Elite Fantasy Baseball Hitters To Rebound in 2025 - Don't Fade These Studs

The fantasy baseball season is right around the corner. The first regular-season game will officially kick off on March 18 between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. These two teams will open their 2025 campaign by playing a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan. Then, the rest of the league will open their season on either Thursday, March 27, or Friday, March 28.

That means now is the perfect time to start researching for your fantasy league. In this article, we will go through five hitters who will rebound at the plate following a poor 2024 season. These players will be great picks throughout your fantasy drafts, and you shouldn't be scared to draft them after an underwhelming campaign.

So, let's dive in and take a look at which hitters will rebound at the plate during the 2025 season. 

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Matt Olson, 1B, Atlanta Braves

In a lot of ways, it was a season to forget for Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson in 2024. He had his worst power-hitting season in a Braves uniform, and the lefty slugger's slow start put him in the bust category early in the year. Olson hit just .220 with 13 home runs and 44 RBI across his first 99 games.

However, he was a much more consistent hitter over the final two-and-a-half months of the season. Olson hit .289 with 16 home runs, 16 doubles, and 53 RBI in the final 63 games of the year. If he kept that pace for the entire 162-game season, he would have finished with over 40 home runs, 40 doubles, and 130 RBI.

Instead, Olson hit 29 home runs with 98 RBI behind a .247 batting average. While it wasn't the worst season at the plate for the veteran, his power numbers were down across the board. His 29 home runs were tied for his fewest in a full season since 2018, and he didn't total at least 100 RBI for the first time in a full season since 2019.

Fantasy managers, though, should expect a bounce-back campaign for Olson at the plate. His 63-game sample size at the end of 2024 is a great sign entering the year, and his metrics were better than his numbers suggested last season. His hard-hit rate (47.4 percent), average exit velocity (91.5), and barrel rate (12.4 percent) all ranked in the 83rd percentile or better.

So, fantasy managers should draft Olson with confidence early in 2025 fantasy drafts. He was a much better hitter toward the end of last season, and hitting in the middle of Atlanta's lineup should lead to many RBI opportunities.

Josh Lowe, OF, Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe did not have a great season at the plate in 2024. After breaking out the year before, many fantasy managers were excited to select him in drafts. He finished with a .292 batting average, 20 home runs, 33 doubles, 83 RBI, and 32 stolen bases back in 2023. That 20-20 potential was why Lowe was going to be a popular target in drafts last season.

However, his ADP immediately took a hit when he injured his oblique and hip in spring training. Those injuries caused him to miss the first month of the season, and he didn't make his season debut until May 6. Unfortunately, the Rays outfielder landed back on the injured list a few weeks later due to another oblique strain.

With a limited spring training and multiple stints on the injured list, Lowe just could never get into a rhythm at the plate. He finished the year with a .241 batting average, 10 home runs, 19 doubles, and 25 stolen bases across 106 games. But fantasy managers should expect the lefty to rebound on offense in 2025.

The Rays open things up in the Bronx on Josh Lowe's big two-out hit. pic.twitter.com/x2W8EB33Oq

— MLB (@MLB) May 12, 2023

Even though Lowe's numbers weren't great a season ago, there are reasons to be optimistic about him entering the 2025 campaign. For starters, the potential is there for another 20-20 season. On top of that, the 26-year-old ranked toward the top of the league in average exit velocity (90.8), barrel rate (10.3 percent), hard-hit rate (46.1 percent), and launch angle sweet spot rate (37.9 percent). So, a bounce-back season should be in store.

2024 was a weird year for Lowe, and the lack of spring training reps could have been a reason for his poor season at the plate. Assuming he stays healthy in 2025, though, he should be a much more consistent fantasy option.

Julio Rodriguez, OF, Seattle Mariners

Seattle Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez might have been the biggest bust in fantasy in 2024. He was going as a top-6 pick in most fantasy leagues and winded up finishing outside the top 50. As a result, some fantasy managers might not have any interest in selecting Rodriguez in drafts this season -- even though his ADP is lower than last year.

