Outfield is always a very important fantasy baseball position to plan for every season. Most leagues require multiple outfield starters, and each MLB team brings plenty of depth into the season at the position. You’ll want to be sure your fantasy team is well-stocked at the position as well, whether you use early draft capital on some stars or are going with the zero-outfielder strategy and grabbing a bunch of fantasy baseball sleepers late.
To cover the critical position thoroughly, we’re splitting our spring training sleepers into three from the American League and three from the National League. In this post, we’ll focus on three strong fantasy baseball sleepers in the outfield from the American League. These are options that I think will out-produce their current affordable ADP (average draft position).
Whether you prefer season-long leagues, DFS contests or DraftKings Best Ball, DK Network will have you covered throughout the upcoming season. I began this series with fantasy baseball sleepers at catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base. In this post, we’ll look at my top three OF sleepers from the American League coming into spring training.
Jo Adell, Los Angeles Angels
Adell remains a polarizing player even after his breakout season last year. He’s being drafted around OF30 in most formats, but has a much higher ceiling if he can build on last year. He was hyped as an elite prospect for so long before his breakout though, causing some fantasy owners to feel hesitant to back him again this year.
While it feels like we’ve been hearing about Adell for a long time, he’s still only 26 years old. He had a few short appearances for the Angels dating all the way back to 2020, but he didn’t get extended playing time until 2024. In 2024, he played 130 games and had 20 home runs, 15 stolen bases, and 62 RBI. He only hit .207 that season though, with a 44.5% hard-hit rate.
In 2025, he took a huge step forward, hitting 37 homers and picking up 98 RBI. His batting average improved to .236, which is much more palatable, and his wOBA increased to .333. He was able to cut down his strikeout rate while also increasing his barrel rate from 11.7% to 17.2%. Adell’s bat speed is truly elite, ranking in the 99th percentile of qualified hitters last season, and his barrel rate and xSLG also rank in the top 5% of qualified hitters.
Adell’s name was briefly thrown around in trade rumors this offseason, but the team dealt Taylor Ward instead, leaving Adell locked into an everyday role in the heart of the batting order for the Halos.
Adell brings elite power and run production, even though he remains a liability in batting average. At least it’s an acceptable hit in that category if he can duplicate last year’s production, and it’s also not impossible that he’ll be able to improve his average based on BABIP.
I see Adell as a good way to grab some extra pure power as a third outfielder or as an option that you can target late if you end up going no outfielders and shopping late at the position.
shor
Evan Carter, Texas Rangers
Carter has the potential to be a great value at his current ADP as one of the best fantasy baseball sleepers in the outfield… if he can stay healthy this season. His ADP is well outside the top 300 and the top-60 outfielders, meaning he has slid out of a must-roster level and could even be available on waiver wires early in the campaign.
Like Adell, there is a little hype fatigue with Carter that makes him more of a value. He skyrocketed to the majors and made his debut in 2023 at age 20, and he was a big part of the Rangers’ World Series win. He’s still just 23 coming into his fourth season in the majors. The big problem with Carter has been that he hasn’t been able to stay on the field, especially in the last two years. He missed most of 2024 with back issues and bounced back a little bit with a much-improved 2025. He hit .247 with a .321 wOBA after hitting only .188 in 2024, and he had five homers and 14 stolen bases in his 63 games.
Carter missed time in 2025 with a quad strain in May and back spasms in August before being hit on the wrist at the end of August and landing on the 60-day IL, ending his season.
This season, Carter comes into spring training healthy. He’s also lined up to be the team’s starting center fielder between Brandon Nimmo and Wyatt Langford in the corners. He was starting to hit lefties and continuing to mash righties before his injuries, and could be an every-day option if he stays healthy this year.
Carter has stated publicly that its his goal to steal 30 bases this season, which would be a huge boost to his value. In his career, he’s been successful in 19 of 21 attempts, and if he runs more, he could have 20-20 potential with plenty of speed upside.
It’s all about him staying healthy, but if you’re looking for upside in one of your outfield spots, Carter still brings enough potential to be a great flier.
Denzel Clarke, Athletics
Clarke is rightly known for his defensive wizardry after the human highlight reel joined the Athletics last summer and had some of the most incredible catches of the year in his limited opportunities. The 25-year-old will be a regular in the Athletics’ lineup primarily for his glove work, which unfortunately doesn’t add much fantasy value in most scoring formats.
His defense will keep him in the lineup though, and being in a young and productive batting order could give him a nice boost, especially when they’re playing at Sutter Health Park in the middle of the summer. Clarke has some sneaky potential to be one of the best late-round fantasy baseball sleepers in deep leagues.
Clarke has always offered an intriguing blend of power and speed and provided good potential in impact categories with home runs and stolen bases. In 2022, he had 15 homers and 30 stolen bases in his first full season as a pro. In 2023, he had 12 homers and 11 stolen bases in 64 games at Double-A. He improved those numbers in 2024 with 13 homers and 36 stolen bases in 116 games in Double-A for the Midland RockHounds. Last year, he moved to Triple-A in Las Vegas, where he hit .280 with no homers but seven stolen bases before being called up after 32 games in the minors.
Once he arrived in the majors, he had three homers and six stolen bases in 47 games. He only hit .230 with a 38.4% strikeout rate after posting just a 22.2% strikeout rate in Triple-A. At the same time, his walk rate dropped from 17.0% in Triple-A to just 3.8% in the majors. Part of that contrast is due to small sample size, but at least he was able to adjust and improve his plate approach at the Triple-A level. If he can have similar adjustments in the majors, he could hit 15+ homers and steal 30+ bases.
If Clarke hits ninth, he could potentially be right in front of Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker, Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler, all depending on how the order shakes out. That slot could give him huge run-scoring potential and make him one of the dark-horse sleepers to step into fantasy relevance this season. In all but the very deepest leagues, he’s a last-round flier, but the athletic Athletic is definitely one of my top fantasy baseball sleepers to look for late if you need outfield help.
