X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

2020 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - RotoBaller Staff Picks

The RotoBaller staff unveils their favorite preseason fantasy baseball draft sleepers for both hitters and pitchers to target in the later rounds of drafts.

As the 2020 MLB season approaches, it's time for the RotoBaller staff to reveal their favorite preseason sleepers.

We recently asked some of our fantasy baseball writers to get their take on which hitters and pitchers they are targeting the most in the later rounds of fantasy drafts. While you've likely heard some of these names already in our Sleepers section or through our Youtube series, we wanted to lay it all out for you in one convenient place.

Let's find out who our experts have identified as the best values based on current ADP.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

Which hitter outside the top 150 is your favorite sleeper?

Miguel Andujar is well outside the top 200, but if he can find his way to 500+ at-bats this year he could return huge value. With Giancarlo Stanton set to begin the year on the IL, Andujar should have the DH spot locked down. When Stanton returns he'll need to either adapt to a timeshare with Gio Urshela, learn how to play left field or some combination of both. Hitting in the meat of a deadly Yankees lineup, Andujar could still be a candidate for25 homers and 100 RBI with a batting average over .280--assuming his health, of course. -Bill Dubiel

Miguel Andujar. Last year was a complete washout with a shoulder injury ending his season before it really began. Now healthy, Andujar looks like he'll see time in left field as well as both corner infield spots, potentially giving him multi-position eligibility. After hitting 27 homers in 2018 with a .297/.328/.527 slash line, he's poised for a repeat in a Yankees offense where 80 runs and RBIs can be achieved from any spot in the lineup. He was a top-100 drafted player last year and with a return to health, should be again this year. -Jamie Steed

Justin Upton’s injury-shortened season has pushed his ADP to a salivating 225, where I’ll gladly scoop him up wherever I can. Over his previous three seasons combined, he averaged 31 HR, 87 R, 94 RBI, and 10 SB with a .258/.338/.490 slash line, numbers comparable to Michael Conforto’s 2019 season. With Anthony Rendon and Mike Trout setting the table for him, the 32-year-old just needs to stay on the field to return a considerable draft-day profit. -Riley Mrack

Fantasy drafters are down on Justin Upton because he played in just 63 games in 2019 due to a toe injury. But aside from last year, the 32-year-old slugger had at least 30 home runs and eight steals in three straight seasons. If healthy, the four-time All-Star should bounce back in an improved Angels lineup that now includes Anthony Rendon. -Keith Hernandez

Our rankings are more bullish on Bryan Reynolds than most and me being a Pirates fan has nothing to do with this pick. He had an awesome rookie season last year, finishing second on the team in OPS to Josh Bell. He has some nice pop in his bat for a switch-hitter as he slugged 16 homers last year, but he also can hit for average and get on base. Yes, the team might stink this year, but Reynolds is appealing to me hitting in the two-hole in front of Gregory Polanco and Bell and the Buccos play a lot of games in hitter-friendly parks against NL central teams. -Dan Palyo

Didi Gregorius is a virtual lock to outperform his rankings and draft slot. In 2018, he hit 27 home runs in 134 games without the rabbit ball. He needed Tommy John surgery and suffered the two-month slump that seems characteristic of hitters returning from TJ surgery. Add the hitter-friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park, and you have a recipe for a top-75 performance. -Dave Emerick

Tommy Edman is my sleeper outside the top 150. Edman will play every day for the Cardinals and will also have multi-position eligibility. The multi-position eligibility over MI and CI as well as the OF will be quite valuable. Edman will also provide a solid batting average floor with double-digit home runs and 20 steal upside. -Brian Entrekin

Willie Calhoun had one of the better second halves last season with 16 home runs. His above-average Barrel% supports his power, thus making him a great late-round power source. -Michael Simione

Christian Walker of the Diamondbacks blasted 29 home runs last season but is still ranked outside the top-200 overall. He backed up his strong numbers by finishing in the top-10th percentile in hard-hit rate and barrel percentage last season while putting a 91.1 MPH average exit velocity. Walker is the definition of a three-true-outcomes player as he strikes out a lot, but also boasts an 11.1 percent walk rate so his plate discipline isn't necessarily bad. He'll hit in the middle of an improved Arizona offense and should put up a ton of homers and RBI. -Mike Schwarzenbach

 

Which pitcher outside the top 150 is your favorite sleeper?

