A little later than I would have preferred, but here are all my favorite picks for 2025, excluding likely first- and second-rounders. Players are listed alongside their placement in my Top 300, their current Yahoo ADP and their NFBC ADP post-March 1.
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Undervalued Catchers
Willson Contreras – 72nd in Top 300 – 118 in Yahoo – 67 in NFBC
Gabriel Moreno – 274th in Top 300 – 40% undrafted in Yahoo – 175 in NFBC
Iván Herrera – 297th in Top 300 – 69% undrafted in Yahoo – 213 in NFBC
As always, the caveat here is that NFBC is a two-catcher format, whereas my rankings and Yahoo drafts are set for one-catcher leagues. In spite of that, I actually have the elder Contreras awfully close to his NFBC ADP. I’ve been guilty in the past of overrating catchers moving to easier positions, thinking it would give them a performance boost not to have to deal with the catcher grind. With Contreras, though, I’m not doing that; I’m projecting him for an .806 OPS that would be lower than any of his marks from the last three years. But I am expecting him to remain healthy and play in 150 games.
On those rare occasions that I’ve failed to land Contreras in drafts, I’ve been waiting until the very end to get a catcher, probably Moreno. One other name to keep in mind here is Oakland’s Tyler Soderstrom; it looks like he could gain five-game catcher eligibility by the end of April, and he might spend the rest of the year as a top-five fantasy catcher.
Undervalued First Basemen
Triston Casas – 89th in Top 300 – 117 in Yahoo – 118 in NFBC
Spencer Steer – 96th in Top 300 – 148 in Yahoo – 169 in NFBC
Michael Toglia – 99th in Top 300 – 203 in Yahoo – 175 in NFBC
Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 161st in Top 300 – 235 in Yahoo – 222 in NFBC
Tyler Soderstrom – 187th in Top 300 – 81% undrafted in Yahoo – 274 in NFBC
Not my favorite position this year. It’s scary to me that Toglia rates as my best value pick, because I don’t actually believe he’ll be very good; I have him hitting a Coors-aided .237/.318/.473. He certainly has plenty of power, and I expect that he’ll hit 30 homers if the Rockies give him 600 plate appearances. And I do expect that the Rockies will give him 600 plate appearances, for better or worse.
Casas has disappointed as a fantasy first baseman to date, but we’re talking about a 25-year-old with a career 125 OPS+ who is set to mostly bat cleanup for a team that plays in one of baseball’s best ballparks for offense. He shouldn’t be going outside of the top 100.
Undervalued Second Basemen
Matt McLain – 65th in Top 300 – 78 in Yahoo – 77 in NFBC
Jonathan India – 120th in Top 300 – 235 in Yahoo – 231 in NFBC
Christopher Morel – 122nd in Top 300 – 63% undrafted in Yahoo – 253 in NFBC
Maikel Garcia – 131st in Top 300 – 241 in Yahoo – 202 in NFBC
Brandon Lowe – 146th in Top 300 – 218 in Yahoo – 201 in NFBC
Two Royals and two Rays. That India is going so late in drafts really surprises me. Leaving Cincinnati hurts some, but Kansas City is another good offensive ballpark, especially for someone who isn’t a big home run guy. He’s going to lead off in front of Bobby Witt Jr., and he’s a better bet to stay healthy while getting a lot of time at DH and in left field. He could go 15 HR/15 SB and rank among the AL leaders in runs.
It’s less surprising that Morel is going so late, especially since he struggled so mightily after the trade from the Cubs to the Rays. Still, there’s a lot of upside here for someone who is basically free in drafts. He’s in a better ballpark now, and the Rays are committed to giving him a long look in left field. The talent is there: he ranked in the top 20 in MLB in both barrel rate and hard-hit rate in 2023.
Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews is among the players the Rotoworld Baseball staff believes in for 2025.
Undervalued Third Basemen
Austin Riley – 18th in Top 300 – 29 in Yahoo – 29 in NFBC
Alec Bohm – 82nd in Top 300 – 137 in Yahoo – 158 in NFBC
Isaac Paredes – 94th in Top 300 – 164 in Yahoo – 169 in NFBC
Josh Jung – 162nd in Top 300 – 212 in Yahoo – 203 in NFBC
Ryan McMahon – 198th in Top 300 – 65% undrafted in Yahoo – 291 in NFBC
The player the Cubs got for Morel last summer makes an appearance here, but only because he was since traded to Houston in the Kyle Tucker deal. Paredes and Wrigley Field were not a match, but the Crawford Boxes will suit him very well. Paredes hit 47 homers in 244 games for the Rays before 2023 and ’24, and the left field corner in Houston is even more inviting than Tropicana Field’s. He’ll hurt a bit in average and steals, but he should be pretty helpful in runs and RBI while hitting high in the Astros lineup.
