X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Hitter Prospect Risers for 2019

We are thrilled to announce that Marc Hulet has recently joined the RotoBaller team! Marc is also the longest-serving, active writer at FanGraphs. For 10+ years he has been focused on MLB prospects and their fantasy baseball impacts. Follow along all season!

I’m kicking off my tenure at Rotoballer with a two-part series looking at the four hitters and four pitchers that will help your fantasy baseball team in 2019 more than you expect. These are not just names to know in dynasty leagues.

Each piece will highlight one player who faces a little more adversity than the others and their inclusions might surprise you. Make sure you take time to read up on the under-the-radar pitching prospects piece.  Let's see which hitting prospects you should be monitoring in 2019 redraft leagues.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and weekly lineup resources:

 

Garrett Hampson (2B/SS/OF, COL)

Forget fielding minor league baseball teams to develop players. The Rockies have built an assembly line for producing big league infielders. Or at least it feels that way. The organization might have more infield depth than any other club in the Majors, with a line of high-ceiling players stretching out from the Majors clear down to A-ball. The club graduated Ryan McMahon last year and will likely do the same with Hampson in 2019, followed by the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Colton Welker, Tyler Nevin, Josh Fuentes, and Ryan Vilade. But we’re here to talk about Hampson so let’s do just that. If the early fantasy drafts of 2019 are any indication, Hampson is becoming less and less of a secret, but he's still underrated.

I identified Hampson as a player to watch a couple of years ago because of his intriguing mix of versatility, speed, and line-drive pop. The key for Hampson is that he understands his strengths and weaknesses as a player and has bought into the game plan. He has a natural feel for hitting, but he also knows his greatest offensive weapon is his speed, so he focuses on putting the ball in play over swinging for the fences. And he’s also more than willing to take a walk and beef up his on-base rate, which provides added opportunity to put his wheels in motion. During the past two minor league seasons, Hampson has stolen a whopping 87 bases. Anyone who has played fantasy baseball knows stolen bases have become harder and harder to come by, making them more and more valuable when you can find them. Hampson should provide those in spades, while also offering a solid batting average and versatility (qualifying at both second base and shortstop… and very likely the outfield early in 2019).

 

Daz Cameron (OF, DET) 

Detroit is by no means a hotbed for developing high-impact prospects, but Cameron comes to the Tigers by way of the Astros' outstanding player development system. And he has an outstanding pedigree as the son of long-time MLB outfielder Mike Cameron. It’s been a relatively steady climb through the minors for the younger Cameron due to contact issues resulting in high strikeout rates. The good news is that he’s shown a willingness to take a walk, which helps to offset the Ks and puts him in an excellent place to utilize his speed on the base paths. The young outfielder has the potential to steal 30-40 bases in a full season. Cameron also has the raw power for tons of doubles and 10-12 homers, if not more, as he matures.

With just 15 games of experience at the Triple-A level, the Tigers’ top center-field prospect will need some additional seasoning before arriving in Detroit. The good news, though, is that he’s looked good this spring (albeit with continued swing-and-miss tendencies). Cameron has appeared in 11 games which gives the Tigers a good long look at him, and they've seen him sting the ball with six of his eight hits going for extra bases. With the Tigers in a rebuild and the outfield in a state of flux, there could be plenty of opportunities for him throughout the year. Right-fielder Nick Castellanos would welcome a trade from Detroit. JaCoby Jones, well, isn’t very good. And left-fielder Christin Stewart is a rookie who I’ve never been a huge fan of despite his first-round pedigree. Mikie Mahtook is also still hanging around but, like Jones, isn’t much of anything. 

 

Anthony Alford (OF, TOR)

For every Kyler Murray that gets away, there is an offsetting win for baseball, like Alford. A star high school football player, Toronto took a risk drafting Alford with a relatively high pick and allowed him to split his time between college football and pro ball. But that also meant that the young outfielder compiled just 110 plate appearances in competitive games during his first three seasons of pro ball, spending most of his time in instructional leagues and spring training before leaving for the college football seasons. The key to Alford’s success in overcoming the lost development time once he fully committed to baseball was a combination of outstanding athleticism as well as incredible makeup and maturity.

