18 Deep Sleepers Experts Love to Draft (2025 Fantasy Baseball)

When preparing for your fantasy baseball drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy baseball rankings compared to average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Let’s dive into a few notable players below, deep fantasy baseball sleepers experts love to draft.

2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Advice: Deep Sleepers

RK	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	POS	BEST	WORST	AVG.	STD.DEV	ECR VS. ADP
300	Bo Naylor	CLE	C21	154	332	287.9	22.7	55
319	Ke’Bryan Hayes	PIT	3B20	275	370	325	28.5	77
321	Masataka Yoshida	BOS	OF76	265	466	352	69	50
323	Chas McCormick	HOU	OF77	223	444	338.6	58.5	103
326	Danny Jansen	TB	C25	261	379	318.6	30.3	47
327	J.D. Martinez	FA	DH2	228	659	390	140.9	150
331	Andy Pages	LAD	OF78	241	462	342.6	64.3	116
332	Trevor Larnach	MIN	OF79	264	341	312.9	24.7	46
333	Jhonkensy Noel	CLE	RF2	260	493	346.5	68.7	82
344	Sal Frelick	MIL	OF80	263	422	345.7	40.1	112
348	Pavin Smith	ARI	1B26	199	522	359	92.6	111
350	Michael Massey	KC	2B28	285	392	337.5	39.4	98
352	LaMonte Wade Jr.	SF	OF81	255	451	370.3	65.6	142
358	Ryan O’Hearn	BAL	1B27	277	422	351.5	38.9	87
364	Austin Hays	CIN	OF84	258	482	367.2	66.1	72
366	Hayden Birdsong	SF	SP99	230	411	335.2	78.7	46
372	Jesse Winker	NYM	LF2	286	452	381.7	48.8	57
373	Hunter Goodman	COL	C26	288	372	346.2	30.5	71

What is Fantasy Baseball?

Fantasy baseball is an online game where participants act as managers of virtual baseball teams based on real-life Major League Baseball (MLB) players. The performance of these players in actual games determines the results in the fantasy league. It’s a blend of skill, strategy, and a little bit of luck, akin to the real-world decisions team managers must make.

Basic Strategy for Fantasy Baseball Success

1. Understand Your League’s Format and Scoring

Before drafting your team, it’s essential to understand the scoring system and rules of your specific league, as this will influence your drafting and management strategy. Knowing whether you’re in a points-based, category-based, or head-to-head league will guide you in selecting players whose strengths align with the scoring system.

2. Drafting Your Team Wisely

A solid draft is the foundation of a successful season. Here are a few tips for the drafting phase:

Balanced Team: Ensure you have a balanced team with a mix of power hitters, average hitters, speedsters, starting pitchers, and relievers.
Position Scarcity: Be aware of the depth of talent at each position. Some positions, like shortstop, may have fewer high-quality players, making it beneficial to draft a top player at that position early.
High-Floor Players: Early in the draft, focus on players with a proven track record of consistency.
Upside Picks: In the later rounds, look for “upside” players. These are athletes who have the potential to outperform their draft position.

3. In-Season Management

Stay Active: Constantly look for ways to improve your team through waivers, trades, and free-agent pickups.
Mind the Matchups: Pay attention to player matchups, platoon splits, and ballparks. Starting a pitcher in a hitter-friendly park, for example, can be risky.
Injury Management: Stay on top of player injuries and have backups ready for your key players.