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Kipp's 2025 fantasy baseball breakout hitters. His 6 biggest surprises and breakouts at every hitter position in Fantasy Baseball for the 2025 season, including Junior Caminero, James Wood, Zach Neto, Cal Raleigh, more
The 2025 fantasy baseball season has come to a close with the Los Angeles Dodgers reigning supreme for the second year in a row, but at least we got a terrific World Series out of it. Now that the season is officially over, it is time to reflect on much of what we saw in 2025.
Overall, we had a ton of fun covering the 2025 season here at RotoBaller, and we saw much success from players we may not have expected.
This article will take a look at hitters who had career years in 2025. There will likely be some familiar faces in here, as there were players who were already solid in their own right, yet continued their ascent during the 2025 season. Without further delay, let's break down some players who had their biggest season yet in 2025.
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Catcher: Cal Raleigh
It would be absolutely criminal if I did not start this article off with Cal Raleigh, who put together one of the greatest, if not the greatest, ever by a catcher. Overall, Raleigh ended 2025 with a .247/.359/.589 slash line, which included a whopping 60 home runs, 125 RBI, and 110 runs scored.
Raleigh led all of baseball in home runs and finished atop the catcher leaderboard in terms of RBI, R, BB, and OPS. It truly was a season to remember. His power metrics also jumped off the page as he posted a 91.3 mph average exit velocity, 38.9% hard-hit rate, and 11.3% Barrels/PA. These ranked him in the top 18%, 12%, and 2% of the league, respectively.
For his efforts, the Seattle Mariners fell just one win shy of their first-ever World Series appearance, and it gives them a solid building point for the 2026 season. While it will be quite difficult for Raleigh to repeat this success next season, there is no doubt that he should be and will be the first catcher off the board in drafts this winter and spring.
First Base: Michael Busch
There are probably several players at first base who could be listed here; however, Michael Busch really stands out after having the best season of his young career in 2025. Overall, Busch posted a .261/.343/.523 slash line with a whopping 34 home runs, 90 RBI, and 78 runs scored. He also set career highs in HR, RBI, R, SLG, and OPS. It was also nice to see him go 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts.
Busch was a frequent flyer (pun intended) in our daily home run prop article in 2025 as well, and for good reason, as his power metrics were superb. He ranked inside the top 15% of the league in terms of average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and Barrels/PA. While he set career highs in several categories, there is no reason to believe he cannot continue his success in 2026 as he enters his prime.
He will be one of the top first basemen taken off the board in 2026, and this should come as no surprise, considering he ranked third overall at the position in terms of OPS with a mark of .866.
Michael Busch got all of that one 🚀#Postseason pic.twitter.com/EoyHX6AW8v
— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2025
Second Base: Lenyn Sosa
While I wrote up Lenyn Sosa in several Friday night home-run prop articles, I was largely unaware of just how spectacular a 2025 campaign he had, as he did it relatively quietly. Overall, he posted a slash line of .264/.293/.434 with 22 home runs, 75 RBI, and 57 runs scored. The home runs were the most surprising when you consider he hit just eight across 369 plate appearances in 2024.
He showed solid power metrics as well, as he ranked in the top third of the league in terms of average exit velocity (90.7 mph) and Barrels/PA (7,5%). He also showed the ability to hit both right-handed and left-handed pitching, as noted by his .700+ OPS against each. It will be interesting to see how the White Sox handle him moving forward, but he will make for a great mid-round sleeper heading into 2026 drafts.
Third Base: Junior Caminero
While Sosa may have been a surprise to many, including myself, Junior Caminero was certainly not. He has been a top prospect for the Rays and showed exactly why in 2025, and the future is only going to get brighter for this young star. In 2025, he slashed .264/.311/.535 with a ridiculous 45 home runs, 110 RBI, 93 runs scored, and even put up seven stolen bases.
As expected with 45 home runs, the power metrics were otherworldly. Overall, he posted an average exit velocity of 92.4 mph, which ranked him in the top 7% of the league. He also posted a hard-hit rate of nearly 38%, ranking him in the top 17% of the league. Additionally, he put up a 10.4% Barrels/PA mark, which ranked him in the top 3% of the league.
All of these are rather impressive, but many folks have pointed to his home and road splits as an area for improvement.
This is noted by the fact that he posted a .954 OPS at George M. Steinbrenner Field as opposed to a .743 OPS on the road. That being said, Caminero did hit 23 of his 45 home runs on the road. He is also still just 22 years old and coming off his first full season in the big leagues, so can we really critique him that much?
The future for Caminero is as bright as anyone's on this list, which is why he will be a bona fide early-round pick at third base in 2026. I, for one, will be curious to see where his ADP lands once drafts start firing up later this winter and into early spring.
DYK: 22-year-old Junior Caminero is the fourth-youngest player in MLB history to have a season with over 40 home runs and 100 RBI.
The only players to do it at a younger age: Mel Ott, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Eddie Mathews. #HHM pic.twitter.com/I71z5lFD5F
— MLB (@MLB) October 13, 2025
Shortstop: Zach Neto
Zach Neto is a player who has been on my radar, and fantasy teams for that matter, for the past couple of seasons. While he had a very respectable 2024 campaign, he really burst onto the scene in 2025, posting a slash line of .257/.319/.474 with 26 home runs, 62 RBI, 82 runs scored, and 26 stolen bases.
The 20/20 season is something we should now expect moving forward for Neto, and a 30/30 is not entirely out of the realm of possibility, considering he missed almost the whole month of September.
He posted respectable power metrics in average exit velocity (91 mph), hard-hit rate (36.6%), and Barrels/PA (9%). Each of these ranked him in the top third of the league or better. Additionally, he proved able to handle both left-handed and right-handed pitching, posting a near .800 OPS against each.
The fact that he does not play in a more potent offense could hinder his draft stock in 2026, but that being said, shortstop was a difficult position to find depth at in 2025, and will ultimately make him a hot commodity in upcoming drafts.
Outfielder: James Wood
James Wood is one of my favorite players in this article and has the potential to be as good as Caminero, mentioned above. He is another top prospect coming off his first full season in the big leagues, and boy, did he not disappoint. Overall, he slashed .256/.350/.475 with 31 home runs, 94 RBI, 87 runs scored, and even tacked on 15 stolen bases.
The power metrics were off the charts as expected, as he ranked inside the top 8% or better in terms of average exit velocity (94.3 mph), hard-hit rate (40.9%), and Barrels/PA (9%). His lefty/righty splits were very similar, as noted by the fact that he posted an .823 OPS vs lefties and .825 OPS vs. righties. He also posted an .873 OPS away from home, which is always impressive for a rising star.
His production also took a significant dip in the second half, as he held a stellar .918 OPS in the first half compared to a much lower .689 OPS. However, given his elite underlying metrics, Wood seems poised to take another step forward next summer.
I, for one, will be very curious to see where his ADP ends up for 2026 drafts, as he could become one of the best power-hitting outfielders in the league within the next season or two. This is a very exciting player we are all about to watch over the next decade or so.
JAMES WOOD, OUT OF THE STADIUM 🤯 pic.twitter.com/oOpjZuEfmw
— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025
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