The fantasy baseball player pool is cut in half on draft day in league-specific formats. That means stacking up on top-tier talent is much more difficult, and, on the backend, players that would be late-round fliers or go undrafted with standard settings can suddenly become lineup regulars on winning rosters. The group of National League players below fit into that category for 2024.
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2024 NL-Only Targets
Tim Anderson (SS – MIA)
Tim Anderson has struggled with injuries over the last few years. He also endured a dreadful final campaign with the White Sox in 2023 following All-Star level performance for several years prior. Now, the veteran shortstop is in Miami looking for a rebound. Anderson should receive ample opportunity to try to accomplish that this year. Yes, the batting average did drop down to .245 last season after being north of .300 the previous four. Anderson did manage a promising 22.0 LD%, though, and, if he can put the injuries fully behind him, the AVG should climb back up a bit. He also still possesses good wheels, swiping 13 bases in 15 attempts over 123 games last year.
Jake Fraley (OF – CIN)
Speaking of speed, Jake Fraley can provide some. Considering the recent injury news on teammate TJ Friedl (wrist), Fraley’s path to playing time has cleared quite a bit, at least for the early going. He needed just 380 plate appearances to steal 21 bases last year. Fraley also offers some pop to go with his speed and playing his home games in the Great American “Small” Park only helps. He swatted 15 deep drives and drove in 65 runs in 2023. The potential for 15-15, possibly even 20-20, production at such a low draft cost — though it’s likely to rise — makes Fraley an easy pick.
Michael Busch (3B – CHC)
Moving onto the power department, Michael Busch is in line to finally get a shot to show what he can do. After being heralded as a prized prospect in the Dodgers’ system the last couple of years, Busch landed in Chicago via trade back in January. He seems likely to get notable time at DH, as well as both corner-infield spots for the Cubs this year. The main goal is to get his pop in the lineup as much as possible. Busch smacked 27 homers in 98 games at Triple-A last season. That came a year after crushing 32 in 142 games. At the time of writing, he was slugging .545 with a couple of round-trippers across 37 plate appearances this spring. Busch could be poised to break out.
Michael Busch with his second jack in his past three games.
MLB's No. 51 prospect logged his first multihit game of the spring for the @Cubs today. pic.twitter.com/hxSZWWO4Gu
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 10, 2024
Joey Meneses (1B, DH – WSH)
Even though Joey Meneses is only eligible to fill a utility spot in some leagues, he is still a prime target for deeper formats. After a 56-game explosion as a 30-year-old rookie in 2022, the Mexican native did not quite repeat the performance during his first full year in the bigs. Still, he hit a respectable .275 with 13 homers, 36 doubles (9th in the NL) and 89 RBIs (19th in the NL). The rebuilding Nationals might not be ready to contend but they have some nice table-setters in CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas at the top of the lineup. Look for Meneses to have plenty of chances to produce from the middle of the batting order again in 2024.
Jordan Wicks (SP – CHC)
Sticking with the Cubs, Jordan Wicks has been impressive this spring, likely going from a contender to a lock for a spot in the rotation. The organization’s No. 9 prospect (per MLB.com) was quite good over 20 starts in the minors last year before making his fantastic MLB debut on August 26. Wicks held the Pirates to one run on two hits while racking up nine punchouts over five frames that day.
Wicks would go on to post a 3.00 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over his first six starts in the majors. His final outing of last year was one to forget but he had already shown big-league ability by that point. Wicks is not one to project for large strikeout totals but he’s a crafty hurler who regularly induces weak contact and groundballs. He also keeps his walks pretty well in check.
Jordan Wicks have yourself a day. pic.twitter.com/qmZBacVYh6
— Cubs On Tap (@CubbiesOnTap) March 11, 2024
Jose Quintana (SP – NYM)
At this time last year, who wouldn’t have projected Jose Quintana to be the Mets’ Opening Day starter in 2024? Well, all sarcasm aside, that’s where things are for the beleaguered club. It is worth looking back at the last couple of seasons for the veteran southpaw, however, as his results have likely been better than most realize. Quintana enjoyed a serious bounce-back season in 2022 while spending time with the Pirates and Cardinals. That led to a two-year deal with the Mets. While he only logged 75 2/3 innings over 13 starts due to injury, his performance was mostly positive.
Overall, since the start of the 2022 season, Quintana has put up a nice 3.13 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 19.7 K% over 45 starts. He’s backed those marks up with a sub-35.0 Hard-Hit%, 87.0 mph EV and a near-45.0 GB%. Quintana’s fastball-curve-change trio is still effective and fantasy managers could do far worse than having him round out a staff in deeper formats.
More Expert Fantasy Baseball Draft Advice
- The Welsh’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
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- Justin Mason’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- KC Bubba’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- Blake Meyer’s Must-Have Players (Premium)
- Mason’s High-Stakes Leagues Draft Strategy (Premium)
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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.
