Players the Experts Draft (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

The 2023 fantasy baseball season will be here before we know it. That means it’s time for you to prepare for your fantasy baseball drafts. Beyond our draft prep articles and mock draft simulator, we will have you covered with 2023 fantasy baseball rankings. You can find our updated 2023 fantasy baseball expert consensus rankings here. And beyond that, we’ll even give you the players the experts are targeting in their personal fantasy baseball drafts. Let’s take a look at a few players the experts are picking this fantasy baseball draft season.

Expert Must-Have Players (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

Chris Welsh’s Must-Have Players

Kris Bryant (OF – COL)

Injuries killed so much of the potential from Bryant’s first year in Colorado. He played 42 games while hitting just five home runs. Almost unbelievably, he hit zero home runs in Colorado. It’s pretty obvious that a lot of the downtick in average exit velocity, barrel %, and hard hit was due to injuries.

On a positive note, during his offensive return in 2022, he hit .323 in Colorado. He hit over .280 against both righties and lefties. In the first week of spring, we are already seeing a healthy Bryant thrive, as he already crushed two home runs in his first seven at-bats. Bryant’s ADP is as low as it’s ever been at 123. If he continues to hit in spring training, you can expect his ADP to rise, but anything outside the top 100 leaves a lot of fantasy upside on the table.

Check out all of The Welsh’s must-have players here

Justin Mason’s Must-Have Players

Seiya Suzuki (OF – CHC)

Suzuki is dealing with a mild oblique injury, so the price should drop even more, but he was the only player in Major League Baseball that had a top 25 barrel percentage and a top 25 zone contact rate in the second half of the 2022 season. He struggled early in the year and then dealt with a ring injury, but once he was healthy, he was among the best players in baseball.

Check out all of Mason’s must-have players here

Mike Kurland’s Must-Have Players

Eloy Jimenez (OF – CHW)

If there is anyone who could take a big step forward and be a top two round pick in 2024 it is Eloy Jimenez. Hear me out… I know he is injury prone. But in terms of skill set, he could be similar to Yordan Alvarez, Pete Alonso, or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It is that level of production potential here and we saw it in the second half of 2022:

.323/.391/.558
.235 ISO
.406 wOBA
169 wRC+

Jimenez posted underlying elite power and quality of contact.

91st percentile max exit velocity
54.9% HH%
14.7% barrel%

This came with improved plate discipline and contact rates. The production and health all came together. Health has been a question and issue but he landed in the DH role for a large part of the second half, something that could carry over into 2023.

Check out all of Kurland’s must-have players here

Mike Waterloo’s Must-Have Players

Jose Berrios (SP – TOR)

Yes, I’m a Blue Jays fan. No, I won’t just list Toronto players here (I could, though, if I wanted to). With Berrios, it’s a simple issue of his value shifting too much after the pendulum swung too far in one direction. He’s always been an overrated fantasy player, as his only consistency has been his, well, inconsistency. But in 2022, he took it to a whole other level, which has caused his draft-day price to sink in 2023. I’ve scooped up all of the shares of him as he can be had post-200. That’s a steal. He’s the same pitcher, but he struggled to locate his fastball last year. The price he’s going at makes him an obvious grab as if he is equally as bad this year, you aren’t taking a major loss.

Check out all of Waterloo’s must-have players here

Beyond our fantasy baseball content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball draft season.