Fake Baseball’s Ultimate Fantasy Baseball Draft Cheat Sheet (2025)

A round by round draft guide to help crush your fantasy baseball draft

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. Football season is officially over and that means baseball season is ready to take over. I feel like this day came both very quickly and not quickly enough at the same time.

With that being said, it’s also more important now than ever that we begin breaking down draft strategy. Everyone has their own way of going about things, and no way is perfect, but I firmly believe in absorbing as much info as you can and picking out the parts that resonate with you the most. This will be your key to leaving your draft set up for a successful season.

Now with this article, this is going to be what I’d consider my ultimate strategy guide. If you’re familiar with my previous work, this is an article I did for the official FantasyPros draft guide before the 2024 season. It’s also one I’ve had the pleasure of receiving multiple messages asking for me to do one for 2025. So with that in mind, here’s the round-by-round draft strategy guide for the 2025 fantasy baseball season.

Favorite Targets By Position

Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Tyler Stephenson, Willson Contreras, Shea Langeliers, Logan O’Hoppe, Ivan Herrera

First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Bryce Harper, Matt Olson, Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Cody Bellinger, Vinnie Pasquantino, Jake Burger, Paul Goldschmidt, Isaac Paredes, Yandy Diaz, Michael Toglia, Ryan Mountcastle

Second Base: Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, Jordan Westburg, Ketel Marte, Jose Altuve, Marcus Semien, Matt McLain, Ceddanne Rafaela, Luis Garcia, Jackson Holliday, Brandon Lowe

Third Base: Jose Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Rafael Devers, Austin Riley, Mark Vientos, Junior Caminero, Jordan Westburg, Matt Chapman, Jake Burger, Isaac Paredes, Nolan Arenado, Josh Jung, Brendan Donovan, Joey Ortiz

Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr, Mookie Betts, Gunnar Henderson, Francisco Lindor, CJ Abrams, Oneil Cruz, Matt McLain, Ezequiel Tovar, Xavier Edwards, Matt Shaw, Kristian Campbell, Ceddanne Rafaela, Joey Ortiz, Jordan Lawlar

Outfield: Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Julio Rodriguez, Fernando Tatis Jr, Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, Jackson Chourio, Jackson Merrill, Jarren Duran, Wyatt Langford, Brent Rooker, Oneil Cruz, James Wood, Lawrence Butler, Brenton Doyle, Mike Trout, Steven Kwan, Christian Yelich, Brandon Nimmo, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kerry Carpenter, Parker Meadows, Heliot Ramos, Michael Toglia, Tyler Fitzgerald, Jung Hoo Lee, Nolan Jones, Garrett Mitchell, Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker, Joc Pederson, Jhonkensy Noel

Starting Pitchers: Paul Skenes, Zack Wheeler, Logan Gilbert, Garrett Crochet, Cole Ragans, George Kirby, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Framber Valdez, Michael King, Pablo Lopez, Aaron Nola, Bryce Miller, Logan Webb, Bailey Ober, Hunter Greene, Freddy Peralta, Spencer Schwellenbach, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Grayson Rodriguez, Hunter Brown, Justin Steele, Spencer Strider, Jack Flaherty, Kevin Gausman, Jared Jones, Bryan Woo, Seth Lugo, Luis Gil, Sean Manaea, Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Ronel Blanco, Bowden Francis, Nathan Eovaldi, Spencer Arrighetti, Ranger Suarez, Jackson Jobe, Jesus Luzardo, Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Kumar Rocker, Reese Olson, Max Scherzer, Bubba Chandler

Relief Pitchers: Emmanuel Clase, Devin Williams, Edwin Diaz, Mason Miller, Ryan Helsley, Felix Bautista, Andres Munoz, Robert Suarez, Jhoan Duran, Tanner Scott, Trevor Megill, David Bednar, Justin Martinez, Aroldis Chapman, Ryan Pressley

Players To Avoid At ADP:

Elly De La Cruz, Corbin Carroll, Tarik Skubal, Yordan Alvarez, Ronald Acuna Jr, Manny Machado, William Contreras, Gerrit Cole, Adley Rutschman, Josh Hader, Jacob Degrom, Shota Imanaga, Josh Naylor, Luis Castillo, Spencer Steer

Favorite Targets By Round (12 Team League)

Round 1: Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Witt Jr, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Paul Skenes, Gunnar Henderson

Round 2: Fernando Tatis Jr, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Francisco Lindor, Julio Rodriguez, Jackson Chourio, Bryce Harper, Ketel Marte, Jarren Duran

Round 3: Logan Gilbert, Trea Turner, Rafael Devers, Matt Olson, Jackson Merrill, Garret Crochet, Austin Riley

Round 4: Cole Ragans, Pete Alonso, Emmanuel Clase, Jose Altuve, George Kirby, Ozzie Albies, Wyatt Langford, Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Round 5: Devin Williams, Michael King, Framber Valdez, Marcel Ozuna, Marcus Semien, Brent Rooker, Pablo Lopez, Oneil Cruz

Round 6: CJ Abrams, James Wood, Willy Adames, Edwin Diaz, Aaron Nola, Mason Miller, Ryan Helsley, Christian Walker, Bryce Miller

