Fantasy Baseball Rankings 2019: Breakouts from computer model that nailed Khris Davis’ huge year

MLB Spring Training games have officially kicked and after a slow off-season, news of Manny Machado signing a new $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres takes one more variable out of play for Fantasy baseball owners looking ahead to get a jump on the 2019 season. Machado, now in Southern California, has been officially slotted in 2019 Fantasy baseball rankings everywhere. One key part of any Fantasy baseball draft is identifying the potential breakout stars who can come out of nowhere to lead you to a championship. Identifying the 2019 Fantasy baseball breakouts is always a challenge, but a reliable set of 2019 Fantasy baseball rankings can help show you players who are poised to take the next step in their careers. Who knows? Maybe they’ll become the next Machado and sign a nine-figure deal. Before you draft, be sure to see the latest 2019 Fantasy baseball rankings from the team at SportsLine.

Last season, the proven computer model at SportsLine helped turn owners on to Athletics outfielder Khris Davis, who wound up as the No. 12 player in all of Fantasy after going in the middle of the fourth round (No. 43) in standard CBS Sports leagues. After hitting 43 home runs and driving in 110 runs in 2017, the jump to 48 home runs and 123 RBI in 2018 helped propel him into the realm of the Fantasy elite.

The team at SportsLine was all over Davis as a Fantasy breakout from the start. Their Fantasy Baseball rankings and cheat sheets said he would outperform his draft position in a big way, and anyone who listened to their advice was well positioned for a league title. 

The SportsLine Projection Model is powered by the same people who powered projections for all three major Fantasy sites. And that same group is sharing its 2019 Fantasy Baseball rankings and cheat sheets over at SportsLine, helping you find Fantasy Baseball breakouts, sleepers and busts long before your competition. Their Fantasy Baseball cheat sheets, available for leagues on many major sites, are updated multiple times every day. Any time an injury occurs or there’s a change on a depth chart, the team at SportsLine updates its rankings.

In fact, when it came to ranking players in Fantasy Football, SportsLine’s Projection Model beat human experts last season when there were big differences in ranking. And the model was the closest to the hole overall, meaning it best pinpointed where every player would finish each week. That could literally be the difference between winning your league or going home empty-handed.

One of the top 2019 Fantasy Baseball breakouts that the model is calling for: Nationals outfielder Adam Eaton. 

Eaton is the No. 23 right fielder being drafted on average, but the SportsLine Projection Model is predicting that he’ll finish as the No. 7 right fielder in 2019, vastly out-producing his ADP. That’s due in large part to the fact that he appears to be healthy and showed he could get back to putting up big numbers again down the stretch last season.

Eaton slashed .301/.394/.411 in 95 games last season and the peripheral numbers in his past suggest there’s more power left in his game after he hit five home runs and had 24 extra-base hits in 370 plate appearances. In his last two full healthy seasons, Eaton hit 14 home runs in both 2015 and 2016 with the White Sox and had 103 total extra-base hits those two years. We know that Eaton will hit for contact and get on base, but if he starts driving the ball again, he could be one of the top fantasy outfielders. SportsLine’s Fantasy baseball rankings 2019 say he’s one of the top breakouts to target.

Another player that the SportsLine Projection Model is tabbing for a breakout year is Rockies shortstop Trevor Story. 

The 26-year-old has already had a roller-coaster of a career, exploding on to the scene with 27 home runs in just 372 at-bats as a rookie in 2016 before his play fell off. His OPS dropped from .909 to .765 and he led baseball with 191 strikeouts in 2017. 

However, Story bounced back with numbers more in line with his rookie campaign last year. He hit 37 home runs, drove in 108, and slashed .291/.348/.567 for a career-high .914 OPS. He also added the speed element to his game, stealing 27 bases as a delight to his Fantasy owners. 

Story also cut his strikeout rate considerably and upped his hard-hit contact rate from 2017 to 2018. If he can improve his walk rate from 8.1 percent for his career back into the double-digits like he did in seven of his career minor-league stops, it further enhances his Fantasy profile. Story is currently the No. 6 shortstop drafted on average in standard leagues, but the SportsLine Projection Model is predicting that he’ll finish the year as the third-best Fantasy shortstop in the game, upping his numbers to a breakout level and out-performing his ADP.

SportsLine is also predicting an emerging star to provide top-six production at his position despite being drafted outside the top 12. You’ll want to target him before your opponents, as that could be the difference in winning your league or going home with nothing.

So which potential Fantasy Baseball breakouts should you be targeting? And which player is a must-draft? Visit SportsLine now to get 2019 Fantasy Baseball rankings for every single position, all from the model that called Khris Davis’ huge breakout season, and find out.