Fantasy Baseball Player Notes
2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Notes
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20.
Josh Hader
RP
Josh Hader signed his deal with Houston in the offseason and then went out and showed why he'd earned it. The 30-year-old appeared in 71 games, pitching exactly 71 innings and securing 34 saves while blowing only four. He struck out 105 batters and ended with a 3.80 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He still had a walk rate of 9%, but this was a vast improvement compared to his 13% rate in 2023. He maintains a superb K% (37.8), and batters still only hit .173 against him. The Astros are perhaps not the juggernaut they once were, but they have a top 5 closer with the ability to save 35+ games. When the initial run of closers begins, Hader will be among them and worth a pick if you want to target relievers early.
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23.
Framber Valdez
SP
Framber Valdez continued his steady ways in 2024, starting 28 games and pitching 176 1/3 innings. He finished the year with a 2.91 ERA and 1.11 WHIP and struck out 169 batters. Valdez lives and dies by the ground ball, sitting in the 99th percentile in the ground ball rate at 61.7%. There is nothing particularly wrong with Valdez, though when he gets hit, he gets hit hard, and his xERA was a half-run higher at 3.41. The trick with him in fantasy is simply that he doesn't strike out as many batters as other pitchers drafted in the same vicinity. He does offer the safest floor, so depending on where else you want to take your risks, Valdez may be a worthwhile SP2 anchor to your staff.
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39.
Hunter Brown
SP
While the exact number of fantasy managers who dropped Hunter Brown early in 2024 isn't known, it would have been completely justified, given how he started the season. In his first eight starts, the 26-year-old had a 7.74 ERA and had allowed 21 walks in 37 1/3 innings. It was ugly. After that, though, he settled into the season and was great to spectacular the rest of the way. He struck out 179 batters in 170 innings and stopped walking everyone. Brown is the exact type of pitcher to target now that he seems to have a repertoire of pitches that works for him, including a powerful sinker that he developed last season. He has some sleeper and league-winning potential in 2025.
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97.
Spencer Arrighetti
SP
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103.
Ronel Blanco
SP
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174.
Bryan Abreu
RP
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207.
Cristian Javier
SP
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214.
Luis Garcia
SP
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272.
Hayden Wesneski
SP,RP
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350.
Tayler Scott
RP
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371.
Forrest Whitley
RP
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380.
Bryan King
RP
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413.
Lance McCullers Jr.
SP
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447.
Kaleb Ort
RP
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478.
Bennett Sousa
RP
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492.
Steven Okert
RP
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507.
Colton Gordon
SP
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554.
AJ Blubaugh
SP
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573.
Miguel Castro
RP
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584.
Nick Hernandez
RP
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617.
Rafael Montero
RP
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621.
Shawn Dubin
RP
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652.
J.P. France
SP
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658.
Ryan Gusto
SP,RP
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675.
Luis Contreras
RP
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