7 sleepers who will help you win your fantasy baseball league

Fantasy baseball season is already in full swing, even if spring training is just starting to ramp up around Major League Baseball.

Fortunately for fantasy managers there’s no cheap-looking jerseys or see-through pants they’ll have to wear this summer. Instead there’s a whole host of other issues and that starts with the draft.

Do you go all-in on pitching or hitting? Are those veterans still able to produce? Which young prospect is going to become a household name?

We’re here to help sort through the draft pool so you don’t have to miss out on the biggest fantasy stars — no matter which pick you have.

Let’s run through seven sleepers you’ll want to add to your roster.

All draft data via FantasyPros

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Average Draft Position: 448

Does recommending an Oakland player in the year 2024 immediately ruin all credibility here? It shouldn’t!

We’re looking at players no one else is going to be targeting to gain an advantage later on in the draft. Noda at first base is the ideal candidate. As a 27-year-old rookie in 2023, the former Dodgers prospect slashed .229/.364/.406 with 54 RBI over 128 games. He should take a leap forward this year on a team that won’t mind keeping him in the lineup despite any growing pains.

(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Average Draft Position: 92

Why is a pitcher who ranks among the Top 100 in ADP considered a sleeper? Because you’ll get Cy Young stuff at a serious discount as others reach for the top starters.

While he may not have the name brand power of a Zach Wheeler or Corbin Burnes, the Cubs’ lefty put up similar stats before ending the season with a September slump.

Steele finished the year with a 3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 14 home runs allowed on 176 strikeouts and 36 walks. Don’t worry about missing out on the big names in the starter market as long as you can grab Steele a little later on.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Average Draft Position: 279.6

Grab the emerging Tigers’ star before he becomes a household name. Detroit signed the phenom to a ridiculous six-year deal that could be worth $82 million when it’s all said and done despite the fact he’s yet to make his MLB debut.

That’s how much they believe in Keith’s talent after he slashed .306/.380/.552 with 27 homers in 126 games between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Even if he doesn’t break camp, he’ll be in Detroit very quickly.

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Average Draft Position: 126

Let one of the most entertaining players in baseball set up shop in your lineup. Naylor can mash homers, steal bases and make life a whole lot easier for Jose Ramirez in the Cleveland clubhouse.

He batted .308/.354/.489. with 17 homers last season despite playing for a team that finished 10 games under .500.

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Average Draft Position: 295

The No. 16 overall prospect in baseball didn’t impress at all last year as a September call-up, going 0-14 at the plate with three walks on seven strikeouts. Don’t let that scare you off.

PCA has a history of making solid contact and his elite speed should help him turn balls that stay in the park into extra-base hits. He stole more than 30 bases in each of his last two seasons in the minors and should bring that knack with him up to the North Side.

(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Average Draft Position: 489

Ashby is admittedly one of the deepest sleepers worth recommending here, but there’s just too much upside to overlook. After a stellar 2022 season in the minors, Ashby was rated as the No. 3 overall prospect in the Brewers system, grading out with an above-average fastball and slider. Then a shoulder injury kept him sidelined all last year.

If he’s healthy — and if his command has gotten stronger — Ashby will get an opportunity to crack a Milwaukee rotation badly lacking depth after moving on from Corbin Burnes. He’s got Major League stuff and it’s a matter of when, not if, he’ll get the chance to prove it.