I’m a shameless slacker, guys. So when Jeremy Brewer does a sleeper post, I’m gonna do a sleeper post as well. It’s just a good practice. Why work harder when you can work less hard? “These are players who have had partial seasons, late breakouts, or have shown notable skill improvements but haven’t yet made it into the enduring everyday fantasy conversation. Whether they can give your roster a late-season boost or become prime offseason trade targets, these are names that will intrigue you the deeper you dig. Welcome to our early look at hitter sleeper profiles for 2025.” I used the quotes because I stole the words. Anyway, here’s some sleepers for the rest of this year and for next.
Power is the name of Noel’s game, and he’s supplied that in the latter half of the season. He’s had seven dingers in the past 30 days. The pop is legit; evidence cited unlike my stolen quote above is a .563 SLG for his 158 AB on the season. There are a few factors that could be wrapped in a Noel shaped present next year.
- He’s just got that much power: The Guardians famously employ a few low power guys and Noel is a much needed guy who can reach the seats. It’s legit too, he’s been over or around 30 HR in his minors career. Even before his electric debut, his power was rated as a 60 as a prospect. If he can reign in his swing and miss (31.6 strikeout rate, not a good chase rate either) he could tap into his power often.
- Josh Naylor: One thing we know about the Guardians is that they are proactive in dealing their guys away before extending them. Josh Naylor is approaching the last year of his deal. He’s a prime candidate to be traded, and while Kyle Manzardo might get first crack at first base Noel is much needed for that power thing I keep yakking about.
- Draft Noel, especially if Naylor is dealt.
This is a deep league type of play, of course, since when I ran this past my focus group (my dad, basically) he was like “Who?” and that makes sense. Triolo hasn’t done much but has improved over the past 30 days. This is a bet on the plate approach; Triolo has a .367 OBP his past 30 days. His walk rate is in the top quarter of the league, and his chase rate is solid as well. If he can keep this up, and he plays for the Pirates so playing time should be ample, maybe he can get the quality of contact up. Don’t forget about Triolo as late round fliers for next season. This is a guy entering his prime who hit .286 with a .404 OBP in Triple A last season and had similar numbers in AA the previous year. If he can tap back into that profile, we have a useful starter in fantasy leagues.
I’m guilty of it too. If a prospect doesn’t pop right away, I tend to just assume they are what they are. Triolo is another example of this, and one example that should probably be in the previous blurb. Brooks Lee though, don’t forget about that guy. He’s only in his second professional season and already is at the major league level. That’s a good thing. In Triple A, he hit .308 with a .974 OPS. That’s another good thing. It hasn’t translated to major league success as of yet, and of course, a balky back isn’t an ideal condition for a prospect to have.
Sign me up though for a guy who is in the top 20th percentile for squared up baseballs and for sweet spot %. I’ll always gamble on guys who square up the ball on the sweet spot of the bat. While I didn’t in my high school career do it often, I did it enough to know that hitting the sweet spot and squaring it up is a fun way to hit. Lee is a good bet next year to improve and that .234 AVG and .612 OPS could well be the low mark of his career. I’d get him in the later rounds when you miss out on the big names.
There ya have it, three names to keep in mind who have been doing some interesting things recently. I guess Lee isn’t really doing anything interesting but has the pedigree to do that interesting thing of which I speak. And now I should stop writing, as it’s becoming less and less interesting the more I put down on this screen.
Thanks for reading, have a great week!