Bohm has driven in 97 runs in back-to-back seasons, but he still could do better while hitting either third or fourth for the Phillies this season. More homers would be nice and are still a possibility, but he’ll make a ton of contact while probably hitting with men on base as often as anyone in the league.
Undervalued Shortstops
Oneil Cruz – 25th in Top 300 – 48 in Yahoo – 34 in NFBC
CJ Abrams – 35th in Top 300 – 56 in Yahoo – 49 in NFBC
Bo Bichette – 49th in Top 300 – 102 in Yahoo – 110 in NFBC
Anthony Volpe – 56th in Top 300 – 159 in Yahoo – 146 in NFBC
Ezequiel Tovar – 78th in Top 300 – 132 in Yahoo – 127 in NFBC
Zach Neto – 114th in Top 300 – 210 in Yahoo – 203 in NFBC
Jeremy Peña – 139th in Top 300 – 200 in Yahoo -158 in NFBC
Trevor Story – 172nd in Top 300 – 244 in Yahoo – 252 in NFBC
The Bichette of this spring looks a lot more like the one who hit .298 with 24 homers per year from 2021-23 than the one who was a complete bust in 2024. He’s even doing some running, though he’s been caught on two of his three steal attempts. He’s going to hit either first or fourth for Toronto, and I can scarcely imagine him not being a bargain at his current ADP.
Again pulling the ball, Volpe is back swinging more like he did as a rookie than as a sophomore, when he traded power for contact. That he’s 24 next month and physically stronger than he was at 22 should lead to greater success, and I think a 30 HR/30 SB season is a real possibility here.
Neto would be a top-60 player for me if he weren’t coming off shoulder surgery. He could be back before the end of April, and he’s a great stash at his current price tag.
Undervalued Outfielders
Josh Lowe – 60th in Top 300 – 178 in Yahoo – 157 in NFBC
Jasson Domínguez – 61st in Top 300 – 152 in Yahoo – 143 in NFBC
Garrett Mitchell – 147th in Top 300 – 60% undrafted in Yahoo – 250 in NFBC
Ronald Acuña Jr. – 21st in Top 300 – 35 in Yahoo – 35 in NFBC
Wyatt Langford – 28th in Top 300 – 53 in Yahoo – 38 in NFBC
James Wood – 33rd in Top 300 – 62 in Yahoo – 50 in NFBC
Lawrence Butler – 38th in Top 300 – 75 in Yahoo – 56 in NFBC
Brenton Doyle – 47th in Top 300 – 81 in Yahoo – 67 in NFBC
Luis Robert Jr. – 50th in Top 300 – 106 in Yahoo – 81 in NFBC
Dylan Crews – 55 in Top 300 – 135 in Yahoo – 113 in NFBC
Ian Happ – 70th in Top 300 – 134 in Yahoo – 122 in NFBC
Pete Crow-Armstrong – 105th in Top 300 – 141 in Yahoo – 127 in NFBC
Byron Buxton – 155th in Top 300 – 236 in Yahoo – 204 in NFBC
Nolan Jones – 175th in Top 300 – 43% undrafted in Yahoo – 254 in NFBC
Steinbrenner Field, the Rays’ temporary home for the year, isn’t a hitter’s haven, but just getting out of The Trop should benefit all of the team’s bats, especially the lefties. I’d be high on Lowe regardless, though. His strikeout rate soared last year after his dramatic improvement in 2023, but his contact numbers weren’t any worse. He has plenty of pop, and he’s proven to be one of the game’s best basestealers. It looks like he’ll play against most lefties, so he offers five-category potential.
I’m stunned about low Domínguez is going after all of the years of hype. With his homer and steal ability, he’s not going to need to be particularly good to prove valuable in fantasy leagues. I gather part of the reason that he’s going so low is that most of the projections out there have him finishing well shy of 600 plate appearances. But I just don’t see why that’s the case. I don’t have Domínguez towering over the league as a rookie — my projection calls for a .248/.322/.428 line — but I do have him getting 600 plate appearances and finishing with 20+ homers and steals.
Mitchell has his contact and injury issues, but he’s mustered 13 homers and 20 steals in 365 major league plate appearances to date. He might fall into a platoon role at some point, but he should play regularly while Blake Perkins is out and hit in the middle of the Brewers order against righties. He’s a great end-game pick.
