Here's five NL hitters who have been pleasant surprises in fantasy baseball during the first half of 2024 season.
Jurickson Profar OF SD
A perennial Padre of disappointing returns, Jurickson jumped into our fantasy hearts in the first half of 2024 with a startling slash line: .311/.402/.891. Sustainability is suspect due to our pre-2024 notions regarding Profar, however StatCast likes his xOBA and xBA and his keen eye sees dead red: 90th percentile BB% along with a 86th percentile Chase Rate says second half shouldn't crater. 14 home runs and an everyday place in a star-studded lineup indicates that while you could sell high, you shouldn't expect to regret Keeping Jurickson, also the title of a touching man meets dog coming of age story, out in 2025 on Universal Pictures.
Alec Burleson 1B/OF STL
They say Cardinals appear when angels are near. Well, if you rostered Alec Burleson, you've been flying high and blessed through the fantasy sky. Burleson's burly line includes 15 dingers, 7 steals and a nice .282 BA. The StatCast congregation, however, is in rapture with a Hallelujah chorus to confirm Burleson's first half. His Barrel % is cool 7.7% and his Sweet Spot and Hard Hit Rate are similarly low. He plays almost everyday which is good, but his stats have doubled his 2023 output over 315 ABs, so time will tell, which is also the title of Alec Burleson's forthcoming Biopic, Time Will Tell (I miss Tony LaRussa).
Bryce Turang 2B MIL
Vanilla Ice famously suggested "Drop that zero and get with the hero!" This applies to Bryce Turang in two very appropriate ways: one, if you dropped Turang, thinking him a zero who couldn't hit in 2023, then you missed getting with the hero Turang has become in 2024. Two: at top of 2B in the NL, it's Bryce, Bryce baby! How about 29 SBs, 44 runs scored and a .281 BA? As Brewer skipper Pat Murphy said: "Stop. Collaborate and listen" to the new version of Bryce Turnag. Sure, he slaps endlessly to the opposite field like a poor man's Tony Gwynn, but as he gets on base, the steals will continue. His 98th percentile Whiff Rate means the dude won't strikeout much and that's good. Sure StatCast hates him, but honestly isn't StatCast like, so 2023? Turang and his slight frame have come to destroy StatCast and the predictive models of 2023 and prior.
Brenton Doyle OF COL
He was born in the summer of his 26th year
Coming home to play where he'd been before
He left 2023 behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door...
The door opened for Doyle, indeed, 20 SB and 13 HR in 365 PA? Sure in 2023 we saw glimpses with his 22 SB and 10 HR in 400 PAs, but you may want to consider this a Rocky Mountain high for Brenton Doyle. Even StatCast digs Doyle, 10.5% Barrel and 37% Sweet spot pointing to continued peaks for Mile High Doyle. And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high should ensure continued smacking the baseball into gaps and running all day because the Rocky Mountain high (Colorado)...
Matt Chapman 3B SFG
As a Boras boy, Chapman was a late sign, an unsure offensive commodity scooped up by San Fran for his defensive metrics. His bat and legs have come to relative life in 2024, surprising many, including some nimrods who traded him for (zoinks) Trevor Rogers (he pitched well vs STL once, I swear). In any event, Chapman chased 13 baseballs over the fence and chased his way to 9 SBs already, to go along with a healthy 60 runs scored. His StatCast page is red as his ruddy countenance, headlined by a 98th percentile bat speed and a perhaps more predictive 92 MPH average exit velocity which sits in the 90th percentile. Reports of Chapman's demise have been greatly exaggerated. He's a fine 3B to keep through 2024, lock and load, y'all.
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