Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2022: Best sleepers from proven model that nailed Franmil Reyes’ big year

As Fantasy baseball players across the country immerse themselves in 2022 Fantasy baseball draft prep, having a reliable set of 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings continues to be the best way to put yourself in a position to succeed in season-long Fantasy baseball. Juan Soto has a 2022 Fantasy baseball ADP of 2.57 in standard CBS Sports Fantasy baseball leagues, but there are several others players worth considering if you have the top overall pick like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. Getting those early picks right is crucial, but building a deep roster is also key to surviving a six-month season.

Finding potential 2022 Fantasy baseball sleepers who can outperform their average draft position can ensure that you’ve got plenty of options for your Fantasy baseball lineups. So who is being undervalued this season, and when exactly should you be pouncing to maximize the value of every Fantasy baseball pick? Before going on the clock, be sure to see the 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Last season, SportsLine’s Projection Model identified several top Fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts, including Guardians designated hitter Franmil Reyes.

Reyes had a 2021 Fantasy baseball ADP outside the top 200 but the model predicted that he’d outperform that draft position. The result: Reyes hit 30 home runs and drove in 85 in 115 games for Cleveland and slashed .254/.324/.522 for an OPS+ of 127. Anybody who followed its advice and picked up Reyes late in their Fantasy baseball drafts received a huge power boost in their Fantasy baseball lineups.

The SportsLine model is engineered by the same people who powered projections for all three major Fantasy sites. And that same group is sharing its 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings and cheat sheets over at SportsLine, helping you find Fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts and busts long before your competition. Their cheat sheets, available for leagues on many major sites, are updated multiple times every day.

Any time more MLB news comes out about the updated 2022 MLB schedule, free agency signings or Fantasy baseball injuries, the team at SportsLine updates its projections. Go to SportsLine now to see these proven Fantasy baseball cheat sheets.

Top 2022 Fantasy baseball sleepers

One of the 2022 Fantasy baseball sleepers the model is projecting: Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford. The 35-year-old is coming off a career-year offensively in his 11th MLB season and it was largely the result of some approach changes that seemed to begin during the shortened 2020 season. After posting an OPS+ at or below league average (100) from 2017-2019, Crawford started generating more lift and saw his OPS+ climb to 115 in 2020 and then 141 last season.

After hitting the ball on the ground 48.6 percent of the time during one of the worst seasons of his career in 2019, he slashed that rate to 40.2 percent in 2021 and saw his fly ball rate improve from 18.9 percent to 28.7 percent. That helped him take fuller advantage of the above-average power he’s always had and he hit a career-high 24 home runs. He also set new career-highs in RBIs (90), steals (11), average (.298), OBP (.373) and slugging (.522). However, he’s still coming off the board in the 14th round on average. The model predicts he’ll outperform contemporaries like Wander Franco and Carlos Correa, who are being drafted at least five rounds earlier on average.

SportsLine’s Fantasy baseball rankings 2022 are also high on Reyes as a sleeper again. At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Reyes is one of the most imposing hitters in baseball and he predictably generates massive power with that swing. Last season, Reyes was in the 89th percentile of MLB hitters in average exit velocity (92.0) and the 94th percentile in max exit velocity (114.9).

And because he improved his fly-ball rate from 19.7 percent to 25.0 percent from 2021 to 2022, he was able to capitalize on that power and raise his slugging percentage by 72 points (.450 to .522). Reyes his 30 home runs and drove in a career-high 85 runs, and he’ll be in line for more at-bats with the universal DH rule taking effect and keeping Reyes from losing at-bats during interleague play. That’s a big reason why the model ranks Reyes ahead of Yordan Alvarez and Shohei Ohtani (hitter), who are being drafted at least seven rounds earlier on average.

How to find proven 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings

SportsLine is also high on a surprising starting pitcher who lands in the top five of its positional rankings. This player is barely going off the board in the top 100 picks, but is projected to outperform starters such as Julio Urias, Max Scherzer and Lucas Giolito. This pick could be the difference in winning your league or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.

So which 2022 Fantasy sleepers should you target in your upcoming drafts? Visit SportsLine now to get 2022 Fantasy baseball rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Franmil Reyes’ big season, and find out.