When we look back at what players produced in 2024, it's easy to focus on the full picture. But sometimes there's a late finish of note that might spotlight a player moving in the right direction.

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Let's take a look at some of the players who picked up steam in the latter stages of last season, and try to figure out what it might mean for 2025.

All aboard the Cruz train — the other one

In the preseason we wondered about the likely superiority battle between NL Central stars Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz. The card turned into a rout — Elly took off, Oneil really didn't. At least that's the story for the full season — Oneil Cruz actually had a nifty run if you look at the latter part of the year.

Here's what Oneil Cruz posted over his final 70 games, 66 starts: a .283/.356/.477 slash, nine homers, and a perfect 16-for-16 on steals. He was the No. 9 fantasy shortstop in 5x5 value over that period.

The usual stuff was at play during this surge. Oneil Cruz was striking out less, walking more, controlling his at-bats better. The development curve is different for everybody. Hopefully, the shift to the outfield this year doesn't derail Oneil Cruz, because I think he's a fun pick in the top-45 range as he enters his age-26 season.

We can't ignore 'Second-Half Suárez'

While Oneil Cruz is a younger player, Eugenio Suárez is a veteran in Arizona. He's entering his age-33 season. We should know what he is and isn't by now.

But there's this Second-Half Suárez thing that he often gives us. Last year he popped 20 homers after the All-Star break, with a tremendous .307/.341/.602 slash. In 2019, he conked a ridiculous 29 homers after the break. His production has been better in the second half for seven of the past eight seasons (we're not counting 2020's truncated season, of course).

I don't know the logical explanation for this, but it's too large of a sample for me to ignore it. Some guys aren't sharp when the season opens. Maybe it's weather-related. Maybe it's tied to conditioning. I just know when a player does something this consistently, I'm going to factor it in, somewhat.

It's also nice that Suárez is in a neutral ballpark like Arizona, after toiling in Seattle for two years. That helps. He's an interesting target around Pick 172 in global ADP — he's going a few rounds higher in early Yahoo drafts at 145.

Value in the leadoff man for the Fish

The Marlins do not have a destination offense in 2025. This looks like one of the five worst teams in baseball, and certainly the worst team in the NL East. But Xavier Edwards was a bright spot in the second half last year, giving us a delightful 70 games: .328/.397/.423, with 39 runs and 31 steals. He was only caught four times.

Edwards was never a glittering prospect, but he did crack the top 100 on a few boards before his rise to the majors. And what he did in the minors over six seasons earned our attention: .313/.385/.399, with 119 steals in 151 attempts. I figure the Marlins will park Edwards at the top of the order and let him run whenever he wants. If that current 157 ADP at NFC sticks, I'm plenty interested in the Miami shortstop. Admittedly, the barrier to entry is a little higher in early Yahoo drafts with an ADP of 133.

A's committed to Butler late last year — maybe you should too

The Athletics are headed into the Great Wide Open this season, uncharted territory. They'll be in a minor-league ballpark in Sacramento, a yard that probably can't be worse for offense than the Oakland ballpark was. Brent Rooker is the obvious destination pick here. But let's note how dynamic Lawrence Butler was when the team finally committed to him last year.

Butler opened the year in Oakland and wasn't ready, toting a .179/.281/.274 slash through six weeks or so. The demotion to the minors was merited. But when Butler resurfaced in mid-June, the story took off. He was a .291/.330/.565 monster the rest of the way, with 20 homers and 15-for-15 on the bases. He scored 55 runs over that period, drove in 50.

If you consider all the offensive players from June 18 — Butler's recall day — to the end of the year, Butler checks in as the No. 11 offensive player in 5x5 value. (Rooker, incidentally, was No. 3. And our buddy Suárez was No. 8.)

Butler was the leadoff man for Oakland over the final three months, and let's assume he keeps that gig all of 2025. Power-speed combos are always hotly targeted at the draft table. I actually think this quirky Oakland roster could flirt with .500 baseball in 2025 if the nomad lifestyle doesn't hold them back. Butler's global ADP is around 72 right now, but given what he showed in the second half of 2025, that allows room for profit. Meanwhile, the early Yahoo ADP of 94 allows for even more.