5 Hitter Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Late-Round Rebound Candidates (2026)

February 14, 2026

Target these 5 fantasy baseball sleepers, rebound candidates for 2026 drafts. Frank's must-have late-round hitters set for big bounce-backs after down seasons.

One of the best ways to find value in fantasy baseball drafts is to exploit recency bias. Too often, players fall too far because they've had one or two down years, even though they have a lengthy track record of success.

Identifying which of these players is well-positioned to bounce back can help build a well-rounded lineup. On this page, we're going to take a closer look at five of my must-have hitters to rebound in 2026. We'll use NFBC ADP since January 24th, with a focus on Draft Champions, since this is the most active format right now.

For this column, I chose less popular bounce-back targets. Some of my favorites, like Jackson Merrill, are not included here because they're the more obvious choices. With that in mind, read on to find out why Jake Burger, Josh Lowe, Willi Castro, Andres Gimenez, and Evan Carter are five hitters poised for a resurgence in 2026.

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Jake Burger, 1B, Texas Rangers

NFBC ADP: 257.55 (Min: 239, Max: 287)

Burger slashed .236/.269/.419 with 16 home runs in 376 plate appearances in his first season with the Rangers. This came after consecutive years with 29+ home runs, including 34 with the White Sox and Marlins back in 2023. This is an underrated source of power heading into 2026, coming off a disappointing season.

The good news is that Burger still had excellent batted ball metrics in his down year, as highlighted by a 13.9% barrel rate and 114.7 MPH maximum exit velocity. The decline was due to him playing hurt, as the injury zapped his power.

Jake Burger will be a full go at Spring Training this year.#FunnellVision

- per Kennedi Landry's Rangers' Beat pic.twitter.com/1KqhGtCNj5

— Dave L Funnell (@sportz_nutt51) February 9, 2026

The main reason for the drop-off in production was a wrist injury. This was why his pull rate fell from 42.4% to 34.6%, and his pull AIR rate went from 19.8% to 13.5%. However, Burger is now fully recovered after having wrist surgery. Now healthy, expect Burger to approach 30 home runs once again. This is exactly the type of undervalued bat that I want to target for my CI spot.

Burger has a chance to hit in the heart of the Rangers' order, behind strong OBP hitters like Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager. That would put him in a great spot to rack up RBI. While I wouldn't trust Burger as my 1B, grabbing him at CI makes a ton of sense.

Josh Lowe, OF, Los Angeles Angels

NFBC ADP: 260.55 (Min: 239, Max: 293)

Remember how valuable Lowe was back in 2023? That was the year when he slashed .292/.335/.500 with 20 home runs and 32 stolen bases. Since then, Lowe has provided speed but has failed to get his slugging percentage above .400.

However, a change of scenery in going from the Rays to the Angels could be exactly what the doctor ordered for this 28-year-old outfielder. In Orange County, Lowe could have a chance to eclipse 500 plate appearances for the first time since 2023. The Angels traded him for a reason: it's clear they have big plans for him.

He's currently penciled in as the right fielder, but there's not too much outfield depth on this team. With no one pushing him for playing time, perhaps Lowe will be in the lineup for more lefties than usual. That could mean 15 home runs and 30 stolen bases, given the uptick in plate appearances. An ideal choice if you need to catch up in speed after falling behind earlier in your draft.

When you wait on speed, the later targets often hurt you in other categories. Most often, this is in power, runs, and RBI. But the beauty of taking Lowe is that he can still provide 15+ homers, so he doesn't kill you in that category.

Willi Castro, 2B/3B/OF, Colorado Rockies

NFBC ADP: 280.45 (Min: 263, Max: 307)

Castro was a gem for the Twins in 2023, when he hit nine homers with 33 steals in only 409 plate appearances. Last year, Castro put up 11 homers and 10 steals in 454 plate appearances, which was disappointing. The biggest culprit was the lack of playing time, as he was more of a part-time player, especially once he was traded to the Cubs.

That won't be the case with the Rockies, who are seemingly in a perpetual state of rebuilding. Castro projects to be the everyday third baseman for this team. Playing in Coors Field should do wonders for his batting average. There's a legit chance that Castro can get to .260+ this season, as this park boosts your batting average.

While 30+ steals is unlikely, considering he had a combined 24 in the last two seasons (1,000+ PAs), it's not out of the realm of possibility. After all, Castro is still only 28 years old, and the Rockies aren't contending, so they could run wild on the basepaths. Considering the landing spot,  a .260+ batting average with 10-12 homers and 25+ steals is within reach. You have to like that production with the multi-position eligibility.

The multi-positional eligibility is a huge boost in deeper leagues. Having a player who can provide coverage at MI, CI, and OF is valuable.

Andres Gimenez, 2B/SS, Toronto Blue Jays

NFBC ADP: 297.64 (Min: 274, Max: 329)

Gimenez got off to a poor start to his Blue Jays tenure, slashing .210/.285/.313 with seven homers and 12 steals in 369 plate appearances. It was a tough season for him, as he dealt with injuries and never got going at the plate. Now healthy, there's reason for optimism with Gimenez.

For one, he'll be moving to shortstop. This is a more premium defensive position than second base. Typically, most teams have their starting shortstop that they don't replace often. The direct backup for Gimenez is Ernie Clement right now, but he's also playing second base and perhaps some third, so asking for shortstop as well is a lot to ask from a player.

That means we could see Gimenez get to 650+ plate appearances, putting him in a good position to get back to 12+ homers and 25+ stolen bases. Remember that this is a hitter who had 15 homers and 30 steals back in 2023. Still only 27 years old, don't count out Gimenez from getting back on track. With an elite glove that keeps his bat in the lineup, the arrow is pointing up.

Do note that Gimenez isn't yet eligible at SS, but he will within a couple of weeks, since he's the everyday shortstop for the Blue Jays.

Evan Carter, OF, Texas Rangers

NFBC ADP: 310.00 (Min: 288, Max: 322)

It feels like a while ago now, but remember that Carter was a top prospect who burst onto the scene with a .306/.413/.645 slash, five homers, and three steals in a small sample of 75 plate appearances in his age-20 season back in 2023.

Yes, this is an unconventional "bounce-back" hitter because he never put it together for a full season, but in this case, I'm arguing that we could see a return to fantasy relevance. Recall that in the year following his impressive small sample of strong performance, Carter was relatively expensive in drafts. Bet on him getting back on the fantasy radar this year.

Baseball fans deserve a healthy season of Evan Carter pic.twitter.com/sAhJhHFSar

— Baseball Unstitched (@BaseUnstitched) January 15, 2026

Carter is going to be the center fielder for the Rangers, so there's a chance that we see a career-high in plate appearances, as long as he stays healthy. This is a player with 90th percentile sprint speed, so 25+ steals is firmly within reach.

This looks like a post-hype sleeper with a good chance of a resurgence in 2026.

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