For the last seven years, I have posted 5×5 category sleepers at Rotoworld. These players aren’t necessarily category “specialists,” but they can help in one particular standard 5×5 rotisserie-scoring category.
I hadn’t posted my category sleepers this year, but due to multiple requests, have listed the hitters below. I’ve also included last year’s 5×5 category sleepers articles from Rotoworld, which explain part of the criteria and logic for each category.
Batting Average Sleepers
Mixed league BA Sleepers
Sal Frelick, OF, MIL: Career .331 MiLB hitter with an elite 7.4% K rate at Triple-A last season. He adds plus sleep (24 steals in 2023), and a real shot to break camp with the Brewers following Tyrone Taylor’s injury.
Gabriel Moreno, C, ARI: Blocked in Toronto, Moreno is set to split time with Carson Kelly after getting traded for Daulton Varsho. He’s a .310 MiLB hitter and has also shown plus contact ability (17% K rate at Triple-A last season)
Alek Thomas, OF, ARI: Based on an ADP well beyond 300, the market is giving up on this former top prospect much too soon. He struggled in 411 plate appearances last season, but he’s still only 22 with a superb minor league profile hitting at least .300 in all four seasons and .313 cumulatively. He’s regularly posted a sub-20% K rate in the minors and 18% with Arizona last season.
Miguel Vargas, 1B, LAD: The pressure is on Vargas to produce as LA’s starting second baseman, but he should be up to the challenge. The 23-year-old has never hit below .300 over a full minor league season, showing off a pure line drive stroke and a sub-20% K rate for his career.
Single League and Draft Champions BA Sleepers
Christian Arroyo, 2B, BOS: Mostly a platoon player before this season, Arroyo could earn more playing time following Trevor Story’s elbow injury. He hit .286 in 300 plate appearances last year and is a solid .286 career minor league hitter. His .292 xBA last season shows more potential.
Will Brennan, OF, CLE: Cleveland produced two valuable fantasy rookie outfielders last year in Steven Kwan and Oscar Gonzalez. Brennan could be their next in line if someone slips up, hitting .357 in 11 MLB games and .314 in the minors last year. He has elite contact ability, with a K rate near 10% and can also swipe bases.
Harold Castro, 1B/3B, COL: The talk is that Elehuris Montero and Nolan Jones are the most likely starters at third base following Brendan Rodgers’ injury, but Castro should also gain playing time. The former Tiger has minimal power or speed, but his batting average has proven an asset as a .284 hitter over 1,200-plus MLB plate appearances. Coors Field will only help.
Jordan Diaz, 2B, OAK: It’s easy to overlook A’s players, but Diaz is an extremely underrated prospect. He hit .326-19-83 in 527 PAs between Double- and Triple-A last season, showing improved contact. He could be Oakland’s starting second baseman to begin the season.
Home Run Sleepers
Mixed League HR Sleepers
Bryan De La Cruz, OF, MIA: Will the September momentum (six HR) continue? De La Cruz has increased his launch angle, and will get plenty of opportunities in an anemic lineup.
Darick Hall, UT, PHI: Hall is going undrafted in virtually all leagues, but he’s very likely to be Philly’s DH until Bryce Harper returns at midseason. He’s a regular 20-plus home run hitter in the minors, and launched nine home runs in 142 plate appearances with Philly last year.
Shea Langeliers, UT, OAK: Langeliers begins the year without catcher eligibility in many league formats, but it’s coming. He has 47 home runs over the last two seasons and should hit in the middle of the poor Oakland lineup. There’s an easy path to Langeliers being a top 10 fantasy catcher.
David Villar, 3B, SF: Yes, we need to be mindful of San Francisco’s platoons and top third base prospect Casey Schmitt, but Villar is likely the starting third baseman in 2023. The underrated prospect hit nine home runs in 181 plate appearances last season, plus 27 homers in only 84 games at Triple-A with an extreme launch angle.
Single League and Draft Champions HR Sleepers
Seth Beer, UT, ARI: I can’t quit Beer just yet. He struggled after hitter a home run on Opening Day last season, but the former first-round pick’s track record with the bat remains super interesting with a career .492 minor league slug. He has no clear path to at-bats, but I still consider Beer a viable late-round stash who could help in the second half.
Will Benson, OF, CIN: The drum beat is getting louder for Benson since he was traded from Cleveland. The former first-round pick has raw talent as a former 20/20 man in the minors who hit .278-17-45 with 16 steals in 89 games at Triple-A last season. He’s the type of player Cincinnati should be giving a long look throughout 2023.
Sean Bouchard, OF, COL: Colorado’s outfield situation is bad, and Bouchard presents some upside. He hit .300-20-56 in only 312 plate appearances at Triple-A and .297-3-11 in 97 plate appearances with Colorado. He’s moved through the system slowly but could be a 20 home run lightning in a bottle with playing time.
Stone Garrett, OF, WAS: Garrett has smashed in the upper minors over the last two years with 53 home runs combined, and hit four homers in 84 plate appearances last season. The plate discipline is terrible, but Garrett’s strength should be worthy of a spot in Washington’s lineup if they let it happen. He posted an .848 OPS with the Diamondbacks late last season.
RBI Sleepers
Mixed League RBI Sleepers
Oscar Gonzalez, OF, CLE: The aggressive Gonzalez hit 4-6 in Cleveland’s lineup last year, only getting better late in the year. 43 RBI in 91 games projects nicely over 162 if he can keep it up.
