4 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers for 2025

Hitting on a breakout player in the later rounds of your fantasy baseball draft can be a huge boost to your chances of winning a championship.

Which late-round sleepers could break out in 2025?

Looking at only players going outside the top 200 picks -- per average draft position (ADP) data from FantasyPros' consensus ADP -- here are four fantasy baseball sleepers to have on your radar for this season.

Fantasy Baseball Sleepers for This Year

Spencer Arrighetti, SP, Astros

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 205th Overall (SP63)

Spencer Arrighetti going outside the top-200 picks is a head-scratcher for me.

In 2024, Arrighetti put up some really good numbers, pitching to a 3.93 SIERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate and 12.2% swinging-strike rate. He gives up a touch too many walks (10.3% walk rate) and fly-balls (42.2% fly-ball rate), but overall, his underlying skills in 2024 were darn good.

I'm guessing a meh 4.53 ERA is the reason for Arrighetti's stock being where it is, but given his aforementioned SIERA in addition to a 4.05 expected ERA (xERA), Arrighetti was a victim of some bad luck last year and should produce a better ERA in 2025. ZiPS projects him at a 4.24 ERA this season.

Plus, he's just 25 years old, is locked into a rotation spot and plies his trade for a Houston Astros team that has an excellent track record with pitcher development.

In truth, Arrighetti broke out last year, and there's a chance he could take another step up this season. But even if his 2025 looks a lot like his 2024, Arrighetti makes for a quality late-round pick.

Reese Olson, SP, Tigers

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 290th Overall (SP85)

Over 216 career MLB innings, Reese Olson owns a 4.00 SIERA, 23.0% strikeout rate and 12.3% swinging-strike rate. Dating back to his time in the minors, Olson has always had good strikeout numbers. He's only 25 years old, and he pitches for a Detroit Tigers organization that has had a lot of success developing arms in recent years.

Sign me up.

Similar to Arrighetti above, Olson -- who benefits from his home games being at pitcher-friendly Comerica -- is already a sneaky-good pitcher as evidenced by his 3.93 SIERA in 2024. He doesn't necessarily need to make a leap to be a productive late-round pick this season, but there could be more in the tank. The biggest hurdle for him is health as he's thrown just 103 2/3 and 112 1/3 MLB innings the past two years.

ZiPS is a fan, projecting Olson for a 3.95 ERA across 116 1/3 innings. That'll do at pick No. 290. If he can push closer to 150 innings, Olson has a chance to truly smash value at this ADP.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B, Reds

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 244th Overall (1B27)

Christian Encarnacion-Strand was a trendy sleeper pick a year ago, and while 2024 didn't go all that well for him, he could bust out this campaign.

The main draw for CES is his power coupled with the fact his home games are at Great American Ball Park, the third-best park for hitters, per Statcast Park Factors.

Encarnacion-Strand has popped 15 dingers over 364 MLB plate appearances. In the minors in 2022, he mashed 32 jacks across multiple levels. The power is real, and ZiPS pegs him to launch 21 jacks over 471 plate appearances in 2024.

He's showing that power this spring, hitting a pair of home runs over his first 13 spring-training plate appearances.

Encarnacion-Strand's 2024 was cut short due to a wrist injury, and that limited him to just 123 plate appearances. While it wasn't going well prior to his injury, with Encarnacion-Strand posting a putrid .233 wOBA, he amassed a 123 wRC+ over his final 200 plate appearances of 2023, finishing that season with a .346 wOBA and showing a glimpse of his upside.

The Cincinnati Reds are giving CES reps at third base this spring. Maybe nothing comes of that. But it could be a sign that they're willing to get creative to get his bat in the lineup, and Encarnacion-Strand gaining 3B eligibility midseason would be nice.

I'm bullish on Encarnacion-Strand staying healthy and pushing for 30 tanks this season. He's my favorite sleeper bat for 2025.

Christopher Morel, 2B/3B/OF, Rays

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 266th Overall (OF69)

Coming off a down 2024 season, Christopher Morel can bounce back in a big way this year.

In 2023, which was his age-24 campaign, Morel put up a .347 wOBA with 26 taters in 429 plate appearances for the Chicago Cubs. Big things were expected from him in 2024, but he face-planted, registering a measly .280 wOBA. Although, he still hit 21 homers and had a 40.2% fly-ball rate while dropping his K rate by 5.0 percentage points. The big culprit in 2024 was a 13.7% home-run-to-fly-ball rate after Morel put up a 24.8% clip in 2023 and a 20.5% mark in 2022.

Maybe the 2023 output will end up being a fluke season for Morel, but when someone at that age shows that kind of power upside, I'm willing to give them a chance, especially at pick No. 266.

I'm also intrigued by Morel's 2024 midseason move to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are one of the savviest operators in baseball, and they parted with Isaac Paredes -- a solid big-leaguer -- in a trade for Morel, so they must be bullish about their ability to help Morel put it all together.

ZiPS has Morel forecasted for 25 homers and a .319 wOBA. While Morel will likely be a drain in the batting-average department (ZiPS has him at .231), the 25 homers are the 14th-most for any outfielder in ZiPS projections. Morel offers a nice floor of home runs with enticing upside and is worth a look late in drafts.

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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.