With the season beginning on Thursday, it’s time to throw caution to the wind and get bold. Some of these predictions may sound a little crazy, but crazy things happen in sports. These predictions are bold because they assume that certain players will overcome significant obstacles or take advantage of new rules to perform at a high level in the upcoming season. Spoiler alert: a LOT of experts are high on Wyatt Langford this season.
Our featured pundits are here to share bold fantasy baseball predictions for 2024.
With the season beginning on Thursday, it’s time to throw caution to the wind and get bold. Some of these predictions may sound a little crazy, but crazy things happen in sports. These predictions are bold because they assume that certain players will overcome significant obstacles or take advantage of new rules to perform at a high level in the upcoming season. Spoiler alert: a LOT of experts are high on Wyatt Langford this season.
Our featured pundits are here to share bold fantasy baseball predictions for 2024.
2024 Fantasy Baseball Bold Predictions
What is one fantasy baseball bold prediction (player related) that you believe will happen this season and why?
“Wyatt Langford finishes the season as a top 25 player after hitting .275 with 28 home runs, 24 steals and 180 combined runs and RBI.”
– Tim Kanak (Fantasy Aceball)
“Wyatt Langford will not only win the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year award but will also finish as a top-2-round player this season. He is a five-category player who will be a steal in fantasy baseball league drafts. There will be adjustments along the way, but he will pay dividends for patient league managers this season. My other bold prediction is that the Atlanta Braves will be your 2024 MLB World Series champions.”
– Jeff Boggis (Fantasy Football Empire)
“Wyatt Langford will finish as a Top 20 overall player in 2024. Let’s live a little! This guy has been raking since Little League. But seriously, his NCAA career was incredible. He obliterated minor league pitching and now major league pitching this spring. He nearly led the Cactus League in all offensive categories. Langford is in a strong lineup, and this kind of support is essential for a rookie’s success.”
– Joe Pisapia (FantasyPros)
“Wyatt Langford will hit .320 or better and win the American League batting title in his rookie season. Langford was born to hit. He batted .373 in 64 games for Florida State last year, then batted .360 in a whirlwind 44-game minor league tour that included stops at four levels ranging from rookie ball to Triple-A. Langford had more walks than strikeouts last season, showing that he already has elite command of the strike zone at age 22. He raked for the Rangers throughout spring training, batting .365 with 6 home runs in 63 at-bats. Believe the hype: Langford is about to make a splash in his rookie season.”
– Pat Fitzmaurice (FantasyPros)
“Evan Carter will end up being more valuable than Wyatt Langford in 5×5 leagues. (You said you wanted bold.) While Langford has been the talk of the town for the past month, I think Carter will be more consistent and hit from a more optimal spot in the lineup, directly in between Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia. With Seager and Marcus Semien ahead of him and Garcia and Langford behind him, RBIs and Runs will not be difficult to find. At each level of minor league ball and in 23 major league games last season, Carter has shown the potential for double-digit home runs and stolen bases, and he is projected to get on base at a .350+ clip. At the end of the year, Carter will not only have been the better draft value, but he could also quietly turn into a league winner.”
– Kelly Kirby (FantasyPros)
“Zach Eflin is a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award. According to BettingPros Consensus Odds, he is currently +4000 to win the award, which puts him outside of the Top 10 and groups him with Nathan Eovaldi and Carlos Rodon. If he can stay healthy this season, I think he has the potential to finish in the Top 3 and possibly push for the award, especially with Gerrit Cole set to miss at least a couple of months. Last season, Eflin struck out 186 batters over 177 2/3 innings with a 3.50 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. And his expected ERA numbers were closer to 3.00 despite posting his highest Hard% since 2019. His 11.1% swinging strike percentage was a new career-high, as was the 49.8% ground ball rate. Oh, and he won 16 games. This is all to say that, to the surprise of no one, he had a career year in his first season with the Rays. He adjusted his pitch mitch and leaned heavily on his Sinker-Curveball-Cutter mix while also sprinkling in his Four-Seamer, Changeup, and a new Sweeper (which is likely his Slider being reclassified). Even a small step forward in 2024 should put him firmly in the AL Cy Young conversation. ”
– Mike Maher (FantasyPros)
“Bo Naylor will post a 20-20 season and finish as a top-three catcher. Naylor has fantastic tools and flashed some of them in limited time last season. His plus speed, plus power, and excellent contact rate make him a unicorn at catcher, and I am excited to see what a full season produces.”
