Fantasy Baseball 2023 Sleepers: Top Pitchers and Sluggers to Target

Fantasy baseball sleepers don't have to be unknown.

They don't even have to be routinely passed over in drafts and salary-cap leagues.

All they need to be is more valuable than the fantasy community sees them as.

The following three players—two hitters and a pitcher—have at least a hint of name recognition, but their fantasy outlook is brighter than you'd think for how much they'll cost your club.

Triston Casas, 1B, Boston Red Sox

Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images

FT. MYERS, FL - FEBRUARY 26: Triston Casas #36 of the Boston Red Sox bats during the first inning of a Spring Training Grapefruit League game against the Tampa Bay Rays on February 26, 2023 at jetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Casas had some buzz last season, and he didn't exactly live up to it.

He hit .197 over 27 games at the big league level. He put too many balls on the ground and didn't show enough life in his bat. While he homered at a decent clip (five in 76 at-bats), he only had a single extra-base hit otherwise.

That's fine. Nothing super alarming happened, and the relative "struggles" may have only given him bargain potential this time around.

Despite the low average, he worked his way to a .358 on-base percentage with some of the best vision and patience around. His power numbers also delivered, as his 162-game pace featured 30 homers and 72 RBI. Boost his batting average and some of the counting categories that come along with it, and he could be an above-average option at first base and maybe a top-tier one in on-base percentage leagues.

Hunter Greene, SP, Cincinnati Reds

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GOODYEAR, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 21: Hunter Greene #21 of the Cincinnati Reds poses for a portrait during photo day at Goodyear Ballpark on February 21, 2023 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Greene didn't do much consistently last season. Well, other than flash some of the hottest heat in baseball.

His fastball lived in triple digits. In his second start of the campaign, he set an all-time record with 39 pitches of at least 100 mph.

Those lasers didn't always lead to elite results—he gave up at least five earned runs in four different outings—but they certainly hinted at his ability to rise to that level. In his final five outings, he had a 0.62 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 29 innings.

There's a non-zero chance he'll lead the league in strikeouts. And he'll do it with, at worst, reasonable ratios. He can be a star.

Taylor Ward, OF, Los Angeles Angels

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 10: Taylor Ward #3 of the Los Angeles Angels hits a home run in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch on March 10, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Ward was a fantasy juggernaut during last season's first month.

In his first 29 games, he had a blistering .375/.488/.721 slash and 16 extra-base hits with nine home runs. He scored 26 runs and knocked in another 23.

Everything was thrown off-kilter, though, when he collided with a wall on May 20 and suffered an injury to his shoulder and neck. From that point forward, he had a .256/.323/.407 slash with 31 extra-base hits (14 homers) in 106 games.

Obviously, calling him a sleeper is betting on a bounce-back, but honestly, the recovery started already last season. Over his last 35 games, he was back to delivering a .344/.390/.570 slash with seven homers (and two of his five steals on the season) in 35 games.