Fantasy Baseball 2022 Sleepers: Top Pitchers and Sluggers to Target

Three weeks away from the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, fantasy draft planning has been condensed because of uncertainty around the lockout. 

While some of you may have already had your draft, smart players will continue to wait until we get closer to Opening Day on April 7 because of the level of volatility right now, with many top free agents yet to sign contracts. 

There's also the probability of injuries, especially with pitchers, that will pop up now that spring training games are being played. 

Whenever your fantasy draft is taking place, keep an eye out for these mid- to late-round sleepers who could be available to boost your roster. 

Gavin Lux, SS/OF, Los Angeles Dodgers (ADP: 269.2)

It's not a surprise there isn't much of a fantasy market for Lux at this point. His MLB career has been a disappointment thus far with a .233/.314/.368 slash line, but it's important to note that only comes in 144 games played. 

Lux is only 24 and is just two years removed from being regarded as the second-best prospect in baseball, behind Tampa Bay Rays superstar Wander Franco. 

One of the main reasons to be optimistic about Lux turning into at least a solid everyday regular in 2022 is how he finished in 2021. The Wisconsin native hit .284/.385/.388 in the second half, albeit in a small sample size of 23 games. 

The Dodgers experimented with using Lux in left field down the stretch last season. A.J. Pollock is penciled in as the starter at that spot right now, but he hasn't played 120 games in a season since 2015. 

It's hard not to like every hitter in the Dodgers' 2022 lineup after they signed Freddie Freeman. 

Now that the designated hitter is in the NL, there is going to be an extra spot in the order for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts to take advantage of how much depth is on the roster. 

There are going to be RBI opportunities for every hitter, 1-9, in that lineup every single game. Lux, by default, might end up in the ninth spot. He's got a pedigree of hitting for average and solid power in the minors (.304/.381/.479 slash line in 413 games). 

If there is going to be a breakout season for Lux, all signs point to it happening in 2022. 

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Gleyber Torres, SS, New York Yankees (ADP: 161.4)

The trajectory for Gleyber Torres' career has been frustrating for many people. He came out of the gate looking exactly like the player New York Yankees fans were hoping for when he was originally acquired from the Chicago Cubs for Aroldis Chapman in 2016. 

Torres hit .275/.338/.511 with 62 homers and 167 RBI with two All-Star appearances in his first two seasons from 2018-19. 

Since the start of 2020, though, Torres' production has declined following a significant loss of power. He has a .256/.337/.366 slash line with 12 homers in 169 games over the past two seasons. 

Injuries have certainly been a problem for Torres. He missed more than three weeks last season with a strained thumb. 

Per FanGraphs, Torres' barrel percentage of 7.8 in 2021 more than doubled his mark from the previous season (3.7 percent). ZiPS projects him for a .260/.332/.426 slash line with 20 homers, 67 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 2022. 

For comparison, Francisco Lindor's slash line since the start of 2019 is .261/.331/.462 with an average of 20 homers, 55 RBI and 13 stolen bases. 

Lindor's ADP is 112 spots higher than Torres at this point (49.4), yet his recent production is essentially what Torres is projected to do this season.

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Shane Baz, SP, Tampa Bay Rays (ADP: 131.0)

Expectations are already high for Shane Baz coming into this season after his cup of coffee in the big leagues at the end of 2021. 

After being called up by the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 20, Baz certainly looked the part of a future star with a 2.03 ERA, 18 strikeouts and six hits allowed in 13.1 innings over three starts to end the regular season. 

Baz's lone playoff appearance against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the American League Division Series didn't go great. He allowed six hits and three runs over 2.1 innings in a 14-6 loss. 

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has Baz ranked as the No. 2 right-handed pitching prospect coming into this season. 

The Rays made it clear by bringing up Baz in September that he is going to be on their Opening Day roster this year. He has posted a sub-3.00 ERA with 11.25 strikeouts per nine innings over his past two minor-league seasons in 2019 and 2021. (The 2020 minor-league season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Based on how carefully the Rays manage their pitching staff, don't count on Baz to be a workhorse this season. The 22-year-old will probably end up in the range of 120-150 innings, but he has the stuff to average more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings with a very low WHIP total. 

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Jon Gray, SP, Texas Rangers (ADP: 262.2)

The Rangers' pre-lockout spending spree including giving Corey Seager $325 million over 10 years to play shortstop and signing Jon Gray to a four-year, $56 million deal. 

While Seager is the headliner, Gray could prove to be just as important as Texas looks to make a move in the American League West. 

The Rangers had the worst record in MLB last season (60-102). The starting rotation produced the fewest FanGraphs wins above replacement (2.1) and third-worst ERA (5.33) in MLB. 

Gray's career to this point doesn't suggest he's ready to be a high-end starting pitcher. He has a 4.59 career ERA with more hits allowed (830) than innings pitched (829.1) in seven seasons. 

One key difference for Gray between 2021 and 2022 will be going from the NL West to the AL West and playing his home games at Globe Life Field instead of Coors Field. 

The NL West is a gauntlet with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres.

The AL West has the Houston Astros, who reportedly lost Carlos Correa to the Minnesota Twins, but the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics don't figure to have elite offenses in 2022. 

Per Baseball Savant's Park Factors, Coors Field was the third-best park in MLB for offense in 2021. Globe Life Field was the ninth-hardest park for offense. 

Texas isn't usually thought of as a place to go if you want to limit offense, but the two-year-old stadium has so far been beneficial to pitchers. 

Gray had intermittent success throughout his career with the Rockies. He had two sub-4.00 ERA seasons in 2017 (3.67) and 2019 (3.84), with at least nine strikeouts per nine innings in five of the past six years. 

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Average draft position via Fantasy Pros.