There’s a lot of debate about Langford as a third-round pick, but he’s in such a great situation; he doesn’t need to perform like a superstar in order to return that kind of value while hitting third for the Rangers. … Wood, Butler and Doyle are also 20 HR/20 SB guys for me. Crews might fall short there in homers, but I think people are underselling his steal potential. He’s legitimately one of the fastest guys in the league, and he was 12-for-15 stealing bases in just 31 games after his callup last season. … Buxton is basically free. When he gets hurt, you can just drop him if you want. He seems good right now, and he’s the No. 3 hitter for one of the league’s better offenses.
The Rotoworld staff unveil the players they have drafted the most this spring.
Undervalued Starting Pitchers
Logan Gilbert – 22nd in Top 300 – 33 in Yahoo – 30 in NFBC
Jacob deGrom – 34th in Top 300 – 55 in Yahoo – 54 in NFBC
Tanner Bibee – 57th in Top 300 – 96 in Yahoo – 104 in NFBC
Cristopher Sánchez – 66th in Top 300 – 174 in Yahoo – 154 in NFBC
Joe Ryan – 69th in Top 300 – 112 in Yahoo – 106 in NFBC
George Kirby – 71st in Top 300 – ???
Spencer Strider – 73rd in Top 300 – 119 in Yahoo – 108 in NFBC
Bryan Woo – 110th in Top 300 – 136 in Yahoo – 137 in NFBC
Brandon Pfaadt – 123rd in Top 300 – 184 in Yahoo – 192 in NFBC
Reese Olson – 145th in Top 300 – 47% undrafted in Yahoo – 248 in NFBC
Drew Rasmussen – 166th in Top 300 – 207 in Yahoo – 256 in NFBC
Brandon Woodruff – 160th in Top 300 – 222 in Yahoo – 253 in NFBC
Jesús Luzardo – 178th in Top 300 – 235 in Yahoo – 233 in NFBC
Clay Holmes – 180th in Top 300 – 208 in Yahoo – 209 in NFBC
Justin Verlander – 222nd in Top 300 – 75% undrafted in Yahoo – 325 in NFBC
Some of these ADPs are getting obsolete. Strider is up to 94 in NFBC over the last week. Sánchez is 141. I left off Kirby’s ADPs here because of the recent news about his shoulder, but he’s 140 in NFBC over the last week. I think it’s well worth taking a chance on him. He had similarly described shoulder issues a couple of times earlier in his career and overcame them both times. He was my No. 6 SP prior to the injury.
Ryan had been my single favorite SP pick this year, as I wasn’t expecting any sort of hangover from last year’s teres major strain. However, I am concerned about his velocity drop last time out. He was down about 1-1.5 mph from last year in his spring debut Mar. 6, which seemed fine. However, in his March 17 start, he was down 2.5-3 mph compared to last year. There were no injury concerns mentioned afterwards. Maybe it’s a dead-arm period and will prove to be nothing, but I did drop him from 10th to 14th among SPs.
Pfaadt wound up with a 4.71 ERA last season, but that came with a 3.61 FIP, a 3.78 xERA and a 3.65 SIERA. He also offers a great deal of win potential as a particularly efficient starter on a team with a strong offense. … Olson has a 3.75 ERA and a 23% strikeout rate through two big-league seasons, and now he’s seen a significant uptick in velocity this spring. He’s a top-40 SP for me.
Undervalued Relievers
Jeff Hoffman – 97th in Top 300 – 121 in Yahoo – 131 in NFBC
Trevor Megill – 140th in Top 300 – 131 in Yahoo – 156 in NFBC
Kenley Jansen – 150th in Top 300 – 161 in Yahoo – 186 in NFBC
A.J. Puk – 194th in Top 300 – 213 in Yahoo – 257 in NFBC
Beau Brieske – 207 in Top 300 – 93% undrafted in Yahoo – 607 in NFBC
Mike Clevinger – 228th in Top 300 – 85% undrafted in Yahoo – 585 in NFBC
Concern about Hoffman’s shoulder reportedly scuttled two deals for the free agent in the offseason, but his stuff has been up to par this spring. I think he’ll be a top-10 closer as a Blue Jay.
I have Justin Martinez ranked ahead of Puk, and my guess is that he’ll wind up leading the Diamondbacks in saves. Still, I fully expect Puk to be one of the game’s best relievers, and he should offer some value even if he’s limited to 8-10 saves over the course of the year.
Brieske is my favorite of the Tigers relievers. Jason Foley might get the call initially, but his velocity has been down a couple miles per hour this spring.
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