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Stashing injured players is a thing some fantasy baseball managers like to do later in drafts, so we're here to give you our favorite value picks to fill your IL spots. The MLB players discussed in this article are expected to start the season on the injured list, but you can get them at a significant discount.
Last season, pitchers Shane Baz and Jeffrey Springs were solid stash options heading into drafts. Baz finished with a 3.06 ERA in 14 starts, while Springs had a 3.27 ERA in seven starts. Players like Ronald Acuna Jr., George Kirby, Spencer Strider, and Grayson Rodriguez will not be featured on this list. Although all four players will start the season on the IL, they aren't really "stash" candidates since they all go within the top 125 picks in drafts.
Instead, we'll look at players going much later that fantasy managers can stash in the middle-to-late rounds. So, let's dive in and look at the five best-injured players to stash in fantasy baseball drafts. All five players on this list are going outside the top 175 currently in drafts. Be sure to also bookmark our running fantasy baseball injury news and download our free mobile app to get the latest player news and injury alerts.
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Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels
ADP: 176
Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto will not be ready for Opening Day. He underwent shoulder surgery in November and will likely start the 2025 campaign on the injured list. Although Neto is quickly progressing from that shoulder injury, the Angels are not going to rush back their 24-year-old shortstop with a long season ahead of them.
As a result, Neto is a fantastic stash candidate at his 176.7 ADP. He is coming off a breakout campaign in 2024 and should continue to be a solid fantasy option once he returns to the field this year. The shortstop hit .240 with 23 home runs, 34 doubles, 77 RBI, and 30 stolen bases across 155 games last season. That makes him a perfect target for many fantasy managers at this point.
If Neto had not been hurt entering the season, he likely would have been going much sooner in drafts. He had a 20-30 campaign in 2024, and assuming his shoulder holds up throughout the year, there's no reason why he can't replicate that again in 2025. The 24-year-old is a low-risk, high-reward selection this late in drafts.
Players age 25 or younger projected* in 2025 to have:
> 20 HR
> 20 SB
> 110 wRC+Zach Neto
Jackson Chourio
Julio Rodriguez
Bobby Witt Jr
Corbin Carroll pic.twitter.com/o6I3M3a1ZK— DataBase Hit (@DatabaseHit) February 11, 2025
Sean Manaea, SP, New York Mets
ADP: 205
New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea has seen his ADP drop drastically over the past few weeks. The left-hander suffered a right oblique strain in late February and will likely miss the first few weeks of the season. That has surely affected Manaea's draft position, as his ADP has gone from 188.8 to over 200 (and even as high as 235.1 in CBS fantasy leagues).
Therefore, Manaea is a great target in drafts as a stash option. Even though the southpaw will likely miss the start of the season, he shouldn't miss too much time, considering he suffered this injury back on February 24. It'll surely take him a couple of weeks to build back up once he has recovered from that strain, but he should make his debut at some point in April.
Given that he is coming off a career year on the mound, Manaea can be one of the better stashes in fantasy drafts. He finished with a 3.47 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and 184 strikeouts across 181.2 innings pitched in 2024. The veteran also held opposing hitters to a .202 average a season ago. So, draft him and keep him in one of your IL spots to start the year because it could definitely pay off.
Brandon Woodruff, SP, Milwaukee Brewers
ADP: 221
It remains to be seen if Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff will start the season on the injured list. If he does, though, he should be stashed in most leagues. Although Woodruff missed the entire 2024 season due to a shoulder injury and has only pitched in 11 games since 2023, there is very little risk in stashing the right-hander at his 221 ADP.
Woodruff has always been one of the better pitchers in the game when healthy. In his last two full seasons in 2021 and 2022, the Brewers pitcher finished with a sub-3.10 ERA while striking out at least 190 strikeouts in both of those campaigns. Now, we don't know if the 32-year-old will be able to put up those similar numbers in 2025, especially after missing all of last season.
However, the reports out of the spring training surrounding Woodruff have been encouraging so far. As a result, he's worth a selection in the later rounds as someone you could potentially stash on IL to begin the season. There's no reason why the right-hander can't contribute solid fantasy numbers across the board in 2025. He is finally healthy for the first time since 2022.
Luis Gil, SP, New York Yankees
ADP: 184
New York Yankees pitcher Luis Gil was one of my favorite targets in the later rounds of drafts following a solid rookie campaign. But the reigning American League Rookie of the Year will now miss at least the first three months of the season due to a lat strain. That's a tough break for a pitcher looking to build on his 2024 numbers. Gil finished with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts last year.
Luis Gil, Nasty 90mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/JdZ3xOmgnU
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2024
Still, we shouldn't completely write off Gil in fantasy. He'll be back at some point in the first half, and we could see him make his season debut at some point in July. That makes him a solid stash candidate in the later rounds of drafts. Despite struggling toward the end of his rookie year, it's hard to ignore what the right-hander did in his first 14 starts last season.
Gil had a 2.03 ERA and 96 strikeouts across 80 innings pitched. Those types of stretches could be the norm for the right-hander in 2025. Even though fantasy managers will have to wait a couple of months for him to make his season debut, he has a higher upside than most pitchers at this point in drafts. So, stash him now because he can be a real weapon for your fantasy team come playoff time.
Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets
ADP: 179
The New York Mets have suffered a handful of injuries this spring, and catcher Francisco Alvarez is the latest Met expected to miss time. Alvarez will be out for six to eight weeks after being diagnosed with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. As a result, his ADP will likely continue to drop before your fantasy drafts take place.
Alvarez, though, could be a potential stash candidate in most leagues, especially if you punt on the catcher position in the early rounds. Although the Mets backstopper didn't have the best season at the plate in 2024, his power makes him a nice home run target later in the double-digit rounds. He hit 25 home runs and drove in 63 RBI back in 2023.
It might be tough for some fantasy managers to draft Alvarez in 2025. He hit just .237 with 11 home runs last year, and his 6.7% barrel rate dropped 6.1 points from the 2023 season (12.8%). However, he's worth stashing on your roster to start the season because this can be the year we finally see him break out. The Mets revamped his swing this offseason with the hopes of helping him rediscover that 2023 power.
Other Injured Players To Stash
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