Fantasy baseball: Hidden home runs in Miami, St. Louis and Washington

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Home runs have value whether you’re actually playing baseball, as in on a field in a uniform, or if you’re just a dude having fun playing fantasy baseball.

In fantasy baseball, home runs just don’t mean RBI and runs … they also mean total bases. Total bases are a huge factor into whether you win or lose week by week, so just because you may not get extra points for the actual homer, that doesn’t mean they’re not a big deal. If your team is in a homer drought or your roster just isn’t going yard the way you hoped it would after the draft, I have a few names under the radar that just might give your team a boost via the home run.

Let’s take a look and get your fantasy baseball team some dingers.

Jorge Soler, Miami Marlins

I have to admit, as a northeasterner living in Dallas, I’m not spending all that much time following the Miami Marlins. I know they have a history of winning once every 20 years or so then get sold off and stink for many years. Oh, and they have a pool in the bleachers. Well, the pool has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in spring of 2020 and the Marlins don’t exactly stink. When scanning the league to find hidden home runs, I stashed my swim trunks and uncovered a little gem in Miami.

Veteran outfielder Jorge Soler is just one home run away from matching his 2022 total of 13. Soler only played in 46 games last season. Unfortunately, that low number of games played isn’t exactly an outlier in his career. Soler has only played in more than 100 games three times over his 10-year MLB career. In 2015 (101 games), Soler hit 10 homers for a Cubs team that was swept by the Mets in the NLCS. In 2019, over a full 162 games, Soler smashed 48 homers for the Royals. In 2021, he hit 27 homers in a split season between the Royals and eventual World Series champion Braves, including three postseason dingers.

Soler has shown some pop in his career and this month that pop is coming back into form. Soler has seven homers so far in May and 12 total on the season. With three home runs over the past seven days, Soler is heating up and looking to close out the month strong. He’s only batting .241, but has risen that number 21 points thus far in May and he does have 27 RBI for a Marlins team battling the Mets for second place in the NL East and looking to get over the .500 mark.

The Marlins are finishing up a series in Colorado, then head to Dodger Stadium for the holiday weekend before returning home to face the Padres next week. All three teams are middle of the pack in home runs allowed, so there should be opportunities for Soler to add to his monthly home run total and certainly surpass his 2022 numbers.

May 18, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong (11) hits a solo home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports /

Paul DeJong, St Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are feverishly trying to save their season and it’s not even Memorial Day yet. After a very subpar start to the season that included an eight-game skid, St. Louis has rallied in May with both a three- and a four-game winning streak and having won seven of their last 10 games. Now it’s not all ice cream and rainbows for the Cards as they sit at fourth place in the NL Central with a 21-28 record. Fortunately for St Louis, the top teams in the division like the Pirates and Brewers have cooled and injuries have brought the Cubs under the .500 mark, so the Cardinals are still in it, sitting just five games back of the NL Central lead. It’s fitting that a contributor to the turnaround of the Cards’ tumultuous 2023 season has a very up and down career of his own.

If you were to ask me to describe Paul DeJong’s MLB career with a line from a movie, my answer would be a no-brainer. From the 1987 teen rom-com “Can’t Buy Me Love” starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson, I would roll with the phrase, “He went from totally chic to totally geek.” Luckily for DeJong, Dempsey’s character in the film whom the line is directed towards ends up pretty chic in the end (spoiler alert). DeJong had a stud rookie season for St. Louis in 2017, batting .285 with 25 homers in 108 games. It’s been a steady decline since then. The veteran shortstop did hit 30 home runs in 2019, but his average was down to .233. Much like one-hit wonders on the music charts, the hits stopped there. Heading into this season, DeJong hadn’t hit above the infamous Mendoza line (.200) since the shortened 2020 season where he hit .250 in just 45 games and only three home runs.

DeJong started this season in the minor leagues, getting his swing back and working out some lower back issues. After two dud seasons and starting this season in the minors, the Cardinals veteran has been back to stud status since coming back to the big-league club on April 23. A month into his 2023 MLB campaign, DeJong has eight home runs, six this month and four in the past seven days. DeJong is batting a solid .289 with 18 RBI and is a huge reason St. Louis is clawing its way back to relevance and could be a chic pick to snag a Wild Card spot when it’s all said and done.

The Cardinals are in Ohio this week playing the Reds and Guardians then host the Royals back at Busch Stadium next week. The Reds and Royals are in the top 10 of most home runs allowed, so there’s a good chance DeJong’s redemption continues so go grab him off that waiver wire and go watch “Can’t Buy Me Love.” It’s a great 80s flick.

May 16, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Lane Thomas (28) looks on after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports /

Lane Thomas, Washington Nationals

I’m a bit surprised to be writing about another Nationals player, but Luis Garcia isn’t the only player in D.C. worthy of an add to your roster. Unlike whether or not our elected officials will get the debt ceiling in order, there is no question that right fielder Lane Thomas is having a great month and on pace to have the best season of his career.

After a decent start to the season that found him batting .260 with zero homers heading into May, Thomas has jumped his batting average 30 points over the past few weeks and, more importantly, as it pertains to here, has six homers in May and two in the past week. On the season, Thomas is hitting .290 along with the six homers and 23 RBI. Thomas leads the Nationals in home runs and RBI and is second on the team in batting average and the all-important total bases.

The six-year veteran is certainly being aggressive at the plate. Four of his six home runs have come early in the count. One was off the first pitch in the at-bat while two have come down 0-1 and another with the count 1-2. Safe to say Thomas’ approach at the plate this month is “down but not out.” Additionally, four of his homers have come as the leadoff hitter.

The Nationals are still in last place in the NL East, but if Thomas can remain hot and get Washington out to early leads from that leadoff spot maybe, just maybe, they can leapfrog Philly in the standings.

The Nationals finish up a series at home versus the Padres before heading to Kansas City for the holiday weekend then hit Dodger Stadium next week. With the Royals on the schedule, there’s certainly an opportunity for Thomas to add a few dingers. As for the debt ceiling … yikes.

Good luck out there!

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