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Averaging just over 6,000 fans per game, the Oakland Athletics have unfortunately lost the faith of their local fan base, largely due to poor ownership decisions and public relations gaffs. The runner-up for lowest attendance in 2024 is the Miami Marlins, who are still pulling in over double the average amount of fans per game at 12,500. With an impending move to Sacramento -- and likely Las Vegas -- it is an interesting time to be an A's fan.
Amidst these off-the-field issues, A's players often receive a lot of skepticism in preseason fantasy baseball rankings. But year in and year out, they produce multiple players worth rostering in fantasy leagues. With the preseason skepticism, many of these players are "hidden gems" rounding into form during the season despite being drafted late, or not at all, in fantasy drafts.
2024 is no exception. On the pitching side of things, only Mason Miller drew significant preseason hype. He has lived up to that hype and more. On the hitting side, not a single A's player was ranked in the top 200 Yahoo rankings to start the year. However, Brent Rooker has seen a meteoric rise in ownership rates due largely in part to his 10 HRs on the year, good for a tie for eighth right now in HR total across MLB. But which other players on the A's roster might be "hidden gems" that deserve significantly more attention than they are currently receiving? Ben Ueberroth (@UeberMD) evaluates the Athletics lineup to determine which players merit consideration for a long-term roster spot in fantasy leagues in 2024.
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Candidates
For one reason or another, these hitters have the potential to be season-long contributors for fantasy baseball managers. Managers with an open roster spot should pick them up for an audition, particularly in deep leagues.
Abraham Toro (2B/3B) - 55% Owned
In his first season with the A's, Toro is seeing consistent, everyday playing time. Even with the return of Zack Gelof to 2B, Toro has remained in the lineup at either 3B or DH. He has been locked in at the leadoff position, further raising his upside specifically for runs and even the occasional SB. When reviewing his peripheral statistics, the most impressive one is his ability to limit whiffs. Toro holds a career 8.4% SwStr%, and 2024 remains on par with that, currently sitting at 7.1%. When one adds this to his minuscule 4.9% BB%, Toro profiles as a guy who goes up to the plate looking to make contact.
Toro's spray chart is a fun one to evaluate. While he has plenty of hard-hit infield hits to the right side, likely due to more time spent as a left-handed hitter, his outfield hits are much more evenly dispersed. Some of these are slap hits to center and left field as a left-handed batter. Other times he is turning on pitches from either side of the plate.
Statcast has very recently added multiple statistics to the baseball lexicon, including launch angle sweet spot (LA Sweet-Spot%). This stat seeks to quantify what percentage of contact occurs on the "sweet spot" of the bat coupled with an "ideal" launch angle between 8 and 32 degrees.
Toro finds himself in the top 20 of this novel statistic, surrounded by the likes of Mookie Betts, Marcell Ozuna, and Adley Rutschman. Toro embodies the "gem" in "hidden gem" even at his current ownership and he deserves to be owned in a higher proportion of leagues. Add him as a utility guy with the upside to spell 2B and 3B whenever regular fantasy starters at those positions get a day off.
Shea Langeliers (C) - 35% Owned
As with so many fantasy hitter appraisals, catchers get a bit of special consideration. Langeliers is no different. If he were an outfielder, he would be in the category below (better left on the waiver wire). But in reality, he is a 26-year-old catcher seeing relatively consistent playing time. By far the most important statistic for him is nine HRs on the year.
Cal Raleigh is a known HR commodity and Ryan Jeffers has been a pleasant surprise. Langeliers ranks just behind them, tied for third with Adley Rutschman, for HRs from the catcher position in 2024. That puts him on pace for over 30 HRs in 2024. That is top-notch production out of the catcher position, even if some of the other categories are mediocre.
Shea Langeliers' 3 ABs today: home run, double, triple.
He is a single shy of the cycle! pic.twitter.com/KKMwSus2rl
— MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2024
The peripheral statistics for Langeliers are a bit mixed. He is a bit of an "all or nothing" player in that his .272 OBP and cellar-dwelling 5.4% BB% suggest a player who comes to the plate to hit, not walk. But his .213 BABIP is significantly lower than MLB average and Langeliers' own career mark of .248.
This suggests that he is not "getting lucky" and his current performance is fairly representative of who he will be throughout 2024. He has improved his K% year over year, down to 22.4% in 2024 from 29.2% in 2023 and 34.6% in 2022. It is rare for a catcher with such pop to be this widely available. Managers hurting from recent catcher injuries should immediately scoop Langeliers over any other sub-50% owned catcher for his HR upside alone.
JJ Bleday (OF) - 10% Owned
Bleday is seeing the better side of a platoon with Esteury Ruiz in that he is getting all of the starts in center field against right-handed pitchers. Along with those starts, Bleday has consistently been batting in the second or third slot in the A's lineup.
In theory, that could change slightly if Gelof's return from the IL affords him some time higher in the order, but that has yet to happen with Gelof generally batting sixth. Bleday's fielding alone is reason he will stick in the A's regular starting lineup with plenty of bat upside for fantasy managers.
JJ Bleday brings this one back and robs a homer! pic.twitter.com/NIHPQ5rhGE
— MLB (@MLB) March 30, 2024
Admittedly, this is an add for 12+ team leagues or deeper points leagues, but nonetheless Bleday is seeing solid playing time and has used it well. Beyond playing time and position in the lineup, Bleday holds a respectable 20.2% K% in 2024, good for a top-100 ranking across all MLB hitters. This is backed by an above-average 12.2% SwStr%. He does not run much and the power upside is limited, but managers seeking an OF3 for Runs and RBI could do a lot worse than Bleday.
Fantasy Baseball Players Better Left on the Waiver Wire
In deep leagues, these guys might fill a niche, but managers in most leagues can keep an eye on these guys from the waiver wire or ignore them altogether for fantasy purposes.
Zack Gelof (2B) - 55% Owned
Although he was one of just a few A's players coming up in predraft discussions, Gelof has had a rough start to the year. His ownership level is nonetheless reasonable and he holds much more upside than most names below him on this list. However, it is hard to justify adding Gelof at present. He just returned to the A's lineup after a three-week stint on the IL for an oblique strain. While the feeling is he is fully healthy, that injury is on a short list of injuries that can nag.
More importantly, Gelof was batting below .200 before hitting the IL. He holds an abysmal 7.4% BB% and frightening 34.3% K% so far in 2024, neither of which instill confidence in regards to plate discipline.
He can run, tallying four SB already this year with multiple double-digit SB seasons in the minor league before 2024. Unfortunately, getting on base is requisite to have an opportunity to steal a base. Gelof is young, has opportunity, and deserves to be watched for improvement. But as he stands right now, he is more of a liability than an asset for most fantasy squads.
Esteury Ruiz (OF) - 35% Owned
This one can be kept short. Although he was one of the few names to receive some preseason fantasy consideration, Ruiz has seen his 2024 season marred by a stint in the minor leagues (for somewhat unclear reasons) and a lack of regular at-bats. His upside is stolen bases, but to steal bases, one needs to receiving playing time and get on base. Currently, Ruiz is not even starting half of the A's games. He should be left as a free agent until if/when he sees regular at-bats, ideally at the top of the A's lineup.
Tyler Nevin (1B/3B/OF) - 10% Owned
Another straightforward discussion, Nevin drew some transient interest in fantasy baseball with four HRs on the year. However, he has progressively ceded more and more playing time to other platoon players against RHP. Batting an abysmal 3- for-39 in May along with multiple games riding the pine against RHP, Nevin is not worth a roster spot, even in deep, AL-only leagues.
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