TJ Friedl

While he may not look the part, Friedl became a fantasy darling last season with a .279/.352/.467 line, 18 homers and 27 steals in 556 plate appearances. He projects to be the Reds' everyday center fielder after a surprising 4.4 fWAR season, but Friedl will continue to have his doubters even with his high contact rate given the fact that his xSLG, average exit velocity and barrel rate all ranked in the bottom seven percent of the league, among other reasons. Friedl did a disproportionate amount of his damage at home, managing a .724 OPS on the road. He hit lefty pitching well, but he was rather fortunate in that regard (.425 BABIP) and some giveback against same-side pitching should be expected. Signed in 2016 as an undrafted free agent -- there were 40 rounds back in 2016 -- Friedl has made a career out of proving people wrong. If he continues to do so, he will reach folk hero status in Cincinnati and fantasy circles.

Friedl has the chance to be one of those overlooked players who falls into more playing time than their skillset otherwise deserves because he is on a bad ball club bereft of talent to overtake him at the position. Friedl is a high contact hitter with speed and little power who could benefit from reduced shifting and use his willingness to accept walks and convert them into steals on the bases under the new rules. Friedl's home to first time, a good indicator of potential steals, is near the 90th percentile league-wide, so he has the skills to at least duplicate the 17 steals he had in 2022 between Triple-A and the majors in 21 attempts. He is also projected to hit leadoff as things currently stand on the roster making him an excellent candidate to potentially triple his MLB steals total from 2022 on volume alone if he can improve his ability to get on base. Simply put, he is an intriguing late game speed dart throw in all league formats.

Friedl made his big-league debut last year, hitting .290 with one home run and more walks (four) than strikeouts (two) in 36 PA. He will once again be in line for some work in the majors, particularly if the Reds don't add to the roster after the lockout. Known as a light-hitting outfielder with good contact skill and plus speed, Friedl is capable of playing center field or left field, and he fits best as a fourth or fifth outfielder. His .264/.357/.422 slash line and 111 wRC+ at Triple-A was not overly impressive for a player who is set to turn 27 in August. However, he should at least make enough contact to hold is own at the bottom third of the lineup against right-handed pitching. He makes for a fine depth piece in NL-only and deep draft-and-hold formats, given his speed and the fact the Reds will likely have playing time available.

Friedl's story is pretty incredible. A perfect storm of draft status confusion, limitations imposed by draft allotment rules and plain oversight (among other factors), led to Friedl going undrafted in 2016. The Reds did their homework and ended up signing Friedl in August, giving him the largest signing bonus ever for an undrafted player. He began to reward the organization immediately, posting a .423 OBP and 16 extra-base hits from the left side of the plate in a 29-game stint with rookie-level Billings. The 21-year-old also stole seven bases, flashing the plus-plus speed that should keep him in center field. That speed along with advanced plate skills and surprising power for a 5-foot-10, 170 pound frame, is enough to put Friedl among the top 10 in the Reds' system, but those in keeper leagues may want to wait and see how Friedl fares with a full-season affiliate before investing.