fantasy baseball injuries, the team at SportsLine updates their predictions. Head over to SportsLine now for these tried-and-true fantasy baseball cheat sheets.
Top 2023 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
One of the 2023 fantasy baseball sleepers the model is all over the place: Tigers Relief pitcher Matthew Boyd. The 32-year-old racked up 238 strikeouts in 2019 and heads into the 2023 season healthy after flexor tendon surgery. He also has a new changeup grip that makes him less predictable on the hill and gives him a calm, high upstroke.
He threw four scoreless innings against Minnesota in a spring training game earlier this month, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out six. Boyd posted a 2.00 ERA and .67 WHIP with 17 strikeouts in his first nine innings of the Grapefruit League, giving him something to build on in the regular season. He’s drafted behind helpers like Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen, but SportsLine’s model believes he has a higher advantage than those two veterans.
Top 2023 Fantasy Baseball Breakouts
One of the fantasy baseball breakouts of 2023 the model jumps on: Tigers outfielder Riley Greene. Greene, who was the No. 4 in all baseball prior to 2022, made his MLB debut last June. He got off to a rough start, hitting .224 in his first 55 games, but then rebounded and hit .297 in his last 38 games of the season.
That fits with his minor career, when he hit .298 in double-A and .299 in triple-A. Greene has shown his touch skills during spring training, hitting a .308 in his first 19 games. Greene has the potential for double-digit home runs and stolen bases in 2023, and the model put him above former MVP Cody Bellinger in its 2023 fantasy baseball rankings.
Top 2023 fantasy baseball busts
What players should avoid, the model has identified Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu as one of his greatest fantasy baseball busts of 2023. The 34-year-old is a two-time hitting champion and looked like an offensive juggernaut when he joined the Yankees in 2019 and then again in the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic. However, his productivity has declined significantly since then and the model predicts he will will not match its 174.11 ADP for fantasy baseball in 2023.
LeMahieu has hit just .265 over the past two seasons and the surprising power he showed in 2019 and 2020 has dissipated. His slugging percentage has dropped to .368 in 2021 and 2022 after hovering at .536 the previous two seasons. And its average exit speed has dropped from 92.4 MPH in 2019 to 88.7 MPH in 2022. All supporting data suggests LeMahieu is continuing his downtrend, and the model likes Isaac Paredes and Yoan Moncada more, with both players playing at least five rounds later in 2023 fantasy baseball drafts on average.
How to Find Proven 2023 Fantasy Baseball Rankings
SportsLine’s model is also high on a surprise starting pitcher, finishing in the top 10 of its position rankings. This player hardly comes off the board in the top 125 picks but is expected to outperform starters like Aaron Nola, Shane McClanahan and Brandon Woodruff. That choice could mean the difference between winning your league or going home with nothing. You can only see who that is here.
Which 2023 fantasy baseball busts, breakouts, and sleepers should you target or fade into your designs? Visit SportsLine now to get the 2023 fantasy baseball rankings for every single position, all based on the model that Joey Votto called the disappointing season, and find out.