Top 5 Sleeper Designated Hitters - Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide 2009

While you seldom blow a fantasy baseball season by drafting badly over the last two or three rounds, you can certainly improve your team greatly by taking a late round flyer on a sleeper capable of posting big numbers. Here then are 5 fantasy baseball DH sleepers to go after in your draft.

Travis Hafner (Indians)

Hafner is the poster boy for a "DH Sleeper" this year. He is coming off an injury for which he still has a month of rehabilitation left, and he hit all of .197 last year with 5 homers; he hardly merits a second look. Yet Hafner was a solid 30/100/ .300 hitter from 2004-2007, and he still has plenty of upside. Take Hafner late in the draft, he will reward you this season with +20 homers and plenty of RBIs.

Hideki Matsui (Yankees)

A knee injury limited Matsui to all of 93 games last year, and he missed over 100 games two years ago. This makes the prodigious Japanese slugger the perfect sleeper candidate this year.Can the left handed hitter Matsui give you a full season? Probably not. Will he hit for you when he is in the game? Absolutely. Look for a reasonably healthy Matsui to give you +20 HR, 90 RBIs and a .290 average.

Travis Snider (Blue Jays)

Travis who? Travis Snider. Now keep it to yourself. Snider is all of 21 and he hit along every minor league stop on the way to the majors last year. Once he got his cup of coffee in the big leagues, Snider produced, hitting .301 with 2 homers and 13 RBI's in all 73 at bats. In keeper leagues, Snider definitely has a lot of upside. Take a chance on him late in the draft.

Jeff Clements (Mariners)

Forget that he hit all of .227 in the majors last year, Clements will get plenty of at bats this year since he can double as a catcher for a weak Mariners team. Clement has decent power and hit a more robust .335 last season at Class AAA Tacoma (where he had 20 homers the year before). He is not a sure thing, but what sleeper is? Take a last round flyer on Clements, at the very least you will get a backup catcher. Take his DH at bats and play him at catcher, you may have a 15-20 homer hitting catcher in the process.

Hank Blalock (Rangers)

Blalock was once an up and coming player capable of getting you a 30/100/.300 fantasy season. Injuries have wrecked his last two seasons. But at 28, Blalock is entering the prime of his career and is worth a look over older players like Frank Thomas and Sheffield. If Blalock is healthy he will give you a +20 homer season and drive in 90 runs for you, which are sleeper numbers anyone can live with.

Statistical References:

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