It’s a bit too easy to say you’re excited to draft Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge or Paul Skenes — who wouldn’t be excited? No, instead, our task for today is to highlight names we’re amped to draft even though they’re not first-rounders (or even second-rounders …).
Consistency is key with this veteran
If we’re simply going off my preseason ranks relative to consensus, then I pretty clearly must declare Kyle Schwarber to be the player I’m most eager to draft. Schwarber was a top-20 batter in fantasy last season and he didn’t do anything that he’s not fully capable of doing again. He’s the leadoff hitter for an exceptional Philadelphia lineup and he’s coming off a year in which he hit 38 bombs, scored 110 runs, drove in 104 and managed to bat .248.
Schwarber has appeared in at least 150 games in each of the past three seasons, so there are no unusual injury concerns here. During the last three years, he’s averaged 44 home runs per season. The Phillies gave him five starts in the outfield in 2024, so he’s eligible (barely) to fill a spot other than Util. Schwarber is exactly the sort of hitter who was always likely to benefit from the new shift rules, so it’s no shock to see him deliver an average that fantasy managers can easily carry. His BABIP last season was a highly repeatable .301.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]
Everyone is chasing steals at the top of drafts, understandably, but it’s not as if Schwarber is a total zero in the category. He’s swiped 15 bags over the past three years. His variety of power is rare in the current era, so let’s not overlook him in the third round on draft day. — Andy Behrens
Mariners pitching should keep you afloat
Seattle’s home ballpark offers the best pitching environment by far, so I’ll be targeting several arms on this staff. But let’s focus on George Kirby, who’s settled in with an affordable Yahoo ADP in the high 50s. Kirby has led the majors in K/BB ratio for two straight years, he’s proven durable, and he’s stepping into an age-27 season, where a career year is plausible. And because Kirby is such an extreme strike thrower, he’s easy to watch and more likely to score wins — since he works deep in games.
The others on this staff — Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo — will also be targets of mine. But the combination of draft cost, career arc and resume had me looking at Kirby first. I invite you to share my Kirby…