Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleepers: Jordan Wicks, Kyle Harrison, Shota Imanaga (2024)

Dynasty and keeper formats are not the only ones in which to pay attention to rookies. It can be difficult to trust prospects getting their first extended look in the bigs in redraft leagues also. However, as far as the late rounds are concerned, why not go for the upside?

The list of rookie pitchers below sitting outside the top 200 in FantasyPros’ consensus ADP at the time of writing should get the opportunity to log significant innings this year. Each has the potential to pay off solid fantasy value in 2024, whether as a reliever, a starter or perhaps both.

2024 Late-Round Rookie Starting Pitchers to Target

Shota Imanaga (SP – CHC)

Okay, Shota Imanaga is not a traditional rookie, having already pitched eight years as a professional in Japan. Yoshinobu Yamamoto garnered more headlines as far as signings from the Far East go this offseason but the Cubs were willing to spend well over $50 million to bring Imanaga stateside. The 30-year-old southpaw has logged just over 1,000 innings in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league – Japan’s top level pro baseball league – posting a 3.18 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 25.0 K%.

Imanaga has been even better the last couple of years, putting up a 2.53 ERA across 291 2/3 innings for the NPB’s Yokohama Bay Stars. There are questions regarding his smaller stature and low-90s velocity. However, with his excellent command of a four-pitch repertoire, he should more than hold his own in the middle of the Cubs’ rotation. Imanaga displayed his arsenal against some MLB competition in the 2023 World Baseball Classic Championship game.

Lefties to average 93.5 mph on their fastball with 20+ inches of induced vertical break (IVB) in the Hawkeye era:
• None

Shota Imanaga, tonight:
• 93.5 mph
• 20.5″ IVB

Thats an outlier fastball for sure, and MLB teams are certainly drooling over it now? pic.twitter.com/oJ1eG6y2s8

— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 22, 2023

Kyle Harrison (SP – SF)

Another lefty who also ranks among the pre-season favorites for National League Rookie of the Year, Kyle Harrison did gain some notable experience against MLB hitters last year. The third-round pick from 2020 made seven starts for the Giants down the stretch, posting a 4.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 23.8 K% across 34 2/3 innings. Harrison’s improved control following his promotion to the big leagues was quite encouraging, too, as he walked just 11 batters (7.5%) after posting a somewhat concerning 12.3 BB% over 69 minor-league starts.

That progress will need to be maintained for Harrison to reach his full potential. Even if the walk rate slips a bit, which would not be surprising, Harrison’s home field in San Francisco is quite forgiving for pitchers. Harrison took advantage of that last year, recording a 2.66 ERA in four starts at Oracle Park.

Jordan Wicks (SP – CHC)

Unlike his teammate Imanaga, Jordan Wicks will be competing for a spot in the Cubs’ rotation this spring. Given the fact that he has three minor-league options remaining, it may be a difficult task for him to win one, especially with veteran Drew Smyly having far more experience and set to make more than $10 million. Still, if not right out of the gate, Wicks figures to get another shot in 2024 after some respectable results during his first stint in the majors last year.

Over his first six starts for the Cubs following his callup from Triple-A, Wicks turned in a 3.00 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 23-to-10 K/BB ratio across 33 innings. A rough start at Milwaukee closed out his season on a sour note and drastically damaged all those numbers. Wicks utilizes a variety of pitches to induce weak contact (32.1% Hard-Hit, 88.1 mph EV) and plenty of groundballs (46.8%). The 2021 first-rounder should also be ready for a decent workload after logging 126 innings in 2023.

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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.

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