Fantasy Baseball Sleepers 2025: Best Hitting and Pitching Prospects to Draft
Opening day of the 2025 MLB season is almost here.
For everyone this time.
While the two-game Tokyo Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs technically started the season, the rest of the baseball world remained in exhibition mode. That will change on Thursday, when a 14-game slate puts just about everyone in action. (The Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays will collide in their respective season-openers on Friday.)
Baseball is all the way back, in other words, and for those who have yet to assemble their fantasy rosters, those selections will be coming very soon. Let's help maximize the value of them, then, by laying out our top points-league rankings and spotlighting a couple of our favorite sleeper hitters and pitchers.
Top 30 Points-League Rankings
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1. Shohei Ohtani, SP/DH, LAD
2. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, KC
3. Aaron Judge, OF, NYY
4. José Ramírez, 3B, CLE
5. Juan Soto, OF, NYM
6. Elly De La Cruz, SS, CIN
7. Kyle Tucker, OF, CHI
8. Mookie Betts, SS/OF, LAD
9. Francisco Lindor, SS, NYM
10. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, TOR
11. Gunnar Henderson, SS, BAL
12. Fernando Tatís Jr., OF, SD
13. Corbin Carroll, OF, ARI
14. Tarik Skubal, SP, DET
15. Paul Skenes, SP, PIT
16. Yordan Alvarez, OF, HOU
17. Ronald Acuña Jr., OF, ATL
18. Jackson Chourio, OF, MIL
19. Julio Rodríguez, OF, SEA
20. Zack Wheeler, SP, PHI
21. Bryce Harper, 1B, PHI
22. Freddie Freeman, 1B, LAD
23. Ketel Marte, 2B, ARI
24. Trea Turner, SS, PHI
25. Chris Sale, SP, ATL
26. Jazz Chisholm Jr., 3B/OF, NYY
27. Manny Machado, 3B, SD
28. Jarren Duran, OF, BOS
29. Jackson Merrill, OF, SD
30. Logan Gilbert, SP, SEA
Sleeper Hitters
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Christopher Morel, 2B/3B, Tampa Bay Rays
As a late-round target, Morel has plenty to offer fantasy managers—provided you can stomach a hit in batting average. That's just about the only box he doesn't check, and he should check even more moving forward, since he'll add outfield eligibility sooner than later (on sites where he doesn't have it already).
Just to reiterate, yes, we are aware his career .223 batting average is an eyesore. Everything else from his stat sheet jumps off the page, though, and his draft cost will likely reflect that one weakness a lot more than it does all of his strengths. His career per-162-game averages include 27 homers, 10 steals, 75 runs and 77 RBI.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Chicago Cubs
On first glance, Crow-Armstrong might come across as a defensive specialist. And since that's not reflected in fantasy, he may seem like a better real-life player than fantasy option.
However, his bat came alive down the stretch last season and highlighted his fantasy potential. Over his final 56 games, he put together a .286/.335/.458 slash line with per-162-game averages of 20 homers, 26 steals, 87 RBI and 98 runs. His star is rising, and fantasy managers would be wise to latch onto it while his draft cost remains reasonable.
Sleeper Pitchers
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Sandy Alcántara, SP, Miami Marlins
The reasons for waiting on Alcántara are legitimate and obvious. He didn't pitch last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and his wins potential will be low as long as he's in Miami.
All of that said, those reasons aren't tied to talent, which is immense in his case. In 2022, he was crowned NL Cy Young, pitching to a 2.28 ERA and and 0.98 WHIP across 228.2 innings. He is more than capable of posting great ratios over a significant workload, and as one of the more logical trade candidates in the big leagues, his wins potential could skyrocket at any moment.
Tanner Bibee, SP, Cleveland Guardians
Bibee sort of just looks like an ace already, only the fantasy community hasn't handled him as such. That will change soon, so this might be your final chance at a discount.
His first two seasons in the Majors have been pretty freakin' great. In 315.2 innings of work, he owns a 3.25 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, and he widened the gap between his per-nine-innings strikeouts (9.7) and walks (2.3) last season. If he keeps this up, he could be regarded as a top-10 starter as soon as next season.
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