Spring Training isn’t everything. But, a strong spring can help players, especially young ones, to make themselves known in fantasy baseball. With the spring in full swing, here are five young players who are doing just that before the start of the 2024 fantasy baseball season.
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Henry Davis
We’ll start with Pirates catcher Henry Davis, who’s off to a roaring start to the spring. As of March 6, Davis was tied for the lead in home runs (3) and posted a 1.214 OPS over his first seven games.
Davis comes into spring with a slightly different swing, one where the bat is more upright as opposed to flatter on his shoulders. It comes after Davis worked with Driveline to reassess his swing. Getting offensive production from the catcher position can be tough, so Davis has a real opportunity to break through as a fantasy option in 2024, especially with Endy Rodriguez out for all of the season.
Elly De La Cruz
Look, Elly De La Cruz was already ranked high to begin the spring. But, a strong one could assuage fears about drafting the young Reds shortstop given his swing-and-miss troubles. De La Cruz went 7-17 (.412) over his first seven games and belted a 470-foot home run on March 2.
A dynamic shortstop with 30-30 potential, there’s an argument to be made that De La Cruz is underrated heading into 2024. But, he’ll need to live up to his lofty potential.
Jung Hoo Lee
The Giants needed some punch for the offense after a sluggish 2023 and San Francisco did just that. San Francisco added sluggers Matt Chapman and Jorge Soler, as well as Korean star Jung Hoo Lee. Thus far, the short stroke of Lee has gotten off to a hot start. Lee batted .462 over his first 13 at-bats.
When Lee signed in December, we noted that the Giants outfielder is a hit over power batter. Couple that with a friendly pitching environment in San Francisco, and Lee’s home run output is limited. On the other hand, his contact and speed ability put him in the conversation for the later rounds.
Zach Neto
Angels shortstop Zach Neto raced up to the Majors after he was selected out of Campbell in 2022. Unfortunately for Neto, he hit a wall in his first MLB season and hit .225 with nine home runs in 84 games. But thus far in spring, Neto’s hit well.
Through his first 10 games, Neto hit .348 (8-23) with two home runs and two stolen bases. No, Neto hasn’t put himself in the top 10 or 15 among shortstops. But, this strong start is a plus. Keep an eye on the 23-year-old.
Bailey Ober
The last name on this list and the only pitcher is 28-year-old Bailey Ober. Ober got his first real look in the rotation and pitched well aside from hiccups. But this spring, the Twins starter looked impressive. Ober struck out 10 over his first 4.1 frames of the spring, including seven against Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and the Phillies on March 2.
Health will be something to watch with Ober, as he struggled with elbow problems last season. But with Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray in different places, the Twins will need both Ober, Joe Ryan, and the rest of the Twins rotation to pick up the slack.