We throw the term "sleeper" around often, but a true sleeper -- a by-the-book definition sleeper -- is a player from whom you expect nothing.
This is why this annual column, in which I identify 12 deep sleepers, is effectively a paradox. By merely mentioning their names, I've potentially inflated fantasy expectations for each. Still, these players might be unfamiliar to most and, even with some added attention, they're likely to cost you practically nothing on draft day.
These 12 players almost assuredly won't be selected in a single ESPN standard league, nor should they be. In fact, some of them might not even be drafted in singular (AL- or NL-only) leagues. The goal, however, is to familiarize you with some names who might gain relevance during the season, or provide you some targets for your final roster spots in deeper mixed or singular leagues.
My goal, annually, is for at least half -- so six -- of these picks to earn $10 or more in a singular league. That's the kind of profit that spawns championships, assuming most of their teams' leading investments live up to their price tags.
For reference points, I've included their prices from the AL- and NL-only versions of the League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR) leagues that drafted March 4-5.
Matt Adams, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
Many times, sleepers fit that designation because they lack a clear place to play. Adams fits the description, as a first baseman on a team that long ago tabbed Matt Carpenter to play there. Who's to say that the Adams-in-the-outfield experience is destined to fail, however, and why rule out a possible trade? He made key gains against left-handed pitching in 2016, slashing .283/.300/.522 against them with a reasonable .294 BABIP (granted, in a 50 plate appearance sample). He also improved in terms of isolated power (a career-best .222), walk rate (a career-best 7.6 percent) and average fly ball distance (300.4 feet, his second-best career number).
Price point: $3 in LABR
Matt Boyd, SP, Detroit Tigers
On the surface, Boyd doesn't look like much. He's an extreme fly-baller with a low strikeout rate and a wide platoon split, not to mention one not promised a rotation spot to begin the season. Upon closer inspection, the significant growth he showed in the second half of 2016 bodes well for 2017. He whiffed 21.0 percent of the batters he faced (up from 18.8 percent in his big league career up to that point), kicked his swinging-strike rate up to 11.3 percent (from 9.9) and boosted his ground ball rate to 39 percent (from 37). Boyd is a much better speculative AL-only choice than many of the league's back-end rotation options.
Price point: $3 in LABR
Amir Garrett, SP, Cincinnati Reds
His range of outcomes for 2017 is rather wide, as he has had his share of control issues in the minors. He's entering only his third full pro year focusing solely on baseball after also playing basketball in college until 2014. Still, Garrett has opened eyes during spring training, and the Reds are lacking in rotation options. He might require a decent share of matchups attention once he arrives in the majors and could be shaky overall in WHIP, but he also could chip in a decent number of strikeouts.
Price point: LABR reserve pick
Koda Glover, RP, Washington Nationals
One might argue he's the buzz-worthy name of the week, after reports surfaced Monday that manager Dusty Baker might be considering him to be the team's Opening Day closer -- a move hinted at by Glover's routine ninth-inning usage in recent spring games. From a raw skills perspective, Glover definitely fits. His 97 mph fastball and biting slider fuel a potentially elite strikeout rate, and it's possible that the hip injury he suffered in August explained his so-so numbers during his brief big league stint. Would Dusty trust such an inexperienced arm in the closer spot? With the chance he might, Glover is well worth a speculative stash.
Price point: $2 in LABR
Aaron Hicks, OF, New York Yankees
Though Aaron Judge is the Yankees right fielder who has fantasy owners abuzz, Hicks has made it a genuine spring competition. Hicks' numbers might paint a picture of a career fourth outfielder, but in his defense, a shoulder injury effectively ruined the first half of his 2016. He batted .271/.333/.424 in 37 games during the final two months to somewhat salvage the campaign. Judge's strong Grapefruit League play will likely earn him the job come Opening Day, but Hicks' strengths against left-handed pitching will, at the very least, earn him time filling in for Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Price point: $2 in LABR
Daniel Hudson, RP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Everyone assumes Tony Watson is the clear-cut closer in Pittsburgh, but the Pirates didn't give Hudson a two-year, $11 million deal because they've got lots of money to throw at middle relievers. What they saw were his 96 mph fastball and solid slider, along with 26.4 percent strikeout and 15.3 percent swinging-strike rates after the 2016 All-Star break. There's potential here for better things. In PNC Park's more forgiving confines, Hudson could mount a serious challenge to Watson, who hasn't had a stellar spring, for saves.
