The Top Draft Targets For Fantasy Baseball Points Leagues

Deep diving into the best points league draft options on ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, Fantrax, and NFBC

It’s been a week and a half, did you miss me as much as I missed you? Sometimes life gets in the way of the whole writing thing but at the end of the day, I’m not going anywhere. The content will keep on comin’.

If you’ve followed me for awhile you know I strive to be “the points league guy” in the world of fantasy baseball. It’s a format that gets the least amount of love while taking arguably the most amount of research and dedication to separate yourself from the rest of the league.

If you subscribe to the substack you’ll see that a few articles back I did my “Points League Primer”. In that, I broke down the ins and outs of points leagues and some strategies to keep in mind while playing. I mentioned a few players, but I figured it would be most helpful if we went ahead and broke down specific players to target in its own article.

To take it even a step further, instead of giving a generalized list, I’m going to break it down by platform as well. I’ll cover a few of my favorite players to target on ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, Fantrax, and in NFBC leagues. They all have slightly nuanced scoring settings (which I did mention in that points league primer), and I’ll do my best to touch on those again as we go to make sure we stay on the same page throughout.

Also, I want to point out this isn’t necessarily a “these are the guys late in drafts you want!”. There will be some mid or maybe even earlier-round guys as well. Guys are being drafted amidst some other stud players that I think stand out above the rest of them in points leagues. Remember, points leagues are one where player values are separated by the thinnest of margins at times and even half a point more per game turns into a fairly wide point margin by the end of the season. So while they may all be similar, they’re certainly not all the same.

With that in mind, who’s ready to dive into some more points league content?!

ESPN TARGETS

(Quick little tidbit of info…ESPN just opened their fantasy baseball up for 2025 so there is no official ADP data yet. So I will be using their “Live Draft Trends” section as a reference point that has what would essentially be their ADP starting points for this season.)

Steven Kwan - Outfield - Cleveland

2024 Stats: .292 | 14 HR | 83 Runs | 44 RBI | 12 SB

It’s hard to argue any other player as my favorite draft target in all points leagues. ESPN just happens to be the stingiest on strikeouts which makes Kwan even more enticing. With Cleveland making changes to their stadium last season, thus creating a wind tunnel out to right field, Kwan has now become a batting average/low strikeout merchant with the ability to hit 20 home runs in a full season. ESPN rewards steals, but slightly less than other places, so his middle-of-the-road numbers help him more than hurt him. He’s projected to go late second round, early third round and he’s worth every bit of that draft pick.

Alec Burleson - 1B/OF/DH - St. Louis

2024 Stats: .269 | 21 HR | 71 Runs | 78 RBI | 9 SB

Wouldn’t you know it, his playing time goes up and his production follows suit? In Burleson’s third season, he proved he’s not only one of the best contact hitters in baseball (83.1% / 87.6% zContact), but he’s also got enough pop to make it fun as well. He does everything you want when targeting an ESPN points league diamond in the rough…contact, limits strikeouts (on 76 in 2024), surpassed the 40 XBH number, and also surpassed 140 Runs + RBI. He’s never going to be the most exciting player, but he’s consistently consistent and that’s exactly what you’re looking for. Especially around pick 140.

Honorable Mentions: Jung Hoo Lee, Luis Arraez, Riley Greene, Ranger Suarez

Yahoo Targets

Lawrence Butler - Outfield - Oakland(?)

2024 Stats: .262 | 22 HR | 63 Runs | 57 RBI | 18 SB

2024’s hottest breakout player is finally getting some love in my articles and it’s well deserved. Especially when you add him to the list of targets on Yahoo. They give you a massive boost for XBH and no negative for strikeouts. Perfect for a guy like Butler who last year amassed 58 XBH in 152 games between Triple-A and the majors. Now add in his 25 stolen bases in the same timeframe and the fact that he repeatedly stole 20+ every year in the minors and you have yourself a guy poised to put up even better numbers in 2025.

