Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2024: Sleepers from proven model that predicted Isaac Paredes' huge year

Apr 21, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (11) on deck to bat at Tropicana Field.

In just a few years, Mike Trout has gone from being arguably the best player in MLB to someone now being considered a 2024 Fantasy baseball sleeper. That’s what continuously being sidelined with injuries will do to you as Trout has averaged just 79 games over the last three years. He’s one of many veterans coming off an injury-shortened campaign, joining others like Jose Altuve and Starling Marte. The best ability any player can provide as a top 2024 Fantasy baseball pick is the ability of durability, which creates questions for players of this ilk.

In regards to Trout, his numbers also saw a decline as his OPS was the lowest since he was a 19-year-old in 2011. With both injury concerns and a drop in production as red flags for the three-time MVP, where should he go in 2024 Fantasy baseball drafts? Before finalizing your 2024 Fantasy baseball draft prep, be sure to see the 2024 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 Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes.

Paredes belted 20 home runs in just 381 plate appearances in 2022 but he was a bit of a one-trick pony and his disastrous batting average (.205) was costly to anybody who rosterd him in Fantasy baseball. However, the model saw through a terribly unlucky .195 BABIP and predicted he’d outperform players going at least six rounds earlier in 2023 like Anthony Rendon and DJ LeMahieu. The result: Paredes slashed .250/.352/.488 with 31 home runs and 98 RBI and even finished top 20 in AL MVP voting. Anybody who followed the model’s advice and picked up Paredes 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 2024 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 2024 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 2024 Fantasy baseball sleepers

One of the Fantasy baseball sleepers 2024 the model is high on: Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts. After a decade in Boston, Bogaerts joined San Diego’s star-studded lineup and got off to a slow start as he adjusted from going from one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in Fenway Park to one of the most pitcher-friendly venues in Petco Park. He hit just .253 before the All-Star break after entering the season as a career .292 hitter. For the season, Bogaerts finished with 19 home runs, 58 RBI, and 19 stolen bases, but his batting average (.285) and OPS (120) were his lowest since 2017.

However, Boagerts displayed why he earned a $280 million contract after the Midsummer Classic as his OPS jumped 126 points compared to before. He also projects to have more run-producing opportunities in 2024 as the departure of Juan Soto should allow Bogaerts to move up in the lineup after seeing most of his at-bats in the No. 5 spot a year ago. Bogaerts is a top-five shortstop in the 2024 Fantasy baseball rankings as he’s slotted above the likes of Bo Bichette and Elly De La Cruz, despite those two being drafted multiple rounds earlier on average.

Another of the 2024 Fantasy baseball sleepers the model advises targeting: Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado. The 32-year-old hit 26 home runs and drove in 93 while making his eighth all-star team in 2023 but his .774 OPS was his worst (outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 season) since his rookie year in 2013.

However, his exit velocity remains largely unchanged over his three seasons in St. Louis and an unusually high ground-ball rate (38.8%) in 2023 is something that can be remedied. He hit the ball on the ground 31.3% of the time or less over his first two years with the Cardinals and the model is predicting a bounce-back year in 2024. It ranks him ahead of Austin Riley and Rafael Devers despite the fact that they’re going at least 45 picks earlier on average. See more sleepers at SportsLine.

How to find proven 2024 Fantasy baseball rankings

SportsLine’s model is also high on a surprising starting pitcher who bounces back in the top 10 of its positional rankings. This player is going outside the top 100 picks but is projected to outperform starters going in the top 35 like Corbin Burnes, Logan Webb and Aaron Nola. 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 2024 Fantasy sleepers should you target in your upcoming drafts? Visit SportsLine now to get 2024 Fantasy baseball rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Isaac Paredes’ big season, and find out.