2024 Fantasy Baseball Rankings (AL)

Adley Rutschman arrived in 2023 in a big way. He slashed .277/.374/.435 and hit 20 home runs, drove in 80, and scored 84 times. The upstart Orioles offense is loaded with weapons, and the 26-year-old should continue to bat at the top of it. He will never steal bases, but he will protect your ratios better than any other catcher on the board. Don't be surprised when he is the first backstop drafted in 2024.

Yainer Diaz will probably be on every Sleepers list for 2024 drafts because he offers a ton of offense at a position that lacks it. The 25-year-old hit 23 home runs in 104 games while slashing an impressive .278/.306/.532. Yes, the OBP is low, which is attributable to his 2.9 percent walk rate. (If you're looking for the player in the first percentile in this category and Chase% (44), you've found him.) The good news is that his xBA is .288, and his xSLG is .543. He will get plenty of at-bats in Houston, and since defensive metrics don't matter in fantasy, he is definitely someone to target.

Cal Raleigh is the catcher you wait for if you don't care about batting average or on-base percentage. The 27-year-old led all catchers with 30 home runs while slashing .232/.306/.456. He strikes out a lot (27.8 K%), but he should drive in 80+ in 2024. Raleigh is the catcher that your league mates are most likely to forget. Grab him anytime after the 11th round as your C1.

Salvador Perez remained a staple of the Kansas City Royals lineup in 2023, playing in 140 games and racking up 580 plate appearances. He hit .254 with a miserable .292 OBP and .422 SLG. He hit 23 home runs for the second year in a row and drove in 80. His projections for 2024 suggest more of the same for the 33-year-old. Perez is a catcher who isn't going to drag down your batting average and give you 20+ homers. That is a rare bird; at his ADP of 133, he isn't a bad value in 2024.