Gold Digging: Building a Team After Pick-300 Pt. 2

Pardon my delay in getting Part 2 of this article out, but I became extremely sick on Tuesday night and it completely cooked the rest of my week. I’m still not at 100% but at least I’ve been able to get out of bed and do some things before crashing back out for another few hours. My body couldn’t get sick in November-December?! January-February is quite literally the worst time for me to be out of commission for days at a time! At any rate, let’s dive back into our hitters and finish up the lineup. Just to refresh if you forgot from Part 1 or didn’t read Part 1, we’re picking our favorite hitters after pick-300. Next week, we’ll do pitchers.
Shortstop
Jacob Wilson윌슨 | OAK – 347 ADP
The #6 overall pick from 2023 debuted right out of the All-Star break and even got a hit in first MLB plate appearance only to suffer a hamstring strain in the 4th inning of that game and ended up missing a month-plus on the IL. Upon returning, he didn’t really stand out with just a .615 OPS, 0 HR/SB in 102 PA. The one positive takeaway was his plate approach: 10% K, 8% BB. Over the course of a full season, I like him for way better than the .250 AVG we saw in his debut. The projections agree, ranging from .269 to .287, so that will be the draw of Wilson as neither the power nor the speed are particularly special.
It can be nerve-wracking to bet on AVG-only players but that’s where the cheap draft price comes into play. Finding an AVG asset late isn’t easy and it usually ends up being kinda empty which is definitely the case with Wilson as we’re probably looking at 6-9 HR/SB. He fits best on a team loaded with power and speed in need of AVG, otherwise he’s the kind of guy you slot in for 2-3 weeks at a time to fill in for an injury and hope you catch a hot streak on the AVG.
Also consider: Brooks Lee | MIN – 381 ADP
More pop and less AVG than Wilson, Lee is penciled into the 2B role for the Twins right now though he’ll likely still have to win the job in Spring Training. I’m not too worried about his uninspiring 50-game debut (62 wRC+, 3 HR/SB) as a .243 BABIP and 5% HR/FB rate weren’t doing him any favors. Instead, I believe the 2-time Top 50 prospect can leverage his solid across the board skillset to be a quality stat accumulator if he does indeed win that job.
Third Base
José Tena | WAS – 397 ADP
Tena was part of the Lane Thomas deal last summer and didn’t do a ton in his 41-game debut with his new club (87 wRC+), but his 3 HR/6 SB was a 12/24 full season pace and a .348 BABIP helped him to a solid .278 AVG. At Triple-A, he hit .287/.344/.480 with 18 HR and 15 SB in 100 games. He packs a punch, has some speed, and should have a real opportunity to lock in the 3B job for the Nationals. His plate skills do leave something to be desired as he strikes out too much and doesn’t walk all that often. That will put some extra burden on his BABIP to maintain a useful AVG, but I’d gladly take a .255 AVG and mid-teens HRs and SBs from the 24-year-old. If he logs 500+ PA, he could be similar to this year’s Josh Smith (.258/13 HR/11 SB).
Also consider: Noelvi Marte | CIN – 355 ADP
A PED suspension and horrendous 66-game sample (46 wRC+) have drastically changed the outlook on Marte coming into this season so this a legit buy-low. He doesn’t even have a direct path to playing time right now but that’s part of why his ADP is well outside the Top 300. The 23-year-old didn’t just lose all his premium potential because of one bad season. With his playing time up in the air… or maybe not even up in the air, but rather almost certainly ticketed for Triple-A to start the season barring a major change in Spring Training, the league types where you draft Marte should be limited to those where you can reasonably stash someone. I don’t like to pile up too many minor leaguers in Draft Champions leagues but I’ll usually snag 1-2 and Marte can still hit big this year.
Outfield
Jonny DeLuca | TBR – 390 ADP
DeLuca showed some category juice in his 107-game sample with the Rays (6 HR/16 SB) but it was obscured by an absolutely awful slash line (.217/.278/.331). He did close on a higher note with a .706 OPS in his last 50 games, but I’d be remiss if I ignored just how punchless his bat was last year. Every one of his Batting categories on StatCast is blue so I don’t see a huge power output without some major improvements there. Speed is the draw here. A 98th percentile Sprint Speed and 22 SB attempts in his 362 PA makes him a credible threat for 25+ SBs in a full season. I’d even take a sub-double-digit HR output if he could push the AVG into the .260 with all that speed. With Jose Siri traded, he has a shot at the full-time CF role which is enough for me to take a shot and see where he lands in 2025.
Also consider: Jhonkensy Noel | CLE – 450 ADP
This is pretty much the direct opposite of DeLuca with a pure power masher in Noel. He needed just 198 PA to hit 13 HRs last year, but they did come with just a .218 AVG. This isn’t a new or terribly unique profile, but these power guys can deliver pockets of value across a long season. He is currently penciled in for a short-side platoon role which limits him to only the deepest leagues right now, but he’s the first man up if a corner outfield spot of the DH role opens up. He also has the coolest nickname in baseball right now: Big Christmas.
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NEXT UP: Pitchers
Joey Ortiz falls just inside the Top 300. If he had qualified, would you have picked him in either the SS or 3B spot? I’m bullish for him to be a 15/15 guy with upside and pretty safe PT floor, considering his brutal July may have been tied specifically to a neck injury, but maybe I’m too optimistic.