The World Baseball Classic is in full swing, giving MLB teams a chance to assess players before the regular season begins. Fantasy baseball owners are also preparing for 2023 Fantasy baseball drafts, which will be taking place across the country over the next two weeks. One aspect of 2023 Fantasy baseball strategy to consider is the new rule changes put in place by the league during the offseason. The MLB decided to ban the shift, which could create a major change in 2023 Fantasy baseball rankings.
No one faced the shift more last season than Kansas City first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who encountered the shift nearly 94% of the time. The lefty was still able to hit .295 with just an 11.4% strikeout rate, so should you be including him in your 2023 Fantasy baseball picks? Before finalizing your 2023 Fantasy baseball draft prep, 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: Rockies designated hitter Charlie Blackmon. The 36-year-old is a four-time All-Star who plays in the most hitter-friendly park in Major League Baseball, and the addition of the designated hitter in the National League has helped extend his career after years of defensive decline.
Blackmon’s numbers last season were a little disappointing, as he slashed .264/.314/.419 with 16 home runs and 78 RBI. But his .304 BABIP was 27 points below his career average so there’s some hope for improvement there. And Blackmon still has the sort of power to potentially deliver 30 home runs or more and that’s why the model ranks him ahead of Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper, who are going at least 80 picks earlier in 2023 Fantasy baseball drafts on CBS Sports.
Another of the Fantasy baseball sleepers 2023 the model is all over: Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright. His future was up in the air down the stretch last season, but he chose to return for the 2023 season. Wainwright was still a solid starter in the St. Louis rotation last year, posting a 3.71 ERA and racking up 11 wins across 32 starts.
The 41-year-old has been aging like a fine wine after finishing with at least a 4.19 ERA in four straight seasons from 2016-19. He has posted a sub-3.80 ERA in his three seasons since then, throwing more than 397 combined innings over the last two years. Wainwright is currently being drafted behind pitchers such as Alex Cobb, Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn, but SportsLine’s model expects him to have a better campaign than all three of those starting pitchers.
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 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.