5 Best Late-Round Sleepers for Season-Long Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Opening Day is right around the corner, which means that time is ticking to complete your fantasy baseball drafts. While it's easy to have a plan for the early portion of drafts, it's crucial to have a list of players to target in the later rounds to round out your roster.

There are also a variety of strategies to deploy when compiling a list of late-round targets, whether it be prioritizing upside, or siding with a player with a solid floor to rely on. Choosing between upside or a safe floor is dependent on what your roster looks like entering the final stretch of drafts.

With days to go until the first pitch is thrown to begin the 2025 MLB season, here are a handful of late-round sleepers to consider in season-long fantasy baseball drafts.

All stats are courtesy of FanGraphs or Baseball Savant unless stated otherwise. The average draft position (ADP) listed for each player comes from FantasyPros' Consensus ADP.

Top Sleepers for Fantasy Baseball

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 1B, Reds

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 241.2

We got a flash of what Christian Encarnacion-Strand is capable at the dish during the 2023 campaign for the Cincinnati Reds, as he posted a .346 wOBA, 111 wRC+, and a .207 ISO with 13 homers and 37 RBIs in only 241 plate appearances. Encarnacion-Strand was slated to have a solid role for the Reds last season, but a fractured wrist limited him to 123 plate appearances in 29 games.

Entering this season, there's clear playing time available for Encarnacion-Strand at first base and designated hitter, especially with Spencer Steer beginning the year on the injured list. Although spring training isn't always indicative of what's going to transpire during the regular season, Encarnacion-Strand has been fantastic in Cincy's exhibition contests, slashing .280/.339/.560 with 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, and just a 19.6% strikeout rate.

If Encarnacion-Strand continues to show vast improvements with his plate discipline, there's a ton of potential for him to launch plenty of long balls in 2025. It also doesn't hurt that Encarnacion-Strand gets to play his home games at Great American Ball Park -- the park with the best home run factor over the last three years.

Jesus Luzardo, SP, Phillies

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 242.2

Jesus Luzardo has been a fun pitcher to watch in recent years, but he's logged 101-plus innings pitched just once in his first six seasons in the majors. After spending the past three years with the Miami Marlins, Luzardo was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason, giving him a chance to be part of one of the best rotations in baseball.

Despite Luzardo struggling to the tune of a 4.59 xERA, 4.23 xFIP, and a career-worst 21.2% strikeout rate in 2024, he registered a sub-4.00 xERA and a strikeout rate of 28% or higher in 2022 and 2023 with the Marlins. Luzardo's whiff rate (29.6%) was still in the 80th percentile a season ago, so it's not like he suddenly forgot how to generate swings and misses.

In his debut season with the Phillies, I'm expecting a bounce-back campaign for Luzardo, as he'll also have a decent shot of setting a new career-best in wins if he can remain healthy. Getting a starting pitcher with high strikeout and double-digit win upside this late in the draft seems pretty good.

Ivan Herrera, C, Cardinals

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 266.8

With Paul Goldschmidt joining the New York Yankees in the offseason, Willson Contreras is moving to first base for the St. Louis Cardinals, which means that Ivan Herrera is expected to be the preferred starting catcher to begin the 2025 campaign. Herrera displayed a formidable skill set at the plate last season, notching a .351 wOBA, 127 wRC+, 5 HRs, 27 RBIs, and a 20.5% strikeout rate across 259 plate appearances.

In the final month of the 2024 season, Herrera led all catchers with 50-plus appearances during that span in wOBA (.469) and wRC+ (207) while also ranking fifth in ISO (.238). At the start of the upcoming season, Herrera will only be 24 years old, and the Cardinals have no reason not to give him every chance to earn an every day role.

Besides having the belief that Herrera can improve in the power department, he can contribute in a variety of categories. The catcher position gets pretty thin once the elite options are off the board, so if you elect to wait to address the position or need a second catcher, Herrera is worth taking a flier on in the latter part of drafts.

Matt Wallner, OF, Twins

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 271.0

As a left-handed hitter, Matt Wallner has been a platoon bat versus righties for the majority of his first three years with the Minnesota Twins. However, Wallner will have an opportunity to set a new career-high mark in plate appearances in 2025, and he has plenty of power upside.

Across the last two seasons, Wallner has a .377 wOBA or better and a 143 wRC+ or better in both years. Among hitters with 100-plus batted ball events in 2024, Wallner was 14th in average exit velocity (92.8 MPH), 13th in hard-hit rate (53.2%), and 6th in barrels per batted ball event (17.5%).

From the beginning of July to the end of September last season, Wallner also sported the 13th-best ISO (.277), 12th-best wOBA (.405), and 9th-best wRC+ (169) of the batters with 200-plus plate appearances during that sample. While Wallner has produced a 31.5% strikeout rate or worse in each of his first three years, he can more than make up for it in other areas at this cost.

Kristian Campbell, 2B, SS, OF, Red Sox

FantasyPros' Consensus ADP: 292.0

Kristian Campbell may not classify as a true sleeper due to the attention he's received ahead of the 2025 season, but he's still worth mentioning. There's a chance Campbell's ADP skyrockets in the coming days as the Boston Red Sox have announced that the highly-touted prospect has made the team's Opening Day roster, so keep that in mind when drafting.

At the moment, Campbell appears to be in line to start at second base for the Red Sox, and he has different positional eligibility on various sites. Ahead of his major league debut, Campbell put together his best season in 2024 across Double-A and Triple-A, finishing with a .447 wOBA, 180 wRC+, .228 ISO, 20 HRs, 77 RBIs, and 24 SBs in 517 plate appearances.

Aside from Campbell flashing 20-20 upside in the minors a season ago, his 14.3% walk rate and 19.9% strikeout rate last year are impressive metrics for a young player. In the days leading up to the first games of the 2025 season, Campbell currently has the second-shortest odds to win AL Rookie of the Year.

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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.