When it comes to your 2023 fantasy baseball draft prep it’s always a good idea to jump into some fantasy baseball mock drafts so you can get a sense of the ADP and tier ranges that you can find certain players and positions. As you get later into your fantasy baseball drafts you will find that this is where the fantasy baseball player rankings and projections can help paint a clearer picture of where to go based on the needs of your team and your roster construction at this point. So, with that said, let us dive into some late-round ADP targets for your fantasy baseball roster.

 

Late-Round ADP Hitters

Justin Turner, 3B Boston Red Sox 

While the Red Sox lineup certainly took a bit of a hit this offseason by losing Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez to free agency and Trevor Story to injury, they did add some offensive talent as well by the way of former Dodgers infielder Justin Turner. Turner figures to primarily play DH for the Red Sox and should hit in the middle of the Boston lineup. For the Dodgers last season Turner appeared in 128 games and hit .278 with 13 home runs, 81 RBI, and an OPS of .788. His placement in the Red Sox lineup, along with the improved hitting environment of the A.L. East and the veteran infielder should top 20 homers and provide a decent batting average for those looking to fill out their corner infield spot late in drafts. Right now Turner’s ADP sits at 242.75 for the month of February per NFC ADP data. 

Joey Meneses, 1B/OF Washington Nationals

Was the power for real? Meneses hit 13 home runs in 56 games for the Nationals to close out the 2022 season. He also added a .324 batting average and an OPS of .930. Meneses's .324 batting average was aided by a .371 BABIP but he also had a near 40% hard-contact rate. His strikeout percentages weren’t outlandish and outside of the BABIP, none of his 2022 statistics scream any sort of real regression. The issue here is really just the age, as Meneses is 30 years old and was a career minor leaguer. If he stays in the lineup I think we see 25 home runs here with a batting average that likely drops into the mid-.250s range with a normalized BABIP but as long as he keeps hitting the ball hard and not striking out at an astronomical level there is going to be some value here from a player going around pick 193.

Kolten Wong, 2B Seattle Mariners

Wong was traded to the Mariners this offseason from the Brewers for Abraham Toro and Jesse Winker. We figure Wong to be in the starting lineup most days for the Mariners though he could sit against left-handed pitching. That said, he’s shown both a double-digit home run and stolen base potential over the past two seasons and while a move from the NL Central to the AL West is hardly an upgrade for his offensive potential, the idea that there will be more stolen bases this season should allow for some increased upside here for the veteran infielder. As we get later into these fantasy baseball drafts, finding a player that could be a 10 home run - 20 stolen base guy is as solid as it gets and he can be had in Round 23 right now. 

Adalberto Mondesi, SS/2B Boston Red Sox

We all love the potential, don’t we? In 102 games during the 2019 season, we saw Mondesi swipe 43 bases with 10 triples, nine home runs, and a reasonable .263 batting average. The issue is that the 102 games are the most he has ever played in a season. Last year he saw just 15 games due to a season-ending injury and the year prior was only 35 games. In a year where we expect to see an uptick in stolen base numbers, there is a case to be made that Mondesi could be among the league leaders if he could only stay on the actual baseball field. The Red Sox will certainly give him a shot to do so given their current infield situationship after Xander Bogaerts left in free agency and Trevor Story went down with an injury that will cost him most if not all of the 2023 season. Mondesi is an absolute dart throw that likely goes ignored because of how often he has burned fantasy managers in the past but he can be had with one of the last picks in your fantasy baseball draft. 

Vaughn Grissom, SS Atlanta Braves

The Braves rookie made the jump from Double-A last season and hit .291 with five home runs and five stolen bases over 41 games played. At the High-A level last season, he hit 11 home runs with 20 stolen bases over 74 games which prompted his quick escalation through the Braves system. After a hot start, we did see Grissom regress a bit as the league started to make adjustments but he finds himself set to take on an everyday role in this potent Atlanta offense while providing some home run and stolen base potential. His batting average last season was aided by a .350 BABIP that will certainly go down but he had a high BABIP throughout his short minor league career thanks to his contact rates. As a rookie his strikeout rate was reasonable and he showed much better plate discipline at the minor league level that we do anticipate that to translate as he gets more comfortable against big-league pitching. Somewhere in the range of 10-to-15 home runs and 15-to-20 stolen bases doesn’t seem all that unreasonable this year if he was to play a full season and his skillset translates from the minors. 

Jesse Winker, OF Milwaukee Brewers

One year in Seattle was enough for the Mariners as they shipped Winker off to the Brewers in a deal for Kolten Wong. This is actually great news for Winker as he returns to the NL Central where he torched opposing pitching in 2021 for a career-best 24 home runs and an OPS of .949. Now, Winker benefitted from playing his home games in the Great American Ballpark during that season but his career numbers in Miller Park are INSANE.  In 32 career games in Miller Park, Winker is hitting .344 with an OPS of 1.032. If he can regain his form in a now better hitting environment then he could be a late-round steal for your lineups that is going in Round 21.

Check out the FREE Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings for More Late Round Hitters
 

Late-Round ADP Pitchers

Jordan Montgomery, SP St. Louis Cardinals

Yankee fans were stunned during the trade deadline last season when the team shipped off lefty Jordan Montgomery in a deal for outfielder Harrison Bader. It got worse for Yankee fans when they saw the type of season Montgomery would go on to have for his new team while Bader remained on the injured list. Prior to the trade deadline, Montgomery was 3-3 with a 3.69 ERA over 21 starts for the Yankees, nothing spectacular but certainly solid enough to be in the Yankees rotation that was dealing with inconsistencies. Then he was dealt to the Cardinals and in 11 starts for St. Louis Montgomery went 6-3 with a 3.11 ERA. In his home games, he was even better for the Cardinals, going 5-2 over nine starts with a 2.84 ERA and a K/9 of 9.1. So, we enter the 2023 season with Montgomery firmly in the Cardinals rotation and he should be a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter on a week-to-week basis with what could be pretty elite home/road splits for those who are looking to stream or spot start pitchers in their fantasy baseball lineups. Montgomery right now is going off the board in Round 15.

Lucas Giolito, SP Chicago White Sox

2022 was a tough season for Giolito as he posted a 4.90 ERA, which is his worst mark since 2018. That said, he was also a victim of some bad luck as hitters had a .340 BABIP. Despite the 4.90 ERA he posted a solid 9.85 K/9 and his xERA (4.23), FIP (4.06), and xFIP (3.66) were all much better than his ERA which gives us some hope that with some better batted ball luck in 2023 that we may see his numbers look closer to what they were in 2021 than in 2022. Giolito is still an elite strikeout upside pitcher and you can find him in Round 13 right now.

Nathan Eovaldi, SP Texas Rangers

I’m not quite sure why we are so low on Eovaldi, sure the veteran pitcher dealt with some health issues last season that limited him to just 20 starts for the Red Sox but when on the mound he has been as solid as they come.  Eovaldi also now gets both a ballpark and division upgrade as he moves out of the A.L. East with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Orioles and trades that in for a division with the A’s, Angels, Mariners and Astros. Eovaldi has been a near strikeout-per-inning pitcher during his four years with the Red Sox and has posted an xFIP under 3.50 for three straight seasons. Currently going in Round 20, Eovaldi is a late-round target for all of my fantasy baseball rosters. 

Check out the FREE Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings for More Late Round Pitchers

 

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