Fantasy Baseball Sleepers (2026)

Gamers in need of batting average or on-base percentage (OBP) help later in fantasy baseball drafts are in luck. The following players are sleepers for batting average and OBP. The highlighted players have an average draft position (ADP) of 228 or higher, meaning they’re typically available after the 19th round in 12-team mixed leagues.

Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

Sleepers for Batting Average

Brendan Donovan (2B, SS, OF – SEA) | ADP: 237.8

Brendan Donovan isn’t an electrifying player. He doesn’t wow fantasy baseball gamers and baseball fans with jaw-dropping power or blistering speed. Donovan is a quality hitter with a little bit of power and excellent bat-to-ball skills.

According to FanGraphs, among qualified batters in 2025, Donovan was tied for 18th in batting average (.287), 14th in strikeout rate (13%) and 10th in swinging-strike rate (5.3%). He does an outstanding job of putting the ball in play.

Donovan’s batted-ball quality was also stellar last year. According to Baseball Savant, among qualified hitters in 2025, Donovan was tied for 19th in expected batting average (.280 xBA).

Last year wasn’t an outlier for Donovan, either. Among qualified hitters since 2023, Donovan is tied for 18th in batting average (.282), tied for 13th in strikeout rate (13.1%), seventh in swinging-strike rate (5.5%) and tied for 18th in expected batting average (.279) in 1,538 plate appearances.

FanGraph’s RosterResource projects Donovan to sit atop Seattle’s lineup, which will allow his batting average to be more impactful by logging more plate appearances. He’ll also play third base for the Mariners, which will add another position of eligibility to his ledger, making him a genuine Swiss Army Knife on fantasy baseball squads. Donovan’s best asset is his batting average, and his multi-position eligibility is a bonus.

Sleepers for On-Base Percentage (OBP)

Matt Wallner (OF – MIN) | ADP: 301.3

Matt Wallner’s 2025 was suboptimal. Nevertheless, he drilled 22 homers with a 114 wRC+ in 392 plate appearances. Wallner was still an asset offensively, and his patience didn’t go anywhere. Among 242 plate appearances with at least 350 plate appearances in 2025, Wallner was tied for 37th in walk rate (11.7%).

Sadly, Wallner’s .202 batting average and .228 BABIP dragged down his OBP to .311 in 2025. Perhaps it was merely a down year for Wallner, though. In 515 plate appearances in 2023 and 2024 combined, Wallner had a 10.1% walk rate, a .254 batting average, a .358 BABIP, a .231 xBA and a .371 OBP. The slugging outfielder also belted 27 homers in those 515 plate appearances. If Wallner can bounce back, he can be a steal for OBP-needy gamers.