We’re almost there, everybody: After a long, cold, frustratingly slow offseason, MLB’s regular season begins on Wednesday, March 20, with the Dodgers and Padres squaring off in Seoul (the 28 other teams will get things started on Thursday, March 28). With precious little time to go until Opening Day, now is the time to start cranking up your fantasy baseball drafts — and we’re here to be your one-stop shop for all things draft prep. We just recently unveiled our top 300 overall for redraft leagues in 2024, as well as top prospects to know and full previews — plus sleepers and busts — at each position.
But now it’s time to drill a little deeper for you sickos (read: anyone in an NL- or AL-only league) out there. We’ve assembled a list of one deep sleeper from all 30 Major League teams, defined as a player going 350 or later — in some cases much, much later — in current drafts. Whether you’re in a brutal 15-teamer or just looking for names for your watchlist, we’ve got you covered.
Fantasy baseball sleepers: Deep targets from every MLB team
Arizona Diamondbacks: Jordan Lawlar, SS
ADP: 366
Lawlar’s first taste of the Majors was a disaster, but he’s still a consensus top-15 prospect who hit 24 homers with 38 steals in 125 games between Double-A and Triple-A — oh, and he’s still just 21. He might not have an Opening Day job, but he’ll usurp Geraldo Perdomo sooner rather than later.
Atlanta Braves: Reynaldo Lopez, RP
ADP: 385
Lopez has been quietly dominant as a reliever over the last few years, and now the Braves are trying to turn him back into a starter — with recent reports out of camp suggesting he might beat Bryce Elder out for the No. 5 job. He has a 3.14 ERA and 1.064 ERA with 26.6% strikeout rate over the past three seasons, and he’d get a ton of run support from that lineup.
Baltimore Orioles: Jordan Westburg, 2B/3B
ADP: 357
Westburg didn’t set the world on fire in his first taste of the Majors last year, but he also didn’t drown either, posting a league-average OPS over 228 plate appearances. This is the same guy who tore it up at every level of the Minors (.295/.372/.567 line with 18 homers in just 68 games at Triple-A last year) and the O’s seem content to let him be their everyday second baseman
Boston Red Sox: Garrett Whitlock, SP
ADP: 365
Lucas Giolito’s injury gives Whitlock an inside track to a rotation job to start the year, and if he does nail that down, there’s real upside here — health has kept him from sticking as a starter in the past, but he’s put up a 3.51 ERA with a 25.7% strikeout rate over 223.1 Major League innings.
Chicago White Sox: Erick Fedde, SP
ADP: 384
Remember him? Fedde reinvented himself in Korea last year, winning the KBO’s equivalent of both Cy Young and MVP with a 2.00 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 209 strikeouts in 180.1 innings. The stuff looks to back those numbers up, and the White Sox will give him all the innings he can handle.
Chicago Cubs: Michael Busch, 1B/3B
ADP: 400
Even with Cody Bellinger back in the fold, Busch seems destined for regular playing time — at the very least, as the strong side of a platoon — at first base, third base, DH or some combination thereof. He struggled in a brief MLB cameo last year, but the former Dodgers prospect is a .293/.385/.544 career hitter at Triple-A, showcasing plus plate skills and real pull-side power.
Cincinnati Reds: Frankie Montas, SP
ADP: 376
The Reds have a crowded starting pitcher picture right now, but they didn’t sign Montas not to let him start as long as he’s healthy — which it finally seems like he is after 18 months in the wilderness. Remember, he was a borderline ace in 2021 and 2022 before the injuries set in.
Cleveland Guardians: Estevan Florial, OF
ADP: 676
Once the Yankees’ center fielder of the future, Florial is now in Cleveland, where there’s a wide-open path to playing time in the Guardians’ wretched outfield. Florial’s days as a top prospect are behind him, but he went 25/25 at Triple-A last year in just 101 games. That sort of power/speed combo is worth a dart throw.
Colorado Rockies: Brenton Doyle, OF
ADP: 491
Doyle’s rookie season was ugly, offensively speaking. But he’s a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder, and that guarantees regular playing time at Coors Field. There’s the outlines of a 20/20 player in here if he can cut the K rate a bit.
Detroit Tigers: Shelby Miller, RP
ADP: 458
I have no faith in Alex Lange’s ability to hold this closer’s role, and if/when he implodes, Miller will be waiting in the wings after revitalizing his career as a reliever with the Dodgers last season.
Houston Astros: Bryan Abreu, RP
ADP: 370
In any other bullpen, Abreu will be the alpha. He’s currently behind Josh Hader and Ryan Pressly in Houston, but the latter started showing his age toward the end of last season; and given Abreu’s ridiculous ratios and strikeout numbers the last couple of years, he’s useful to have around even if he’s not racking up saves.
Kansas City Royals: Nelson Velazquez, OF
ADP: 350
A trade to K.C. finally opened up some playing time for Velazquez, and he certainly made the most of it, posting an .878 OPS with 14 homers in just 40 games with the Royals. The man has a frame and swing optimized for major power: His exit velocities are off the charts, and he was second in all of MLB in terms of barrels per plate appearance. Playing time is still a bit up in the air here, but he seems to have the inside track of Kansas City’s DH spot as things stand.
Los Angeles Angels: Nolan Schanuel, 1B
ADP: 382
Schnauel is a weird profile, a first-round pick last season who was fast-tracked to the Majors but is the rare hit over power first-base bat. He gets on base a ton, though, and he’ll get all the playing time he can handle for the Angels — likely toward the top of the order, too.
