Zack Gelof

Oakland was eliminated from the postseason on the second day of the 2023 season, so it remains a mystery why they let Gelof stay in the minors as long as he did rather than try to push for a prospect promotion incentive pick. Gelof began the season with 12 homers, 20 steals, and a .304/.401/.529 line in Sacramento over 69 games before coming to Oakland and hitting 14 more homers with 14 steals and a .267/.337/.504 line in the same amount of games. All in all, Gelof finished with 26 homers, 100 runs, 76 RBI, and 34 steals in 138 games. All that from someone whose ADP was in the 700's last winter. Strikeouts have been an issue as he has rapidly ascended in the system since coming out of the University of Virginia which will limit the ceiling of his batting average, but he should volume plenty in the other categories as an everyday major leaguer in 2024. His market price year over year has improved more than any other hitter.

In many organizations, Gelof might have a hard time breaking through for MLB playing time in 2023, but that shouldn't be the case in Oakland. He spent more time at second base than third base in 2022 and projects as the everyday second baseman as early as this summer, depending on how he handles a return to Triple-A. Gelof's 68.9 Contact% and 27.5 K% in the upper levels, primarily Double-A, portend initial struggles against big-league pitching. There is a slight chance Gelof could develop an above-average hit tool with plus power, but it's probably more likely he has an average hit tool with above-average power. That would equate to a useful middle infielder in fantasy, especially since Gelof is likely to hit in the middle of the lineup, but there's not a lot of upside here, given his future home park and lineup.