The calendar is turning to 2025 and that means a new year and a new baseball season. And for those who play fantasy baseball, 2025 may mean a chance to rebound for those who came up short last season. Throughout 2024, we published so many tips articles for fantasy and let’s just say our guides led to success. The author of this article won big in fantasy baseball in 2024, and what I did last season can help you in 2025.
Here’s what worked for me in 2024.
Take Premium Position Players Early
Before delving into the how, I want to quickly go over the top 20 hitters in fantasy baseball last season based on points league calculations:
| Name | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Shohei Ohtani | 2044.2 | DH |
| Aaron Judge | 1935.8 | OF |
| Bobby Witt Jr. | 1716.2 | SS |
| Juan Soto | 1678.3 | OF |
| Jose Ramirez | 1621.8 | 3B |
| Elly De La Cruz | 1576.9 | SS |
| Gunnar Henderson | 1574 | SS |
| Jarren Duran | 1496 | OF |
| Francisco Lindor | 1478.2 | SS |
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr. | 1450.6 | 1B |
| Marcell Ozuna | 1445 | DH |
| Kyle Schwarber | 1439 | DH |
| Willy Adames | 1405.9 | SS |
| Corbin Carroll | 1388.5 | OF |
| Brent Rooker | 1379.4 | OF |
| Yordan Alvarez | 1375 | OF |
| William Contreras | 1331.5 | C |
| Anthony Santander | 1326.7 | OF |
| Teoscar Hernandez | 1323.7 | OF |
| Bryce Harper | 1310.4 | 1B |
And for pitchers, the top 10:
| Name | Fantasy Points |
|---|---|
| Tarik Skubal | 1009.2 |
| Zack Wheeler | 970.3 |
| Chris Sale | 966.6 |
| Logan Gilbert | 887.3 |
| Dylan Cease | 867.8 |
| Cole Ragans | 836.3 |
| Seth Lugo | 779.8 |
| Michael King | 778.8 |
| Corbin Burnes | 777.5 |
| Jack Flaherty | 770.9 |
Before starting a draft, it’s crucial to go over data. And while I spent weeks and months perusing over data to find hidden games, I didn’t need much time to figure out how to start the draft.
Heading into 2024, I identified four key positions — first base, outfield, shortstop, and starting pitcher — that had to be taken care of early. Meaning, take at least one of each in the first five rounds.
I applied this strategy across of my leagues from last season.
For bats, it’s vital to have at least one elite player at first base, outfield, and shortstop. There are two reasons why. One, generally speaking, the best of the best in the Majors right now usually play one of the three positions. There aren’t a ton of impact second basemen right now, while catchers are a quandry since there are very few who play more than 120 games.
Third base is an important position and there are quite a few stars — Jose Ramirez, Rafael Devers, Manny Machado — who are well above the pack at third. However, there were also some second-tier bats, like Jordan Westburg and Mark Vientos, who weren’t among the top at the position heading into 2024 but still provided punch.
The example that I’ll cite throughout this article is a team I won first place in last season. It was a Yahoo! 5×5 roto public pro league.
My first pick was seventh overall and used on Aaron Judge. The first wave of stars — Ronald Acuna Jr., Bobby Witt Jr., and Julio Rodriguez — were off the board and Judge looked like a steal at #7. Judge came off a good 2023 but one where he missed time with injury. But, his record-breaking 2022 season was on the mind here.
In the second round at #18, I went with Bryce Harper. And the third round, Elly De La Cruz. I loved Elly De La Cruz, despite the swing-and-miss problems. Virtually no one in the Majors has his skillset and I bet on talent.
Needless to say, that strategy worked out. I nabbed three of the top 20 hitters in fantasy, setting myself up for significant success. And, I had pieces who not only stayed healthy but also accumlated home runs, RBI, and stolen bases. I’ll get into stolen bases in a few sections down.
Lastly, pitching can’t be neglected, especially in H2H and roto leagues. Pitching is half the points in roto leagues, hence why I marked a starter as a must in the first five rounds. In this example, I took two starters (Aaron Nola and Zac Gallen) in Rounds 3 and 4.
Neither Nola nor Gallen had incredible campaigns. But, both provided value and were still good bets. The two traditionally accumlate a lot of strikeouts and were on good teams, important for picking up wins.
Don’t Overvalue Relievers
Once getting a baseline for the team, I then went on to fill out the rest of the roster. I’m going to continue using the example team I cited in the last section and things went relatively well in the latter rounds.
