Leody Taveras

Taveras has been on the fantasy periphery for awhile, but 2023 was the first time we have seen the production begin to match the hype. The 25-year old outfielder finished the season with a palindromic 14 homers, 67 runs, 67 RBIs, and 14 steals over 143 games. The switch hitter continued to do most of his damage from the left side hitting 12 of those 14 homers off righties and hitting 34 points better against them than southpaws. Taveras' season was most frontloaded as he struggled after the break dealing with hand soreness and hit just .233 with four homers after the break. His defense and baserunning keep him in the lineup nearly everyday as long as his body holds up, but his spot in the lineup is what ultimately limits his upside as he should once again hit in the lower third of the lineup. His 2023 is very repeatable and a 20-20 season is possible should Bochy decide to leverage the running game more often in 2024.

Taveras is in a tenuous situation in that his speed and defense are good skills, but the Rangers have plenty of players with that profile these days with both Eli White and Bubba Thompson possessing those same skills and at the same position as Taveras. Leody has the leg up, in a way, as he is out of options while the other two are not which all but guarantees Taveras breaks camp with a job whether it be with Texas or another club. His speed is elite, yet his stolen base track record is anything but as he was caught five times in 16 tries last season. The Triple-A numbers continue to offer some promise, but it would be nice if that success came east with him from Surprise, Arizona after spring training since he cannot go back to Round Rock without being exposed to waivers.

The primary value of Leody Taveras involves stolen bases with seven home runs, 18 stolen bases, and a .188 batting average in 319 plate appearances throughout his MLB career. Taveras went 18 of 19 in stolen bases (94.7%), and the Rangers showed the willingness to run with 106 (No. 4) stolen bases in 135 attempts. With the groundball-heavy profile (46.7%), the switch-hitting outfielder showed a league-average barrel rate of 6.3%. Unfortunately, what Taveras lacks in contact quality isn't made up in plate discipline, given below league average contact rates evidenced by a career 78.4% Z-Contact% and 73.6% Contact%. The Rangers outfield looks crowded with Kole Calhoun, Adolis García, Nick Solak, and Willie Calhoun, although the latter should DH. Taveras could steal bases if playing time opens up but hurt in other categories. That said, Taveras isn't worth drafting outside of deep draft and hold formats.

Taveras was below league average (94 wRC+) at Double-A in 2019 and has no experience at Triple-A, yet he didn't embarrass himself in his MLB debut. His 32.1 K% was understandably over 10 points higher than at any level of the minors, but his .168 ISO was a career high and he walked at a 10.4 percent clip. Perhaps most importantly for fantasy, Taveras' sprint speed was in the 96th percentile and he is one of just 14 hitters projected by Steamer to hit double-digit homers while stealing 20-plus bases in 2021. Nobody should expect him to hit over .250 in his age-22 season, but he should be the Rangers' everyday center fielder as long as he is not completely overwhelmed. As a clear long-term fixture in Texas, Taveras doesn't have the playing time floor that Danny Santana had entering 2020, making him a reasonable target in the middle rounds for fantasy managers who missed out on earlier speed targets.

Taveras didn't light the world on fire in his age-20 season, but he did what he needed to do to remain a relevant prospect after being a below-league-average hitter at every stop above rookie ball from 2016-2018. He logged a 117 wRC+ in a return trip to the Carolina League, and was 21-for-26 on stolen-base attempts after going just 19-for-30 on the bases at High-A in 2018. Success in his return to High-A was expected. His real test came after a midseason promotion to Double-A, where he returned to being a mediocre producer across the board. All told, he logged a 17.5 Hard% between the two stops, which is a very poor mark, and negates the fact that he uses the whole field and lifts the ball at acceptable rates. At this point, a good outcome for Taveras would be an everyday center fielder who hits around .265 and steals 20 bases annually while hitting in the bottom third of a big-league lineup.

Just looking at the slash line, you might think that there were no real positives to take away from Taveras' 2018 season. However, Taveras showed a strong handle on the strike zone for a 19-year-old, posting a 16.6 K% and 8.8 BB% against High-A competition. He had a 21.7% line-drive rate, which was right around league average and a significant improvement on his mark at Low-A. The center fielder's batted-ball distribution was also more favorable, as Taveras trimmed his pull rate slightly, adding more balls to center field. Taveras has 60-grade speed but needs to improve his reads and instincts as a base stealer -- he was caught 11 times in 30 attempts. The speed should keep him in center field for another decade or so, easing pressure on his bat. Taveras may head back to High-A to begin 2019, but should end up spending most of the year at the Double-A level as one of the youngest hitters in the Texas League.

Taveras' season may have provided one of the best offseason buying opportunities on the dynasty landscape. He was a slightly below average hitter (96 wRC+) in the Sally League and showed very little power (.111 ISO). There's nothing about his season that will lead his owner to declare him untouchable. However, an 18-year-old who is a lock to stay in center field, should hold plus speed into his late 20s and posted a 92:47 K:BB in 577 plate appearances against full-season pitching is a player worth cherishing in dynasty leagues. An extremely projectable 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, Taveras shows athletic, fluid motions and should grow into double-digit homer power. A realistic floor for Taveras is Ender Inciarte, while a realistic ceiling is the good version of Starling Marte. His value in the marketplace is reminiscent of Amed Rosario after the 2015 season. He won't come dirt cheap, but Taveras could finish 2018 as a top-10 prospect. This might be the last chance to get in at an affordable price.

The Rangers inked Taveras to a $2.1 million bonus as one of the top international free agents in 2015. At the time, he was joining one of the top farm systems in the game. Several mammoth trades and a couple high-profile graduations later, and Taveras sits atop that system entering his age-18 season. A surefire top-100 prospect in his own right, Taveras is deserving of the honor. The cousin of retired outfielder Willy Taveras, Leody is bursting with tools. His hit tool and speed both earn plus grades, and he has the body (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) and bat speed to eventually grow into average or better power. All told, this is a potential up-the-middle star who could get MVP votes someday. He has not yet played in a full-season league and posted a 59 wRC+ in a 29-game run with short-season Spokane, but the fact that he was even playing in the Northwest League as a 17-year-old speaks volumes about how advanced Taveras is. He could finish 2017 as a top-10 prospect in the game.