Fantasy Baseball: Five sleeper hitters for 2019
By Jason Evans
Sometimes players just need to be more comfortable. Last season was not a fun one for Jonathan Schoop. The Baltimore Orioles were a mess, on their way to the worst record in baseball. Manny Machado got dealt and soon after, Jonathan Schoop went to Milwaukee. He played some shortstop, but it didn’t work out for him there either and he found himself non-tendered.
Schoop may have new life in Minnesota after signing a one year deal with the Twins, where he will find himself playing everyday in a lineup that added C.J. Cron and former Oriole Nelson Cruz. This move may help Schoop go back to his 2017 numbers and he could be a fantasy sleeper for your roster at second base next season.
Back in 2017, Schoop had the second most homers (32), had the most RBI (107), was fourth in slugging (.503) and fifth in WRC+ (122) of all second baseman in the game.
Because Schoop was so bad last season, and because he doesn’t play in a big market, Schoop may be there late if you don’t get guys like Jose Altuve or Jose Ramirez to fill second base. You could wait on Schoop late and find yourself getting some nice power production out of second in 2019.