Anthony Santander (11th) and Jackson Chourio (12th) were sensational finds later on. However, one area I came up short in the draft was in the bullpen.
I grabbed my first closer in the eighth round, Paul Sewald. Sewald, thanks to his dominant fastball/slider combo, was a great closer in Seattle. And with Arizona, I felt that getting save opportunities wouldn’t have been a problem.
However, Sewald started the season on the IL. When he returned, he never got into a groove and ultimately lost the role to Justin Martinez.
Looking back, I likely should have been more aggressive in getting reliable closer help. Again, using this example, I took one reliever in the first 13 rounds.
I didn’t follow this exact strategy in all of my leagues. In another league, I took two relievers — Kenley Jansen and Ryan Helsley — in the first 11 rounds. That strategy worked well, as Jansen was solid and Helsley led the Majors in saves.
But from all the fantasy baseball I played last year, there are points that others can learn.
Fantasy players shouldn’t go too crazy with drafting relievers high (and by high, I mean first seven rounds). There’s a lot of fluidity at the position for various reasons: command problems, injuries, and situational appearances. Not to mention, marquee names are not immune to being removed from the ninth inning.
Just last season alone, the likes of Camilo Doval, Clay Holmes, and Edwin Diaz all fell out of the closer’s role at one point last season.
But, don’t neglect the position outright. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t have won this particular league had I not been aggressive in the waiver wire, which I’ll delve into in a little bit.
Saves are important, so taking a reliever in the top nine rounds is a sound idea.
Don’t Neglect Stolen Bases
In every single league I played in last season, stolen bases became a focal point of my strategy.
Now, the stolen base game has changed over the years in fantasy. Why? The game has changed. Players today are incredibly athletic, and recent rule changes have made it more advantageous for those individuals to try to steal, as opposed to risk getting thrown out.
For reference, five of the top players in the SB category last season had a OPS of .800 or better. But that wasn’t the case dating back 10-15 years ago. One example of that was in 2010, when only player (Carl Crawford) among the top ten in the category had a OPS of .800 or better.
Gone are the days when the likes of Michael Bourn and Juan Pierre — high OBP players with plus-plus speed but fringe-average to below-average power — roamed the league and led the Majors in steals. Now, teams are unafraid to place their power bats in the #1 or #2 hole, and many of those names are unafraid to steal.
Because of that strategy, many of the first-round picks you’ll see in 2025 will likely get at least 15 stolen bases. Think Lindor, Duran, Gunnar Henderson, etc. Those players have incredible value.
One thing that fantasy players will want to do is try to win the “20-20” war, meaning accumulate as many 20-20 potential players as possible. This leads to more balance, more home runs, etc.
It doesn’t necessarily correlate to more runs scored, as seen in the graph above. But, three of the top five in stolen bases last season (De La Cruz, Ohtani, J. Ramirez) all scored 100+ runs.
Now, does that mean the stolen base-only player doesn’t have value? No. In fact, those players are important to find late in the draft to fill out the lineup & bench.
However, the right draft strategy is to diversify wherever possible. You absolutely will need those power bats — and a lot of them. But, mixing those bats with fast players who will steal can take a team on the fringes to first place.
Be Active in the Waiver Wire
Last season saw many players emerge as legitimate stars, like Jackson Merrill, the aforementioned Jordan Westburg, and Jarren Duran, among others. Those names were likely available in many fantasy leagues at the start of 2024.
When it comes to the waiver wire, pounce on a high-riser as soon as possible.
Early Tips for 2025
So, in summation, here’s a look at what you can do to prepare early for 2025:
- Starting going through traditional/advanced data: The numbers from 2024 can’t predict what happens next season. But, it should give fantasy players a rough idea of what to expect and a clear idea of what players excel in which category.
- Keep an eye on offseason & Spring Training: This will give players a rough idea of who’s trending up and down. Spring Training numbers don’t mean much. But, it does mean something. Zach Neto, in particular, had a great spring and parlayed it into a strong 2024. Luis Gil, on the other hand, made it out of camp with a roster spot and months later, won the AL Rookie of the Year.
- Have a plan: Locate and target undervalued players, based upon the rankings of the fantasy platform. Far too often, fantasy baseball players will rely upon the default ranks to make decisions. That is never a good idea.
Make sure to check out more of our fantasy coverage as we get ready for 2025.