Christian Bethancourt – C, 1B (23% owned in Yahoo Leagues, 5.9% owned in ESPN Leagues)
I don’t think that anyone would have expected 30-year-old Bethancourt to hit like this, especially after a major league career in which he’s never finished as a league average hitter (wrC+ 100 or greater). But maybe this is his year. In 41 games in 2022, Bethancourt is slashing a clean .268/.308/.447, good for a wrC+ of 120. In his last five starts, he’s 10 for 21, with 3 HRs and 6 total XBHs. His average exit velocity, 91.9 MPH, is the same as one Michael Trout, and would be tied for 25th in the MLB if he had enough ABs to qualify, and his hard-hit percentage, 46.8%, would place him in the top-50. He splits his time between catcher and first base, but if he continues to hit like this, the A’s will find him a permanent lineup spot. He hasn’t had success in his career, so take these 131 PAs with a grain of salt, but stranger breakouts have happened. Plus, he’s a catcher and good hitting catchers are rare.
Ezequiel Duran – 2B, 3B, SS (22% owned in Yahoo Leagues, 4.8% owned in ESPN Leagues)
One of the major pieces of the Joey Gallo trade, Duran made the jump from Double-A to the MLB in 2022, after posting a .317/.365/.574 triple slash. In 9 games so far for the Rangers, Duran is slashing a .325/.341/.525, with a 149 wrC+ in 41 PAs. There are a couple red flags to his profile, though, as he is striking out nearly 27% of the time, while walking a miniscule 2.4%. As well, his BABIP is .407, albeit in an incredibly small sample size, but he’s always been a high BABIP hitter; in only one minor league season was his BABIP below .300. Even still, Duran has more than held his own at the major league level thus far, and has a great power/speed combination, clubbing 19 home runs and stealing 19 bases in 2021 across two minor league levels.
Oneil Cruz – SS (30 % owned in Yahoo Leagues, 6.4% owned in ESPN Leagues)
After going three-for-nine in the MLB in 2021, the 6’7” SS is nearing his return to the big leagues. According to Alex Stumpf of DK Pittsburgh Sports, Cruz is two or three days away from being unable to accrue the necessary service time to reach Super Two status, a designation that would allow him to become eligible for arbitration before reaching three years of service time. In other words, the benefit of keeping Cruz in the minors, the only thing keeping him there, despite what the Pirates might say, no longer applies after this week. While his 2022 minor league stats aren’t that impressive, a .231 BA in 195 ABs, with 9 HR, 11 SB, .769 OPS, 28 BBs, and 54 Ks, he’s hit .309 (25 for 81) with seven home runs and a respectable 18.9 percent strikeout rate in his last 21 games.
The biggest risk in his profile is his high strikeout percentage, but his raw power is otherworldly, posting Aaron Judge-esque exit velocity numbers at SS. Getting called up for Cruz is a when, not an if, and you’d be wise to buy as many shares as possible; he has the potential to provide an immense boost in terms of power at a position that, overall, is severely lacking in it.
Oscar Gonzalez – RF (10% owned in Yahoo Leagues, 5.8% owned in ESPN Leagues)
Since his callup, Gonzalez is slashing .377/.386/.507 in 70 PAs (17 games), and over his last eight games, is slashing .394/.394/.576. He’s yet to hit a home run in the majors, but this is a guy who hit a combined 31 HR in 504 PA at two minor league levels in 2021. As a result, he hasn’t gained much fantasy attention, despite doing more than enough to earn it. He’s proven that he can hit at every level in the minors and has looked far from overmatched thus far in the majors. Once he starts hitting home runs (and he will), he will get picked up fast, so jump on the bandwagon before it’s too late.