Fantasy Baseball 2025 Cheatsheet: Pinpointing Top Sleepers and Busts

The difference in winning a fantasy baseball league and finishing dead last is a manager's ability to navigate the landmines that are busts and excel by selecting the sleepers that other, more star-driven managers missed out on.

It will be no different in 2025, where the managers who dig deep and find a player or two who come from out of nowhere to consistently deliver points and victories will likely be around late in the season, competing for a title.

Who are some of the sleepers to pick and busts to avoid? Find out with this preview.

Bust: Jacob deGrom, P, Texas Rangers

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It is a testament to how great deGrom is when healthy and at his best that he enters the season with a 57 ADP.

With that said, he has not pitched in 100 innings since 2019. He is coming off of another Tommy John surgery that cost him most of 2024 and while Rangers fans hope the 37-year-old righty can deliver for them the flashes of all-time excellence that they witnessed in New York, there are real questions about deGrom's ability to rediscover his form to that extent.

Fantasy managers eyeing the veteran anywhere near his ADP risk considerable disappointment and a roster that fails to win them a championship due to the incredible uncertainty surrounding deGrom's ability to once again prove why he is MLB's finest pitcher when he is on the mound and not hampered by injury.

Sleeper: Sandy Alcántara, P, Miami Marlins

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Per ESPN's Tristan Cockcroft, Alcantara finished 17th, second, and 43rd among starting pitchers in fantasy in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively, making him one of the best at his position in the game.

Tommy John surgery cost him his 2024 season, but a strong Spring Training has led the Marlins to definitively announce the righty their Opening Day starter.

From 2020-23, no pitcher hurled more complete games than Alcantara with 10.

Alcantara pitched 12.1 innings in Spring Training, giving up zero earned runs and establishing a 0.97 WHIP.

Based on everything he accomplished previously, and with no clear tell that his play will deteriorate, Alcántara is a far worthier start than the ADP of 140 that he is currently slotted at.

Sleeper: Riley Green, OF, Detroit Tigers

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Greene experienced the best year of his young career in 2024, belting 24 homers on 134 hits and driving in 74 RBI. He established a slash line of .253/.362/.682 while helping guide the Tigers back to the postseason.

His stat line is that of a player consistently improving his game, with potential to be a breakout hitter and fantasy stud this season.

With an ADP of 99 according to Fantasy Pros, he is a player with tremendous upside, who could be a steal if he is still available that late in your draft.

Bust: Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees

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The exit of Juan Soto from New York, as well as an early injuries to Giancarlo Stanton's elbows and calf that may keep him out for the year, have left Judge on an island as the only consistent bat opposing teams have reason to fear.

Opposing teams will have the opportunity to pitch around Judge, something that will undoubtedly hurt his production this season. Anyone picking the Yankees slugger thinking he is going to blast 50 balls out of the stadium is sadly mistaken.

Ranked as the third overall fantasy option according to ESPN, that is incredibly high to take someone whose strengths will be severely impacted through little fault of his own.

Prepare for the two-time league MVP to be a considerable disappointment to those who picked him and missed out on someone like Bobby Witt Jr. or Yordan Alvarez.