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The All-Undrafted Team (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

The All-Undrafted Team (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

Constructing the All-Undrafted Team is a fun annual exercise to identify late-round targets and post-draft watchlist options. There’s a player highlighted below for every position and honorable mentions for the outfield, starting pitcher and relief pitcher. The suggested players — mostly — have an average draft position (ADP) of 300 or later.

Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit

The All-Undrafted Team (2023 Fantasy Baseball)

Catcher

Shea Langeliers (C – OAK): 306.3 ADP & 337.3 ECR

Langeliers has a path to a full-time role as Oakland’s starting catcher. Piling up at-bats can achieve low-end starting catcher or streamer value. According to FanGraphs, Langeliers had an alarming 34.6 K% in his first 153 plate appearances in the majors last year. Yet, he also clubbed six homers.

The young backstop had a more palatable 21.9 K% in 402 plate appearances in Triple-A in 2022 and drilled 19 dongs. FanGraphs graded his hit tool as a 40 with a future 50 score on the 20-to-80 scale, and Baseball Prospectus pegged it “on the fringy side of average.” Regardless, Langeliers’ potential for 20-plus homers makes him a potentially helpful fantasy option if he can hit in the .220 range (he hit .218 last year).

First Base

Wil Myers (1B/OF – CIN): 296.8 ADP & 255.4 ECR

Myers is picked, on average, inside the top 300 players. However, I’m making an exception to the rule by including him since he fits the spirit of the piece, and I’m intrigued by his potential at homer-and-hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.

Since 2020, Myers has averaged 19.4 homers per 500 plate appearances and hit .264/.333/.462. He also chipped in 12 stolen bases in his previous 278 games. Myers stole eight bases as recently as 2021, but his power, run and RBI potential are the most alluring parts of his fantasy profile. Myers’ park factor upgrade can’t be overstated. GABP’s park factor for runs and homers are 1.221 and 1.518, and PETCO Park’s are 0.856 and 0.986.

Additionally, Roster Resource projects Myers to hit third for the Reds. As a result, I’m not on an island looking through rose-colored sunglasses at Myers’ 2023 outlook since his expert consensus ranking (ECR) is markedly earlier than his ADP.

Second Base

Chris Taylor (2B/OF – LAD): 319.6 ADP & 268.6 ECR

Taylor swatted 10 homers and stole 10 bases in 118 games and 454 plate appearances last year. Unfortunately, his minor power and speed contributions were the highs of a disappointing 2022 campaign. He had a career-high 35.2 K%, and his batting average plummeted from .254 in 2021 to .221.

Taylor is only one year removed from hitting 20 homers with 92 runs, 73 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a .254 batting average. Can he rebound in his age-32 season in a probable near-full-time role for the Dodgers? Maybe. At Taylor’s ADP, he’s a low-risk, medium-upside target.

Third Base

Eduardo Escobar (3B – NYM): 341.8 ADP & 294.2 ECR

Escobar isn’t a sexy or high-ceiling pick. Nevertheless, he’s hit at least 20 homers in his previous five seasons, not impacted by Covid (i.e., every season from 2017 through 2022 except the shortened 2020 season). Since 2021, he’s smacked 48 homers with 135 runs, 159 RBI, one stolen base and a .247/.305/.452 slash in 1,141 plate appearances.

Escobar could feel the heat from Brett Baty at the hot corner if he starts the year slowly. Although, the veteran was a slightly above-average offensive contributor last year, tallying a 106 wRC+ in 542 plate appearances. And it’s possible he could be better this year after persevering through personal problems in 2022 that reportedly “affected him at the ballpark during the midsummer months.” So, Escobar is a decent selection as a bench bat, corner-infield or utility option for power-needy gamers at the end of drafts.

Shortstop

Anthony Volpe (SS – NYY): 342.4 ADP & 383.4 ECR

The shortstop options after the 300th selection are dreadful. Therefore, taking a swing on a high-upside youngster battling for a starting gig is advisable. If the Yankees hand the reigns to Oswald Peraza, gamers who select Volpe can cut him.

Yet, if Volpe wins the shortstop job for the Bronx Bombers, he could be fantasy baseball gold. Through 45 plate appearances, Volpe has hit four doubles, two homers, stolen four bases, walked seven times, struck out 10 times and slashed .297/.422/.568. His white-hot bat might force manager Aaron Boone to take his decision for New York’s starting shortstop down to the wire.

