May I Interest You in a League Winner?

Earlier this week, some of you joined me on a jaunty little trip down through Fantasy Seasons Past, stopping to admire some of the plucky league winners that never seemed to amount to much afterwards.

From Nolan Jones who burned you the next year to Shed Long who you can only remember fondly, there have been league winning hot hands for as long as there has been fantasy baseball.

This year, shouldn’t you be the one to add the league winning Joe Schmo? Or should I say, “Schwindel”?

In this article, I’ll run through some of the options based on two of the key archetypes for this sort of player: the older prospect with a glaring flaw and no clear playing time concerns (ie. 2024 Mark Vientos) and the post-30 journeyman who, similarly, has a lock on a starting role for the rest of the year, but is unlikely to stick around the following season. 

With this group, I’ll be looking for late-August Tristan Peters dupes. And maybe Tristan Peters himself? In other words, players who can hit five homers in a week, in part because they have some talent, and in part because they aren’t likely to ride pine much over the final month of the season. It pays to play. 

I’ll be focusing on players who most readers are likely able to pick up, so I’ll aim for players rostered in less than 50% of leagues, with an eye on players rostered in far fewer leagues than that. There will be some over-rostered CBS-league players. And for that I almost considered apologizing.

What I will apologize for is including twenty hitters. This is of course more players than you can actually add. But it’s been said that there’s someone for everyone. 

And I think in this instance more than perhaps any other in fantasy baseball, it’s about vibes. 

Read this list, if you’re so inclined. Move into my blurbs to see if any one player piques your interest. And then if an opportunity arises where you need to scramble to replace an injury or drop a scuffling player in an act of desperation, that replacement may just be wading through your subconscious, ready to step up and save your season. 

The 25 and Under Crowd

Joshua Báez: Since his three homer debut, the 23-year-old Báez has struggled to the tune of a 39% K% and .083 AVG in 41 plate appearances. Despite this, the Cardinals continued to run him out there, primarily hitting fifth, until benching him on Wednesday night. But at this point in their season, the Cardinals will likely want to see what they have and play Báez through adversity to see how he reacts. 

He could be Mark Vientos in the long run. And if he has a 2024 Vientos month in September, he could win you your league. The righty slugger has a .505 xSLG and 56% hard hit rate, he just isn’t making much contact when he chases, which he does more than 40% of the time. 

Henry Bolte: At 23 years old, Bolte has officially unseated Lawrence Butler as the centerfielder of the future for the Athletics. Bolte led off 11 straight games heading into Wednesday, hitting .400 with 4 XBH and 13 R+RBI over that stretch. While he’s no longer stealing bases, he has lowered his K%, upped his BB%, and improved his average exit velocity by 2mph over these last 11 games. Looking ahead, the A’s are on the road all of next week, but have six home games in hitter-friendly Sacramento the following week, during the heart of the playoffs. 

Cole Carrigg: A home run on Wednesday night could be just what the 24-year-old centerfielder needed, ending a homerless streak of 24 games where he hit .238. Despite those struggles, the Rockies continued to get him in at the top of the lineup, hitting second or third in all but two of those 24 games. And in lineup-topping fashion, he still stole four bases while slumping. With six games at home next week, followed by three at Yankee stadium, he could be worth a flyer.  

Kaelen Culpepper: Starting Friday, the Twins will begin a stretch of alternating three-game sets against the White Sox and Tigers. At the very least, the rookie shortstop will have a chance to get familiar with these two pitching staffs. Culpepper has demonstrated a strong hit tool, with a .263 xBA and impressive 42.5% launch angle sweet spot rate since debuting. He also boasts a 20% pull air rate. He’s smacked four homers so far, including one Wednesday night, while hitting over .300. Culpepper is a contact-oriented top prospect who’s running hot. Why not? 

Jackson Holliday: For as long as he’s been around, Holliday feels like he could be grouped in with the veterans. But he’s still only 22 years old. And he’s led off for the Orioles in eight straight. While leading off, his strong 12.1% BB% on the season has dropped off to 3.2%, and his K% has fallen from a 22.4% season mark to 9.7%. He’s swinging at everything, but has just a .185 BABIP and .178 wOBA to show for it, despite a .258 xWOBA. The Orioles head to Sacramento this weekend and on to Coors to start next week. There’s worse ways to get hot. 

Pedro Ramírez: Taking advantage of Dansby Swanson’s injury, Ramirez has primarily hit sixth or seventh of late while manning second base full time. Over his last seven games heading into Wednesday, the 22 year old slashed .296/.367/.481 with a .370 xWOBA to match his .370 wOBA. The rookie has demonstrated strong contact skills, with low whiff rates and strikeout rates and hits right behind a stacked Cubs lineup that should continue putting on runners ahead of him.  