Trey Mancini, 1B/OF, CHC: The Cubs have added lineup talent in the offseason but not much reliable power, with apologies to Cody Bellinger. In his five full seasons, Mancini has averaged 73 RBI, and is set for a favorable middle of the order spot in Chicago.
Austin Meadows, OF, DET: A dirt cheap buy after missing most of last season due to health issues, Meadows is only one year removed from 27 home runs and 106 RBI in Tampa Bay. Detroit doesn’t have the talent to give Meadows enough RBI opportunities, but he’s locked in as a middle of the order hitter.
Josh Naylor, 1B, CLE: Sure, he’s likely to be platooned, but I don’t understand the lack of love for Naylor with an ADP beyond 200 in NFBC. He had 79 RBI in only 122 games last season, and has had time to recover from his nagging ankle injury. He hit 4-5 in the order for most of last year, and should get a similar opportunity this year despite the Josh Bell addition.
Single League and Draft Champions RBI Sleepers
Jesus Aguilar, 1B, OAK: Aguilar has the profile of a hitter that declines in his 30’s, and that already started in a big way last season. Oakland didn’t care, and Aguilar should begin the season as their first baseman in the middle of the batting order. Take the RBI while you can.
Max Kepler, OF, MIN: The stock is rightfully down for the frustrating Kepler, but the pull hitter should benefit from the new shift rules and isn’t far removed from showing big power. He primarily hit 3-5 in the order last year, and that should continue if he still plays.
Harold Ramirez, 1B/OF, TB: The fluid lineup in Tampa Bay can be frustrating. However, Ramirez, hit cleanup for most of August and September last season, and should continue to garner those opportunities if last year wasn’t a fluke.
Carlos Santana, 1B, PIT: Santana has spent much of his career hitting near the top of the order due to his high walk rate. With a sub-.320 OBP over the last two years, he looks more like a middle of the order hitter for an anemic Pirates lineup.
Runs Sleepers
Mixed League R Sleepers
Yandy Diaz, 3B, TB: We expect power from Diaz’s physique, but he remains an extremely groundball hitter and on-base machine. He led off 82 times last season with his .401 OBP.
Riley Greene, OF, DET: Greene’s rookie season was a disappointment, but Detroit has reason to be patient. He led off for most of 2022, and there’s hope he will get more runs this year with the possibility of rebound seasons from multiple teammates.
Ketel Marte, 2B, ARI: Marte has frustrating many recently, but it’s still hard to find this type of upside post-200 ADP. He’s one year removed from a .909 OPS, and mostly hit 1-3 in the order last year.
Ezequiel Tovar, SS, COL: Tovar is likely to be buried in the batting order to start the season, though the shortstop provides a lot of leadoff potential with a .387 OBP in the upper minors last season. A quick start would put him in the leadoff conversion.
Single League and Draft Champions R Sleepers
Yonathan Daza, OF, COL: Daza has so little power or speed that it feels like most have forgotten he’s a regular at Coors Field. The center fielder hit .301 in 113 games last season and could begin the year as Colorado’s leadoff man.
Jake Fraley, OF, CIN: Fraley had a great stretch over the last two months of last season, and hit 1-3 in Cincy’s batting order for most of that time. He’s earned more playing time despite shaky defense.
Tony Kemp, 2B/OF, OAK: Kemp was exposed as a regular season season, hitting only .235/.307/.334, but that didn’t stop Oakland from giving him leadoff at-bats. There are a lot of threats here, but Kemp is worthy in deep leagues until he’s replaced.
Lane Thomas, OF, WAS: If you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed that Thomas spent all of September as Washington’s leadoff man. Victor Robles’ inability to hit should give Thomas that chance again.
Stolen Base Sleepers
Mixed League SB Sleepers
Josh Lowe, OF, TB: A former top prospect, Lowe appeared overmatched with Tampa Bay last year, but has swiped over 20 bases four times in the minors. He’s slowly but surely earning a roster spot and playing time in Spring Training.
Esteury Ruiz, OF, OAK: The definition of a stolen base specialist. Sudden breakout at the plate draws skepticism, but he swiped 85 bases in 114 minor league games.
Jose Siri, OF, TB: Siri’s batting started to come around after getting traded to Tampa Bay (.660 OPS), and his elite center field defense will keep him in the lineup. He’s swiped 20-plus bases five times in the minors.
Bubba Thompson, OF, TEX: We witnessed Thompson’s elite speed late last season, though he’s still fighting for a roster spot this Spring. Thompson is a must-start when he does play.
Single League and Draft Champions SB Sleepers
Ji Hwan Bae, OF, PIT: Bae played well in 10 games with Pittsburgh and stolen at least 30 bases in two of the last three seasons. His ability to also play second base gives Bae a great chance for at-bats.
Ezequiel Duran, 3B, TEX: Duran didn’t do much with his playing time last year, but he’s swiped double-digit bases in three straight minor league seasons along with solid pop.
Jarren Duran, OF, BOS: Duran was out of his element in Boston last year, as fans can attest. He reworked his swing this Spring with good results so far, and has swiped as many as 46 bases in the minors. This could be a make-or-break year.
Maikel Garcia, SS, KC: A very underrated prospect, Garcia hit hit above .280 in three straight seasons and has 35-plus steals in back-to-back years. There are also signs of power development, hitting 11 home runs last year and four home runs in the Venezuelan Winter League. Don’t be shocked if he’s KC’s starting third baseman by the end of 2023.