However, the two-time Silver Slugger winner should still be on everyone's radar in fantasy this season. Even though he got off to a slow start in 2024, he still finished with a .273 batting average, 20 home runs, 68 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. Those numbers were thanks to a strong 56-game stretch from Rodriguez to end the season.

As seen from the chart, Rodriguez was a much better hitter over the final two months of the season. He hit .318 at the plate with 13 home runs and 39 RBI over the final 56 games. Although his stolen base numbers were down during that stretch, that was only because the slugger was coming back from a high ankle sprain and played through that injury for the remainder of the year.

When diving deeper into Rodriguez's numbers from last year, there shouldn't be much concern heading into 2025. His xwOBA (.344), expected slugging (.463), average exit velocity (91.7), and hard-hit rate (48.4 percent) all ranked in the 81st percentile or better. While his launch angle sweet spot rate (33.2 percent) ranked in the 37th percentile, that number was a career-high for the outfielder.

As a result, Rodriguez should be in for a rebound season at the plate. He always has the potential for a 30-30 season, and having Kevin Seitzer as his hitting coach this year should help him big time. Seitzer spent the last 10 years with the Braves and was instrumental to the developments of Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. So, fantasy managers should be in on the Mariners star in 2025.

Austin Riley, 3B, Atlanta Braves

A second Atlanta Braves infielder makes this list, as third baseman Austin Riley is coming off an underwhelming season at the plate. Although Riley missed the last six weeks of the regular season due to a broken hand, he wasn't exactly tearing it offensively before his season-ending injury. He had just a .256 batting average with 19 home runs, 56 RBI, and a .461 slugging percentage across 110 games.

It was truly a rough offensive campaign for Riley in 2024. This was the first time since 2019 that he didn't hit 30 home runs and total more than 90 RBI in a full season, and his .256 batting average was 25 points lower than the 2023 season (.281).

Of course, he missed 52 games, which is a reason why his numbers were so down, but his slow start did not help fantasy managers last year. Riley hit just three home runs in his first 53 games while carrying a .220 batting average through the middle of June. Something switched, though, for the third baseman, and he looked like his former self in his final 57 games of the year.

If Riley's 16-home-run pace over those 57 contests continued for 162 games, he would have been on pace for over 40 home runs. As a result, it's fair to assume that we will see that version of him again for most of the 2025 season. His metrics from last year also back that up.

Despite the down year at the plate, Riley had some of the best metrics of his career. His 93.3 average exit velocity and 53.4 percent hard-hit rate were the best of his career, while his 14.9 percent barrel rate was the second best. The Braves third baseman also ranked in the 94th percentile or better in all those categories last year. So, the 27-year-old third baseman will be just fine offensively this upcoming season.

Adolis Garcia, OF, Texas Rangers

The whole Texas Rangers team had a down year in 2024, especially outfielder Adolis Garcia. Garcia's numbers were down across the board, and the two-time All-Star had arguably the worst season of his career at the plate. He hit .224 with 25 home runs, 27 doubles, and 85 RBI across 154 games.

All of Garcia's stats from last year were down from his 2023 campaign, in which he finished 14th in the American League MVP voting. During that season, he hit .245 at the plate with 39 home runs, 29 doubles, and 107 RBI. However, the slugging outfielder didn't build on that career campaign in 2024.

It was a couple of rough months offensively for Garcia last season. He had just 18 home runs in 473 plate appearances through the middle of August, and his 34.3 percent whiff ranked in the bottom 5 percent of the entire league. Nonetheless, the Rangers outfielder should be in store for a bounce-back season at the plate in 2025.

Although his numbers were down last season, he still hit 25 home runs and totaled 85 RBI. His average exit velocity (91.0), barrel rate (12.5 percent), and hard-hit rate (48.2 percent) also all ranked extremely well in 2024. The problem with Garcia was his inability to hit the fastball, as he had a .203 batting average and .369 slugging percentage against that pitch in 2024, per Statcast.

While we don't know if he will improve against fastballs this upcoming season, hitting around Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, and Josh Jung should lead to more RBI opportunities. As a result, he is someone to target in drafts because a better season on offense should be in store. The 31-year-old outfielder is a prime candidate to hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 runs while hitting around the .240-.250 mark.

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