Draft Advice – Syndication Server

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The key to the shortened 2020 fantasy baseball season will be getting every bit of production out of players and not letting them toil away on the waiver wire during a hot streak, especially at the start of the season. With this in mind, we look at the top fantasy baseball sleepers to target in your drafts for the 60-game MLB season.

Fantasy baseball sleepers

Ryan Braun, OF, Milwaukee Brewers

Average Draft Position (ADP): 255

Braun is one of the many National League players who will benefit from the universal designated hitter this season. The 36-year-old’s 144 games played last year were his most since 2012. A poor fielder late in his career, Braun will be able to focus predominantly on offense and will be at a much lower risk of injury.

He has hit 42 home runs over the last two seasons and hasn’t stolen fewer than 11 bases in a season since playing just 61 games in 2013. He’ll hit behind OFs Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich in the top-heavy Brewers lineup and will have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.

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Cesar Hernandez, 2B, Cleveland Indians

ADP: 269

Hernandez moves over to the American League after spending the first seven seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, and will get to play a lot of games against the weak pitching staffs of the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox. He’s able to contribute in all categories and is assured the bulk of the playing time in the center of the infield.

Nick Solak, 2B/3B/DH, Texas Rangers

ADP: 295

Solak isn’t guaranteed a regular position in the Rangers lineup, but his versatility and talent should keep him involved, especially if any Rangers position player suffers an early injury. He slashed .293/.393/.491 with five home runs across 33 games in Texas’ lost 2019 season. He needs to be drafted before becoming a hot commodity on the waiver wire.

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Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets

ADP: 168

Rosario developed some power last season and finished with a career-high 15 home runs to go with 19 stolen bases. He struggles with strikeouts and needs to draw more walks, but his batting average improved greatly over the second half of last season and his defense will keep him in the lineup every day for a competitive team.

Jonathan Schoop, 2B, Detroit Tigers

ADP: 317

Schoop swatted 23 homers and drove in 59 runs over 121 games with the Minnesota Twins last season. He struck out in 25% of his plate appearances and walked in just 4.3%, but he’ll be fully allowed to take his cuts while hitting in the center of a bad Tigers lineup.

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2020 Fantasy baseball sleepers: Closers

Ty Buttrey, Los Angeles Angels

Buttrey is expected to start the 2020 season behind Hansel Robles on the Angels’ closer depth chart. Robles has struggled this spring, however, and new manager Joe Maddon will have little allegiance to a player who converted 23 of 27 save opportunities in 2019.

The soon-to-be 27-year-old Buttrey appeared in 72 games last season but converted just 2 of 6 save opportunities. Still, he had a better strikeout rate than Robles and could certainly earn a shot if Robles takes his spring issues into the season. The Angels are expecting to be much better in 2020 after a busy offseason, and Robles’ leash will be kept tight while closing for a team with playoff aspirations.

Luke Jackson, Atlanta Braves

Jackson begins the 2020 season in a middle- relief role, while Mark Melancon and Will Smith occupy the late-inning roles. Jackson ranked inside the top 20 of qualified relievers last season in both strikeout rate (33.7%) and ground-ball rate (60.5%).

The 28-year-old converted just 18 of 25 save opportunities in 2019, but he did gain a reasonable amount of experience. He may need only to overcome Melancon, who hasn’t saved more than 12 games since 2016, with Smith preferred for the set-up role.

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Dellin Betances, New York Mets

Betances, who’s recovering from a torn Achilles which limited him to 2/3 of an inning with the New York Yankees last year, is still targeting Opening Day for his return to a major league mound. Used almost exclusively as a set-up man by the Yanks, Betances has converted 36 of 55 save opportunities over his career. He has an elite strikeout rate year-over-year and he induces more soft contact than hard. Betances will be available to replace Edwin Diaz if the latter’s 2019 struggles persist in the early going of 2020.

Andrew Miller, St. Louis Cardinals

Another veteran with considerable ninth-inning experience, Miller will start the season behind Giovanny Gallegos for closer duties. Gallegos, 28, pitched to a 2.31 ERA across 74 innings and 66 games last season, but he’s just 2-for-6 in career save opportunities. Miller has mostly been a set-up man the last four seasons, but he has 59 career saves and just 16 blown chances. He’s available at the end of drafts and will get enough work even in middle relief to provide value from the RP slot with strong ratios and high strikeout totals.