When it comes to identifying my sleepers for Fantasy Baseball, I've got a simple, and straightforward definition: Anyone outside of the top 200 in ADP counts.
Super-hyped prospects? Veterans with hundred-million-dollar contracts? Guys your average baseball fan has never even heard of? Yep, I'll include them all, because my definition is strictly about price. Others might have a different definition – a player could be a sleeper as a fifth-round pick if you think they should be a third-rounder, I suppose – but I'm looking for players who are being truly overlooked in drafts, and I'm drawing my line at 200th in early ADP via the NFCB platform since Dec. 1.
Some of these players will, of course, see their price increase between now and when most drafts happen in February, and when I adjust this list in a few months, that'll be reflected. Some of these guys will no longer qualify for the list then, and I might just lose interest in some other guys on here. But for now, here are the 12 players I'll be looking to add in the later rounds of my drafts for the 2025 season:
Sleepers 1.0
With the Cardinals moving Willson Contreras to first base full-time for 2025, there's an opportunity for their intriguing young catching tandem of Herrera and Pedro Pages to step up, and that's exciting news for Fantasy. Pages isn't without sleeper appeal of his own – basically, any cheap catcher with conceivable upside has some sleeper appeal – but he's probably more likely to bring value with his glove than his bat. But Herrera brings legitimate upside as a hitter, even beyond his very solid .301/.373/.428 line as a part-timer in 2024. Herrera looks like he might have legitimately above-average power, and not just for a catcher – his .366 expected wOBA in 2024 was well above the league average for all hitters, as was his .160 expected ISO. Pair it with good plate discipline and swing decisions, and you don't have to squint too much to see a legitimate top-five outcome at the position here.
Deyvison De Los Santos, 1B, Marlins
It might take some time to come to fruition because the Marlins do have a glut of guys at first base and DH right now. So we might see them cycle through the likes of Kyle Stowers, Jonah Bride, Griffin Conine, and Matt Mervis before they turn things over to De Los Santos. But … well, just look at that list of guys. I'm not saying there aren't major-league-caliber skills scattered among them, but they're all probably just guys. In fact, it might be the highest concentration of "Just A Guy" guys in MLB history. De Los Santos won't be 22 until close to midseason and is coming off a season where he hit .264/.311/.523 with nearly a 40-homer pace in his first taste of Triple-A, so while he has a similar skill set to the rest of those guys, there's clearly a bit more upside here. There's a real chance he just replaces Jake Burger for the Marlins, right down to the 30 beefy homers.
Kristian Campbell, 2B, Red Sox
Look, I'm not totally opposed to the idea of giving Vaughn Grissom another chance, something the Red Sox are reportedly at least considering ahead of Spring Training. And if Grissom comes out in Spring Training and wins the job, hey, more power to him. But let's be honest: The Red Sox absolutely cannot afford to be complacent about the second base spot in their lineup, because it was an absolute disaster in 2024 – their second basemen collectively had just a 45 wRC+, the worst mark by any team at the position since the 2021 Orioles. If the Red Sox want to be serious about contending in 2025, they can't have a black hole in the lineup like that again.
The good news is, they have a viable backup plan now in case Grissom looks overmatched again. And, frankly, Campbell should probably just be the Plan A at this point. He doesn't have a long track record, but he just put together one of the most impressive seasons by anyone in the minors in 2024, hitting .330/.439/.558 while getting all the way to Triple-A and more than holding his own. He's a universal top-20 prospect (at least), and while I can see the case for giving him a bit more time in the minors to prove it was 100% for real – he only played 19 games at Triple-A and only 75 above A ball – Campbell might be the team's best option for the keystone right now. It shouldn't be long before we see him there one way or the other.
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Rays
We don't tend to get excited about veterans, and that's probably a collective weakness for Fantasy players. Sure, older, established players probably have a narrower range of possible outcomes than the young kids, but that isn't necessarily true all of the time – especially when something significant changes for the veteran. Like, say, a new home park, one that might see the player going from one of the toughest environments for a hitter to one of the best. The Rays are relocating from Tropicana Field for the upcoming season to George M. Steinbrenner Field, which features the exact same dimensions as Yankee Stadium – famously a pretty good place for left-handed power hitters to play their trade. Add in that Tropicana Field tends to inflate strikeout totals, and this feels like an all-around great move for a left-handed slugger with some contact issues. As long as the Rays don't trade Lowe, I think he should be arguably the best source of homers at the second base position, and someone I'm willing to use as a starter there in any league.
Carlos Correa, SS, Twins
Let's go with another seemingly boring old guy who might not actually be all that boring. Correa has had trouble staying healthy over the past few years, a problem that isn't likely to get better in his 30s, which is why he's being drafted around 250th overall these days. But when Correa was on the field last season, he was still a force, hitting .310/.388/.517, with a 25-homer, near-100-RBI-and-run pace. You can expect some time on the IL at this point in Correa's career, but he still looks like a must-start option when he's on the field, and you just don't get many of those around 250 in ADP. Take one when he's there.
Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox
The thing about Anthony is, he's either going to go undrafted in most leagues or he's going to force his way onto the Red Sox roster this spring and be a top-150 pick. He's only played 35 games at Triple-A, but he more than held his own, hitting .344/.463/.519 while showcasing a terrific approach at the plate and excellent quality-of-contact metrics. As a 20-year-old. The Red Sox have a full outfield right now … kind of – Ceddanne Rafaela can play either middle infield spot, and the Red Sox would still seemingly love to move Masataka Yoshida, which would free up the DH spot, too. Which is to say, if Anthony forces their hand this spring, there could be a path for him. With his combination of plus power and excellent plate discipline at such a young age, I think Anthony could have superstar upside.
Nolan Jones, OF, Rockies
Another veteran going around 250 in early drafts, Jones makes a lot more sense as a late-round flier than as a top-60 pick, where he was going last season. Jones was a disaster last season, and it's hard to know how much of that was due to recurring back injuries. I'm willing to give him at least a little of the benefit of the doubt, as long as he costs so little and still calls Coors Field home for half of his games. I still think there's 20-20 potential here.
Michael Conforto, OF, Dodgers
Conforto can still rake, and now he's moving to both the best ballpark and best lineup he's ever played in. How much better is Dodger Stadium than Oracle Park, where Conforto played for the past two seasons? Well, according to BaseballSavant's xHR stat, he would have 168 homers in his career if he played every game in L.A. – he would have 108 in San Francisco. Sure, maybe he doesn't play against every lefty with the Dodgers, but when he's in the lineup, he could be a plus source of homers and run production, and his ADP since signing is still just 290.4. I'll take him at that price every time.
Nick Lodolo, SP, Reds
You're generally better off looking at what a player did over the course of a full season rather than any smaller slice of the schedule, but there are always reasonable exceptions to be made. And, in Lodolo's case, I think we have an extremely reasonable explanation for why his season fell apart so abruptly after a strong start – he just wasn't healthy. When Lodolo went on the IL with a blister on the middle finger of his left hand, he had a 2.76 ERA and 26.1% strikeout rate and generally looked like one of the best breakout pitchers in the league.
After he returned from the injury in July, he had a 7.54 ERA and 24.3% strikeout rate, and he admitted it was because the blister impacted his grip and led to lingering soreness in the finger that would eventually end his season. The whiff rate on his curveball especially collapsed, a big deal for a guy who depends so much on that pitch. Lodolo is no sure thing – and pitching in Cincinnati certainly doesn't help his cause – but with his ADP sitting at 250.4, I'm definitely willing to take the plunge again.
Spencer Arrighetti, SP, Astros
Sometimes, I think I have my finger on the pulse of the Fantasy community, and then I see something like Spencer Arrighetti's 218.5 ADP, and I feel totally out of touch. But I do think I have a possible explanation for why people aren't more excited about Arrighetti: He let a lot of players down in a big way last summer. Coming off a pair of dominant performances against the Rays and Orioles, he was a much-hyped waiver-wire target heading into a matchup against the White Sox … and he flopped, giving up four runs in 5.2 innings against them. He followed that up with 17 strikeouts in 13.2 shutout innings over his next two starts against the Orioles and Phillies … only to flop even more dramatically against the Reds.
Nevermind that he followed that up with six runs in his final 20 innings or that he had a 3.31 ERA and a 29.5% strikeout rate over his final 16 starts, he burned a lot of people in his most high-profile opportunities last year, and I think some are simply holding that against him. Clearly, Arrighetti has a slimmer margin for error than you'd prefer, and his fastball command really needs to be pristine for him to dominate. But we've seen him do it before, and at this price, the downside just isn't really there in most leagues. I'll be drafting him pretty much everywhere.
Quinn Mathews, SP, Cardinals
It's not 100% certain Mathews will have a rotation spot to open the season, and the fact that he finally hit a bit of a speed bump when he got to Triple-A at the end of last season might give the Cardinals an excuse to keep him down for some additional seasoning. But I don't think it'll be long until we see the team's top pitching prospect after a season that saw him rack up 202 strikeouts – a number you almost never see in the minors. Despite concerns about overuse in college, Mathews made it through 26 starts and 143.1 innings without issue despite a 3-4 mph jump in fastball velocity. He pairs a now mid-90s fastball with an excellent changeup and good slider, and if that fastball velocity is just the new normal for him, he might just be an impact arm for both the Cardinals and Fantasy.
Mathews has come a long way since being a fourth-round pick a couple of years ago, and Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak already said earlier this offseason, "He's very close." As things stand, he might need an injury or trade to get a chance, but when the likes of Andre Pallante and Steven Matz are in the rotation and veterans like Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, and Miles Mikolas are obvious trade candidates, I'm betting it won't be long before we see Mathews – and there's a real chance he gets that chance with a good spring.
Mike Soroka, RP, Nationals
Soroka tried to do what got him to the majors early last season, but after a couple of Achilles tears and some forearm issues, he just wasn't the same guy. He had to evolve, and Soroka did exactly that, prioritizing his four-seamer, eventually totally ditching his sinker, and suddenly looking a whole lot more interesting. Over his final 10 appearances, Soroka struck out 43% of opposing hitters while typically working in multi-inning stints, and was impressive enough that the Nationals signed him with the intention of trying him out as a starter again. You should be skeptical that this success will carry over, but Soroka will cost your Fantasy team a lot less than the $9 million the Nationals are giving him, and I think he should be drafted in any H2H leagues as a SPaRP, just in case what he did at the end of the year was at all for real.
