Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Fantasy Baseball has become one of the most popular ways to enjoy the 162-game MLB season. In this first of six installments, we will discuss the American League East Division, which promises to be one of the most exciting for fantasy baseball fans in the 2024 season. In this division, we find the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Baltimore Orioles. Each team has a ton of talent and outstanding players that can be valuable options for your Fantasy Baseball team.
Baltimore Orioles
Let's start with the team to beat in this division. That team isn't the Yankees or Red Sox like usual. Instead, it's the "revelation" team of last season, The Baltimore Orioles. I write revelation in quotes because, in the 2022 season, the Orioles already looked like they were on path to do great things after being 2021 the worst team in the American League. However, few believed that they would make such a big jump from 110 losses in 2021 to 101 wins and division champions in 2023.
The Orioles kept the core that made them division champions, with an Adley Rutschman who had a line of 20 home runs, 80 RBIs, and 277 average last season. Gunnar Henderson was the spark plug in the infield with 28 home runs, 82 RBIs, and a 255 average. Anthony Santander put up 28 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a 0.797 OPS.
The Orioles are maintaining the rotation that catapulted them to first place, and youngsters Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Brandish have one more year of experience. Now, they are joined by the team's star acquisition in the winter break: Corbin Burnes. Burnes won the 2021 National League Cy Young Award and finished seventh and eighth in the voting the following two years. Last season with the Brewers, Burnes had a 10-win, 8-loss record with a 3.39 ERA.
As a closer, the Orioles signed veteran Craig Kimbrel to replace their star closer Felix Bautista, who was out for the entire season with Tommy John surgery. Krimble made two All-Star teams from 2019-2023, including last season with the Phillies when he posted a 3.26 ERA, saved 23 games, and struck out 94 batters in 69 regular season innings.
Finally, Jackson Holliday will be the rookie to watch, assuming the Orioles deem him ready to make the jump into the big leagues. As the first pick in the 2022 draft, Holliday is considered baseball's top prospect. Holliday is the 20-year-old son of Matt Holliday (a seven-time All-Star Game selection), and he agreed to an $8.19 million signing bonus. Holliday hit .323 with a .442 slugging percentage, 12 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 24 steals in 125 games (four teams) last season.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays have a history of success in fantasy baseball, having produced highly-rated players in past seasons. For the 2024 Major League Baseball season, the Rays have a solid group of players who promise to be great options for your fantasy team.
One of the Rays' top players this season is Cuban-Mexican outfielder Randy Arozarena, who had a line of 23 home runs, 83 RBIs, and a 0.789 OPS. Dominican outfielder Jose Siri had 25 home runs, 56 RBIs, a .222 OPS average, and a 0.761 OPS. They are key players who should improve their numbers if the Rays are able to maintain last season's level of production. In the infield, the Rays have Cuban first baseman Yandy Diaz, with 2023 numbers of 22 home runs, 78 RBIs, a 0.330 average, and an OPS of 0.932.
Another player to keep an eye on for the Rays is Japanese pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa, who signed in during the winter break as a free agent from the Japanese league. Uwasawa is expected to make last season's first-half ace, Shane McClanahan, absent this 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery, and he is a solid option for fantasy teams.
In addition to the named position players, the Rays have other players who can be valuable in fantasy baseball, such as infielder Amed Rosario and second baseman Brandon Lowe. These players can contribute in different categories and be interesting options for fantasy teams looking to bolster their lineups.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the standout teams in the American League East for the past four seasons. However, their last divisional title was in 2015.
Despite missing 29 games due to forearm, ankle, elbow, and knee injuries, George Springer had a good season in 2023. However, Springer's numbers declined in runs, home runs, and runs batted in. At 34 years old, it looks like Springer's best days are behind him. Vladimir Guerrero Jr was Second in the voting for the 2021 MVP, only behind Ohtani, and comes from seasons of 32 home runs (2022) and 26 home runs (2023).
In the infield, the leader is Bo Bichette, who had a line last season of 20 home runs, 73RBIs and a .306 avereage.
The Jays bullpen had a 3.68 ERA (eighth in the league), 33 wins, 24 losses, 51 saves, and 606 strikeouts in 557.0 innings. Closer Jordan Romano performed well in the ninth inning (5-7/2.90 ERA/36 SV). Toronto failed to excel in runs (746, 14th place), home runs (188, 17th place), or runs batted in (705, 17th place). His runners stole 99 bases in 133 attempts (75.0 success rate).
Starting pitchers Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, and Yusei Kikuchi provided 742 winning innings. However, their expected ace, Alek Manoah, had one of the worst performances in the league. Manoah was coming off a 16-7 record with a 2.24 ERA in 31 starts in 2022. Manoah struggled last year with many aches and pains, posting a 3-9 record with a 5.87 ERA in 19 starts and was even demoted to the minors a couple of times.
New York Yankees
Expectations are very high this offseason for the Bronx Bombers, especially thanks to what was probably the big trade of the Winter Break, the trade in which the Yankees acquired OF Juan Soto and OF Trent Grisham from the Padres for C Kyle Higashioka, SP Michael King, SP Drew Thorpe, SP Jhony Brito, and SP Randy Vasquez.
Juan Soto must maintain or improve the numbers he brings from San Diego (35 home runs/109 RBIs/. 275 average/.930 OPS) and see if he can withstand the pressure of an entire city. Aaron Judge is apparently already healthy from the injuries that plagued him last season and reduced his numbers compared to 2022 when he set a franchise record for home runs with 62.
Last season, in spite of the injuries that limited Judge to appearing in only 106 games, he had a line of 37 home runs/75 RBIs/.267 average/1.019 OPS and was the team's spark plug. Judge's teammates did not help the cause, which made the Yankees miss the playoffs.
One of the players that has been the most disappointing is Giancarlo Stanton. Since arriving from Miami in 2018, only that season did he have numbers up to expectation. Last year, without going any further, Stanton had 24 home runs/60 RBIs/.191 average/.695OPS in just 101 games.
The Yankees pitching staff ranked 10th in ERA (3.97—fourth in their division) while having the best bullpen (35-30 with a 3.34 ERA, 625 strikeouts, and 44 saves over 619 innings). In large part, the Yankees' success or failure this season will depend on their starting staff, led once again by ace Gerrit Cole (15-4/2.63ERA) and free agent signing Marcus Stroman, who last season had a quiet campaign with the Cubs (10-9/3.95ERA).
Boston Red Sox
It would seem that the Rex Sox's best era has passed. In the last two seasons, the Red Sox have finished consecutively in last place in the AL East despite winning 78 games in both years. Boston has had one playoff appearance in the last five seasons, right after an excellent run for their franchise.
Projections
1. Baltimore Orioles
2. New York Yankees
3. Tampa Bay Rays
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Boston Red Sox
Star Player: Juan Soto
Player to watch: Jackson Holliday
The American League East division promises to be one of the most competitive and exciting in the 2024 season, with talented players and teams that could be valuable options for your Fantasy Baseball team.
