BOS
Boston
• #2
•
Age: 31
FantasyPros ADP
107.5
|
Scott's Ranking
78
|
AVG
.260
|
HR
26
|
RBI
75
|
R
79
|
OPS
.768
|
AB
581
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Alex Bregman is coming off the worst year of what had been a downward trend with the Astros, with his RBI and run production suffering the most. I suspect those will bounce back with him batting second or third with the Red Sox, and that's especially true if Fenway Park does for his batting average what I think it will. He excels at elevating to his pull side but doesn't always have the juice to send it out of the park. The Green Monster is close enough that many would-be outs will bang off of it for singles or even doubles. The four-category production should at least put him on equal footing with Mark Vientos and Junior Caminero.
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TOR
Toronto
• #11
•
Age: 27
FantasyPros ADP
123.5
|
Scott's Ranking
72
|
AVG
.225
|
HR
4
|
RBI
31
|
R
29
|
SB
5
|
AB
311
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Bo Bichette was routinely drafted in the first three rounds from the time he debuted late in 2019, but all it took was one year with a sub-.290 batting average for his Fantasy stock to plummet. Granted, it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year, but he was plagued by a calf injury throughout and maintained comparable plate discipline and exit velocity readings. Players of his caliber and consistency generally get a pass for an off year, particularly when they're still only 27, but for whatever reason, the drafting public has decided to value Bichette on the same terms as Ezequiel Tovar.
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CHC
Chi. Cubs
• #35
•
Age: 29
FantasyPros ADP
126.0
|
Scott's Ranking
103
|
W-L
5-5
|
ERA
3.07
|
WHIP
1.10
|
INN
134.2
|
BB
37
|
K
135
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Remember how two years ago, Justin Steele competed for the NL Cy Young right up until the end with a 3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 9.1 K/9? Um ... you see how those numbers compare to last year's? He was exactly the same guy. It's just that he missed the first six weeks with a strained hamstring and won only 21 percent of his starts rather than 53 percent. If anything, we should draft him more emphatically now that he's proven himself twice over, but alas, he's being drafted after pitchers with clearer vulnerabilities such as Hunter Brown, Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray.
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SF
San Francisco
• #74
•
Age: 29
FantasyPros ADP
132.5
|
Scott's Ranking
112
|
SV
10
|
ERA
1.91
|
WHIP
0.85
|
INN
80
|
BB
18
|
K
99
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I genuinely don't understand the lack of enthusiasm for Ryan Walker, who had the look of an ace reliever last year and handled the closer role with aplomb once he stepped into it in mid-August. The Giants have confirmed he's back in it to begin 2025, and that's as much assurance as anyone can hope for from a role defined by its volatility. I'm never one to pay up for an elite closer, but knowing Walker typically lasts beyond Round 10 gives me hope for one anyway.
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PHI
Philadelphia
• #10
•
Age: 34
FantasyPros ADP
155.0
|
Scott's Ranking
113
|
AVG
.266
|
HR
14
|
RBI
47
|
R
50
|
SB
2
|
AB
380
|
It just seems like reports of J.T. Realmuto's demise have been greatly exaggerated. You'd think a torn meniscus would have felled him last year, but he returned after six weeks and did his best work thereafter, batting .272 with a .788 OPS in 48 games. The recovery explains the absence of stolen bases -- a development that he's hinted at reversing this year -- but even as just a batter, he brings more to the table than Logan O'Hoppe, for one. I've seen him go later than Tyler Stephenson and Austin Wells in some expert leagues as well.
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CHC
Chi. Cubs
• #2
•
Age: 27
FantasyPros ADP
158.0
|
Scott's Ranking
145
|
AVG
.273
|
HR
7
|
RBI
48
|
R
86
|
SB
31
|
OPS
.708
|
No doubt, Nico Hoerner's cost is dragged down by his recovery from flexor tendon surgery, but all along, the Cubs have suggested he'll be ready to go following the season-opening series in Tokyo. The injury discount can make him the most perfect pick in Rotisserie if you happen to need both batting average and stolen bases at that point in the draft. His 2024 performance even undersells his upside in those two areas. He batted .283 with 43 stolen bases in 2023 -- when, by the way, he also averaged 3.36 Head-to-Head points per game. That's more than Jose Altuve averaged last year.
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CHC
Chi. Cubs
• #7
•
Age: 31
FantasyPros ADP
181.3
|
Scott's Ranking
149
|
AVG
.242
|
HR
16
|
RBI
66
|
R
82
|
SB
19
|
OPS
.701
|
Dansby Swanson is underrated just from the perspective of where he's been drafted historically. He was the 109th player drafted a year ago and hasn't been drafted later than 116th dating back to 2021. Sure, he underperformed last year, but he was playing through a core muscle injury the whole time and still managed to find his footing over the final two months, batting .283 with seven homers, 12 steals and an .822 OPS. None of the underlying indicators would suggest he's fundamentally a different player.
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HOU
Houston
• #15
•
Age: 26
FantasyPros ADP
185.3
|
Scott's Ranking
123
|
AVG
.238
|
HR
19
|
RBI
80
|
R
64
|
OPS
.739
|
AB
542
|
A look at Isaac Paredes' spray chart over the past few years will show him consistently pulling the ball down the left field line, which is how he was able to hit 31 home runs in 2023 for the Rays, whose ballpark at the time was only 315 feet down the line. The Astros' ballpark is also only 315 down the line and remains shallower than most all the way to left-center because of the Crawford Boxes. I suspect the numbers we'll see from Paredes in his first year in Houston will be much like those we saw from Alex Bregman in his final couple years with the Astros.
