Shogo Akiyama (OF, CIN) - Fantasy Baseball Draft Sleeper

BALLER MOVE: Draft target ~ 230

CURRENT ADP: ~267 overall

ANALYSIS: Once the 2020 season gets underway it will officially be “Sho Time” in Cincinnati! The Reds, who scouted him for three years, made signing Shogo Akiyama a priority this offseason. They felt Akiyama’s ability to make contact and his above-average on-base skills fit in perfectly with their power loaded lineup.

Akiyama averaged 23 HR over the past three seasons in the Japan Pacific League, but with power bats like Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos hitting behind him, he doesn’t need to hit home runs. His focus will be on scoring runs, which is a stat that is often correlated to league-winning fantasy teams.

Akiyama is a professional hitter who compiled a career .301 batting average, a .376 on-base percentage and averaged 106 runs scored over the past five seasons. He won six career Gold Gloves, so his defense will ensure that his bat will be in the lineup almost every day, which is perhaps most important in this short season full of chaos. Akiyama can also steal bases, averaging 12 per season for his career.

While the Reds have plenty of pop in their lineup, it's also worth noting they had the eighth-most stolen base attempts in 2019. Akiyama’s current NFBC ADP suggests he’s being selected in the 23^rd round of 12-team mixed leagues. That’s excellent value for a player who’ll likely provide a batting average approaching .300, an OBP north of .350, and a ton of runs scored. He should be drafted much closer to OFs like Sam Hilliard (226) and Shin-Soo Choo (230).