When we look back at what players produced in 2024, it’s easy to focus on the full picture. But sometimes there’s a late finish of note that might spotlight a player moving in the right direction.
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Let’s take a look at some of the players who picked up steam in the latter stages of last season, and try to figure out what it might mean for 2025.
All aboard the Cruz train — the other one
In the preseason we wondered about the likely superiority battle between NL Central stars Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz. The card turned into a rout — Elly took off, Oneil really didn’t. At least that’s the story for the full season — Oneil Cruz actually had a nifty run if you look at the latter part of the year.
Here’s what Oneil Cruz posted over his final 70 games, 66 starts: a .283/.356/.477 slash, nine homers, and a perfect 16-for-16 on steals. He was the No. 9 fantasy shortstop in 5×5 value over that period.
The usual stuff was at play during this surge. Oneil Cruz was striking out less, walking more, controlling his at-bats better. The development curve is different for everybody. Hopefully, the shift to the outfield this year doesn’t derail Oneil Cruz, because I think he’s a fun pick in the top-45 range as he enters his age-26 season.
We can’t ignore ‘Second-Half Suárez’
While Oneil Cruz is a younger player, Eugenio Suárez is a veteran in Arizona. He’s entering his age-33 season. We should know what he is and isn’t by now.
But there’s this Second-Half Suárez thing that he often gives us. Last year he popped 20 homers after the All-Star break, with a tremendous .307/.341/.602 slash. In 2019, he conked a ridiculous 29 homers after the break. His production has been better in the second half for seven of the past eight seasons (we’re not counting 2020’s truncated season, of course).
I don’t know the logical explanation for this, but it’s too large of a sample for me to ignore it. Some guys aren’t sharp when the season opens. Maybe it’s weather-related. Maybe it’s tied to conditioning. I just know when a player does something this consistently, I’m going to factor it in, somewhat.
It’s also nice that Suárez is in a neutral ballpark like Arizona, after toiling in Seattle for two years. That helps. He’s an interesting target around Pick 172 in global ADP — he’s going a few rounds higher in early Yahoo drafts at 145.
Value in the leadoff man for the Fish
The Marlins do not have a destination offense…