Keibert Ruiz and Jacob Wilson Among Undervalued Fantasy Baseball Hitters so Far

We're nearing one month of MLB regular season play, and it's a great time to start assessing all fantasy baseball players.

In this story today, I'm going to check out some undervalued fantasy hitters. Check back later today for a story on undervalued fantasy pitchers.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.

Catchers

Keibert Ruiz is a top-five fantasy catcher in points leagues, but is still available to a few of you reading this article.

In leagues synced here at FantasySP, Ruiz is owned in 82% of them. That's simply not enough for a fantasy catcher performing this well early on.

He's likely to regress over the course of the season, but he's still got a great chance to finish as a top-10 fantasy catcher.

Carson Kelly is another catcher worth mentioning. He's the top-scoring catcher so far, and is owned in just 57% of leagues.

He's not playing everyday, so he's not on the fantasy level as some of the elite fantasy catchers, but the way he's producing when he's out there, he's worth rostering and playing in all league types, especially because consistent fantasy catchers are hard to come by.

First Basemen

Jonathan Aranda is the top fantasy first basemen that sticks out as undervalued. He's only owned in 67% of fantasy leagues, yet is seventh in fantasy points at the position so far.

He's a young and emerging player, and I'd rather he cools off on my bench after stashing him than watch him keep producing for another fantasy team in my league.

Ben Rice is another first baseman who has really been fantastic to start the season. He's a top-10 fantasy 1B right now, yet is still available to be picked up in about 25% of leagues.

Like Aranda, Rice is an emerging MLB hitter, so we really don't know if his hot start is sustainable or not. If you are lacking at first base, he'd be a great target, even if you don't want to start him right now.

Second Basemen

Dylan Moore is really the only fantasy second baseman who catches my eye for this article. He's owned in 67% of leagues, and should be available to play at several other positions too.

He's appeared in a few waiver wire stories of mine of late, including one to start this week. I see him as a better deep-league fantasy asset, but he's performing well enough as a fantasy asset to play in standard leagues for the time being too.

His position versatility should make Moore a bit longer asset in standard leagues. He's bound to regress, but until he cools off for a week-plus, he's definitely a fantasy asset for standard league owners too.

Shortstops

Geraldo Perdomo is the top-scoring fantasy shortstop so far, as we all expected, right? He's owned in about 81% of leagues, so he can still be added by a few of you.

He's another fantasy hitter who is bound to regress as the season moves along, but it's hard to keep him out of fantasy lineups right now. Perdomo is worth an add in standard leagues if you are lacking at shortstop, or just want another hitting option, or backup SS to your everyday starter.

Jacob Wilson is rostered in just 59% of leagues, yet has scored the sixth-most fantasy points among shortstops early on. 

He's not on a great team, but there's enough talent in the Athletics' lineup early on this season to roster and play several of their guys. Wilson would be more rostered if he wasn't at a stacked fantasy position, but as a young and emerging hitter, he's worth an add in more leagues than he's currently rostered.

Much like with Rice and Aranda, I would rather stash him for a few weeks and see how Wilson progresses, instead of having him rostered by another leaguemate. Take the gamble and hope it pays off in the long run.

Trevor Story is just a couple fantasy points behind Wilson, and is still available to 25% of you. He's had an injury-riddled career, but his production when healthy is usually pretty good.

I'm surprised he's not more rostered after his strong start. Yes, he could get injured again, but until that point, you could be starting Story in all fantasy formats. 

Third Basemen

Moore is also eligible at third base, and ranks seventh among the ESPN list of fantasy 3B. Another versatile defender in Zach McKinstry is eighth in scoring.

McKinstry is owned in just 44% of leagues, but is definitely due for some regression after a hot start. I think he's still worthy of a roster and starting spot in deeper leagues, and if you just need a fill in for a few days in a standard league, McKinstry isn't the worst option.

Maikel Garcia is the ninth-best fantasy third baseman in the early going. He's owned in 69% of leagues.

He's had an up-and-down MLB career so far, but he's looking like he's on his way to his better form for this season. Garcia is a good deep-league option, and for now, can also be unleashed in standard leagues.

Outfielders

Sal Frelick is an underrated fantasy outfielder. He's owned in 51% of leagues, yet is in the top-20 fantasy OFs so far.

Frelick is not a huge power guy, but doesn't strike out much, gets on base plenty and can make up for his lack of power with stolen bases. He's usually batting fifth for Milwaukee, which also is a positive for his fantasy outlook.

I wouldn't say he deserves to be rostered in all standard leagues, but he definitely needs to be rostered in deeper leagues, and could be a standard league option for those lacking outfielders, or simply wanting some depth.