The AL East was baseball's most competitive last season, with three playoff teams and a dominant Blue Jays club finishing only fourth. With the tight packing of the division, teams could use a Wander Franco, Luis Gil, or Jarren Duran to separate them this season. Who could come come though out of the blue to help their clubs this season that aren't just these blue-chip types?
Toronto Blue Jays - Jackson Rees and Hagen Danner
I was temped to tab Gōsuke Katō here, but his selection to TOR's roster kinda makes him less of a sleeper. Rees might not have been in the past, but how about now? The hurler missed most of 2021 with injury, but back in 2019 he posted a miniscule .73 ERA with a 12.8 K/9 and 0.892 WHIP that hearkened back to Travis Bergen's 2018 dominance. Not sold on him health-wise? Try Hagen Danner, a fomer C/P prospect who ventured into professional RP work last season to great success. A key sign for Danner was a 0.925 WHIP - an impressive number for a converted pitcher just starting out. Danner starting in AA could give him a shot to hit the Majors this season and supercharge Toronto's bullpen.
Baltimore Orioles - Drew Rom
It might be a stretch that Rom makes the Majors this season, but his work-ethic could certainly help him. Instead of resting during the lost 2020 Minors season, he pitched in independent ball to stay sharp. It paid off with an eye-catching 2021 that saw him go 11-1 and jump to AA. If Rom isn't niche enough, Denyi Reyes, a former Red Sox prospect, could start in AAA and showed well (2.84 ERA, 1.053 WHIP, 10.2 K/9) in AA as a reliever after stalling out there as a SP.
Tampa Bay Rays - Ford Proctor
We've already mentioned Cooper Hummel in a past post, but let's talk about who he's the poor man's version of - Ford Proctor. Like Rom, he worked in indy ball in 2020, but Proctor's showing was even more impressive. How so? Try a .346/.500/.679 slash in 28 games. Proctor wasn't as impressive playing for AA Montgomery this season, but his ability to play almost everywhere - including catcher - could see him in the Majors this season, and if the bat comes around, Tampa will have one heck of a player on their hands.
Boston Red Sox - David Hamilton
Boston has some unique sleepers on the hitting side alone, from 1B like Roberto Ramos and Tyreque Reed to middle infielders and outfielders like Ryan Fitzgerald and Izzy Wilson. Hamilton, however is noteworthy as he's one of the youngest of the bunch and provides an interesting skillset. A 2019 draft pick out of Texas, Hamilton didn't play professionally until - yes - an independent ball stint. He showed well with "Team Texas" in this stint, posting 20 SB in just 27 games, his 20 steals being eight more than any other player. He then showed in his affiliated debut in 2021 that his speed was no joke, stealing 52 bases in just 101 games while hitting a decent .258/.341/.419 and keeping up the momentum with even more production in the 2021 AFL. With Trevor Story being the only real speed threat on the club and the bench having almost speed altogether, Hamilton could force his way into Boston's reserve INF mis early this season.
New York Yankees - Stephen Ridings
While Ridings may not be as much a sleeper as he was just a year ago, he still may be solidly underrated. Just four walks in 29 innings in the Minors - an astronomically low stat nowadays for a RP - is a key stat that shows Ridings's dominance, with consistently high Minors K/9 numbers and great stuff helping out as well. Expect Ridings to force his way into New York's reliever mix as soon as he is healthy again. Not enough of a sleeper for you? How about C Josh Breaux, an emerging power threat behind the plate in a position of need for the Yanks. Oh, and he's also a former independent leaguer.
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