Javier Sanoja: The 23-year-old Venezuelan showed what he could do Wednesday night, racking up three steals as part of a three-hit game for the Marlins. The young shortstop is actually in his third season in the majors, and seems to be coming into his own. With a Whiff% and K% in the 98th and 99th percentiles among qualifiers, and a 92nd percentile Squared Up%, Sanoja should continue to rack up hits. And with a Pull Air% above 20%, it would just take a little luck to run into a pair of homers one week while giving you a batting average boost. 

An Older Crowd

Mauricio Dubón: Somehow Dubón is 32 years old. And he’s been a productive regular for the Braves this season, even hitting fourth on Tuesday. After a two-hit effort on Wednesday, he has hits in seven consecutive games and is basically just a more stable version of Sanoja, with a schedule that includes the weak rotations of the Rockies, Giants, and Nationals beginning next week. 

Christian Encarnacion-Strand: He made the Ghosts of League Winners Past list and he makes this one, despite being lost in the wilderness in the interim. He pulls the ball in the air even more than he did in 2023, and it’s helped him smack 7 homers in 111 plate appearances for the O’s this season, with a .546 xSLG. Reminder, he slams the ball. 

Sal Frelick: A bit of a forgotten man in Milwaukee with the emergence of rookie Luis Lara, Frelick returned from the IL and went straight back to leading off for the best team in the majors, smacking three hits, racking up a pair of RBI, scoring a run, and walking on Wednesday. He had a .951 OPS over a 10 game rehab assignment and seems to have no intention of slowing down. 

Mickey Gasper: Now this one just feels right. 30 years old. Catcher. Mustache that just refuses to quit. A name out of the 1950s. A beet-red Savant page. A series against the Yankees on the road coming this weekend. And then the righty-heavy rotations of Seattle and Baltimore, which give way to home games against the hapless Angels and Royals. Come on now. 

Heriberto Hernández: Speaking of electric names, Hernández backs it up with a near-elite hard hit rate and bat speed. At 26 years old, the Marlins are giving him run against both lefties and righties of late, as he hasn’t hit the bench in over a week. With hits in five straight, including two homers, Heri seems to be heating back up at the right time. He’s one of the more under-rostered 20 homer hitters in recent memory. 

Spencer Horwitz: A Ryan O’Hearn stunt double, Horwitz was on track to reach a career-high in plate appearances before hitting the IL. Since returning on August 2, he’s struggled, hitting .141 with a 9 wRC+. But he’s mostly continued to lead off. And he has hits in four straight. When he got hot in May, he hit .326 with 4 HR and 29 R+RBI. Especially important in points leagues, he walked 14 times in May, compared to just nine strikeouts. 

Garrett Mitchell: One of the streakiest of streaky hitters, Mitchell is another Savant darling on this list who has yet to turn it into a full season of success. And he’s just like September heroes of season’s past. He strikes out more than 30% of the time, but he hits rockets. The Brewers have one of the friendliest schedules in September, facing the Cubs and Reds on the road before facing them again on the road to begin the month. 

Mickey Moniak: Skip ahead if you’re in a CBS league, but Moniak is rostered in just 33% of Yahoo leagues. He still plays! And he still hits! He has shown how good he can be when hot. Did I mention he has six games at home next week, followed by three at Yankee stadium? 

Tristan Peters: So he’s homered in five straight. ‘Nuff said? He was an All Star for crying out loud. 

Nick Sogard: I like the random position players that the Red Sox seem to have in spades. Sogard is 28 years old, scorching hot since being reinserted as a regular, and is fighting for playing time with Trevor Story’s potential return looming. Feels like Cinderella before the slipper. 

Tim Tawa: With Ketel Marte drama rocking the boat out in the desert, Tawa has been a steady anchor for the Dbacks. He feels just random enough to be on this list, and he has above average bat speed to go with an above average pull air rate. He’s also slashing .299/.340/.460 since August 1.  

Daulton Varsho: It’s been a lost season for Varsho. After averaging 20 homers per season from 2022-2025, Varsho has just 10 this season. But one of them came on Wednesday night. And he has hits in six straight games, though he’s still hitting below .200 in August. He hits in the heart of the order for the Astros, who are playing for October. Varsho could help them get there. 

Andrew Vaughn: A late-season hero in 2025, Vaughn has a chance to do more of the same this season. Battling injuries and inconsistent playing time to begin the season, the 28-year-old has been playing regularly in August, though he has just one homer to show for his 74 plate appearances. He’ll keep hitting in the top half of the order though. And the Brewers have that juicy aforementioned stretch with six against the lefty-heavy Cubs and six against the weak Reds. Game on.