Mike Kurland | Mon, Mar 4th 2024, 5:55am EST

Fantasy Baseball All-Undrafted Team: Sleepers & Values to Target (2024)

For the All-Undrafted team, we look at consensus FantasyPros average draft position (ADP) data and target names outside the top 300. This will be the range of players that go undrafted in many leagues. We will pick one player per position. One trend you will see in these picks is a path to playing time and plate appearances being a heavy influence. That is because as you get later into the player pool, playing time and plate appearances are king.

The All-Undrafted Team

Rene Pinto (C – TB)

Finding a catcher this late is not an easy task but it is doable. Rene Pinto has been named the starter by the team already. He will be looking to build off his strong 2023 finish.

Over the stretch run, Pinto hit six home runs in 105 plate appearances (PA). He had some notable swing-and-miss concerns but the power production and metrics were flashy:

32.4% K%
18.6% SwStr%
38% whiff%
15.9% barrel%
40.6% hard hit%
44.9% sweet spot%

The profile is volatile but when looking for catchers this late you want playing time and upside. He checks those boxes.

Kyle Manzardo (1B – CLE)

Unfortunately, Kyle Manzardo seems likely to begin the season in Triple-A, which has been speculated all spring long. That speculation is fueled by ongoing reports and a lack of usage in spring games. Manzardo is someone you should stash in deeper leagues. He is a great fit if your league has not active (NA) slots. His plate approach and power upside remind me of an Anthony Rizzo-type ceiling.

Manzardo has a strong plate approach and good barrel skills. The ability to combine the two can be difference-making if it clicks at the MLB level. He has consistently posted sub 20% K% and double-digit walk rates throughout the minors. In Triple-A last year he posted an 86.4% z-contact%, a 111.9 MPH max exit velocity and a 44.8% hard hit%. He should be up early and the power potential is something you will likely want a part of.

Brendan Donovan (2B, OF – STL)

From upside to safety, Brendan Donovan brings you a floor of production that has value in deeper formats. He projects to lead off just about every day. So the runs alone in this role could be helpful. It comes with some power, speed and batting average help. He does not stand out in these categories but the volume of playing time and plate appearances can help him accumulate enough to be more help than a hindrance. It helps that he brings multi-positional eligibility. We saw a clear change in attack as he began to pull more in the air last season. If he continues to bring that approach and builds off it then there might be some untapped potential that we are not expecting.

Matt Chapman (3B – SF)

Now that Champan has signed, his ADP will only go up. Simply put: He is a power upside play at third base. He underperformed last year. The barrel rate and numbers suggest he came up way short of home run expectations. Part of that is due to the lack of barrels on the pull side. If he had pulled the ball more, that barrel% (17.1%) and hard-hit% (56.1%) would have played up more and led to better power production.

The batting average will remain a question but given the defense and contract, he should play every day and bat near the middle of the order. The power upside is there and that should produce (at least) three category upside in runs, RBI and home runs.

Zach Neto (SS – LA)

Former first-round pick Zach Neto is a fun pick. He has a little power and speed to his game and it comes with zero threat to his spot in the order. He will bat ninth to begin the year (he wants to per Ron Washington). This will put a cap on his plate appearance projection but sooner than later he can land in that leadoff spot given their other options. In his short stint, he showed the ability to elevate the ball well (37.9% GB%) and pull the ball a bit (46.8% pull%). This combination can help the power play up. He is a young player with potential for growth and an everyday job.

Parker Meadows (OF – DET)

Parker Meadows not only has a little power and speed to his game but he also projects to play every day and lead off against RHP. This will make him the primary leadoff man entering the year. It will be on him to lose it but Meadows flashed the power and speed at times last year and in his cup of coffee he seemed to be adjusting about halfway through.

Over the final three weeks of 2023:

88% Z-Contact
8.5 SwStr%
28% O-Swing%
K% cut down to 22.9% while having a 10.5% BB%
10.2% barrel%
33.3% GB% and 42.9% pull%

Jameson Taillon (SP – CHC)

2023 was a tale of two seasons. Jameson Taillon in the second half found his stuff and the numbers were a night and day difference.

ERA	6.15	3.70
FIP	4.90	4.36
xFIP	4.80	4.36
SIERA	4.62	4.11
WHIP	1.40	1.17
K-BB%	13.2%	16.9%

It came with a change in his pitch mix as well. This makes it more believable. If he carries over how he finished the year into 2024, you are getting a solid back-end starting pitcher for deeper formats.

Matt Brash (RP – SEA)

Matt Brash is more of a watch list guy right now but once he is healthy and back on the mound he is someone worth having on your team. He will pitch leverage for the Mariners. This team will win a ton of close games. This will allow him to grab a few wins and saves in that role. Not to mention Andres Munoz is not known for staying healthy either.

At the end of the day, all the closer options are gone at this point and he provides the potential to grab some saves once he is healthy. Other names I would place in this same conversation are David Robertson of the Texas Rangers and Shelby Miller of the Detroit Tigers. Both are going late and have a shot at grabbing some saves given the other options in their respective bullpens.

Fantasy Baseball Draft Advice: Players to Target

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

NFL

MLB

NBA

NHL