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Spring training is also fantasy baseball draft season, and Rotoballer has you covered with deep, thorough coverage of multiple formats and angles throughout the next several weeks. One of the top things everyone is looking for at this time of year is fantasy baseball sleepers.
In this post, I'll run down my top hitter sleepers at each position and highlight someone in a prime position to deliver value and help your team more than generally expected this season. This overview highlights some young players poised for a breakout and more experienced options currently undervalued. I've covered many of these options in more depth in other places, but these sleepers keep popping up as picks for me this spring.
I've highlighted three levels at each position since "sleeper" can mean different things in different contexts. The "top 10" sleeper is a player currently being drafted outside of the top 10 at the position who I think will finish the season as one of the top 10 producers. The "midrange sleeper" is a player being drafted usually in the 20 to 30 range at the position with the potential to outperform those drafted around them. In the third category are some of my favorites, the "deep sleepers" are options that either go very late in drafts or are not being drafted at all. They are almost entirely off the fantasy radar coming into the season but could emerge as fantasy-relevant by the end of the year. Targeting them at the end of your draft or on the waiver wire makes sense.
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Catcher Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Top 10: Austin Wells, New York Yankees
Midrange: Ivan Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals
Deep Sleeper: Agustin Ramirez, Miami Marlins
The Cardinals are moving Willson Contreras to first base, opening up regular playing time behind the plate for Ivan Herrera. The 24-year-old will be entering his first full season in the MLB but made a splash right away after his arrival last year.
On Opening Day, Iván Herrera CRUSHES his first career home run 414 feet! 💣#ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/GU4Sc6EsnC
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 4, 2024
Although he started the season in the MLB, he went to Triple-A in July and August. Overall, he hit an impressive .301 AVG in his 72 games with the Cardinals with five homers, 27 RBI, and a .351 wOBA. The production at the plate was no fluke either since he hit a .297 AVG with a .429 wOBA in 2023 in Triple-A in 2023.
As good as he was last season, Herrera's batted-ball data indicates he was actually unlucky. He finished the season with a .366 xwOBA with a 41.9 percent hard-hit rate.
Herrera also looked even sharper after rejoining the team late in the season. In his 18 games after being called back up, he went 21-for-57 (.368 AVG) with 10 walks, two home runs, and a .447 wOBA in his 18 games to finish the season. While he is unlikely to sustain those numbers for a full season, he should be able to emerge as a top-10 bat at the thin position.
First Base Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Top 10: Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox
Midrange: Michael Toglia, Colorado Rockies
Deep Sleeper: Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics
Like Herrera, Soderstrom will be starting his first full season in the MLB. He is just 23 years old but is a huge part of the Athletics' offense. The first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft showcased big-time power potential with 29 homers in the minor leagues in 2022 and 24 homers last year split between Triple-A and the MLB.
After struggling in his debut in 2022, he held a .233 AVG in 2023 but smashed nine home runs to go with a .196 ISO and .322 wOBA. His xwOBA was much higher at .348 since his hard-hit rate was 48.9 percent with a 14.6 percent barrel rate, per Statcast.
While he didn't have enough at-bats to qualify, his metrics would have ranked him near the top 10 percent. He missed time with a bone bruise in his wrist, but he finished strong, going 12-for-43 (.279 AVG) with a pair of home runs and a .365 wOBA in his 12 games after returning.
Tyler Soderstrom has been considered as a breakout canidate all offseason and rips an RBI single off Matt Waldron!
106 MPH EV.
Lawrence Butler, who ripped a 110 MPH double, scores.
It's Spring Training, but we're seeing Butler & Soderstrom turn up early for the A's. pic.twitter.com/4GRMCf7gFQ
— LouisAnalysis (@LouisAnalysis) February 22, 2025
Soderstrom will hit in the heart of the order for the Athletics and has significant power potential which makes it worth taking the potential hit in batting average to grab him late in drafts.
Second Base Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Top 10: Jackson Holliday, Baltimore Orioles
Midrange: Colt Keith, Detroit Tigers
Deep Sleeper: Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays
Aranda is going amazingly late in drafts and is an excellent add at the end. He has been discussed over the last few years as a potential breakout. He hit a .318 AVG with 18 home runs and a .400 wOBA in his first taste of Triple-A in 2022, and in 2023, he was even better, posting a .339 AVG with 25 homers and a .459 wOBA.