Price point: $1 in LABR
Drew Hutchison, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
Though Hutchison might begin the season on the outside of the Pirates' rotation looking in, bear in mind how inexperienced many of their back-end candidates truly are. Steven Brault, Tyler Glasnow, Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams have a combined 26 big league starts, or 48 fewer than Hutchison. There should be opportunity at some point, and Hutchison possesses good enough command -- he averaged 3.14 K's per walk between the majors and minors in 2016 -- to be considered a good reclamation project for pitching coach Ray Searage. Hutchison's home run tendencies are a potential problem, but PNC Park is one of the more forgiving venues in that regard.
Price point: $1 in LABR
Joe Kelly, RP, Boston Red Sox
There are actually two angles here. The first, and more relevant, is that Kelly is capable of contributing some good ERA, WHIP and strikeout assistance to your fantasy team, even if he never sees the ninth inning in a single game in 2017. After all, he has a 2.69 ERA and 23.6 percent strikeout rate as a reliever in his big league career, as he typically gets more first-pitch strikes and is capable of touching 99 mph on the radar gun with the fastball in a relief role. The second is that he's the third in line for saves behind two relievers with injury questions: Craig Kimbrel, who had knee issues for much of the second half of 2016, and Tyler Thornburg, who has been dealing with a dead arm for the entire month of March.
Price point: $2 in LABR
Charlie Morton, SP, Houston Astros
Injuries might have been a particular problem for him during his nine-year career, but Morton has long been a hard-contact-minimizing, extreme ground-balling pitcher with matchups appeal when healthy. Before he tore his hamstring running the bases last April, though, he was actually getting swings and misses at a career-best 26.8 percent rate, something he has carried over to this spring (27.0 percent). Yes, both samples are awfully small -- 17⅓ innings and 71 batters faced in 2016, 13 and 49 this spring -- but such is the quest for unearthing sleepers. Morton's odds of 20-plus starts might not be especially good, but more than half of the ones he does make should be helpful.
Price point: $2 in LABR
Tyler O'Neill, OF, Seattle Mariners
There's always a prospect (or three) who makes a significant fantasy impact despite a midyear arrival in the bigs, and O'Neill is one of my favorite such candidates for 2017. The Southern League MVP, O'Neill brings quite a power punch -- he even homered off Clayton Kershaw this past Saturday -- something that could prove handy on a Mariners team that is precariously light in that department in the outfield. Considering he'll likely begin his year in the hitting-rich Triple-A Pacific Coast League, O'Neill should rack up more gaudy statistics and quickly put himself into consideration for a call-up.
Price point: LABR reserve pick
Byung Ho Park, 1B, Minnesota Twins
After a disappointing U.S. debut, Park was removed from the Twins' 40-man roster in February, as they cleared space for free-agent signee Matt Belisle. Though that might have given the perception of his Twins tale coming to a close, Park has torched Grapefruit League pitching since, putting himself right back into the first base/DH conversation. In Park's defense, wrist tendinitis effectively ruined his 2016, requiring August surgery to repair a tendon in his finger that caused the discomfort, and making it difficult to fully gauge his numbers. Could it be that the player who batted .248/.336/.574 in his first 30 big league games, or was projected for effectively .250-27-85 numbers at the onset of the year, reflected his true talent? Perhaps.
Price point: LABR reserve pick
Luis Perdomo, SP, San Diego Padres
A Rule 5 pick entering last season, Perdomo inherited the Padres' mop-up (or "take one for the team") role. To his credit, he worked through the tough assignment and eventually earned an audition in the rotation, posting a 4.30 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 13 second-half starts. He's a control specialist, and an extreme ground baller, meaning his fantasy appeal might be limited to that of a streaming option, but Petco Park -- though no longer heaven for pitchers -- still maximizes his opportunities to help.
Price point: LABR reserve pick
Other sleepers to consider: Patrick Corbin, Grant Dayton, Will Harris, Nathan Karns and David Phelps