Oakland has now moved and will play in what is essentially a minor league stadium meaning there is a real chance we see a 30/30 type of season out of the young outfielder. He’s being drafted right around pick 100 and has top 40 player upside if it all goes right.

Ronel Blanco - Starting Pitcher - Houston

2024 Stats: 13-6 | 167.1 IP | 2.80 ERA | 1.09 WHIP | 166 Strikeouts

We all know the unexpected success Blanco saw in 2024. Throwing the no-hitter and then following it up by almost throwing another. While it did seemingly come out of nowhere, it shouldn’t be written off as luck. Blanco did one major thing last season that should have him on every fantasy manager’s radar…he mastered his changeup. Blanco has always had a wicked slider and an average at best fastball. But last season he took his rarely used changeup and turned it into an absolute weapon while also upping its usage by almost triple.

Houston has a decent track record of developing starting pitching and while Blanco isn’t young by any means (31 years old), he’s shown he’s ready to press 200 IP in 2025. Should he see even a slight uptick in his success, Blanco can push for 200 strikeouts, limit earned runs, and get you tons of valuable pitching points you don’t often see from a guy going after pick 200.

Honorable Mentions: Tanner Houck, Christian Yelich, Brenton Doyle

CBS Targets

Oneil Cruz - SS/OF - Pittsburgh

2024 Stats: .259 | 21 HR | 72 Runs | 76 RBI | 22 SB

Every season seems to be the year we want to proclaim it to be the year of the Oneil Cruz breakout. Last season was finally his first fully healthy one of his career and while some of the numbers weren’t as eye-popping as we’d hoped, he showed enough to make me think 2025 could be the one. You don’t need me to tell you about his quality of contact metrics. The dude hits nukes. His 112.7 MPH 90thEV was second in all of baseball only to Giancarlo Stanton.

He’ll need to see some uptick in his contact numbers to really take the leap. I’m not counting on him to up his overall contact, but if he can at least maintain an 80% or higher zone contact as he did at the end of last season, he should see his first 30/30 season. The strikeout numbers will always be a bit unfavorable, but in CBS leagues where you only lose half a point per, his ability to steal bases (two points each) should more than offset the strikeouts. Finding a guy who can put up those numbers outside of the first three rounds tends to become difficult, so don’t pass it up if you’re able.

Lane Thomas - Outfield - Cleveland

2024 Stats: .237 | 15 HR | 65 Runs | 63 RBI | 32 SB

Only 24 players stole 30 or more bases in 2024. Of those 24 players, only four did it in fewer games than Thomas’s 130. And of those four who did it in fewer, not a single one of them (Victor Robles, David Hamilton, Dairon Blanco, Xavier Edwards) has the ability to hit either the 15 home runs Thomas hit in 2024 or the 28 he hit the year prior in Washington. CBS is a league format that gives you that +2 per stolen base which makes them an incredibly valuable asset. Especially when you can get the elite ones who also contribute in other places as well.

He did struggle at the plate after moving to Cleveland hitting just .209, but he still put up 10 doubles, seven home runs, and 46 R + RBI in those final 42 games. Cleveland loved hitting him out of the five-hole to close out the season and if they stick with that in 2025 Thomas is going to end up as a sneaky good pick outside the top 200.

Honorable Mentions: Seth Lugo, Logan Webb, Jordan Westburg

Fantrax Targets

Bryce Miller - Starting Pitcher - Seattle

2024 Stats: 12-8 | 180.1 IP | 2.94 ERA | 0.98 WHIP | 171 Strikeouts

Do you know what’s cooler than being cool? Being Bryce Miller. Sweet mustache, elite fastball, newly DOMINANT splitter…the dude has it all. And in Fantrax leagues where pitchers can put up points in bunches, finding guys like Miller who are poised to take the next step after their big breakout last season is crucial. He has a fastball that 10-year vets could only dream of, a sinker that breaks more than Raygun did at the Olympics, and a splitter that was so good it was hit only 21 times in the 469 times he threw it.