Last spring, he looked ready to burst onto the fantasy scene before fracturing his ring finger and not finding his stride until late in the year.
After other injuries and time in Triple-A, he hit .247 (20-for-81) in his last 26 games with five home runs and a solid .347 wOBA. He produced a 132 wRC+ over that small sample size, which the Rays hope is a sign of things to come in 2025.
Jonathan Aranda could hit 25 or more HRs with the short porch in right at the Rays' 2025 home. His 160 RV+ wedged into the top 10 among those with 140 PAs.
Aranda is one of the players most likely to break out this season, according to our @zcrizer.https://t.co/CaZzorWqSw pic.twitter.com/uvYW87YlOL
— Opta Analyst US (@OptaAnalystUS) February 24, 2025
Especially in a park that fits his swing style, Aranda could have a delayed breakout and be an excellent deep-league sleeper if he stays healthy.
Third Base Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Top 10: Isaac Paredes, Houston Astros
Midrange: Matt Shaw, Chicago Cubs
Deep Sleeper: Joey Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers
The Cubs are ready to give their everyday third base job to Shaw after trading Isaac Paredes to the Astros in the Kyle Tucker deal. Shaw was the team's first-round pick in 2023 and had a massive 2024, hitting for a .284 AVG with 21 homers, 71 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases at Double-A and Triple-A.
He has plenty of power and speed upside and also has second base and shortstop eligibility. Due to positional scarcity, he's probably worth the most at third base, as long as he overcomes his early oblique issues to claim the full-time job coming out of spring training.
He's a hustler and a gamer whose "all-out" style will quickly make him a favorite with Cubs fans and fantasy owners.
“I think Matt Shaw could very well be in the Rookie of the Year consideration if he's given 140+ games for the Cubs.”
- @SamDykstraMiLB on #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/gAhVYqLcAV
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 24, 2025
Shortstop Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Top 10: Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies
Midrange: Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals
Deep Sleeper: Jordan Lawlar, Arizona Diamondbacks
If you miss out on the top options, I'm very high on both Tovar and Winn as young options ready to emerge as superstars. Winn has worked with a track coach this offseason. His goal is to rack up 30 stolen bases this season after stealing 11 bases in 2024.
Masyn Winn hopes to take it to another level. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/RhxvTSCari
— Jim Hayes (@RegionalTVCat) February 17, 2025
In his 150 games last year, Winn hit a solid .267 AVG with 15 home runs, a .315 wOBA, and 103 wRC+. His average dropped after the All-Star break but his power ticked up. His BABIP sunk to only .262 after the break, so there's potential for positive regression this year. His multi-faceted game gives him a high ceiling, and he should pile up counting stats in the leadoff spot.
Outfield Fantasy Baseball Sleepers
Top 10: Lawrence Butler, Athletics
Midrange: Jasson Dominguez, New York Yankees
Deep Sleeper: Matt Wallner, Minnesota Twins
Wallner is being drafted after 80 other outfielders have already been taken, but there's a lot of upside to consider in his game. The 27-year-old lefty has enormous power potential but also strikes out at an extremely high rate. The upside is intriguing if you can afford the strikeouts in your league format.
In each of the last two years, Wallner has had just over 250 MLB plate appearances. He hit 14 homers and a .377 wOBA in 2023 and followed that up with 13 homers and a slight improvement to a .385 wOBA. He struggles to make contact with strikeout rates of 31.5 percent and 36.4 percent the last two years, but when he does make contact, it's usually very, very loud.
His average exit velocity, max exit velocity, barrel rate, and hard-hit percentage were all near the top of the league, and he ranked sixth in Statcast's bat speed metric among players with at least 200 swings last season.
Matt Wallner has homered twice in a 4-0 game.
September 13, 2023 vs TB
Tonight vs LAA pic.twitter.com/FdQXi096kn— Twins Dingers (@TwinsDingers) September 11, 2024
After struggling early in the year, he hit a solid .282 AVG after being called back up in early July with 12 dingers and a .405 wOBA. With Max Kepler playing in Philadelphia this season, he will get a long look at plenty of playing time in right field. He has been hitting leadoff in spring training, which would be another boost to his value.
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