Last season, Joey Gallo was the rare example of a player that checked multiple boxes as a Fantasy baseball breakout and bust all in the span of one year. Following a COVID-shortened 2020 season, in which he managed to hit 10 home runs for the Texas Rangers, he hit 24 homers in the first half of 2021 and made an All-Star appearance before being traded to the New York Yankees and disappearing on offense. A reliable set of 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings will help you pick players that will provide a full season of production and help you win your league.
Gallo was considered a top acquisition by New York ahead of the trade deadline, but saw a tremendous drop in his batting average on balls put in play (.275 down to .193) and a significant increase in strikeout rate (32.2 to 38.6 percent). Make sure the power hitters you target in your 2022 Fantasy baseball draft prep are equipped to keep up their production all season. Before going on the clock in any last-minute Fantasy baseball drafts, be sure to see the Fantasy baseball rankings 2022 and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Last season, SportsLine's Projection Model identified several top Fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts, including reliever Brad Hand.
The team at SportsLine was all over Hand as a Fantasy bust from the start, and he went on to lose his job as a closer as he bounced around between three teams. He had a disastrous 7.57 ERA in a stint with the Blue Jays later in the season. Their model had him listed much lower than expert consensus rankings, and anyone who listened to their advice avoided a major speed bump that could have derailed their season.
Their model is powered by the same people who powered projections for all three major Fantasy sites. And that same group is sharing its 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings and cheat sheets over at SportsLine, helping you find Fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts long before your competition. Their cheat sheets, available for leagues on many major sites, are updated multiple times every day.
Any time more MLB news comes out about the updated 2022 MLB schedule or Fantasy baseball injuries, the team at SportsLine updates its projections. Go to SportsLine now to see these proven Fantasy baseball cheat sheets.
Top 2022 Fantasy baseball sleepers
One of the 2022 Fantasy baseball sleepers the model is all over: Dodgers closer Craig Kimbrel. The 33-year-old has 372 career saves entering his 13th season in Major League Baseball and he'll be back in a closing role with the Dodgers after closing out the year as a setup man with the White Sox in 2021. Kimbrel struggled pitching outside of save situations for the White Sox, posting a 5.09 ERA in 23 innings after posting a 0.49 ERA with 64 strikeouts over 36 2/3 innings as the closer for the Cubs earlier in the season.
With a surplus of high-leverage relievers on the South Side, the White Sox elected to trade Kimbrel straight up for A.J. Pollock late last week and now Kimbrel finds himself in an ideal situation with a team that has made it to at least the NLCS in five of the last six seasons. Kimbrel still has explosive stuff with a fastball that sits comfortably in the high-90s and a wipeout curveball that generated a staggering 59.3 percent whiff rate in 2021. That's why the model ranks him ahead of closers like Ryan Pressly and Liam Hendriks, who are being drafted at least two rounds earlier on average.
Top 2022 Fantasy baseball breakouts
One of the 2022 Fantasy baseball breakouts the model is all over: Rangers closer Joe Barlow. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut last season and was almost immediately thrown into the fire as the closer in Texas, finishing the season with 11 saves while posting a 2.79 ERA and striking out 27 batters over 29 innings. Now he'll enter the 2022 season with the closing role locked up and he's just scratching the surface of his true potential as a high-leverage, power arm out of the bullpen.
Barlow struck out 306 batters over 214 2/3 innings in the minors and with a dynamic slider, he should be a much larger strikeout threat as he gets more comfortable in the big leagues. Barlow's slider generated a 35.7 percent whiff rate last season and opponents slugged just .095 against the pitch. SportsLine's model is expecting to see his strikeout numbers jump in 2022 and that's a big reason why it ranks him ahead of closers like Edwin Diaz and Raisel Iglesias, who are being drafted five rounds earlier on average.
Top 2022 Fantasy baseball busts
As for players to avoid, the model has pinpointed Toronto outfielder Teoscar Hernandez as one of its biggest 2022 Fantasy baseball busts. After an All-Star season that ended with a stake in the American League MVP voting, he is due for a step backwards this year.
In his 193 games between 2020 and 2021, he had batting splits of .295/.345/.538, but in the two seasons before that with Toronto, those figures were just .235/.304/.470 over a 259-game span. Despite his uptick in overall production, his home run, walk and hard-hit ball rate all dropped in 2021, and he is hitting just .192 with 10 strikeouts in 26 at bats through his first nine spring training games. He's trending down, and the model predicts players like Mitch Haniger, Avisail Garcia and Mike Yastrzemski all offer better value at their current average draft positions than Hernandez.
How to find proven 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings
SportsLine is also high on a surprising starting pitcher who lands in the top five of its positional rankings. This player is barely going off the board in the top 100 picks, but is projected to outperform starters such as Julio Urias, Max Scherzer and Lucas Giolito. This pick could be the difference in winning your league or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.
So which 2022 Fantasy baseball busts, breakouts, and sleepers should you target or fade in your drafts? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Brad Hand's disappointing season, and find out.