Volpe’s .249 batting average in Double-A (497 plate appearances) and Triple-A (99 plate appearances) combined last year left something to be desired, but his 20 homers and 50 stolen bases were outstanding. Prospects have adjusted to the majors at different rates. So, Volpe’s range of outcomes ranges from faceplanting to thriving. At his late ADP, he’s worth a look.

Outfield

Jake Fraley (OF – CIN): 321.2 ADP & 267.9 ECR

Fraley, like Myers, benefits from calling Great American “Small” Park his home. The Cincinnati outfielder will likely serve on the larger side of a platoon, facing right-handed pitchers and usually sitting against southpaws. In 216 plate appearances against righties for the Reds last year, Fraley had 11 homers, a .277 batting average and a .361 OBP. Fraley also stole four bases in 68 games and 247 plate appearances in 2022 after swiping 10 in 78 and 265 for the Mariners in 2021.

Gamers in leagues with daily lineup changes can squeeze the most value out of Fraley by starting him against righties and sitting him against lefties. However, those in leagues with weekly lineup changes can draft him and start him in weeks the Reds don’t face many left-handed starting pitchers.

Honorable Mentions: Marcell Ozuna (OF – ATL, 309.4 ADP/296.5 ECR), Randal Grichuk (OF – COL, 311.8/249.9 ), Oswaldo Cabrera (OF – NYY, 315.4/286.8), Mark Canha (OF – NYM, 338.0/305.1)

Starting Pitcher

Roansy Contreras (SP – PIT): 363.6 ADP & 273.1 ECR

Contreras had a rock-solid 3.79 ERA in 95.0 innings for the Pirates last year. Sadly, the youngster’s 4.43 xERA, 4.48 xFIP and 4.41 SIERA were less encouraging marks. Still, Contreras wasn’t overwhelmed or out of place in the Bigs.

He also earned his opportunity in the majors by conquering the upper minors. In 22 starts and 92.1 innings in Double-A and Triple-A combined in his career, Contreras had a 2.83 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 6.9 BB% and 34.1 K%.

Contreras’s 21.1 K% for the Buccos was lower than the league average (22.4 K%), but his 12.6 SwStr% was higher than the league average (11.1 SwStr%). Therefore, Contreras should tap into more of his strikeout potential this year.

Moreover, he has a top-shelf bat-missing weapon. Contreras had a juicy 22.3 SwStr% on his slider in 2022. Contreras’s curve was also a quality offering, netting a 79 wRC+ on the 210 he threw. His fastball was knocked around. However, FanGraphs graded it a 60 present and 60 future pitch. So, there’s hope for improved results.

Contreras’s worst offering was his changeup. It was hammered for a 204 wRC+. Working on his changeup has reportedly been an emphasis this spring. Perhaps, Contreras’s effort in fine-tuning the pitch will result in another functional offering to combat hitters. There are enough positives on Contreras’s profile for casting a dart in his direction and seeing what happens in the early going of this year.

Honorable Mentions: MacKenzie Gore (SP – WSH, 348.8 ADP/362.5 ECR), Kyle Bradish (SP – BAL, 351.2/340.5)

Relief Pitcher

Daniel Hudson (RP – LAD): 336.0 ADP & 275.6 ECR

The gap in ADP is too steep between Hudson and Evan Phillips (223.2). LA won’t have a designated closer to start the year, and Mike Digiovanna says Phillips “will pitch in the most important situations.” In other words, Phillips could put out a fire in a high-leverage situation in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning.

Digiovanna also said Phillips likely wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season because of lower-body (knee and ankle) injuries. Still, Hudson was superb last year. In 25 appearances which spanned 24.1 innings, Hudson had two wins, five saves, a 2.22 ERA, 2.74 xERA, 2.42 xFIP, 2.23 SIERA, 0.90 WHIP, 5.2 BB%, 30.9 K% and 27.6 CSW%.

Manager Dave Roberts’ willingness to allow Hudson to save five games last year bodes well for his chance to save games again this year. Furthermore, Hudson’s electrifying ratios and strikeout rate can make him a valuable fantasy option, even in only a part-time closer role. He can be a screaming value if he wrests the full-time closer job for himself, though.

Honorable Mentions: Brandon Hughes (RP – CHC, 390.2 ADP/311.5 ECR), Brooks Raley (RP – NYM, 599.0/460.6)

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 – which optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball draft season.


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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.

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