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Frank discusses 10 auction draft fantasy baseball sleepers, $1 hitters and pitchers for 2025. His favorite value picks for auction leagues (salary cap leagues).
Welcome to our fantasy baseball auction draft values. This is one of several articles that the RotoBaller team has put together to help you in your auction league drafts. You can also check out other articles for fantasy baseball auction leagues, including hitters and pitchers under $10 and $5.
Finding value on $1 bids can help set your team over the top, especially if you went with a "stars and scrubs" approach. This is where you bid high for top-tier talent- such as Shohei Ohtani, Bobby Witt Jr., and Aaron Judge- forcing you to pinch pennies to round out your roster.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at some of my favorite $1 hitters and pitchers to target in auction leagues. I'm willing to bid more than $1 on these players, but there's a reasonable chance that a $1 bid will be enough to land them. We'll use data from NFBC Auction Leagues (since March 14) to inform our analysis since this is one of the top platforms available.
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Ben Rice, 1B, New York Yankees
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Ben Rice in 15 G this Spring:
.283 AVG | .365 OBP | .609 SLG
5 HR | 11 R | 9 RBI | 146 wRC+I think he’s earned the strong side platoon at DH to start for the Yankees, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes the everyday guy.
pic.twitter.com/LBSwXcFIrD— DataBase Hit (@DatabaseHit) March 21, 2025
Ben Rice is slashing .278/.350/.593 with five home runs in 61 plate appearances this spring as of March 22. With Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list, Rice is likely to serve as the primary DH for the Yankees. Playing in such a potent lineup gives Rice some upside for RBI.
It's also worth noting that the 26-year-old homered 24 times in 79 games between Double-A and Triple-A last season. There's some power upside in this bat, as highlighted by a 15.6% barrel rate last season.
Ty France, 1B, Minnesota Twins
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Ty France is two years removed from a season where he put up a .274 BA with 20 home runs and 83 RBI. The 30-year-old is penciled in as the Twins' everyday first baseman. We've seen the veteran have positive results this spring, including a .447/.488/.737 slash with two home runs in 41 plate appearances.
Perhaps that can carry over to the season. This is a volume play that you can plug in at CI or if your 1B gets injured. While there's not much upside here, this is the kind of floor pick that helps round out your roster.
Jacob Wilson, SS, Athletics
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Jacob Wilson is entrenched as the A's starting shortstop. This is a rebuilding team in the middle of a youth movement, so there should be plenty of volume for Wilson. Here we have another hitter with a good hit tool, as highlighted by his .433 BA and 6.6 K% in 226 plate appearances in the minors last season.
While power is an issue, there should be enough of a batting average boost to make Wilson a reasonable bench bat for your fantasy team. It also helps that the A's are now in a more hitter-friendly environment in Sacramento.
Trevor Larnach, OF, Minnesota Twins
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Trevor Larnach is a strong-side platoon outfielder who mashed righties last season, putting up a 124 wRC+ in 377 plate appearances. With Royce Lewis injured, there's a good chance that we'll see Larnach as the Twins' cleanup hitter against right-handers.
That makes him an ideal bench bat or fifth outfielder, one you can deploy in favorable matchups. It wouldn't surprise me to see 20+ home runs, even though he'll be on the bench against lefties. You have to love the 10.1% barrel rate here.
Jonny DeLuca, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Jonny DeLuca projects to be the Rays' center fielder, which makes him intriguing due to his ability to chip in some power and speed. The former Dodgers' prospect registered 17 homers and 12 steals in 326 plate appearances in the minors during the 2023 season.
We could see a 15-15 season with enough volume, albeit with a drain on your batting average. Despite the BA risk, DeLuca is a solid $1 pick in deeper auction leagues, such as 5-OF formats. It's also worth noting that DeLuca has 98th-percentile sprint speed, so perhaps there's some untapped stolen base upside here.
Sean Burke, SP, Chicago White Sox
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Admittedly, I haven't looked into #WhiteSox pitchers during the offseason. However, Sean Burke's four-seamer and the 18.9 inches of induced vertical break pops in Spring Training.
It's similar to his small 2024 sample (18.6 inches) via the four-seamer. However, he raised his… pic.twitter.com/abmXE0S4sX
— Corbin (@corbin_young21) March 20, 2025
Sean Burke is the Opening Day starter for the White Sox. The 25-year-old followed up a minor league season where he posted a 33.0 K% with a 28.9 K% in 19 innings for Chicago. We've seen the White Sox have success with young and talented arms- just look at Garrett Crochet last year.
Even in playing for the worst team in MLB, Burke could have value due to his strikeout upside. This is a pitcher with 40+% whiff rates on his slider and changeup. You may need to bid $2-3 to make sure you land him.
Jack Leiter, SP, Texas Rangers
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Jack Leiter is expected to be in the Rangers rotation after they've dealt with injuries to Jon Gray and Cody Bradford. This is a 24-year-old who put up an impressive 33.3 K% in 77 innings in the minors last year.
While the strikeout upside didn't translate to his 35.2 big-league innings (17.9 K%), the stuff is there for him to improve, highlighted by a changeup and curveball with 35+% whiff rates. It also helps playing for a contending Rangers team, which should give him opportunities to rack up wins.
Richard Fitts, SP, Boston Red Sox
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Richard Fitts, 3rd and 4th Ks thru 2. pic.twitter.com/qtF5U3rucn
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 9, 2025
Richard Fitts will be in the Red Sox rotation due to injuries to Kutter Crawford, Lucas Giolito, and Brayan Bello. We've seen the 25-year-old show an uptick in velocity during spring, which has produced good results, including a 2.45 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.
We've seen the Red Sox develop pitchers well in recent years- just look at Tanner Houck last season. It wouldn't surprise me to see Fitts make an impact early on. There's a chance that Fitts can force his way to stay in the rotation even when the injured arms return.
Osvaldo Bido, SP, Athletics
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
Osvaldo Bido posted a 27.0 K% in 48 innings in Triple-A last season. The A's righty has shown off his strikeout upside during spring training, posting a 25.4 K% in 12.2 innings. What I love about bidding on Bido is that he opens up the season on the road against the Mariners, who play in the most pitcher-friendly park in baseball.
There's a good chance that you'll get a quality outing there. We've also got long-term appeal here, as Bido has a 105 Stuff+, per Eno Sarris. This includes an above-average Stuff+ on both his four-seamer and two-seamer.
AJ Smith-Shawver, SP, Atlanta Braves
$1 AAV (Average Auction Value)
AJ Smith-Shawver has a good chance to win a spot in the Braves' rotation over Ian Anderson. The 22-year-old has had a strong spring, putting up a 28.2 K% in 16 innings. It's also worth noting that there's prospect pedigree here, especially after he posted a 2.76 ERA in 62 innings as a 20-year-old back in 2023.
You have to love the team context of playing for a World Series contender in the Braves, as there should be opportunities for some wins. Make the dart throw with a $1 bid here.
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