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Everyone loves a sleeper, right? I know I do. Well, I will be offering some fantasy sleepers every Friday during the Consensus Rankings Series. The Sleepers series kicked off with my AL-only league second baseman who could outperform their draft day values in 2014 earlier this morning, and now I bring you my NL-only league sleepers for 2014.
Here is a look at a few NL-only league second basemen who will be available late in drafts who could outperform their draft day value this season:
Dan Uggla, Braves
Yeah, the mighty have fallen, huh? Uggla was once one of the top fantasy second baseman just a few short years ago, and now he is relegated to sleeper status for fantasy owners. Uggla was once a guy you could count on for 30 home runs and 90 RBI every season, but he has struggled to make contact the last few seasons, and wasn't on the Braves playoff roster in 2013. Uggla has hit 27 or more home runs in six of his eight seasons, but has hit "just" 19 and 22 in his last two seasons. That power has come with slash lines of .220-.348-.384 in 2012 and .179-.309-.362 in 2013, so there is a big price to pay for his power. He wasn't drafted in a recent 12 team mixed league mock draft I participated in recently, so that proves his sleeper status for 2013. He is probably only draftable in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues at this point, but has a chance to prove his critics wrong if he can return to the .240-.250 hitter he was a few years ago.
Alexander Guerrero, Dodgers
Many in the industry are down on this kid, mainly due to his struggles to play a respectable defense at second base. He was a shortstop in Cuba, but the Dodgers signed him to play second base. Recent reports indicate the Dodgers are looking for a good defensive second baseman possibly to give Guerrero more time to learn the intricacies of handling the keystone.
For fantasy purposes, Guerrero has the bat to be rosterable in mixed and NL-only leagues this season. Here are his career stats from Cuba, courtesy of Obstructed View:
| Age | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | ISO | BB% | K% | dt AVG | dt OBP | dt SLG | |
| 2005 | 18 | 129 | 0.223 | 0.271 | 0.281 | 0.058 | 5 | 16 | 0.169 | 0.201 | 0.218 |
| 2006 | 19 | 145 | 0.248 | 0.324 | 0.411 | 0.163 | 8 | 15 | 0.200 | 0.257 | 0.341 |
| 2007 | 20 | 304 | 0.293 | 0.365 | 0.414 | 0.121 | 9 | 8 | 0.271 | 0.326 | 0.419 |
| 2008 | 21 | 301 | 0.296 | 0.392 | 0.504 | 0.208 | 11 | 11 | 0.249 | 0.317 | 0.430 |
| 2009 | 22 | 314 | 0.338 | 0.408 | 0.641 | 0.302 | 6 | 10 | 0.279 | 0.322 | 0.539 |
| 2010 | 23 | 376 | 0.343 | 0.414 | 0.583 | 0.240 | 8.5 | 11.7 | 0.286 | 0.338 | 0.485 |
| 2011 | 24 | 329 | 0.310 | 0.401 | 0.599 | 0.289 | 12.2 | 12.8 | 0.250 | 0.322 | 0.480 |
| 2012 | 25 | 328 | 0.290 | 0.402 | 0.576 | 0.286 | 11.9 | 9.1 | |||
| 2012* | 25 | 27 | 0.240 | 0.296 | 0.480 | 0.240 | 3.7 | 11.1 | |||
| Totals | 2253 | 0.302 | 0.387 | 0.527 | 0.225 | 9 | 11 |
He appears to own a solid eye at the plate and that is a skill he owns, so it should transfer to the big leagues. But, we won't know that till we see how he performs in spring training. I see him as a decent late round pick with a chance to outperform his draft day value in 2014.
Scooter Gennett, Brewers
Gennett hit well in his cup of coffee with the Brewers, hitting .324-356-.479 with 6 home runs, 29 runs, 21 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 230 plate appearances. I wouldn't expect him to hit .300 this season, but he has the potential to be a .270-280 hitter, with a low on base percentage, with below average power and double digit stolen base potential. His power may result in 10-12 home runs in the homer-friendly Miller Park, but remember that he never hit more than 9 home runs in any one season in the minors.
Josh Rutledge, Rockies
Rutledge has been a favorite if mine for the past few seasons, but he just can't hit well enough in the big leagues to stay up with the big league club. He hit just .235-.294-.337 with 7 home runs, 45 runs, 19 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 88 games last season. His stat line shows he can fill up the boxscore for his owners with regular playing time, but that comes with a low batting average and on base percentage. He is currently slated to be the back up at second base for the Rockies in 2014, but is just an injury or slow start from D.J. LeMahieu from a starting role in the comfy confines of Coors Field. He has the bat to hit 15 home runs and steal 15 bases with regular playing time in 2014, with a chance for a bit more.
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