Here’s a look at my draft day cheat sheet for 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. You can see which players I’m targeting in every draft as well as a round-by-round target breakdown to help gauge average draft position (ADP) values. Be sure to use this to build your own fantasy baseball cheat sheet using our cheat sheet creator tool.
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Justin Mason’s Fantasy Baseball Draft Day Cheat Sheet
My Favorite Targets By Position
*NOTE: These are listed in order of my rankings and, more often than not, their current ADP. Players at the end of each section you can typically get in later rounds. Also note that in a one-catcher league, I do not typically draft a top guy unless they drop very far. I am usually fine waiting for one of the last ones off the board.
Catcher: Adley Rutschman, Willson Contreras, Shea Langeliers, J.T. Realmuto, Austin Wells, Ivan Herrera, Hunter Goodman
First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Christian Walker, Cody Bellinger, Jake Burger, Vinnie Pasquantino, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler Soderstrom
Second Base: Matt McLain, Marcus Semien, Brice Turang, Maikel Garcia, Colt Keith
Third Base: Jose Ramirez, Austin Riley, Manny Machado, Mark Vientos, Jake Burger, Royce Lewis, Eugenio Suarez, Isaac Paredes, Maikel Garcia, Max Muncy
Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., Francisco Lindor, Trea Turner, Corey Seager, CJ Abrams, Matt McLain, Anthony Volpe, Dansby Swanson
Outfield: Juan Soto, Jackson Chourio, Jarren Duran, Jackson Merrill, Lawrence Butler, Brenton Doyle, Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ, Adolis Garcia, Colton Cowser, Kerry Carpenter, Heliot Ramos, Jake McCarthy, Jesus Sanchez, Roman Anthony, Jordan Walker, Michael Conforto, JJ Bleday, Trevor Larnach, Daulton Varsho, Jonny DeLuca, Jerar Encarnacion, Max Kepler, Wenceel Perez, Tirso Ornelas
Utility: Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber, Brent Rooker, Marcell Ozuna
Starting Pitcher: Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler, Logan Gilbert, Garrett Crochet, Chris Sale, Cole Ragans, Dylan Cease, Jacob deGrom, Michael King, Pablo Lopez, Bryce Miller, Shota Imanaga, Bailey Ober, Spencer Schwellenbach, Tanner Bibee, Zac Gallen, Justin Steele, Robbie Ray, Brandon Pfaadt, Cristopher Sanchez, Zach Eflin, Jeffrey Springs, David Festa, Max Meyer, Cody Bradford
Closer: Emmanuel Clase, Josh Hader, Kenley Jansen, Jhoan Duran, Devin Williams, Andres Munoz, Mason Miller, Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Pressly, Edwin Diaz, Trevor Megill, David Bednar, Ryan Walker
Targets By Round (12-Team League)
1st: Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Witt Jr., Jose Ramirez, Juan Soto, Paul Skenes
2nd: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Tarik Skubal, Francisco Lindor, Jackson Chourio, Zack Wheeler, Jarren Duran, Garrett Crochet
3rd: Trea Turner, Jackson Merrill, Logan Gilbert, Austin Riley, Manny Machado, Chris Sale
4th: Emmanuel Clase, Jacob deGrom, Devin Williams, Corey Seager
5th: CJ Abrams, Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Mason Miller, Raisel Iglesias
6th: Brent Rooker, Michael King, Lawrence Butler, Adley Rutschman, Marcell Ozuna, Brenton Doyle, Pablo Lopez, Andres Munoz
7th: Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Miller, Shota Imanaga, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Spencer Schwellenbach, Seiya Suzuki
8th: Matt McLain, Ryan Walker, Marcus Semien
9th: Christian Walker, Tanner Bibee, Cody Bellinger
10th: Jake Burger, Shea Langeliers, Royce Lewis, Vinnie Pasquantino, Zac Gallen
11th-15th: Justin Steele, Ian Happ, J.T. Realmuto, Brice Turang, Trevor Megill, Anthony Volpe, Adolis Garcia, David Bednar, Robbie Ray, Colton Cowser, Paul Goldschmidt, Eugenio Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez, Kenley Jansen, Nick Castellanos, Brandon Pfaadt
16th-20th: Dansby Swanson, Zach Eflin, Isaac Paredes, Kerry Carpenter, Ryan Pressly, Matt Shaw, Maikel Garcia, Nick Lodolo, Jake McCarthy, Austin Wells
21st-25th: Willi Castro, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jose Berrios, George Springer, Jackson Jobe, Jeffrey Springs, Max Muncy, Jesus Sanchez, Colt Keith, TJ Friedl, Michael Wacha, Roman Anthony, Michael Conforto, Tyler Soderstrom, JJ Bleday, David Festa, Cody Bradford
Post-300 ADP: Orion Kerkering, Joey Ortiz, Nick Martinez, Thairo Estrada, Jacob Young, Max Meyer, Hunter Goodman, Trevor Larnach
Players to Avoid Near ADP
- Kyle Tucker, Fernando Tatis Jr., Yordan Alvarez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman, George Kirby, Blake Snell, Michael Harris, Oneil Cruz, Max Fried, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Christian Yelich, Spencer Strider, Jeff Hoffman, Triston Casas, Bryan Woo, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Bo Bichette, Kodai Senga, Sandy Alcantara, Pete Fairbanks, Reynaldo Lopez, Lane Thomas
Strategy/Advice
Know Your Format
Player values change drastically depending on whether you’re playing in a roto, H2H categories or points league. They even change a lot in different versions of these formats. Run your league rules or format through some sort of draft software to get a good idea of what kind of players your format favors if you do not already know. Try out our fantasy baseball mock draft simulator for assistance.
Be Aware of Tiers & Drop-offs
Starting pitching is deep this season. So is second base and third base. The other positions are not shallow but have steep drop-offs throughout ADP. Be careful not to miss out on your tiers.
Be Prepared
Have your ranks or dollar values ready and up to date. Things change quickly. Injuries will happen and roles will change. Make sure you keep your information as up-to-date as possible.
Throw ADP Out the Window Halfway Through the Draft.
While ADP is a great tool to know when to pounce but it’s only a guideline, not a map. After about halfway through the draft, you can pretty much ignore it and get your guys. All it takes is one person to think as highly of a player as you do to miss out on him during your draft. If you value a player at a certain point, don’t be afraid to “draft them too early” so you don’t miss out on them.
Draft Smart Early and Take Risks Later
Upside is great, but there is a time and place for it. When drafting early, you should be thinking more about the floor of a player than the upside. Players like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Yordan Alvarez are amazing, but they have huge risks that can sink your season if they do not stay on the field.
Draft Backwards
Conventional wisdom says to think about the draft from beginning to end. However, you should build your draft plan from the back with your late targets as the priority.
If you like a lot of late pitchers and outfielders, you don’t need to prioritize them early. If you hate the late second basemen, then you should probably target some earlier in the draft.
All early-round players are good, so it’s important to know who you do and don’t like at the back of the draft before worrying about the first few rounds.
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