Things have not gone completely smoothly for Alford in pro ball, and he’s been prone to injury and brings a troubling history of concussions with him from his gridiron days. Although he was mostly healthy in 2018, playing in more than 100 games for just the second time in seven years, the 24-year-old didn’t look right for most of the season by showing decreased athleticism in the field and a regressed approach at the plate. Alford may always have some swing-and-miss to his game, but his walk rates dropped from historical levels of 12-13% down to just 7%. He started out the year hurt and looked terrible when he returned to action in April and May. Things slowly improved as the year progressed and he’s been one of the Jays better hitters in spring training to date with a .333 average and a team-leading four home runs (Hitting the ball in the air more is a key to Alford unlocking his raw power potential).

With the outfield depth thinning out with Dwight Smith Jr.’s trade to Baltimore and Dalton Pompey perennially unable to stay healthy, the door may be opening for Alford to finally show what he’s capable of with an extended taste of big league action.    

 

Out on a Ledge Pick: Christian Walker (1B, ARI)

If there were a baseball award for the unluckiest player, Walker would probably have won it a few times. The first baseman has spent parts of the last five seasons in Triple-A while producing above-average numbers. He hit .309 with 32 home runs in 2017 and still couldn’t earn a legit shot at The Show. He returned to Triple-A in 2018 and produced a similar HR-per-fly-ball rate and saw his line-drive rate skyrocket to 30%. Again, a career-high in MLB plate appearances topped out at 53. Why? Well, he’s been stuck behind Chris Davis (back when he was good) and Paul Goldschmidt. But now the latter hitter has departed Arizona and Walker’s competition for playing time is displaced third baseman Jake Lamb.

Early news out of Arizona’s camp is that Walker is being heavily considered for a spot on the 25-man roster. The other good news (for Walker) is that Jake Lamb hasn’t looked right since hurting his shoulder last April. He actually injured it twice and eventually needed rotator cuff surgery, which is often a very difficult injury to come back from, and we’re seeing it early on in Lamb’s spring numbers. If Walker can capitalize on the slow start — and he’s doing a great job early in camp — then he could run away with the job and leave Lamb in a split role seeing time at both first base and third base. With Arizona being a good place to hit, Walker could produce some big-time power numbers for a very low price.

More Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Breakouts




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Donovan Clingan12 hours ago

Returning On Friday
Marquise Brown12 hours ago

Expected Back Before Postseason
Bradley Beal12 hours ago

Downgraded To Out
Jamal Murray12 hours ago

Upgraded To Available
Christian Braun12 hours ago

To Play On Friday
Aaron Gordon12 hours ago

Available On Friday
Joel Embiid12 hours ago

Won't Return On Friday
Bradley Beal13 hours ago

Now Questionable Versus Utah
LeBron James13 hours ago

JJ Reddick Doesn't Know When LeBron James Will Return
Anthony Davis13 hours ago

Available Against Minnesota
Austin Reaves14 hours ago

Upgraded To Available On Friday
Christian Walker14 hours ago

Seattle Would "Love" To Sign Christian Walker
Nikola Vucevic14 hours ago

Out Against The Hornets
Carson Kelly14 hours ago

Agrees To Two-Year Contract With Cubs
Houston Astros14 hours ago

Cam Smith Traded To Houston
Josh Giddey14 hours ago

Will Play On Friday Evening
Zach LaVine14 hours ago

Cleared To Face The Hornets
Hayden Wesneski14 hours ago

Shipped To Houston
Patrick Williams14 hours ago

Says He'll Suit Up Versus Charlotte
Evan Mobley14 hours ago

Won't Play On Friday Night
Alec Martinez14 hours ago

Added To Injured Reserve
Anthony Stolarz14 hours ago

Day-To-Day With A Lower-Body Injury
K'Andre Miller15 hours ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Thomas Bryant15 hours ago

