Phillies: Aaron Altherr is a sleeper outfielder for 2018

Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr had a quietly good season despite some injuries. He is a deep sleeper pick for the 2018 season.

The Philadelphia Phillies have a young group of outfielders with a lot of upside in the future. Aaron Altherr missed some time throughout this season but he still posted some good numbers. With the probability of a full season ahead, Altherr is a sleeper pick next season.

Altherr played a combined 98 games in his first three years in the MLB. He hit .212/.311/.365 with nine home runs, 44 RBI and 13 steals. Entering this season, he was the 82nd outfielder drafted in deeper leagues and wasn’t drafted in the majority of standard leagues.

Altherr turned his fantasy outlook around this season. He hit .272 with 19 home runs, 65 RBI and 58 runs scored in just 107 games. Altherr also had a .340 on-base percentage with 104 strikeouts, 32 walks and five steals in nine attempts.

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As the 68th ranked outfielder at the end of the season, many wonder what could have been if Altherr didn’t miss 44 games this year.

He was placed on the 10-day DL in July while dealing with a hamstring injury. Altherr missed another 34 games after aggravating the same hamstring injury that took him out the previous month.

If he did play the expected 151 games, there’s no doubt he would have hit 25 home runs and 70 RBI while keeping his average around .270. Instead of being No. 68, Altherr could have finished as high as the mid-50s with his teammate Odubel Herrera.

In his first full season, Altherr had a 43.1 ground ball rate and 37.5 fly ball rate. Those need to improve if he were to raise his batting average while hitting more home runs. The 20.1 soft hit rate shows that when he is connecting, it’s getting out of the infield.

With proper conditioning, Altherr should be 100 percent by Opening Day next season. He would have been close to a top-50 outfielder this year without the injuries.

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Altherr is ranked outside the top 250 overall and top 60 outfielders. In standard 25-round leagues, he would go undrafted again. I think that’s a mistake. With 25-home run and .270 potential, he is a  breakout star waiting to be drafted.