– Chad Simpson (Fantasy Six Pack)
“Dylan Cease will be the most valuable pitcher in fantasy baseball for where he is drafted. He has an NFBC ADP of 102, and I was able to get Cease in the Tout Wars Mixed Auction for 13 dollars. The change to a winning team and a friendly home park will push the former Chicago starter back to and possibly past his 2022 levels when he finished second in the Cy Young race. Cease will be a top 5 fantasy pitcher in 2024. ”
– Scott Engel (RotoBaller)
“Max Fried is this year’s fantasy ace on the Atlanta Braves. Spencer Strider is everyone’s consensus top starter off the board, myself included. And Chris Sale is shooting up draft boards with the promise of a healthy season. But I think Max Fried has just as good a chance to be a fantasy ace as either of his teammates. Fried has a 2.50 ERA since 2022, and his underlying metrics generally support that low number. Last season, Fried was one of two pitchers with at least 200 batted ball events allowed who had a sub-3.00 xERA. He also accomplished the feat in 2022, as he was one of 16 hurlers to pull that feat off. Injuries limited Fried to 77.2 innings last year, but he topped 165 IP in all three of the previous full seasons. The strikeout numbers are not as gaudy on a per-inning basis as Strider or Sale, but Fried should put up decent totals given 30-plus starts. And on a loaded Braves team, he can approach 20 wins this season if he pitches as well as he has in recent years. ”
– Mick Ciallela (Fantrax)
“Triston Casas will lead the league in OPS in 2024. From July 1 to the end of the 2023 season, Casas had a 14.1 BB%, 24 K% and .996 OPS, the latter of which was good for ninth in MLB among batters with 200+ plate appearances. His biggest flaw is that he struggles against lefties. Last season, he had a 32 K% vs. Southpaws, but his BB% was much improved at 18.5%, even in a small sample size of 97 plate appearances. He would need to make significant improvements against lefties to fulfill this prediction, but his patience at the plate and quality-of-contact metrics are what you would expect to see from a league leader in OPS. ”
– Chase Davis (FantasyPros)
“Royce Lewis was a catalyst for the Twins’ playoff push last season, with four postseason bombs that showcased his enormous potential. Consecutive ACL tears have stalled the launch of his big-league career, but the former No. 1 overall pick is in good health going into the season where Lewis will play third base for the Twins, who look set to repeat as division champs. Fantasy Baseball managers saw what Lewis could do when healthy last season. He played 58 games and produced a .921 OPS with a 2.4 WAR, which is good for a pace of 6.7 over an entire season! He smacked 15 home runs, a franchise record four grand slams, and six stolen bases. Lewis should be a reliable run producer and is projected to bat cleanup in the Twins’ daily lineup this season. He will be the best hitter on the Twins with his power continuing to develop, including an average exit velocity over 90 mph and a barrel rate rivaling the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. Lewis has 85 stolen bases over five seasons of minor league ball and his speed is still there. The potential for a double-digit stolen base season seems highly likely. Lewis has flashed star potential, but we witness the breakout this season. The former overall top pick will hit over .300 with 30 dingers, 100+ RBI, and 20+ stolen bases, which catapults Lewis into a top-three third baseman.”
– Dennis Sosic (Fantasy Six Pack)
“Seiya Suzuki will finish as a top-10 outfielder. Now in his third season with the Cubs, he will put it all together. When finally healthy, he batted .349 with 12 home runs and a 12.9% barrel rate after August 1. The outfielder was in the 84th percentile of hard-hit rate and in the 79th percentile of sprint speed. Suzuki will contribute in all categories and be a difference maker.”
– Adam Ronis (SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio)
Anthony Volpe finishes Top 10 in the MVP voting. He’s already a Gold Glove defender and he gave us category juice last year. His rookie year batting average wasn’t real; the hard-hit profile says he deserved a much better result. A lot of things haven’t fallen well for the Yankees this spring, but Volpe is set to have a breakout season.
Sticking with emerging shortstops, I won’t be surprised if Zach Neto hits 15 home runs and steals 30 bases for the Angels. Look for him to be promoted in the lineup quickly. Ron Washington wants his players to run, too. Keep chasing the pedigree guys.
–
Scott Pianowski (
Yahoo Sports)
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