Looking for a late-round lift in batting average (AVG) and/or on-base percentage (OBP)? The players below should be on your radar. As everyone knows, a high AVG usually translates to a high OBP. However, there will be some OBP-specific options included as well. No one should expect any hitter in the following group to contribute across the board but each could bring solid value considering current average draft position (ADP) trends around the industry.
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- 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit
- Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings
- Fantasy Baseball Projections
2024 Sleepers for AVG/OBP
Batting Average
Jeff McNeil has hit .311 or better in four of his six MLB seasons. He’s a two-time All-Star who won a batting title in 2022. However, much the same as the Mets, on the whole, the versatile veteran underperformed for most of last season.
Through July, McNeil was hitting just .252 with a .329 OBP over 425 plate appearances. The reason for some renewed optimism is his performance during August and September. In his final 52 games of the campaign, McNeil posted a .303/.342/.466 slash line with seven homers. He has made a career out of outperforming many of his metrics. McNeil set new career highs in Contact% (87.8) and Z-Contact% (93.6) in 2023.
Another multiple-time All-Star looking to bounce back, Tim Anderson hit the free-agent market coming off his worst MLB season by far and accepted a one-year deal for $5 million to go to Miami. After hitting north of .300 in four straight seasons, Anderson limped to a .245/.286/.296 slash line in 123 games for the White Sox last year. He added just one home run but did swipe 13 bags.
Anderson should slot in as the everyday shortstop for the Marlins. Depending on his performance in spring training, he might find his way to the top part of the batting order. Anderson’s batted-ball profile did not deviate much in 2023 from prior years and though his K-rate (23.3%) ticked up some, that did not cause his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) to fall off nearly 30 points from his previous career mark.
Over the last two seasons in Tampa Bay, Harold Ramirez has seen 435 and 434 plate appearances, respectively. That, combined with sub-par power and speed potential, keeps his draft stock quite low. Still, Ramirez’s bat can’t be denied at this point. Over his 800+ at-bats the past two years, he’s hit .306, finishing at .300 in 2022 and .313 last year. Of players with a minimum of 500 plate appearances over the last two years, only Luis Arraez, Freddie Freeman, Yandy Diaz, and Ronald Acuna Jr. have a higher AVG than Ramirez.
On-Base Percentage
Brandon Marsh took significant steps forward during his third season in the bigs, particularly with his plate discipline. His strikeout rate (30.5%) is still on the high side but it did improve while his walk rate (12.5%) more than doubled from 2022. Marsh also improved his contact rates, which lifted his AVG out of the .240s and into the .270s. He’s finished with double-digit homers and steals, though barely, in each of the last two seasons. Now, with a more patient approach, Marsh should also be able to maintain a mid-.300s OBP.
Nolan Schanuel has just 229 professional plate appearances since being selected with the 11th pick in last summer’s MLB Draft. After just 22 games in the minor-league ranks, the former Florida Atlantic star, who put up an OBP over .500 in college, debuted for the Angels on August 18 last year. Schanuel immediately went on a 10-game hitting streak and recorded a .275 AVG with a .402 OBP over 29 games down the stretch, finishing with a 15.2 BB% in his first taste of the big leagues.
Schanuel is projected to be the everyday first baseman for the Halos. He profiles as a top-of-the-order bat that could set the table for Mike Trout. There’s not much power or speed to see here but Schanuel is a no-risk source of OBP and runs with definite potential in the AVG department.
Only five players in the league with at least 400 plate appearances bested Ryan Noda’s 15.6 BB% last season. He struck out a ton (34.3%) and hit just .229, but for those in OBP leagues, his .364 mark with 16 homers to boot certainly gave him some value in deeper formats. As he did in 2023, Noda will likely sit quite a bit against lefties this year. Still, he recorded 495 plate appearances as a rookie and could often hit from the leadoff spot. Expect a bit of pop, some runs and an excellent OBP from Noda.
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Nate Miller is a featured writer at FantasyPros and a 9-year veteran of the fantasy sports industry. For more from Nate, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad.