Traded To Indiana
Dan Vladar15 hours ago

Considered Day-To-Day
Ladd McConkey15 hours ago

Officially Questionable For Week 15
Cam Talbot15 hours ago

Re-Aggravates Lower-Body Injury
Austin Reaves15 hours ago

Now Probable For Friday Night
Matt Dumba15 hours ago

To Remain Out On Saturday
Linus Ullmark15 hours ago

Seeks Fourth Straight Win Friday
Bub Means16 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 15
Derek Carr16 hours ago

Listed As Doubtful, Not Starting
Josh Downs17 hours ago

Questionable For Week 15
Kenneth Walker III17 hours ago

Listed As Doubtful For Week 15
Tyler Higbee17 hours ago

Expected To Make Season Debut In Week 16
D'Andre Swift17 hours ago

Roschon Johnson Miss Another Practice
Trey McBride17 hours ago

Good To Go, Remains A Must-Start In Fantasy
Tidjane Salaun17 hours ago

Tagged As Questionable Against Bulls
Tony Pollard17 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Week 15
George Pickens17 hours ago

Steelers Officially Rule Out George Pickens
Zach Edey17 hours ago

Considered Doubtful On Friday
Alvin Kamara17 hours ago

Will Play In Week 15 Against The Commanders
David Njoku18 hours ago

Hopes To Play In Week 15
Keon Coleman18 hours ago

Returning From Four-Game Absence In Week 15
Breece Hall18 hours ago

Now Expected To Play In Week 15
Kyle Kuzma18 hours ago

Out Again Friday Against Cavaliers
Romeo Doubs18 hours ago

Clears Concussion Protocol
Isaac Paredes18 hours ago

Shipped To Houston
Evan Mobley18 hours ago

Considered Questionable Against Wizards
Kyle Tucker18 hours ago

Cubs Acquire Kyle Tucker From The Astros
Kyle Tucker18 hours ago

Cubs Close To Acquiring Kyle Tucker From The Astros
Aidan O'Connell18 hours ago

Won't Practice On Friday
Breece Hall19 hours ago

Questionable For Week 15 But Expected To Play
Nestor Cortes19 hours ago

Traded To The Brewers
David Njoku19 hours ago

Questionable For Week 15
Cedric Tillman19 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 15
Tony Pollard19 hours ago

Should Play This Weekend
Adrian Yanez20 hours ago

An Underdog At UFC Tampa
Daniel Marcos20 hours ago

Looks To Remain Undefeated At UFC Tampa
Vitor Petrino20 hours ago

Looks To Return To Win Column At UFC Tampa
Dustin Jacoby20 hours ago

A Big Underdog At UFC Tampa
Cub Swanson20 hours ago

Searching For 30th Career Win At UFC Tampa
Billy Quarantillo20 hours ago

Faces A Legend At UFC Tampa
Devin Williams20 hours ago

Traded To The Yankees
Joaquin Buckley23 hours ago

Looks For His Sixth Win In A Row
Colby Covington23 hours ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Bruno Silva23 hours ago

