2020 Fantasy Baseball: Analyzing Hitters Primed for Breakout Seasons

Identifying a potential breakout candidate and adding him to your fantasy baseball roster in the later rounds can be the difference between winning and losing your league.

Earlier this week, we took a closer look at three starting pitchers who fit the bill. Now it's time to do the same with hitters.

One of the breakout stars of 2019 was Arizona Diamondbacks infielder/outfielder Ketel Marte, who built off a strong final month the previous season to emerge as a dark horse NL MVP candidate.

The 26-year-old hit .301/.373/.562 with nine extra-base hits in his final 84 plate appearances in 2018, and he used that as a springboard to a monster .329/.389/.592 line last year that included 36 doubles, 32 home runs, 92 RBI, 97 runs scored and 10 steals.

So who has a chance to be this year's Marte?

Ahead, we've broken down a few candidates.

OF Willie Calhoun, Texas Rangers

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Long viewed as a promising offensive player without a clear defensive home, Willie Calhoun now appears to have a solid grasp on the everyday left field job for the Texas Rangers.

The 25-year-old posted an .823 OPS with 14 home runs in 216 plate appearances over the final two months of the 2019 season to finish with 21 home runs and 48 RBI on the year.

Roster Resource has him penciled into the No. 3 spot in the Rangers' lineup, and if that winds up being the case, it will mean plenty of RBI opportunities on top of his 30-homer potential.

He's capable of a .270 BA, 30 HR, 100 RBI season if everything breaks right, and there's a fairly high floor to his production as well provided he stays healthy. That said, the broken jaw he suffered last season was a freak injury and nothing to be concerned about going forward.

1B/2B/3B Ryan McMahon, Colorado Rockies

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With 113 games at second base, 22 games at third base and 19 games at first base last season, Ryan McMahon provides some valuable versatility with the ability to be penciled into the CI or MI slots.

The 25-year-old hit .250/.329/.450 with 24 home runs, 83 RBI and 70 runs scored last season, and he should continue to see regular playing time all over the infield as one of the few young, controllable assets on the Colorado Rockies roster.

While the Coors Field effect limited his production to an 87 OPS+, that's of little relevance in the fantasy landscape.

Stellar exit velocity (90th percentile) and hard-hit percentage (91st percentile) numbers, according to Baseball Savant, lend plenty of credibility to the idea that he can not only duplicate last year's production, but build off it.

OF Teoscar Hernandez, Toronto Blue Jays

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With 22 home runs in 2018 and 26 long balls last year, Teoscar Hernandez is already fantasy relevant as a cheap source of power.

However, he's capable of more.

The 27-year-old hit just .230 overall last season, but he saw his production tick up after the All-Star break with a .259/.346/.592 line that included 18 home runs and 38 RBI in 62 games. He ended the season on a particularly high note with a .909 OPS, five home runs and 14 RBI in September.

A look below the surface-level numbers also reveals an improving hitter.

His 52.9 percent hard-hit rate in the second half trailed only Aaron Judge (56.2 percent) and Miguel Sano (53.3 percent) among all qualified hitters.

He may never be an asset in the batting average department, but there's still untapped run-production ability here.

Others to Watch: OF Trent Grisham (SD), OF Austin Hays (BAL), 1B Nate Lowe (TB), SS Amed Rosario (NYM), SS Dansby Swanson (ATL), OF Kyle Tucker (HOU), OF Jesse Winker (CIN)

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference