Philadelphia’s Trea Turner has not hit less than .290 since 2018 and is coming off his first 100-RBI season, so he has certainly made his case to be the top overall pick in upcoming 2023 Fantasy baseball drafts. He is not the unanimous choice though, as there are other contenders such as Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr., who has not played more than 120 games since 2019. SportsLine’s model has compiled a complete list of 2023 Fantasy baseball rankings to help you sort out your 2023 Fantasy baseball strategy before the first pitch of the season is thrown.
The model has also ranked players lower in the draft, creating value on some players as 2023 Fantasy baseball sleepers. Which sleepers should you be targeting with your 2023 Fantasy baseball picks? Before going on the clock, be sure to see the 2023 Fantasy baseball rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last season, SportsLine’s Projection Model identified several top Fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts, including Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman.
Edman had a 2022 Fantasy baseball ADP well outside the top 100 but the model predicted that he’d outperform that draft position. The result: Edman posted new career-highs in home runs (13), RBI (57) and stolen bases (32) while slashing a respectable .265/.324/.400 to finish as the third-best second baseman in Fantasy baseball. Anybody who followed its advice and picked up Edman late in their Fantasy baseball drafts received a huge power boost in their Fantasy baseball lineups.
The SportsLine model is engineered by the same people who powered projections for all three major Fantasy sites. And that same group is sharing its 2023 Fantasy baseball rankings and cheat sheets over at SportsLine, helping you find Fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts long before your competition. Their cheat sheets, available for leagues on many major sites, are updated multiple times every day.
Any time more MLB news comes out about the updated 2023 MLB schedule, free agency signings or Fantasy baseball injuries, the team at SportsLine updates its projections. Go to SportsLine now to see these proven Fantasy baseball cheat sheets.
Top 2023 Fantasy baseball sleepers
One of the Fantasy baseball sleepers 2023 the model is high on: Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth. The 29-year-old has made back-to-back all-star teams but he’s coming off the board in the 14th round of 2023 Fantasy baseball drafts after his numbers took a bit of a dip from 2021 to 2022. Cronenworth saw his batting average drop from .266 to .239 and his slugging percentage cratered from .460 to .390.
However, he still managed 17 home runs and a career-high 88 RBI, and there are some reasons for optimism in his peripherals. He upped his walk rate from 8.6% to 10.2% and he also had a more launch-focused swing, with his flyball rate increasing from 23.6% in 2021 to 34.1% in 2022. That’s a big reason why the model is projecting Cronenworth as a top-five second baseman, ahead of players like Jazz Chisholm and Ozzie Albies, who are being drafted in the seventh round on average.
Another of the Fantasy baseball sleepers 2023 the model is all over: Blue Jays second baseman Whit Merrifield. His numbers saw a slight decline last year after he hit .277 with 10 home runs and 74 RBI in 2021, but Merrifield put together a strong stretch of games at the end of the 2022 regular season. Fantasy owners seem to be disregarding that finish, relying more on his overall numbers to inform their picks at second base.
SportsLine’s model has identified this as a thinking error, ranking Merrifield ahead of other players at his position such as Edman and Albies. Those two are both being selected well ahead of Merrifield in most drafts, but the model recommends holding out for the veteran instead. The 34-year-old had three three-hit performances in a four-game stretch at the beginning of October last season, and that momentum could carry over into the 2023 campaign.
How to find proven 2023 Fantasy baseball rankings
SportsLine’s model is also high on a surprising starting pitcher who lands in the top 10 of its positional rankings. This player is barely going off the board in the top 125 picks, but is projected to outperform starters such as Aaron Nola, Shane McClanahan and Brandon Woodruff. This pick could be the difference in winning your league or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
So which 2023 Fantasy sleepers should you target in your upcoming drafts? Visit SportsLine now to get 2023 Fantasy baseball rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Tommy Edman’s big season, and find out.