We all go into our fantasy drafts with the goal of finding players who can contribute across the board. The idea of building a well-balanced team to help you climb the ranks of your roto, points or head-to-head fantasy leagues. As we get deeper in the drafts however there are fewer and fewer players who contribute across the board but that does not mean all is lost. There are plenty of players who can offer above average to even top end production in singular categories. Identifying these players will help you round out your roster and add some insurance if you find you are lacking in a category as the draft goes on.

Home Runs

Disclaimer - Everybody hit 30 home runs last year, so while the player pool here is large, below are some players you can get late in your drafts.

Randal Grichuk , OF TOR - With a current ADP of 306.4, Grichuk can be found in the final rounds of your draft. We saw Grichuk hit a career-high 31 home runs in 2019 after playing a career best 151 games. The power here is no fluke either as the 28-year old outfielder has hit 25, 22 and 24 home runs over the three prior seasons while never playing more than 132 games. He will never be a player you will count on for average, OBP or OPS but given an everyday role with his power upside I think it would not be a shock to see another 30-homer campaign with an RBI total between 80 and 90.

C.J. Cron 1B DET – We knew the power was there with Cron when he came up with the Angels but it took him getting regular playing time with the Rays for it to come to a head in 2018 when he launched 30 home runs over 140 games. Last season he went to Minnesota and hit 25 home runs over 125 games, which meant if not for injury he was clearly on pace for a 30-plus home run season. In fact, over the past two seasons, his 162 game average puts him at 34 home runs a year. He is going to get everyday at bats with the Tigers this season as their starting first baseman which should bode well for this year’s power numbers. Right now Cron has an average ADP of 327.8.

Paul DeJong , SS STL - Going earlier in drafts than the two players listed above, deJong has an average ADP of 203.2, which is good for the 16th round of 12-team standard leagues. Like everybody else across the MLB, we saw deJong hit 30 home runs in 2019. We always knew the power was there with deJong but the two prior seasons he only managed to play 115 and 108 games. In 2019 he played 159 games. With good health in 2020, it would not stun me to see him approach the 30-homer plateau once more.

Stolen Bases

Byron Buxton , OF MIN – Ok, so I wrote about Buxton here last year and it sort of flopped. I say sort of because he was hurt and played just 87 games but in those 87 games he did manage 14 stolen bases while getting caught just three times. At this point, it’s a long shot that Buxton ever becomes the player he was touted to be but he is still just 26 years old and IF he can manage to stay on the field there is 25-plus stolen base upside here. Buxton has an average ADP of 174.8 so far this draft season.

Mallex Smith , OF SEA - Ok, so I know this article is titled “Overlooked Category Contributors” so adding Smith here doesn’t exactly fit since he led baseball in stolen bases in 2019 with 46. That said,  he did so while hitting just .227 and while playing in only 134 games. The speed is no joke as he swiped 40 bags for the Rays the season prior. The question here is really about the batting average because in 2018 we saw Smith hit .296 so why was there a 70-point drop in 2019? The most noticeable issue between the two seasons comes with his BABIP which sat at .366 in 2018 only to drop to .302 in 2019. If Smith gets better ball luck in 2020 then another year at the top of the stolen base charts should be in order. Currently Smith has an ADP of 167.4.

Batting Average

Wilson Ramos , C NYM-  Ramos is a strong hitter and if you aren’t drafting up for one of the top tier options, there is likely not a better value catcher to snag. Currently owning an ADP of 181.6, Ramos has hit .288, .306, .260 and .307 over the last four seasons. He also provides some home run upside as well which tends to lack from the catcher position. If you wait on your catcher then make sure you do not miss snagging Ramos in round 15 of 12-team standard leagues.

Jean Segura , SS PHI - Is he a sexy name? No, not really, but over the last four seasons he has hit .319, .300, .304 and .280 while also providing double-digit stolen bases and home run totals in each. Segura has never been able to repeat his breakout 2016 campaign but he is as solid as they come and can be had for a 15th-16th round pick in 12-team leagues.

Strikeouts

Caleb Smith , SP MIA - We don’t have a huge sample size for Smith but over the last two seasons he has totaled 256 strikeouts over 230.2 innings for a 10.0 K/9. Injuries have been a problem and so has been the control at times for Smith. If he can stay healthy and be slightly more efficient in 2020 we may see him approach the 200 strikeout mark. He definitely has the stuff to get there. Smith can be had as a late round flier, going in the 19th round of 12-team standard leagues.

Andrew Heaney , SP LAA - It wasn’t a great season for Heaney as he began the season on the IL with an elbow injury and ended up making just 18 starts for the Angels in 2019. Over those 18 starts he went just 4-6 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Not exactly the most ideal. However, if looking for strikeouts, we are in luck as Heaney has averaged a 9.7 K/9 mark over his last two seasons with last year’s mark sitting at 11.1. Heaney has an average ADP of 204.8 right now and is worth a late round pick.