Fantasy Baseball Rookie Sleepers: Dylan Crews, Matt Shaw, Roman Anthony

In formats such as keeper and dynasty leagues or even draft-and-hold leagues, prospects and rookies are valuable commodities. Typically, they are hard to rely on in redraft leagues because roles are often unknown and there is no proven track record to justify a high draft spot.

Even someone like Paul Skenes, who was an All-Star, Rookie of the Year and third in Cy Young voting last season, was taken around pick 270 in 2024 drafts. He was the top pitching prospect in baseball, but the unknown drives fantasy baseball managers away.

Fantasy Baseball Rookie Sleepers

This year is no different, especially with elite hitting prospects. There are several valuable pieces available to fantasy managers after pick 125 in average draft position (ADP) that should either make their teams out of spring training or be up on the big leagues in a matter of weeks. Here are a few hitters that stand out as great value, considering their fantasy baseball ADP and what potential they have for fantasy contributions in 2025.

Dylan Crews (OF – WSH) | ADP: 145.6

Dylan Crews, MLB’s No. 4-ranked prospect this year, got a healthy taste of MLB in 2024, amassing 132 plate appearances over 31 games. The results did not go as planned for Crews and Washington. He hit .219/.288/.353 over that time and struck out 26 times. However, that small sample of Crews with the big club doesn’t tell the whole story of Crews’ offensive game. In two stops at AA and AAA in 2024, Crews hit a combined .275/.351/.455 with 18 home runs and 29 stolen bases.

It’s that power/speed combo combined with his plate discipline that makes him so exciting for fantasy baseball managers in 2025. In college at LSU — where he was Player of the Year — Crews had a .498 cumulative on-base percentage (OBP). While that didn’t translate in his Major League showcase, Crews has the patience, power and speed to become an elite hitter as he develops in the big leagues. Turning 23 on February 26th, he is already penciled in at the No. 2 or No. 3 spot in the Nationals’ batting order.

Washington understands they aren’t going anywhere this season and are not serious playoff contenders. That should mean plenty of playing time for Crews, who can work through any rookie obstacles and cut those precious reps against Major League pitching. At around pick 145, Crews doesn’t need to be a starter and produce right away. He can be drafted as a sith outfielder or a utility player and stashed on a bench until his bat inevitably proves why he was the second overall pick in 2023.

Matt Shaw (3B – CHC) | ADP: 250.2

The Chicago Cubs trading away Isaac Paredes and striking out on signing Alex Bregman means a potential massive opportunity for Matt Shaw to take over third base for the Cubs. Unless the Cubs want to start old man Justin Turner or light-hitting Jon Berti at third base, the job belongs to Shaw and his massive upside. Shaw was the 13th player taken in the 2023 draft and the Cubs paid him more than $4.8 million and put him on the fast track to the big leagues.

Across two levels in 2024, Shaw homered 21 times, drove in 71 runs, stole 31 bases and hit .284/.379/.488. After losing Cody Bellinger and Paredes and failing to sign Bregman, the Cubs need another big bat to complement Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki. They believe Shaw can eventually be that guy and it’s just a matter of time before he moves up into the top half of the lineup. There might be some road bumps at first, but he is free on draft day and there is no risk to grabbing him in your last round assuming he wins the job out of spring training.

Shaw may be small at 5-foot-9 and under 200 pounds, but he packs a lot of punch into that frame and should get more and more comfortable at third base as the season goes along.

Roman Anthony (OF – BOS) | ADP: 288.2

Roman Anthony is the top domestic prospect heading into 2025 (Roki Sasaki is No. 1 overall), but the roster crunch in Boston likely keeps him out of the Majors for the time being. With Alex Bregman in town, there is simply no space for Anthony assuming Boston wants to play all of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida and Ceddanne Rafaela. But I’m keeping my eye on the status of Yoshida (always hurt) and Rafaela (stellar glove, weak bat) as potential spots where Anthony could quickly make his way to the Majors in 2025.

Anthony destroyed the two levels of the Minor Leagues he played in during 2024. Combined, he hit .291/.396/.498 with 18 home runs and 21 stolen bases. That .396 OBP is no fluke, as his numbers in 2022 and 2023 were in that range as well. But perhaps the most striking thing about Anthony is that he is already this polished at the plate and with the glove at just 20 years old. He won’t turn 21 until two months into the 2025 season but already has plate discipline well beyond his years.

In deep leagues, he is an auto-stash as someone destined to make their debut this season and make an immediate impact with his power and speed.

MLB Paul Skenes Dylan Crews Matt Shaw Isaac Paredes Alex Bregman Justin Turner Jon Berti Cody Bellinger Kyle Tucker Seiya Suzuki Roman Anthony Roki Sasaki Jarren Duran Wilyer Abreu Masataka Yoshida Ceddanne Rafaela