Los Angeles Dodgers: James Paxton, SP
ADP: 403
Can Paxton stay healthy? At this price, who cares? He’s got a rotation spot on the most talented team in baseball, and he was lights out for 2-3 months for the Red Sox (3.34 ERA) before his knee acted up.
Miami Marlins: A.J. Puk, SP/RP
ADP: 483
After a couple solid seasons out of the bullpen, injuries have conspired to hand Puk a rotation spot to start the year. We know he has an electric arm, and while he’s yet to prove he can hold up to a starter’s workload, the strikeout upside makes him worth an add early on.
Milwaukee Brewers: Tyler Black, 2B/3B
ADP: 419
Second and third base are there for the taking in Milwaukee, and the Brewers are trying Black all over the place — with good reason, after he slashed .284/.417/.513 with a whopping 55 steals between Double-A and Triple-A last year. If he wins a job, look out.
Minnesota Twins: Matt Wallner, OF
ADP: 364
Wallner will never be a full-time player, but even just on the strong side of a platoon, his power will play — he clubbed 14 homers in just 76 games for Minnesota last year, and 25-30 homers with a not-terrible average is on the table here given just how much damage he does on contact.
New York Mets: Brett Baty, 3B
ADP: 425
Baty gets one more crack at the Mets’ third-base job, with very little competition for playing time after Ronny Mauricio’s knee injury. And for as bad as things have looked at the plate so far in his young MLB career, he remains one tweak away from unlocking the prodigious power potential that made him a top prospect in the first place. This spring has been all about how to generate more pull-side fly balls, and if he figures it out, suddenly everything else snaps into place.
New York Yankees: DJ LeMahieu, 1B/3B
ADP: 403
LeMahieu might be over the hill, but at this price it won’t hurt you to find out. The Yankees don’t currently have a better option at third base, and they seem set on batting him directly in front of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. You could do a lot worse, especially if you need runs.
Oakland Athletics: Joe Boyle, SP
ADP: 444
Boyle has 100 grand stuff and 10 cent command, but he did cut his walk rate a tad after a trade to the A’s last summer — including just five walks in 16 innings in brief MLB cameo. If he can just keep the walks to a normal level of bad, the upside here could be pretty impressive, and the A’s will be starved for innings.
Philadelphia Phillies: Jeff Hoffman, RP
ADP: 534
If the Phillies decide they’d rather use Jose Alvarado — their best lefty — as more of a chess piece than stick him in the ninth, Hoffman could be the one to benefit for a team that figures to generate lots of save chances. He was dynamite to close the year in 2023.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Roansy Contreras, SP
ADP: 705
Contreras was a trendy sleeper at this time last year, but he lost velocity on his fastball and struggled at the big-league level. He’s been consistently good in the Minors, though, and he’s throwing the ball well this spring for a Pirates team that has rotation spots to win.
San Diego Padres: Jackson Merrill, SS
ADP: 425
Drafted and developed as a shortstop, San Diego’s current wonky roster construction has the team considering putting him on the Opening Day roster in the outfield. He has all the physical tools you could want, and he’s learning more and more how to use them to tap into more game power — he hit the ball in the air far more regularly down the stretch last season. If he keeps up this strong spring, he could win a starting job in a still pretty strong lineup, with real 20-20 potential over a full season.
San Francisco Giants: Marco Luciano, SS
ADP: 570
Luciano is locked into the starting shortstop role in San Fran, at least to start the year, and he’s a former top prospect who hits the ball hard — when he makes contact. If he can refine his plate approach a little bit, he could take off.
Seattle Mariners: Mitch Haniger, OF
ADP: 378
The health will always be a question mark, but this guy did put up a 39-homer season as recently as 2021. The batted-ball metrics — 91.0 mph average exit velocity, 10.9% barrel rate — are good enough to suggest some of those skills are still in there, and he has a shot at everyday work.
St. Louis Cardinals: Ivan Herrera, C
ADP: 553
The Cardinals are a surprisingly tough team for this exercise, but they figure to give Willson Contreras plenty of time at DH, and Herrera has hit hit .282/.416/.450 with 16 homers and 16 steals in 149 games at Triple-A. He could go 10-10 if he gets to, say, 400 plate appearances.
Tampa Bay Rays: Jose Siri, OF
ADP: 367
Siri’s plate approach remains pretty rough, but he’s a plus defender in center field who figures to see plenty of playing time for the Rays — and if he can make a remotely passable amount of contact, he’s got physical tools for days. He went 25/12 in just 101 games last year, as long as you can stomach the batting average hit.
Texas Rangers: Ezequiel Duran, 3B/SS/OF
ADP: 378
Duran once again finds himself without a position to play, but it’s a long season, and injuries are bound to happen. A hole will open up at some point, and when it does, Duran will once again be there to offer versatility and a solid bat (14/8/.276 in 122 games last year).
Toronto Blue Jays: Davis Schneider, 2B
ADP: 416
The Jays seem committed to giving Schneider plenty of run at the keystone this season, and he did show some decent pop and patience at the plate — although he did alternate between scorching hot and ice cold. Still, playing time is playing time, and he’s not a bad source of cheap power from an MI spot.
Washington Nationals: Dylan Crews, OF
ADP: 468
Wyatt Langford has sucked up all the oxygen this spring, but he’s not the only top outfield prospect from last year’s draft who could be in the Majors sooner rather than later. Crews needs more time in the Minors, but he’s a legit five-tool prospect who was taken No. 2 overall for a reason, and the Nats need outfielders desperately.
