As the 2024 fantasy baseball pre-season gains momentum, the excitement is tangible. Last week, we unveiled the top 20 hitters, with Ronald Acuna’s brilliance shining through despite brief injury concerns. Spring training has been nothing short of tantalizing, introducing us to emerging talents such as Wyatt Langford, Spencer Jones, Colton Cowser, and Henry Davis. With drafts commencing, it’s time to shift our focus to the next echelon of hitters, spanning spots 20 to 40. This bracket welcomes a group of burgeoning youth and old veterans, presenting a blend of potential and seasoned reliability. Without further ado, let’s dive into the next edition of unveiling the Top 100 hitters for the 2024 fantasy baseball season.
21. Rafael Devers
22. Luis Robert Jr.
23. Adolis Garcia
24. Gunnar Henderson
25. Elly De La Cruz
This first tier represents those players that really could be seen sitting inside the top 20 as we covered last week. Rafael Devers has been a 30 home run, 100 RBI, .280 hitter for the last five years and 2024 should be no different despite what is a weaker lineup in Boston. Both Robert and Garcia offer a mix of power and speed with a lean towards the power side. Despite teams on opposite sides of 2024 outlooks, there are few players after the first two rounds that deliver the same mixture of skills. Gunnar should see growth in 2024 after a solid 2023 season. Next season could see him going just outside the first round especially if the speed takes a slight step forward. Finally, this tier ends out with Elly De La Cruz who could win or lose leagues. The upside is insane and that has been on display already this spring. Buckle up if you take Elly because it will be a ride.
26. Royce Lewis
27. Randy Arozarena
28. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
29. Adley Rutschman
30. Michael Harris III
31. CJ Abrams
32. Nolan Jones
Royce Lewis ruined his fantasy intrigue late in 2023 by starting his breakout in grand fashion. Being in the top 30 is earned and he looks poised to build on the late season breakout. Whereas most of this tier is full of upside, Arozarena and Guerrero seem to be settling in as high floor options for fantasy owners. Arozarena especially has been amazingly consistent with three straight 20/20 seasons and the Rays are pushing to run more in 2024. Rounding out this tier, Michael Harris gets a bit of a bump as he appears to have finally made it out of the bottom of the Braves lineup. Abrams and Jones look to build upon breakout seasons for middling clubs. Jones seems poised to threaten 30/30 while CJ looks to tackle the 50 steal mark while hoping the Nationals can provide enough counting stats around him.
33. Corey Seager
34. Mike Trout
35. Pete Alonso
36. Jose Altuve
37. Paul Goldschmidt
38. Bo Bichette
39. Cody Bellinger
40. Manny Machado
We round out the last and seemingly old age tier of the top 40 hitters with the first round of years past. Corey Seager sits without a clear timetable to return from offseason core surgery dropping down to fourth round value amid the uncertainty. Trout remains one of the greatest baseball players of all time and has the potential to deliver an impressive stat line akin to 40 homers, 100 RBIs, and a .280 average when healthy. I am glad to take the injury risk at this point in our hitter rankings. Jose Altuve exhibited warning signs in 2023 with significant luck driving his results so buyer beware if you’re expecting another .300 average. Paul Goldschmidt is up in our rankings compared to much of the industry due to an offseason reworking his swing giving hopes of returning to his MVP form. The remaining hitters in this tier have shown they can be true contributors but the risk factors give us pause such as lack of speed with Bichette or an up and down history like Bellinger where even MLB teams seem hesitant to invest.
As we wrap up the top 40 in our second edition unveiling the top 100 hitters for the 2024 season, we look back at a deep class of hitters. Next week, we take on twenty more hitters as the excitement starts to petter out around the top 50, and question marks abound. See you next week drafters!
