San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. will remain suspended for a PED violation until April 20, causing a multitude of opinions about him heading into the 2023 fantasy baseball draft. Tatis is one of the most talented players in MLB and just turned 24 in January, so his best may still be ahead of him. However, he may not return immediately as a five-category fantasy baseball star. Should You Avoid Him With Your 2023 Fantasy Baseball Picks?
Another young star creating hype heading into the 2023 MLB season is Atlanta’s Michael Harris Jr. He was named NL Rookie of the Year last season, hit 19 homers and stole 20 bases. 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 that has the model all over it: Giants right fielder Mitch Haniger. The 2018 All-Star has largely fallen off after this season, coming off a year in which he only played 57 games last season. However, Haniger has hit 39 home runs with 100 RBIs in 2021 and will be counting on recapturing that success on the plate for the Giants.
Last season, the Giants finished 8th-worst in right field in the majors with above-average wins (-1.1), but they’re hoping a healthy Haniger can bring stability to the position and change that. Haniger hit balls 18% of the time last season, his highest rate since 2017, and that should serve him well at Oracle Park. The right field wall in San Francisco is just 309 feet tall, compared to 326 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, which should help him rediscover his performance numbers from a few years ago.
Top 2023 Fantasy Baseball Breakouts
One of the fantasy baseball breakouts of 2023 the model jumps on: Tigers outfielder Riley Greene. His rookie season got off to a rocky start as he missed time early in the season with a broken foot. He had 93 games left last year and got into an offensive groove by the end of the season. Although he didn’t show much power, he had 12 doubles, 28 RBI and a .369 batting average on balls put into play.
He has already shown promise in spring training and after his first 12 preseason games he had an OPS of .834. Greene had a .298 batting average on 547 at-bats at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, so batting is his calling card. Greene’s advantages and opportunities give him some of the biggest opportunities for a tremendous return on investment in the later rounds of fantasy drafts this year.
Top 2023 fantasy baseball busts
What players should avoid, the model has identified White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi as one of his greatest fantasy baseball busts of 2023. He suffered a wrist injury last season, but that didn’t stop Chicago from signing him to a five-year, $75 million contract in December. However, Benintendi’s strength has dropped significantly and he’s not running nearly as well as he used to.
He also struggled during spring training, only getting a .208 in the first four weeks. Benintendi offers Chicago valuable experience and defensive capability, but those intangibles won’t earn its owners fantasy baseball numbers. He’s drafted ahead of left fielders like David Peralta, Alex Verdugo and Eddie Rosario, but the model has all three of those players ahead.
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.