5 hitters who will have a breakout fantasy year

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3B Nick Castellanos, Tigers

Castellanos launched 18 home runs last season in just 110 games. The soon-to-be 25-year-old is entering his fourth full major-league season and has a realistic chance at 25-30 home runs if he can stay healthy.

He has a slight uppercut in his swing, but he is able to keep the bat head level throughout. Had he played enough games to qualify, his 25.6 line drive percentage would have been the 10th-best in all of baseball. He also has the ability to spray the ball from gap to gap, which plays well in the spacious outfield of Comerica Park.

Castellanos will hit anywhere from 2-6 in Detroit's lineup, surrounded by hitters like Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Justin Upton.

If Castellanos can maintain his .285 batting average from a season ago, he should have no problem driving in 100 runs.

2B Devon Travis, Blue Jays

Through Travis' first two MLB seasons, his only issue has been staying healthy. In his 163-game major-league career he has hit .301/.342/.469 with 19 homers, 46 doubles, 85 RBIs, 92 runs scored and seven steals.

Travis is the definition of a foul line to foul line hitter. His career Pull% is 33.7, his Cent% is 32.9 and his Oppo% is 33.3. What makes him such an intriguing hitter is that he can hit with surprising power to all fields.

He has the type of level swing that should result in a higher line drive percentage, meaning there is still plenty of room for improvement. A .320 batting average is not out of the question - especially when you consider that he'll have Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista hitting behind him.

1B Brandon Belt, Giants

Belt saw a 5.8 percent increase in his walk rate from 2015-2016, but managed to trim his strikeout rate from 26.4 to 22.6. This led to a career high .394 OBP.

He has finished in the top 3 in line drive percentage in the past two seasons, so his high BABIP shouldn't surprise anyone, especially since he plays his home games in the cavernous AT&T Park.

However, playing at AT&T hurts his fantasy outlook more than anything. Of the 35 home runs he has hit over the past two seasons, 24 have come on the road. Despite more power away from home, his batting average and OBP have been drastically better at home.

If Belt can improve his batting average on the road, more home runs will follow. If his walk rate and strikeout rate continue to trend in the right direction, Belt could wind up with a .300 average, a .400 OBP and 25 homers. A healthy Hunter Pence and a bounce-back season from Buster Posey would also increase Belt's fantasy outlook.

1B Greg Bird, Yankees

The baseball world has only been able to see glimpses of what Greg Bird can do. In just 178 plate appearances with the Yankees in 2015, he hit .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs and 31 RBIs. Unfortunately, he missed the entire 2016 season with a torn labrum. He did, however, see some playing time in the Arizona Fall League.

Bird could wind up losing at-bats against lefties thanks to the signing of Chris Carter, but if he gets off to a torrid start he could cement himself as the everyday first baseman since he is clearly apart of New York's future and Carter is not.

Bird will probably strike out a lot and won't hit for a high batting average, but he can be a cheap source of power in the later rounds. In 2015, he pulled the ball 41 percent of the time and his fly ball rate was 51.4 percent. As a left-handed hitter at Yankee Stadium, this is a recipe for success. He has 30-homer potential as early as this season.

OF Billy Hamilton, Reds

Hamilton has stolen 115 bases over the past two seasons while only participating in 233 of a possible 324 games. Injuries have been his Achilles heel.

The speedster made significant strides at the plate in 2016, hitting .260 with a .321 OBP. Part of why he was able to have more success was a 47.7 ground ball percentage - a 5.1 percent increase from 2015.

If Hamilton can once again improve his GB% - potentially north of 55 percent - he could easily hit .280 with a .340 OBP. Over the course of a full season, Hamilton could flirt with 100 steals.

Advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)