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Manel Kape23 hours ago

A Favorite At UFC Tampa
Tuco Tokkos23 hours ago

Looks For His First UFC Win
Navajo Stirling23 hours ago

Set To Make His UFC Debut
Kevin Lankinen23 hours ago

Frustrates Panthers With Shutout Performance
Nikita Kucherov24 hours ago

Racks Up Six Points Against Flames
Leon Draisaitl24 hours ago

Continues Multi-Point Streak Versus Wild
Bryan Rust24 hours ago

Tallies Four Points In Big Win
Scott Laughton24 hours ago

Ties Flyers Record With Four-Goal Performance
Ryan O'Reilly1 day ago

Returns With Three-Point Effort
Victor Hedman1 day ago

Day-To-Day With A Lower-Body Injury
Kyle Bradish2 days ago

Begins Throwing Program
Nolan Arenado2 days ago

Would Approve Of Trade To The Bronx
Jake McCabe2 days ago

Available On Thursday
Scott Mayfield2 days ago

Rejoins Islanders Lineup
Yanni Gourde2 days ago

Absent Against Bruins
Jack Drury2 days ago

Set For Hand Surgery
Trevor Zegras2 days ago

To Miss Six Weeks Following Knee Surgery
Roman Josi2 days ago

Out On Thursday
J.T. Miller2 days ago

Returns To Action Thursday
Francisco Lindor2 days ago

Back Injury In The Rearview Mirror
Rafael Devers2 days ago

Red Sox Prepared To Keep Rafael Devers At Third Base
Cody Bellinger2 days ago

Yankees Targeting Cody Bellinger
Pete Alonso2 days ago

Mets Still Trying To Bring Back Pete Alonso
Corbin Burnes2 days ago

Giants The Favorites To Land Corbin Burnes
Brenton Doyle2 days ago

Rockies Plan To Hit Brenton Doyle At Leadoff
Mitch Keller3 days ago

Jared Jones, Mitch Keller Available For Trade
Shane Bieber3 days ago

Throwing From 90 Feet
Chicago White Sox3 days ago

Braden Montgomery Traded To White Sox
Kyle Teel3 days ago

White Sox Land Catching Prospect Kyle Teel
Alexandre Pantoja5 days ago

Gets Second-Round Win At UFC 310
Kai Asakura5 days ago

Submitted At UFC 310
Alexander Volkov5 days ago

Takes Split-Decision Loss
Ciryl Gane5 days ago

Edges Out Split Decision At UFC 310
MMA5 days ago

Doo Ho Choi Scores TKO Win At UFC 310
Nate Landwehr6 days ago

Gets TKO'd At UFC 310
Kron Gracie6 days ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC 310
Bryce Mitchell6 days ago

Scores Knockout Win At UFC 310
Ian Machado Garry6 days ago

Suffers First Defeat At UFC 310

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
RotoBaller NFL Betting Picks Stock

2024 NFL Week 15 Betting Picks (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools and Content can be accessed on the premium dashboard. To see ALL of Jamie's bets (and others from RotoBaller experts) then head over to the RotoBaller Discord. You'll find every bet and prop in the #NFL-BETTING-PROPS channel there!   Background My name is Jamie Calandro (@jac3600 on X) and I have […]


Bo Nix - Fantasy Football Rankings, QB, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers

Buy Low, Sell High Week 15 Fantasy Trade Value Recommendations - Bo Nix, DK Metcalf, Travis Kelce, more

Week 15 marks the official start of the fantasy football playoffs for many leagues, and the pressure is on. Every decision now has the potential to make or break your postseason run. As we head into the most critical part of the fantasy season, it’s essential to fine-tune your roster for a deep playoff push. […]


Calvin Ridley - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Key Starters and Tough Calls - Week 15 Lineup Spotlights for Fantasy Football Include Zach Charbonnet, Calvin Ridley, Tua Tagovailoa, More

Scott Engel’s Lineup Spotlights are an essential weekly feature on RotoBaller.com for the 2024 fantasy football season. Every week, he focuses on players to choose as starting options when you are dealing with tight lineup decisions. The lineup picks included in this rundown are based on Scott’s Premium Weekly Lineup Rankings, available as part of the RotoBaller […]


Breece Hall - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For NFL RBs: Week 15 Updates for Breece Hall, Bucky Irving, Alvin Kamara, Aaron Jones, D'Andre Swift

Below is our fantasy football injuries report for running backs in Week 15, as of December 14. The injury statuses for various NFL running backs are up in the air for Week 15, including Breece Hall, Bucky Irving, Alvin Kamara, Aaron Jones, and D'Andre Swift. As the fantasy football season continues, every decision, transaction, and […]