Round 7: Salvador Perez, Logan Webb, Cal Raleigh, Bailey Ober, Cody Bellinger, Hunter Greene, Lawrence Butler

Round 8: Will Smith, Brenton Doyle, Freddy Peralta, Spencer Schwellenbach, Felix Bautista, Alex Bregman, Joe Ryan, Junior Caminero

Round 9: Mike Trout, Mark Vientos, Jordan Westburg, Willson Contreras, Vinnie Pasquantino, Grayson Rodriguez, Christian Yelich, Robert Suarez, Anthony Munoz

Rounds 10-15: Matt McLain, Jhoan Duran, Triston Casas, Steven Kwan, Spencer Strider, Jake Burger, Jack Flaherty, Brandon Nimmo, Kevin Gausman, Luis Garcia, Shea Langeliers, Jared Jones, Bryan Woo, Ezequiel Tovar, Dylan Crews, Seth Lugo, JT Realmuto, Xavier Edwards, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler Stephenson, Sean Manaea, Colton Cowser, Isaac Paredes, Nolan Arenado

Rounds 16-20: Tyler O’Neill, Shane Baz, Trevor Megill, Yandy Diaz, Jackson Holliday, Alec Burleson, Josh Lowe, Ryan Pepiot, Ceddanne Rafaela, Kerry Carpenter, Ronel Blanco, Bowden Francis, Taj Bradley, David Bednar, Heliot Ramos, Maikel Garcia, Parker Meadows, Michael Toglia, Josh Jung, Spencer Arrighetti, Brandon Lowe, Carlos Correa, Victor Robles, Justin Martinez, Colt Keith, Nick Lodolo, Kenley Jansen, Ryan Mountcastle, Carlos Estevez

Round 21-24: Jung Hoo Lee, Tyler Fitzgerald, Matt Shaw, Ranger Suarez, Michael Busch, Jackson Jobe, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jesus Luzardo, Jason Foley, Evan Carter, Lars Nootbaar, Ryan McMahon, Nolan Jones, Ryan Pressly, Aroldis Chapman, Trevor Story, Luis Severino, Ivan Herrera, Reese Olson, Garrett Mitchell, Jeffrey Springs, Kumar Rocker

300+ ADP: Jordan Walker, Matt Wallner, Carlos Santana, Wilyer Abreu, Hyeseong Kim, Max Scherzer, Thairo Estrada, Joey Bart, Joc Pederson, Bubba Chandler, Justin Verlander, Kyle Harrison, Jhonkensy Noel, Edwin Uceta, Joey Ortiz, Bo Naylor, Gavin Lux, David Festa, Heston Kjerstad, Luisangel Acuna, Jordan Lawlar, Jacob Young, Ryan Weathers, JP Crawford, Max Meyer

Draft Strategy & Tips

• You want to leave the draft with at least one of the starting pitchers who fall into the consensus “SP1” territory, but I don’t think it should be Skubal in the early second round. I like Skenes super late first round or very early second but then after that, you can grab a guy like Crochet, Ragans, Kirby, or Yamamoto in the late third to early fifth round and be perfectly fine.

• You should leave your first two rounds with an outfielder. This is a position you start the most of regardless of what league you’re in, and its a position that becomes very mundane very quickly. You want to make sure you have at least one elite outfielder on your squad. Two if you can swing it. After the first 12 or so, the talent really starts to fall off a cliff.

• You really shouldn’t be drafting a catcher within the first 90 or so picks. The position isn’t chalk full of top-end talent by any means, but there are plenty of serviceable options later on, even in two catcher leagues. You can grab Willson Contreras around pick 100 and still grab someone like Austin Wells as your second catcher more than 100 picks later. Use those early-round picks to round out the roster spots that are more of a need like outfield and middle infield.

• Your early-round picks should be used on safer options with a higher floor as opposed to a higher ceiling. Everybody loves a guy who COULD put up massive numbers if XYZ were to happen, but the easiest way for your season to turn into a disaster is for one of your first three or four picks to not pan out as you hoped. Guys like Corbin Carroll and Julio Rodriguez were perfect examples of that last season. Your first-round picks should be those steady high production guys you know you’ll be able to count on.

• On the other hand, once you get past round 10 much of who you target should be made up of guys with a high upside. After pick 10 you start running into the guys who have at least a small question mark. Maybe their production floor isn’t quite as high, but their ceiling is tremendous. Someone like Josh Jung for example. Target guys who are either coming off an injury and are now healthy, guys who struggled in an uncharacteristically weird way last season, or guys who are now poised to get a lot more at-bats or pitch a lot more innings. Those guys now have a ceiling that reaches way higher than their current ADP and if they pan out the way you hope, can help your team separate itself from everyone else in your league.

• Your bench slots should be reserved mainly for pitchers. Try and carry no more than two or three hitters on your bench. Those hitters you do carry on your bench should consist of an extra outfielder and a couple of guys with multi-position eligibility only. You need these guys to be able to fill in for multiple players whenever possible.

• Your last couple of picks should be used to round out your pitching. Target pitchers who have good matchups to start the season. It’s highly unlikely any of these guys stay on your roster long-term, so maximize their value by starting them early in those good matchups and trading them for more stable long-term pieces later.