Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley. Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

MLB futures: Looking for value among RBI leaders

Home runs and strikeouts are completely independent categories. Runs Batted In, not so much, which is why the top of the odds table looks different than that of homers, even though they are good for one RBI, the last time I checked. 

A quick look at the table sees Aaron Judge drop from the top to fourth while everyone else just below him rises. Last year's leader, Atlanta 1B Matt Olson, is not expected to lead the league for a second season in a row. 

Here is a look at the MLB RBI Leaders with some notable values. 

2024 MLB RBI Leaders

(P.S., I am trying not to double up too much with my HR leader picks.)

Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves +900

Picking someone from the Braves lineup to lead the league in RBIs, again, is hardly a bad idea. The Dodgers will have something to say about it, but it is easy to like Atlanta to be one of the best offenses in the league this season. It looks like Riley will hit third this year and he is super durable too — three straight seasons with 159 or more games. I wouldn't say he is a better bet than Olson but probably better value. 

Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves +1500

With the addition of slugger Shohei Ohtani, Freeman is probably the third-best hitter in the lineup. With Ohtani hitting ahead of him there are certainly going to be some times when the bases are empty, but overall that should mean there are going to be a lot of opportunities. Freeman has raked ever since joining the Dodgers and now that offense is going to be even more supercharged than it was over the last two seasons. He also never misses time, with 159, 159 and 161 games played the last three seasons.

Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros +2200

Yordan Alvarez is the odds-on favorite to take this one, but I liked him in the homer race. plus Tucker just might be the smarter play anyway. He led the American League in RBIs last season and has a much better health history than his more powerful teammate. He is expected to bat fourth while Alvarez is projected to bat second behind Jose Altuve. Even if Alvarez clears the basis Tucker will have Alex Bregman just ahead of him. That is a good thing. 

Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers +3000

Garcia has posted back-to-back 100+ RBI seasons. Sure, everyone is saying that Corey Seager just needs a full complement of at-bats to break every record in the books, but Garcia is in a great position to have another very strong season. Seager has not ever broken the magic 100 RBI mark. He might not even be in the lineup on Opening Day. Garcia does not have the availability record of the guys above him but three straight seasons with 148+ show he can stay healthy. At this price I want to buy in. 

Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins +8000

This is a major long shot given how little time Lewis has in the majors. However, if he can do what he did over a half-season last year, for a full season this summer, we are looking at a 30/100 season. All of the projections have him in that cleanup spot in a pretty good lineup. Oddly, his ability to push for this one might be somewhat contingent on the health of teammate Byron Buxton, always a risky proposition. 

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