DeAndre Hopkins - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 15 - Adam Thielen, DeAndre Hopkins, DeMario Douglas, Rashod Bateman

Welcome to WR Matchups to Target for Week 15. Last week we landed two 2x multiplier picks but failed to secure any home run (3x DK salary multiplier) picks for only the third time this year. This week’s main slate is missing a handful of the highest floor receivers, giving way to pay up elsewhere […]


Jordan Love - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Landmines to Avoid for Week 15 - Jordan Love, Tyrone Tracy Jr., DeVonta Smith, and more

The fantasy playoffs are here, and congratulations—you made it! With no byes left and managers facing a full roster, it’s all about optimizing matchups. The pressure is on, the stakes are sky-high, and the margin for error is low.  Managers may have relied on certain players to get them here, but the cold truth is […]


George Pickens - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL injury News

Fantasy Football WR Injury Reports: Week 15 Updates For George Pickens, Josh Downs, Cedric Tillman, Ladd McConkey

Welcome to the fantasy football playoffs! Thankfully, the wide receiver injury report is light this week but managers could be without a key piece of their postseason lineup. To keep close tabs on all of the news across the NFL, make sure to favorite or bookmark the fantasy football player news page. Also, download the […]


Breece Hall - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Injury Reports: Week 15 Updates For Breece Hall, Joe Burrow, Bucky Irving, George Pickens, Kenneth Walker III

It's that time of the year when all of us are reminded of what really matters in life: fantasy football playoffs. This week, the first round of the playoffs in the majority of formats brings quite a few matchup decisions for managers who made the postseason, as would-be starters like Breece Hall, Bucky Irving, George […]


Von Miller Buffalo Bills Defense - Fantasy Football DST, Defense Streamers, Waiver Wire IDP

Defenses (DEF) to Start in Week 17 (2024): Best Fantasy Playoffs Streaming Options

Fantasy managers who have made it to championship weekend likely have ultra-talented rosters. Picking the correct defense for Week 17 is the final piece of the puzzle. The wrong choice can leave managers with a zero (or worse) in their lineup. Utilize the waiver wire and find the matchup that benefits defenses. Below, we'll dive […]


Jaymyr Gibbs - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS and Betting Picks

Late Slate: Daily Fantasy Football Week 15 NFL DFS Lineup Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel (2024)

Welcome back to our late slate Week 15 DFS picks article here at RotoBaller! In this piece, I will examine my top daily fantasy football lineup plays for the late slate in Week 15 of the NFL season. In Week 15, we have five games on the NFL DFS late slate on DraftKings and FanDuel […]


Blake Corum - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

High-Upside Bench Stashes: Weekend Waiver Wire Adds for Week 15 Includes Blake Corum, Trey Benson, Kendre Miller, Cam Akers, Kimani Vidal, and more

Mastering the waiver wire is a crucial skill that can lead you to a fantasy football championship. It's not just about strategically placing your FAAB budget on specific players but also about knowing when to stash players. This dual strategy keeps you engaged and focused on your ultimate goal of winning a fantasy championship. As […]


Justin Herbert - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Week 15 FanDuel NFL DFS Picks - Main Slate (2024): Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Ja'Marr Chase, Trey McBride

Week 14 featured potent fantasy performances from the likes of Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings, to name a few. With the playoffs on the horizon, who will be the top fantasy producers in Week 15?   In this article, I will be providing you with my Week 15 daily fantasy football […]


Green Bay Packers Defense - Rashan Gary, DST, D/ST, Rankings, Streamers

Top Fantasy Football Playoffs D/ST Rankings (Weeks 16, 17) - Defense Streamers and Starts

Welcome RotoBallers to our fantasy football playoffs D/ST streamers and starts for Weeks 16 and 17.  With the fantasy football playoffs in full swing, now is the perfect time to line up your defenses for the final weeks. This article will go through the best defenses to pick up and play for the fantasy football playoffs in […]