Projecting players off to hot starts is insanely fun, especially in April. Elly De La Cruz is off to an unheard-of start to his first full year in the big leagues, hitting .313 with seven home runs, 18 RBI, 23 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. Projecting that out to a 162-game season, De La Cruz would hit 47 home runs, score 155 runs, drive in 121 RBI and steal 101 bases. Yup, pretty loco. Imagining a 47-101 season is unfathomable, even on the heels of Ronald Acuna going 40-70 last year.
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The 6-foot-5 shortstop does appear to have limitless potential for greatness and is making those preseason concerns about him possibly being sent down to the minors if he started slowly look foolish. The No. 1 player in fantasy is now only to be admired, and those lucky enough to snag him are at or near the top of their league standings. Just have fun and keep sending leaguemates tweets of De La Cruz’s nightly exploits to remind them of what they’re missing out on.
De La Cruz is anything but a sleeper, but here are a few to consider.
6 Fantasy Baseball Deep Sleepers & Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 6
Wilyer Abreu (OF – BOS): 15%
Hitting just .176 after April 17, Wilyer Abreu has gone 13-for-25 with two home runs, seven RBI and five runs. His K:BB ratio is 3:3 in that run. The Red Sox have moved Abreu up in the lineup, as he’s hit either second or fourth during that streak.
As Boston navigates some injuries, it’s going to take offense wherever it can get it and will ride Abreu as long as he’s hitting like he is.
Casey Mize (SP – DET): 18%
The first overall pick of the 2018 draft, Casey Mize has back-to-back quality starts in his last two outings. That’s a good start to a young 2024 season, considering he pitched just 10 innings in the majors last year.
Mize is an important part of a Detroit team that is 14-11 in the early portion of the season. He gets a home start against Kansas City on April 27, so those who want to stream him could try him out to see if he could stick in fantasy lineups.
Andy Pages (OF – LAD): 11%
Andy Pages hit his first big league home run in his fifth game, hitting a 413-foot shot to right-center in a 10-0 blowout of the Mets on April 21. He’s played in every game since his debut, which is key because the Dodgers do have some platoons in the infield and outfield.
If Pages can take advantage of Jason Heyward being on the injured list (IL) and Chris Taylor off to a horrendous start, the top prospect coming off a shoulder injury could take over a starting job for the rest of the season. He might even move up in the lineup, but even hitting toward the bottom he’ll help turn over the lineup for Mookie Betts and company.
Gavin Stone (SP – LAD): 17%
Gavin Stone flew through the minor leagues before getting shelled in his first taste of the big leagues last year to the tune of a 9.00 ERA. In 31 innings, he allowed eight home runs and 46 hits. Yet he made the big club in 2024 and even earned his first win of the season on April 13 by going 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk, and striking out four.
With Bobby Miller on the IL and the Dodgers wanting to give as much rest as possible to Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Stone will get many chances in the rotation. He just needs to pitch competently. If his minor-league numbers translate to the next level he could be a find.
Johan Rojas (OF – PHI): 5%
On April 17, Johan Rojas entered play with a .167 batting average. That did not bring back memories of the rookie who hit .302 last year. Then he went 2-for-3 with a run and stolen base. He would then go on a 10-for-22 run over six games to raise his average to .266. Even at this early point of the season, that’s a significant jump.
Rojas has hit either eighth or ninth in his starts this season, which in a lineup as long as Philadelphia’s should still mean decent counting stats for Rojas. The seven steals is a sign of things to come. He stole 159 bases in his minor-league career.
Pete Crow-Armstrong: 4%
I like to pick up top prospects when they get called up, especially hitters, who have a hit rate higher than pitchers after making their debuts. Pete Crow-Armstrong is a plus-defender who hit 20 home runs and stole 37 bases at the Cubs’ top two levels last year. Now gets an extended run in the big leagues after Cody Bellinger suffered rib fractures that put him on the IL.
While he was hitting just .203 at Triple-A when he was recalled, Crow-Armstrong did hit his first MLB home run on April 25. He, at the very, least will start against right-handed pitchers, so he could be a good play in leagues with daily transactions.
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