In the never-ending hunt for young upside, fantasy managers let stable veterans fall by the wayside.

It makes perfect sense to gamble on Lewis Brinson over Jason Heyward in a standard mixed league. For deep-league gamers already drowning in injuries, a steady hand with consistent playing time can work wonders. It appears three of the five following players were prematurely deemed washed by the fantasy community. Available in under 10 percent of all leagues included in FantasyPros’ consensus, these geezers are quietly turning back the clock with fast starts.

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Mitch Moreland (1B – BOS): 3 Percent Owned
Can I interest you in a first baseman batting .349/.408/.605 with a .432 wOBA in baseball’s hottest lineup? (At least when they’re not facing Sean Manaea.) Following a down 2017 in which he hit a pedestrian .246/.326/.443, Mitch Moreland has already smacked five doubles and two long balls for the Red Sox. He has drawn five walks to just seven strikeout while submitting his highest contact percentage since 2011.

Despite a down year, the Statcast data supported this type of bounce-back campaign. Moreland registered a .380 wOBA, well above his actual .326 mark in 2017. This isn’t simply a matter of luck evening out, as he entered Sunday with a .449 wOBA and 93.8-mph average exit velocity. He also sports a scorching 47.1 hard-hit percentage.

Now before expecting an MVP season, remember the 32-year-old has never exceeded a .278 average or 23 home runs in a single season. His career 99 wRC+ establishes him as a near textbook definition of average, so he won’t stay this hot forever. Yet the batted-ball stats create a feasible blueprint for him at least hitting .260 with his third straight 22-homer season. Doing so with padded counting numbers via Boston’s lineup will make Moreland a serviceable corner infielder in deeper mixed leagues.

Denard Span (OF – TB): 3 Percent Owned
Here’s why you don’t ignore someone just because the team stinks. As the leadoff hitter on a mediocre Rays lineup, Denard Span has driven in 17 runs in 18 games. He’s done so while hitting .259 with one home run. Baseball is weird.

It would of course be unreasonable to keep expecting a padded RBI tally from a 34-year-old who collected 43 RBIs on the Giants last season. That’s not why he’s here. If anything, the early returns could have realistically yielded a high run count for Span, who sports a .371 on-base percentage with a 14.2 percent walk rate.

He has drastically altered his approach in April by generating a 46.5 pull percentage, well above his 36.0 career clip. His 37.2 hard-hit rate would also lap his previous personal best of 25.2. No longer spry enough to leg out infield hits, he’s spraying far fewer ground balls.

That’s not to say Span will also shatter last year’s career-high 12 home runs, but the adjustments can at least help him match it. Pairing decent power with another 10-12 steals and 162 RBIs (kidding) will once again make him a quietly productive outfielder to round out a deeper lineup.

Chase Utley (1B/2B – LAD): 2 Percent Owned
This isn’t another love letter to Chase Utley. Adding him won’t be a real home run, as he has only hit nine of them in his last 402 plate appearances.

The 39-year-old second baseman, however, still has a little left in the tank. Injuries to Justin Turner and Logan Forsythe have provided more playing time than anticipated, and he has answered the call by batting .302/.404/.442 with seven walks and strikeouts apiece. As on Sunday, only Michael Brantley had a higher contact percentage among hitters with at least 40 plate appearances.

Skeptics will justifiably question an empty average source who has not hit above .270 since 2013, so treat Utley’s resurgence as more of a short-term fling. He’s at least a solid stand-in (if not a slight upgrade) for anyone who was counting on regular reps from Forsythe.

Jeimer Candelario (3B – DET): 8 Percent Owned
Early-season stats can change in a hurry. Jeimer Candelario entered last Tuesday’s game batting .200. He has since spiked that average to .277 by going 12-for-28. Thursday’s four-hit party, capped by his third homer in four games, bolstered his OPS by .123 points.

Anyone who gave up hope last week sure feels foolish now. The Tigers showed more patience than fantasy investors who gave up three weeks into the season. Through the downs and ups, the 24-year-old has occupied the No. 2 spot for every start. While their offense is hardly a juggernaut, a resurgent Miguel Cabrera and Nicholas Castellanos are no slouches behind him.

Having never accrued more than 15 homers in a professional season, Candelario’s power upside is limited. He’s still hitting too many grounders (44.4 percent), but he at least looks poised to reach or slightly exceed those long balls because of secure playing time and lineup positioning. Contact improvements also stabilize his floor as someone who should easily be owned in more leagues.

Daniel Robertson (2B/3B/SS – TB): 1 Percent Owned
In another case of one game drastically altering an April line, Daniel Robertson skyrocketed his average from .250 to .318 by going 4-for-4 on Sunday. A relative afterthought in all formats, the Rays infielder is poised to suddenly receive an extra wave of attention.

The 24-year-old has already drawn 13 walks in 57 plate appearances, pushing his on-base percentage to .474. He’s now slugging .523 after belting his third double alongside a pair of homers. This is an idyllic, unsustainable snapshot of a fringe, albeit once highly regarded prospect who hit a career .281/.371/.416 in the minors. At least the batting eye will stick. That’s enough to keep him in Tampa Bay’s lineup and even validate a promotion up the batting order. Eligibility at second, third and shortstop is also a noteworthy bonus in the types of deep leagues where he matters.

Reaching double-digit homers or steals would mark a major triumph, and it will only take a few 0-fors to erase Sunday’s swift batting-average progress. Like Utley, he’s more of a healthy hot hand to ride when pickings are slim. I added both on my 15-team Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational squad to fill the void left by Daniel Murphy and Josh Harrison. I would have bid more for Robertson in an OBP league, but he’s still an appealing placeholder who may carry some post-hype sizzle.

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