In this latest edition of our 2024 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers & Busts series, the team of focus will be the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have low expectations heading into the new season. Although this is the case, there’s no question that they have some solid sleepers for fantasy baseball this season. As a result, let’s discuss their top two sleepers and their biggest bust for the upcoming campaign.
Detroit Tigers Sleepers and Busts for 2024 Fantasy Baseball
Draft Day Steals
Kerry Carpenter, OF
One sleeper from the Tigers who warrants real consideration for your fantasy baseball team is Kerry Carpenter. The 26-year-old is coming off a breakout season with the Tigers and is looking to build off it in 2024. In 118 games, he had 20 home runs, 64 RBIs, and a .278 batting average. Overall, it was a strong season for him at the plate, but he has the potential to do even more this season.
It is important to note that the 2023 season was Carpenter’s first full season in the majors. Because of this, he is now more adjusted to the sport’s most competitive league and could take another step forward this campaign. If he improves at the plate and stays fully healthy, a 30-home run season is absolutely not out of the question. Thus, he is a sleeper to seriously consider for the 2024 campaign. This is especially so when the big-name players are off the board.
Riley Greene, OF
Riley Greene is another big sleeper from the Tigers for this season. The 2019 fifth-overall pick took a notable step forward in 2023, and the expectation is that he will again with more experience now under his belt. In 99 games last season, he had 11 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .288 batting average. This was a notable improvement, as he had five home runs and a .253 batting average in 93 games during the 2022 season.
Greene is viewed as having a very high ceiling, and he showed that off this past season. Because of this, he is a Tigers sleeper to absolutely consider for your fantasy baseball club. If he can get his batting average up to .300 and improve on his power, he will be a complete and utter steal.
Draft Day Busts
Javier Baez, SS
Javier Baez has had a strong career, but he has struggled mightily since joining the Tigers in 2022. After hitting 17 home runs and .238 in 144 games in 2022, he had just nine home runs and a .222 batting average last season. While some may feel that he is a bounce-back season candidate, these drops in numbers are quite alarming. As a result, even with his excellent resume, he’s a player who has serious red flags.
There’s always a chance that Baez can turn things around. However, his poor performance at the plate last season absolutely hurts his value. If he can return to his All-Star form and hit 20 to 25 home runs, that would be excellent. Yet, given how his last two seasons went, it is hard to feel confident about that. Seeing how he performs for the Tigers in 2024 will be interesting.
Nevertheless, these three Tigers are worth watching very closely this season. Carpenter and Greene have the potential to take big steps forward, while Baez’s goal will be to turn things back around. Let’s see if they each can do that from here.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2024 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
Baez needs to turn his game completely around this year. The amount of money he has already made and had horrific results is not going to cut it. I would take the loss if he comes out of the gate continuously busting. Hopefully he really was injured and can turn it around. But two full seasons of low production says a lot. The leash should be very short for this guy.