Fantasy Baseball Picks 2024: Sleepers to Target Deep in Your Draft

When fantasy baseball managers enter a draft and look for ways to separate themselves from their leaguemates, they don't typically find them at the top of the order.

Barring injuries, just about everyone's early-round selections are going to deliver.

Where teams should aim to separate is with those later picks. A lot of them won't pan out and will wind up needing to be replaced on the waiver wire, so those that do connect can give you a big leg up on the competition.

Our aim here is to identify some of these deeper draft picks—average draft position (ADP) outside of the top 175, per FantasyPros—who may not get celebrated during the talent grab but could loom as legitimate difference-makers by season's end.

Maikel Garcia, 3B, Kansas City Royals (ADP: 247)

David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images

SURPRISE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 24, 2024: Maikel Garcia #11 of the Kansas City Royals runs out a single during the first inning of a spring training game against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium on February 24, 2024 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

The Kansas City Royals granted Maikel Garcia a nine-game cup of coffee during the 2022 season, but his first real opportunity didn't surface until last season.

And the 24-year-old made the most of it. In just 123 games, he piled up 23 stolen bases and 109 combined runs and RBI while batting a healthy .272.

While Garcia isn't a bopper by any stretch, he should have more power than the four homers he hit last season would lead you to believe. There was a fairly sizable gap between his actual slugging percentage (.358) and his expected slugging percentage (.393, per Baseball Savant), so if he's a little luckier this season, a double-digit home run total could be in the cards.

It looks like he'll start the season hitting near the bottom of the order for this young, ascending offense, but he has a chance to work his way toward the top.

The higher up he hits, the better his run-scoring chances become, and there's a real chance he becomes an asset in that category and steals, while being helpful in batting average and not hurtful in the power department.

Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pittsburgh Pirates (ADP: 181)

Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images

BRADENTON, FL - FEBRUARY 20: Ke'Bryan Hayes #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a photo during the Pittsburgh Pirates Photo Day at LECOM Park on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Ke'Bryan Hayes isn't an out-of-nowhere kind of sleeper.

The 27-year-old has been on the collective mind of the baseball community for a while now, as he was a highly touted prospect in the Pirates organization who hit the ground running at a full sprint as a late call-up in the 2020 season.

In his first taste of big league action, he compiled a .376/.442/.682 slash line while tallying 14 extra-base hits (including five homers) in just 24 games.

The fact that he stands as a sleeper some three-plus years later shows things haven't exactly gone according to plan since, as he's dealt with injuries and sometimes struggled to elevate the ball. His home run count sits at just 33 in 380 career games, which is nowhere near what it seemed it might be during that sizzling September of yesteryear.

Hayes quietly took big steps toward tapping into his power potential last season, though, as he posted personal bests in average exit velocity (92.2), max exit velocity (113.1) and launch angle (13.2, nearly doubling his previous best of 7.4). And he has picked up where he left off this spring, posting a .405/.432/.690 slash line with three homers in 15 games.

It appears the light bulb could be clicking, and if it fully illuminates, something like 25 homers and 20 steals is within his range of possible outcomes. That's a potential fantasy MVP at his draft cost.

Trevor Story, SS, Boston Red Sox (ADP: 193.6)

Bryan Bennett/Getty Images

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - MARCH 10: Trevor Story #10 of the Boston Red Sox at bat during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Estadio Quisqueya on March 10, 2024 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)

Remember him?

Trevor Story was once a certified fantasy star. Sure, he enjoyed that star turn while playing in the fantasy friendly confines of Coors Field, but there are only so many ways to scoff at the numbers he once posted: 72 homers, 50 steals, 193 RBI and 199 RBI over a two-season stretch between 2018 and 2019.

Granted, that's a long time, a lot of injuries and a team change ago, but when you're throwing late-round fliers on the long-shot hopes of adding a power-speed threat, he has actually delivered massive levels of both power and speed.

Now, could he hurt you in batting average? Absolutely. Since signing a six-year, $140 million pact with the Red Sox in 2022, he has hit just .227 while reaching base at a .287 clip in 137 games. That being said, he still managed to tally 19 homers, 23 steals and 145 combined runs and RBI in those contests, so it's not like he was totally helpless at the plate or on the basepaths.

And with health finally back on his side, that batting average could be in line for a big boost. While you don't want to read too much into spring stats, fantasy managers should still find plenty of encouragement from Story's spring slash line of .350/.435/.600 over 15 outings.