2024 Fantasy Baseball: Five Potential Breakout Outfielders to Consider

The 2023 fantasy baseball season was dominated by outfielders, including a couple of breakout starts. Corbin Carroll cemented himself as a fantasy superstar for years to come, while Lane Thomas turned in a 20-20 campaign. But now that 2024 has arrived, here’s a look at five outfielders who have the potential to be true breakout stars in fantasy baseball. And we start with a player who’s been lauded as a candidate for years.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Despite lofty expectations in 2023, we still haven’t seen the true breakout campaign from Jazz Chisholm Jr. Much of that was thanks to a myriad of injuries that limited Chisholm Jr. to just 97 games. Still, the 26-year-old set a career-high in home runs (19) and swiped 22 bases for the Marlins last season.

Yes, strikeouts are a concern for Chisholm Jr., who posted a well below-average 30.8% K% last season. But if Chisholm Jr. — who’s played in less than 50% of the games played between 2022-23 — can stay healthy, there’s legitimate 30-30 potential. Because of that, many fantasy baseball formats have Chisholm Jr. rated in the upper echelon.

Jarred Kelenic

The issues Jarred Kelenic had at the plate from 2021-22 are well-documented to this point. But after tweaks made to his stance — which included a more upright and controlled stance for 2023 — Kelenic hit a career-best .253 with 11 home runs and 13 stolen bases over 105 games. A left foot fracture knocked him out for over a month. Kelenic didn’t set a career-high in home runs last year but he did belt some long bombs and wasn’t as vulnerable against breaking balls and offspeed pitches.

Heading into 2024, he could be in line for a jump in RBIs now that he’s with a Braves team stacked with big bats. The young outfielder was dealt to Atlanta this past offseason in a salary dump that sent Marco Gonzales and Evan White — both of whom are now with the Pirates and Angels, respectively — to the Braves.

Alek Thomas

We now move to a player that very could be a deep sleeper to watch in 2024. Alek Thomas‘ first two MLB seasons have been less-than-stellar despite some very tantalizing tools. The 23-year-old hit just .230/.274/.359 (.633) with 17 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 238 games. However, he did shine in the Diamondbacks’ run to the NL pennant last fall.

Thomas hit four home runs for Arizona last October, two of which came in the NLCS. The 23-year-old looked poised under the gun, a positive sign for 2024. Don’t draft him high, as Thomas should be available late (for reference: ESPN has him rated #288). The tools, though, are very much there.

Jordan Walker

Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker‘s bat wasn’t a problem in his rookie campaign. Sure, Walker’s defensive capabilities in the outfield were under the gun. However, the 21-year-old did quite well in his first run in the Majors. Walker hit .276 with 16 home runs, 51 RBI, 51 runs scored, and posted an above-average Hard Hit% of 42.5%.

Walker isn’t the only Cardinals outfielder that could be considered undervalued. Lars Nootbaar has 20-20 potential and is a name to key in on in the later rounds. But as for Walker, the young Cardinals outfielder has the bat and power to be a good find in the later rounds.

Matt Wallner

We end our look at potential breakout outfielders in fantasy baseball with Matt Wallner. The former first-round pick had just 254 plate appearances over 76 games, he cracked 14 home runs and 26 extra-base hits. Wallner had an above-average Hard Hit% of 48.1% in 2023.

Wallner had a tough time cracking the logjam of outfielders the Twins had on the roster last season. But with Byron Buxton set to move back to center, and Michael A. Taylor and Joey Gallo gone, there’s more room in 2024 for Wallner to find a regular role. And, he’s got the potential to be at least a 20-home-run hitter.

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