Few starting pitchers have the ability to throw pitches in all four quadrants of the zone consistently, Bryce Miller can do that. And I know I’m enamored with his splitter but it’s for good reason. He threw it 84.4 MPH on average last season. This offseason he’s been showing clips of him throwing that same splitter now upwards of 87 MPH with the same low spin rate and crazy break. He’s going to be a nightmare for hitters in 2025 and is one of the few pitchers being drafted outside of the top 20 who have legitimate top 10 or better upside.

Maikel Garcia - 2B/3B - Kansas City

2024 Stats: .231 | 7 HR | 84 Runs | 58 RBI | 37 SB

In a world where corner infielders are typically fairly slow and don’t steal many bases, and on a platform where you get all the benefits of double points for stolen bases and no negative for strikeouts…it’s hard to argue that Garcia SHOULDN’T be on your roster. Yes, 2024 wasn’t his best when it came to even getting on base. His .281 OBP was abysmal. But there was still reason for hope amongst the wreckage.

First and foremost, the contact is still there. His 90.7% zone contact and 85.6% overall contact were both significant upgrades over his 2023 numbers. He also maintained much of his sneaky good quality of contact (90.4 MPH average exit velocity, 42.6% hard hit rate) and much of that is the reason he had an xBA almost 30 points higher than his end-of-season batting average.

If Garcia can cut some of the fly balls he was leaning into in 2024 and transition those back into line drives like he was the year prior, Garcia could be a top-10 player at the position while currently being drafted as the 20th off the board. Remember, he stole 37 bases while having one of the worst OBPs in baseball. Let him get back closer to the .323 number he put up in 2024, and he very well could steal 50 bases and score 100 runs.

Honorable Mentions: Dylan Crews, Michael Harris, Parker Meadows

NFBC Cutline Targets

Pete Crow-Armstrong - Outfield - Chicago

2024 Stats: .237 | 10 HR | 46 Runs | 47 RBI | 27 SB

In a scoring format where your dinged for at bats and heavily rewarded for everything else, finding those valuable bottom of the lineup guys becomes essential. Especially when those same leagues award five points per steal. It’s hard to imagine anyone else outside the first couple of rounds fitting that mould better than PCA who roster resource has projected to bat seventh for the Cubs this season.

Now I understand the low batting average may have you hesitant in a league that rewards a point per hit, not per total base, but the way PCA ended the season gives reason for excitement. From July 1st on, he hit .260 with nine home runs, 12 stolen bases, and 72 R+RBI. That stretch of 71 games (including the not so great .197 batting average in July) shows that he has the potential to be a 20/30 guy should he continue to take that next step in 2025.

Luis Garcia Jr - Second Base - Washington

2024 Stats: .282 | 18 HR | 58 Runs | 70 RBI | 22 SB

So this is the part where you take everything I said about PCA and apply it to Luis Garcia Jr. He does everything I’m looking for when targeting someone for cutline leagues. He hits for average, has some pop, steals a fair amount of bases, and hits in the bottom third of the lineup. He’s also relatively cheap in drafts currently going pick 115 since the beginning of January.

In a league where second base is still as thin as ever, get you a guy who’ll contribute in every category when you can. He has the contact numbers to build off last season (88.7% zContact), and saw an uptick in Damage/BBE (23.1%), 90EV (104.6 MPH), and pulled flyball rate (4.6%, 2.5% in 2023). Washington isn’t going to be the scariest lineup to worry about, but with Dylan Crews and James Wood now playing everyday as well as the additions of Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell, they have enough beef in there to help boost Garcia’s R+RBI number. He’s going to be the most set it and forget it second baseman not named Ketel Marte.

Honorable Mentions: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jordan Westburg, Luis Rengifo