Fantasy Baseball Bounceback Hitter Candidates: Carlos Correa, Willy Adames, Paul Goldschmidt, Dansby Swanson, J.T. Realmuto and More

Discussing some MLB hitters who had down seasons in 2023, making them bounceback candidates for 2024

While the MLB season can be a long one, there’s players who have uncharacteristically down seasons every year. Today, I wanted to look at some of those players from the 2023 season. These are players I believe are capable of bounceback seasons.

We’ll focus on hitters only in this story, and then take a look at pitchers in another article.

It’d be easy enough to just find all the players who were injured for a good portion of the 2023 season, because more games played typically means better numbers across the board. I want to focus on players who played most of the season and just didn’t live up to their standards though.

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Hunter Renfroe Fantasy Outlook

Renfroe played in 140 games between the Los Angeles Angels and Cincinnati Reds last season. 

His combined .233 average was only slightly below his .239 career average, but his power numbers were down. Renfroe had 29 homers and 72 RBIs across just 125 games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022, so to only have 20 combined homers and 60 RBIs across 140 games is a bit underwhelming. He had 31 homers and 96 RBis with the Boston Red Sox in 2021.

Renfroe isn’t projected to hit in the heart of the Kansas City Royals’ lineup this season, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t club 30 homers over the course of the season.

Jose Abreu Fantasy Outlook

Abreu’s production fell off a cliff in 2023. Yes, he played in 141 games compared to 157 the season before, but a bunch of numbers dropped off significantly. 

While Abreu hit more homers (18-15) and drove in more runs (90-75) than in 2022, his average dropped a whopping 67 points, while his on-base percentage was down 82 points.

If Abreu can get his average closer to his career .286 mark for an average, his home runs and RBIs should only go up, and then he’ll also score a bunch more runs.

Carlos Correa Fantasy Outlook

Correa played in 135 games in 2023, which was only one less than in 2022, but his numbers were worse pretty much across the board in 2023.

Correa’s average fell 61 points, while his OBP was down 54 points. He hit four less homers and scored 10 less times.

If Correa could even get close to his career .272 average this season, he could get close to matching one of his best seasons with the Astros (.279 average, 26 homers, 92 RBIs, 104 runs scored).

Andres Gimenez Fantasy Outlook

Gimenez hit .297 across 146 games in 2022, but dipped down to .251 across 153 games in 2023. His homer and RBI marks both fell a bit as a result.

Gimenez wasn’t a huge home run threat anyways, so without the high average, his value as a fantasy player took a big hit. He’s a career .264 hitter, so maybe 2022 was an outlier, but even an increase to that average would make him a much better fantasy asset.

He might have position eligibility at second and shortstop, so that’s another plus if you want to roster Gimenez and hope for a bounceback season.

Ty France Fantasy Outlook

France saw his homers and RBIs drop in 2023, and much of that was because of a 24-point decrease in his average. 

He’s projected to hit near the bottom of the Seattle lineup in 2024, so even with an increase closer to his .270 career average, his RBI numbers could remain fairly low. France should be a pretty easily acquirable asset after his down year, so if you believe his numbers will rebound a touch and could use a backup 1B, France is still a good option.

Alejandro Kirk Fantasy Outlook

Kirk saw his average drop 35 points in 2023, and his homers (down six), runs (down 25) and RBIs (down 20) also took dives as a result.

His 2022 season looks like a bit of an outlier at this point, but I still think Kirk’s numbers improve at least a bit across the board.

Kirk likely has eligibility at just catcher, but he plays plenty and is a fine backup option that should be pretty cheap to acquire at this point.

Tim Anderson Fantasy Outlook

Anderson had a rough go of things in his final season with the Chicago White Sox. Not only did he only hit just 123 games played (for the third time in his career), Anderson also saw his average drop 56 points from the 2022 season.

Anderson gets a new start with the Miami Marlins, and should hit in a pretty beneficial spot in the order. Durability has been an issue for several seasons now, but he’s typically been a good hitter (.282 career average) when out there, so I like the chance of him bouncing back.

Willy Adames Fantasy Outlook

Adames hit a career worst .217 in 2023 across 149 games with the Milwaukee Brewers. Along with a 21-point decrease in average, Adames hit seven less homers, scored 10 less runs and drove in 18 runs fewer than the previous season despite playing in 10 more games. 

Adames should still hit in the top half of the Brewers’ lineup, so even if he can hit closer to .238 like in 2022, all of his numbers should increase at least a little bit.

The nice thing with Adames is he plays nearly every day, so he’s at least a good backup option at shortstop.

Paul Goldschmidt Fantasy Outlook

Goldschmidt had a rare down season in 2023 across 154 games played. He had a .268 average, which was down 49 points from the 2022 season. His homers (down 10), RBIs (down 35) and runs scored (down 17) also took big dips.

Goldy is a career .293 hitter, and while his production might drop as he ages (he’s 36 to start this season), even a bump up to .280 or so would do wonders for his fantasy numbers.

He plays pretty much every day, and his value is probably not going to get much lower than this. Try to acquire him before he gets back on track, at which point he can power fantasy teams.

Dansby Swanson Fantasy Outlook

Swanson’s first season with the Cubs was a struggle. His average dipped 33 points from the previous season, and his runs scored, homers, RBIs and stolen base numbers also dropped.

Swanson is a career .253 hitter, so while he wasn’t far below that last season (.244), even an increase to his career mark will make Swanson a much better fantasy asset. 

He should be in a run-producing spot in the Cubs’ order in 2024, so I see a much better season ahead for Swanson.

J.T. Realmuto Fantasy Outlook

Realmuto had his average drop 24 points in 2023. He also finished with fewer homers, RBIs, stolen bases and runs than the previous season.

Realmuto has been one of the most consistent players in the league over his career, so even though he’s past his prime (33 years old), I still believe there’s some good seasons left in his bat. He’s a career .273 hitter, so if he can even split the difference from a season ago, you’re talking about a much better season.

Realmuto has played between 134-139 games the past three seasons, and availability is the best fantasy asset for a catcher nowadays, so I’d try to acquire Realmuto while his value is a bit lower. You can get him around pick 100 in drafts, and he’s probably acquirable in a trade for a couple mid-level fantasy assets. Try to make something happen before the season kicks off!

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