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TB
Tampa Bay
• #8
•
Age: 30
FantasyPros ADP
206.8
|
Scott's Ranking
147
|
AVG
.244
|
HR
21
|
RBI
58
|
R
56
|
OPS
.783
|
AB
385
|
There's some injury risk and platoon concern for Brandon Lowe, no doubt, but there's also incomparable power production for a second baseman. Even for playing in just 107 games last year, his 21 homers were the third-most at the position. Project out those numbers, and he's something like Pete Alonso at second base, which we saw come to fruition when Lowe hit 39 homers in 2021. A gamble on good health is well worth a pick outside of the top 200.
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BAL
Baltimore
• #31
•
Age: 30
FantasyPros ADP
208.8
|
Scott's Ranking
153
|
AVG
.234
|
HR
18
|
RBI
54
|
R
69
|
SB
32
|
AB
444
|
Beyond the fact that 20-homer, 30-steal guys aren't common enough to let one drop outside of the top 200, Cedric Mullins' numbers last year were suppressed by a miserable start in which he hit .174 with a .532 OPS through 60 games. In 87 games thereafter, he hit .277 with an .834 OPS. He's going 60 picks after Pete Crow-Armstrong when he might just be the superior version.
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MIN
Minnesota
• #4
•
Age: 30
FantasyPros ADP
236.3
|
Scott's Ranking
148
|
AVG
.310
|
HR
14
|
RBI
54
|
R
55
|
OPS
.905
|
AB
319
|
Last season should have gone a long way toward reassuring drafters that Carlos Correa is indeed an impact bat when healthy, his 3.33 Head-to-Head point-per-game average nearly matching that of Trea Turner, but a second half plagued by plantar fasciitis seems to have made the performance an afterthought, seeing him drafted behind the likes of Ceddanne Rafaela and Jeremy Pena. Correa is no stranger to the trainer's room, but a lengthy absence is hardly a fait accompli seeing as he averaged 140 games in the three years prior to 2024.
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BAL
Baltimore
• #6
•
Age: 28
FantasyPros ADP
240.8
|
Scott's Ranking
191
|
AVG
.271
|
HR
13
|
RBI
63
|
R
54
|
OPS
.733
|
AB
473
|
Ryan Mountcastle was a 33-homer guy the year before the Orioles moved the entire length of the left field fence back 30 feet, and in the years since, he's only improved his exit velocities, such that they now actually resemble those of a 33-homer man. The Orioles are moving the left field fence back in this year -- not completely, but enough that you'd expect his power to play that way again. I'll take Mountcastle over Paul Goldschmidt, who's going about 80 picks earlier.
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DET
Detroit
• #21
•
Age: 22
FantasyPros ADP
256.3
|
Scott's Ranking
182
|
Minors
|
W-L
5-3
|
ERA
2.36
|
WHIP
1.12
|
INN
91.2
|
BB
45
|
K
96
|
Before Roki Sasaki entered the scene, Jackson Jobe was widely regarded as the top pitching prospect in baseball, and he has the inside track on a rotation spot this spring. Normally, enthusiasm for such a player would be off the charts, but Jobe is receiving a tepid response -- as are Matt Shaw and Kristian Campbell, for that matter. This seems like an overreaction to some of the prospect fakeouts of the recent past. Paul Skenes, Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill turned out to be pretty good, after all!
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LAD
L.A. Dodgers
• #23
•
Age: 32
FantasyPros ADP
307.3
|
Scott's Ranking
208
|
AVG
.237
|
HR
20
|
RBI
66
|
R
56
|
OPS
.759
|
AB
438
|
I don't know if it's because they're fearful of a platoon role or they're focusing too much on the top-line numbers, but drafters seem reluctant to buy into Michael Conforto even with the Dodgers committing to him as their left fielder during an offseason when it seemed like they could get anyone they wanted. What those drafters are missing (and the likely reason for the Dodgers' buy-in) is that Conforto delivered his highest exit velocities since 2016 last year. It's just that his return to form was concealed by a suppressive home environment where he hit .216 with just three of his 20 home runs.
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CIN
Cincinnati
• #28
•
Age: 34
FantasyPros ADP
330.8
|
Scott's Ranking
239
|
W-L
10-7
|
ERA
3.10
|
WHIP
1.03
|
INN
142.1
|
BB
18
|
K
116
|
WHIP can be an especially difficult category to address late in drafts, but Nick Martinez emerged as a specialist last year with greatly improved control. Though it was a departure from his track record, the Reds bought in enough to make him a qualifying offer ($21.05 million), which he accepted. In points leagues, you may not care as much about the low WHIP, but did I mention he's a SPARP?
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TEX
Texas
• #61
•
Age: 27
FantasyPros ADP
348.8
|
Scott's Ranking
246
|
W-L
6-3
|
ERA
3.54
|
WHIP
1.01
|
INN
76.1
|
BB
13
|
K
70
|
Speaking of WHIP specialists, Cody Bradford also qualifies and, if last year's performance is to be believed, isn't a far cry from the Shota Imanagas, Bryce Millers and Bailey Obers of the world. By that, I mean he combines elite control with average-to-above-average strikeout ability and a high fly-ball rate, which reduces hits overall but presents some home run (and, therefore, ERA) risk. It's a profile that we know works for Fantasy, and now that his rotation spot seems even more secure, it should see him drafted ahead of Ranger Suarez, Mitch Keller and Brayan Bello, to name a few.
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