Finding sleepers is one of the main components to building a championship team in any fantasy sport.  By the term sleeper I mean finding late round talent that produces far better than where you drafted him.  Some key sleepers last year included Casey McGehee, Kole Calhoun, Devin Mesoraco and Tanner Roark.  These players were either late round draft picks or went undrafted but proved to be valuable fantasy assets last season.  If you want to increase your odds at winning a championship you need to find this years sleepers and draft some of them for your team.  Here are my top sleepers for 2015.

1. Avisail Garcia, Outfield, Chicago White Sox 

Garcia was a top prospect for the Tigers before being traded to the White Sox.  He has already made three stints in the major leagues but has failed to remain healthy in any season with a season high in games played only being 72 in 2013.  Garcia has a tremendous amount of upside but is going to need to stay healthy to tap into that potential.  Garcia seems to be taking health seriously though as he has hit the gym hard this offseason and maintained a good diet which has lead to him being in the best shape of his career.  If Garcia is ever going to show his potential this is the year. 

2. Joc Pederson, Outfield, Los Angeles Dodgers

Pederson is a very intriguing option as he has displayed great power and speed in the minors.  Pederson is a .302 hitter in the minors and last year in AAA Pederson hit .303 with 33 homeruns and 30 steals.  The one thing that is going to hold back Pederson is his extreme strikeout rate.  He struck out 34% of his at bats last season.  With a strikeout rate that high his average will never hold up especially with the greatly improved defenses he will see in the majors that are going to rob him of a lot of hits that fall for him in the minors.  Pederson has a starting gig with the trade of Matt Kemp but temper your expectations until he shows he can put the ball in play more consistently.

3. Kris Bryant, Third Base, Chicago Cubs

Bryant much like Pederson is a very talented player but strikes out far too often.  Last season Bryant put up silly numbers batting .325 with 43 homeruns, 118 runs, and 110 RBI.  Unfortunately he also struck out 162 times which was 33% of his at bats.  That type of strikeout rate means his batting average is unsustainable in the majors where the pitching and defenses get better.  The power is very real as he belted nine homeruns during spring training but is always going to be a liability in the batting average department as long until he puts the ball in play at a better clip.

4. Micah Johnson, Second Base, Chicago White Sox

Even though no official starting second baseman has been named yet in Chicago, Johnson is currently in the lead according to the manager with less than a week until opening day.  Even though Johnson will likely bat ninth he has good speed and should have no issue scoring runs with the White Sox potent top of the order.  Johnson does a good job at putting the ball in play and is a .297 career hitter who stole 84 bases in 2013.  If you are in need of cheap runs and steals Johnson is a solid option.

5. A.J. Pollock, Outfield, Arizona Diamondbacks

The former first round pick took a couple years to make it to the majors and when he did it took another three years before he displayed his first round talent.  Pollock finally broke through last year batting .302 with 14 steals and 41 runs in only 72 games.  Pollock will be the leadoff man for the Diamondbacks this year and if he is able to keep up the high batting average he should have no problem scoring 90 runs and racking up 25 or more steals.

6. Alex Rodriguez, Third Base, New York Yankees

A-Rod has been hobbled by injuries over the last couple of seasons which is why I think his year long suspension did him well.  A-Rod had a full year to rest his ailing hip and is going to be the full time DH with only limited time in the field which is really going to help save his hip.  So far this spring Rodriguez has looked healthy as he is turning on inside fastballs and driving them, which is a pitch that has troubled him over the years due to his hip.  A-Rod this spring is batting a solid .324 with three homeruns.  While he likely won’t ever bat .300 again .275 or .280 is reasonable if he stay healthy with 20-25 homeruns.  These are really good numbers at a weak fantasy position and A-rod isn’t being until round 21.

7. Michael Taylor, Outfield, Washington Nationals

Taylor should be a solid starting option while Denard Span is out with an injury and if he plays well enough he might be able to find a way to get himself regular at bats.  Taylor likely won’t contribute much in the way of average with a .261 career average in the minors with a 30% strikeout rate.  Taylor does had 20/20 potential though as he displayed solid power and speed at every level of the minors.

8. Michael Pineda, Starting Pitcher, New York Yankees

While on the field Pineda was extraordinary last season pitching to a 1.89 ERA with a .825 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 79 innings.  Hopefully Pineda can get his strikeout rate back up now that he is over his shoulder injury, and if he is able to do that, he should be a force in the Yankees rotation.  

9. Taijuan Walker, Starting Pitcher, Seattle Mariners

Walker has been an up and coming prospect for a couple of years now but has either failed to reach his potential due to lack of control of because of injuries.  This will be Walkers third stint in the big leagues and based off his spring stats (which don’t account for much) he looks poised to finally break through.  In 18 innings of work walker has only walked four batters, has 19 strikeouts and has yet to give up a run.  Walker’s ADP is 213 and if he finally taps into his potential he may just be the difference maker your team needs.

10. Jesse Hahn, Starting Pitcher, Oakland Athletics

Hahn put up excellent numbers in San Diego last season but despite that he isn’t getting much respect in fantasy drafts this year, going undrafted in most of them.  Sure Hahn pitched in a great pitchers park last year but Oakland also provides a great pitchers park.  Hahn strikes out just around a batter per inning and should be able to maintain an ERA in the low three’s which is great value for a pitcher that is going undrafted in most leagues.  As long as Hahn can mix in his curveball better so that it doesn’t become predictable he should have no problem replicating last seasons stats