Chicks dig the long ball, and so do our fantasy teams! There are a few guys out there in free agency of your fantasy leagues that can certainly help add a few tallies in that statistical column. Regardless of what team these players are on, there is definitely value in the players below. Not every good home run hitter is in a great park, a la Khris Davis . Not every good home run hitter is on a great team, a la Giancarlo Stanton in Miami in recent years. Just crunch the numbers, and you’ll find your guys. Luckily, I did it for you.

Without further ado…..

Kevin Cron , 1B ARI – If Cron would qualify, his average exit velocity of 93.6 miles per hour would be the fifth highest in baseball, trailing only Joey Gallo , Nelson Cruz , Josh Bell and Christian Yelich . Ever heard of those guys? They are sluggers! That’s what Cron is. Since 2015, he’s hit 20 or more home runs at every stop, and he has six extra-base hits (2 home runs) with the Diamondbacks this season. Strikeouts are going to be a cause of concern but he is barreling up baseballs at an astronomical rate. He already has more barrels than Brett Gardner , Jeff McNeil , Kyle Seager and Daniel Murphy ! He is starting to garner some buzz, and his ownership will slowly continue to rise. Make sure you jump in the waters before it is too late.

Travis d’Arnaud, C TB – Compare the players below, and see if you can guess who the players are:

Player

Launch Angle

Avg. Exit Velo

Barrels/PA %

Player A

14.1

88.9

7.8

Player B

14.4

88.3

7.6

Player C

13.6

92.5

7.4

Player D

15.3

88.6

7.3


Player A is Clint Frazier .

Player B is d’Arnaud.

Player C is Matt Chapman .

Player D is Max Muncy .

The Statcast numbers, courtesy of Baseball Savant, aren’t as far off for d’Arnaud as some other reputable sluggers around Major League Baseball. There is one thing that d’Arnaud has that the others don’t that makes him extremely attractive in deeper fantasy setups. Yes, that beloved catcher eligibility. He’s also messing around at other positions, notably first base and even the corner outfield spots, so he could become really useful in terms of lineup versatility and flexibility. Since joining the division-leading Rays, he’s making hard contact on a regular basis and trading ground balls for fly balls, and of course, we love that! He’s not the sexiest addition, but if he garners some other positions to his repertoire, he becomes an incredibly valuable fantasy asset.

Chance Sisco , C BAL – Since joining the big league club, Sisco has only made soft contact 10 percent of the time, which is solid. However, he’s been a bit of a worm-killer, hitting a groundball half of the time, and nearly two and a half of them to every one fly ball, per Fangraphs. However, he has a favorable home park that ranks in the top five in MLB in home runs, per ESPN’s MLB Park Factors. There are plenty of hitter-friendly ballparks in the AL East and at this point of the fantasy season, finding catchers that can make a legitimate difference are few and far between. He was a career .305 hitter in the minors with 38 home runs in 537 games, and before getting a call to the Orioles, he had 10 home runs in just 44 games. Add Sisco.

Cavan Biggio , 2B TOR – Biggio has just one home run on his big league ledger to date, but there’s plenty more coming don’t you worry. He did swat 26 round-trippers in 132 games last season at the Double-A level, and hit six in just 43 games before getting the call to the big league club. He’s done an exceptional job staying in the strike zone at the big league level, and even has two stolen bases to boot. However, what he’s done over the last two or so weeks has been nothing short of above average, and forecasts some power potential moving forward.

Do you know how many players in Major League Baseball have a hard contact rate of at least 55 percent and a combined line drive and fly ball rate over 75 percent? There are three.

Mike Trout . Max Muncy . Biggio. See the numbers below, courtesy of Fangraphs.

Name

Team

LD%

FB%

LD+FB

Hard%

Mike Trout

Angels

43.30%

50.00%

93.30%

56.70%

Max Muncy

Dodgers

33.30%

48.10%

81.40%

59.30%

Cavan Biggio

Blue Jays

27.80%

50.00%

77.80%

55.60%


Buy into Biggio while you still can.

Garrett Cooper , OF MIA – Cooper has three multi-hit efforts in his last 10 contests, not to mention three home runs and a.395 batting average during that span. Despite not being a prolific power hitter throughout his minor league career, aside from a productive stint in Triple-A in 2017, Cooper has been more of a contact hitter. However, since joining the Marlins, he’s been making hard contact and slowly deviating away from his ground ball tendencies. In 14 games with the Marlins last season, he posted a 66.7 percent ground ball rate. In 2019 thus far, that mark is down to 54.2 percent. Yes, it’s still too high, but it’s progress for the 28-year-old first baseman and corner outfielder.

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Lastly, his barrel rate is way up and that’s what we want to see! As he continues to develop in his role with the team, maintaining the hard contact and trading grounders for fly balls will be key to continuing adding tallies to that home run column.