4 Fantasy Baseball Breakout Candidates for 2025

One of the most satisfying outcomes from fantasy drafts is when you snag one of your favorite breakout candidates -- and that player goes on to, well, break out.

Whether it's a top prospect finally getting a chance to play a full campaign, or a talented player who's been previously held back by injury or poor luck, these are the types of picks that can often make or break your draft.

Let's check out four players who could break out this year. All average draft position (ADP) data will be from FantasyPros' consensus ADP.

Fantasy Baseball Breakout Candidates for 2025

James Wood, OF, Nationals

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 54.3

At his ADP, James Wood isn't exactly sneaking by anyone, but we got a taste of what he can do after he debuted last July, and it's exciting to think of the numbers he could put up over a full season.

Over 79 games and 336 plate appearances in 2024, the former top prospect demonstrated both pop (9 HR) and speed (14 SB) with a solid average (.264 BA), making him all the makings of a potential five-category fantasy star.

Most notably, his bat shined across several Statcast metrics on Baseball Savant. If he had enough playing time to qualify, he would've ranked highly in average exit velocity (94th percentile), hard-hit rate (95th percentile), and barrel rate (73rd percentile). He'll need to decrease his ground-ball rate (55.6%) to fully tap into his power upside, but it's hard to not be optimistic.

His ability to swipe bags was backed by a high mark in sprint speed (85th percentiles), as well.

Perhaps the lone concern for Wood is he posted a 28.9% strikeout rate and often carried a high K rate during his rise up the minor league ranks. He did demonstrate patience as a hitter, though, logging a 11.6% walk rate and just a 21.0% chase rate, which should help him keep those punchouts from getting too out of control.

According to ATC on FanGraphs, Wood projects for 77 runs, 19 home runs, 72 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and a .260 average. That's a great median expectation, and if the 22-year-old can keep the swings and misses down, he could sail over these marks.

Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 96.0

Straight away, it's telling that Junior Caminero has all of 213 career MLB plate appearances at just 21 years of age, yet projection systems on FanGraphs are already all forecasting him for 20+ home runs, and among the models that see him logging 600+ plate appearances, he reaches even the 25-31 range.

That's what happens when you show promising power at every level in the minors, and his limited stint in the big leagues last season included a maximum exit velocity in the 98th percentile.

As of this writing, he's already hit three home runs this spring, too.

Similar to James Wood, Caminero will need to reduce his MLB ground-ball rate (50.3%) to reach his ceiling, but the good news is he shouldn't be a drain on batting average due to a reasonable 21.6% K rate. Most models project him to bat around .260 or better.

Caminero hasn't stolen many bases over the past two seasons, so we shouldn't expect him to contribute much in that area. But he otherwise shows promise as a four-category power hitter who could really take off in 2025.

Spencer Arrighetti, SP, Astros

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 206.0

In some respects, Spencer Arrighetti broke out last year with a 27.1% strikeout rate over 145 innings, a mark that would've placed him just outside the league's top 10 if he had enough frames to qualify.

However, the results didn't follow the high K rate, as he would ultimately end the season with a middling 4.53 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, which is why he's being drafted outside the top 200.

But if we look at how his campaign progressed, it's clear Arrighetti improved significantly in the later months.

Over his first 15 starts, he posted a lackluster 6.13 ERA and 1.65 WHIP alongside a 4.49 xFIP, 25.2% K rate, and 12.3% BB rate. However, after getting blown up on July 2nd, Arrighetti would exhibit far more consistency over his final 14 outings, recording a 3.08 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 3.57 xFIP, 29.0% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate.

While there's no guarantee we get something closer to the latter version for an entire season, those are tantalizing numbers for a player at this ADP. Even if the truth lies somewhere in between, his high strikeout rate alone should have us interested.

Connor Norby, 2B/3B, Marlins

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 288.3

While targeting players on the Miami Marlins isn't necessarily the most exciting venture -- they're projected to score the second-fewest runs per game on FanGraphs -- that doesn't mean they don't have viable options, and getting their projected number-two hitter at this price point certainly qualifies.

Connor Norby logged just 194 plate appearances between the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles last season, and while most of his metrics didn't leap off the page, he did show some promising power, slugging 9 dingers alongside a .202 ISO. This was further backed by a lofty 14.8% barrel rate that would've placed him in the 94th percentile if he qualified.

But Norby doesn't just come with power, as he also flashed a sprint speed in the 94th percentile. He consistently reached double-digit stolen bases in the minors, and considering teammates Xavier Edwards (31 SB), Otto Lopez (20 SB), and Jesus Sanchez (16 SB) were all active on the basepaths last year, it's quite possible Norby gets deployed in a similar fashion.

Keeping his average up could be difficult, though, as he posted a 33.0% K rate and had a 28.0% clip in Triple-A last year, too. But if we're looking for positives, he previously produced a far better 21.6% strikeout rate in Triple-A (2023), and most recently, he worked on cleaning up his bat path this offseason.

ATC projects Norby to hit .241 with 68 runs, 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 9 stolen bases over 133 games and 549 plate appearances. At his draft cost, even that would be a useful outcome, and his counting stats could well exceed this if he bats high in the order all season.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.