Everyone should be looking for Mitch Keller as a breakout performer. Keller had one of the more polarizing sliders when he was called up last year. So far in spring, he has been pumping his fastball up in the zone while leaving his breaking balls low in the zone. That plus him verbally saying he will go to his breaking balls more all leads to Keller having tremendous value. -Michael Simione

Josh James was destined for the Astros starting rotation in 2019 before an injury in spring training derailed his season, relegating him to bullpen duties. A year later, he’s vying for the same job, and after working through the offseason to hone his command, he should win the job. James’ 97 MPH heater paired with a slider/changeup combo that both held whiff rates north of 50% last season will undoubtedly play well as a starter to get him through the order multiple times. Even if his innings are capped, his 364 ADP can easily profit as a back-end fantasy starter. -Riley Mrack

Kenta Maeda sitting there at 151 barely qualifies, but he should greatly out-perform that ranking. He's averaged more than a strikeout-per-inning all four years of his Major League career and had a FIP under four in three of those seasons. His main drawback in fantasy has been the Dodgers' management of his workload, but that won't be an issue in Minnesota. The Twins will unleash Maeda and he will be a four-category contributor in fantasy. -Mike Schwarzenbach

In 2018, Mike Foltynewicz put up a 13-win, 2.85 ERA season with 202 K in 183 IP. He then missed nearly all of spring training due to a shoulder injury and didn't make his season debut until late April, so his horrid first half in 2019 (which saw a demotion to Triple-A) wasn't helped by a lack of health. He returned to the Braves rotation in August and posted a 2.65 for the rest of the season. The Braves' team is strong so wins should be available to him and a healthy spring should help us see the best of Foltynewicz again. -Jamie Steed

Dylan Bundy will be a late-round target that is my favorite pitching sleeper. The benefit of Bundy moving from Baltimore to Anaheim can not be emphasized enough. His home/road splits have always been strong and he should benefit from the change in a major way. He also improved a lot in the second half last season, which brings a lot of optimism to 2020. -Brian Entrekin

Dustin May did everything he needed to convince us that he should be drafted as a top-50 starter going into this season. He was good at AA, AAA, and the majors where he put up a 2.82 ERA in the 22.1 IP of his four starts. If managers are concerned about a Chris Paddack situation, it should only be from the fact that May plays for the Dodgers, not a proper innings limit. Last season, May threw 141.1 innings, so there's no reason the Dodgers can't give him 180 IP this season, except that they are the Dodgers. -Dave Emerick

Chris Archer has been a disappointment since he was traded from Tampa to Pittsburgh, but Archer still has the stuff to vastly outperform his ADP and return really nice value for those that take a chance on him. He was hurt by the home run too often last year and gave up too many free passes, but he still managed a 10.75 K/9 and his xFIP of 4.36 looks much better than his career-high 5.19 ERA. -Keith Hernandez

Luke Weaver was off to a terrific start in 2019, but his season was unfortunately cut short by an elbow injury that limited him to just 64.1 total innings. There are plenty of reasons to believe in his abbreviated breakout, and if he follows up on it he should return tremendous value for those who invest now. He brought his K-rate up to 26.5% while lowering his walk rate to a minuscule 5.4%. He allowed just six homers in those 64.1 innings. There is legitimate SP2 potential here, and is currently being taken as the 74th pitcher off draft boards. -Bill Dubiel

We have Nick Anderson ranked well ahead of other sites and I am a big believer in him this season based on what we saw him do last year. His stats were simply incredible and if he ends up closing every day for a solid Tampa team, he could rack up a ton of saves and strikeouts. -Dan Palyo

More Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Undervalued Players




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF