Underdog Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, Values, Busts for Best Ball Drafts (2026)

February 8, 2026

Nick's top Underdog fantasy baseball sleepers, values, busts for 2026 Underdog best ball drafts. Read about his favorite must-have Underdog Fantasy sleepers.

It's always fantasy baseball season in my heart, but now the calendar is finally catching up to this feeling deep inside! Most of you won't draft your typical redraft leagues until later in March, which makes this a great time to get into the best ball streets. Today, I'll be taking a look at some of my favorite Underdog fantasy baseball draft sleepers, values, and busts for their 2026 best ball contests.

Drafters don't have to become managers with this format, as you build the roster and crank "Come What May" as the computer tallies your best automated lineup. You cannot hide behind the waiver wire or seek help via trade. The format will automatically place your top-scoring players in your starting lineup for each scoring period, and that's that.

This means everything boils down to the draft, so let's pick apart what we like, dislike, and are outright avoiding based on the current Underdog ADP, as of February 6. I'll see you in the draft room! Be sure to save me at least one of the guys that I name, please?

2026 Underdog Fantasy Baseball Sleepers

One doesn’t tend to get too off the rails with a shallower draft, but it also loosens the definition of a “sleeper” thanks to the narrow lens. While some deeper home leagues may have you wishing I was writing about guys available near pick 350-400, the cupboard remains relatively full as these drafts wrap.

Underdog Infield (IF) Sleepers

Luke Keaschall (ADP: 199), Kazuma Okamoto (193)

Keaschall hit .302 with an .827 OPS with four homers, 14 steals, and 53 R+RBI over his first 49 MLB games. The plus hit tool and proven MLB-caliber wheels don’t dazzle best ballers in the face of low power.

But he’d hit 15 longballs in 102 minor-league games as a 21-year-old and could grow into the six-foot frame a bit, but also should push for a double-digit walk rate. We want all of the chances to get on base here!

Okamoto had swung a powerful stick since his age-22 NPB season in 2018, but only played about half of 2025 after injuring his left elbow in a collision at first base. THE BAT X is more bullish than Steamer or ATC on his power, translating to MLB, giving him 25 HRs and 137 R+RBI in just 124 games.

He also has a sharp eye that led to 33 walks against 33 Ks last year, though MLB pitchers will be tougher competition. And he’ll blow past that games projected figure if he avoids major turbulence upon entering the league, stacking up points in a competitive offensive environment.

Outside of Ohtani, Okamoto is right there with Seiya Suzuki as the most MLB ready Japanese bat to come over in the last dozen years. High contact bat with pop and plate discipline. Vast majority of MLB teams should have been in on him. https://t.co/ZjeiZP7rQ7

— Jeff Duda (@INTLBaseball24) January 3, 2026

Underdog Outfield (OF) Sleepers

Dylan Crews (116), Chase DeLauter (182),  Jordan Walker (228), Cam Smith (236), Carson Benge (238)

Crews was a letdown in 2025, slashing only .208/.280/.352 with 10 HRs and 17 SBs over 322 plate appearances (85 games). The second overall pick of the 2023 Draft ran a 9.7% barrel rate and .235 expected BA (xBA), but tracking for a 50 HR+SB pace amidst major struggles is quite the "floor." I'm seeing where this goes.

Everyone was tripping over themselves to get the Smith lotto ticket after he set spring training on fire last year. Few others with only 32 games of pro-ball experience can earn a starting MLB role, so I’ll forgive the sharp adjustment curve. Not only is the competition level far steeper, but it’s long!

Perhaps the stamina waned after he hit over .300 in both May and June, which contributed to a .277 first-half average with seven homers, 78 R+RBI, and four swipes in 81 games. He then hit only .154 in 52 second-half tilts. His BABIP nearly halved, but so did the line-drive and hard-hit rates (aka earned, not necessarily “unlucky”).

DeLauter has dealt with injuries since breaking his left foot at James Madison University, but the 6-foot-3 lefty swings a bat worthy of Cleveland’s cleanup role one day soon. Last year, DeLauter’s injuries were flukier (broken hamate bone following an HBP) and not rooted in the foot.

Over a disjointed 138 minor-league games, DeLauter has a .302/.384/.504 triple slash with 20 homers, 40 doubles, eight steals, and a healthy 80:70 K:BB to boot. You’ll fear his health giving out before the best ball playoff weeks hit, but the upside is undeniable.

I’m also willing to give Walker one more crack at things, given the minimal capital investment and his elite prospect numbers. And for the Mets, Benge (.281 AVG, .857 OPS, 15 HRs, 22 SBs in 116 MiLB games last year) could take that left field job and never look back.

Underdog Pitcher (P) Sleepers

Logan Henderson (234), Emmet Sheehan (200)

Henderson was overshadowed by Jacob Misiorowski, but don’t forget that he went 3-0 with a 33.3% K rate, 1.78 ERA (3.02 FIP), and 0.99 WHIP in five starts. A right flexor strain ruined the party, but he was deemed fully healthy back in December and currently holds a rotation spot. Misio is cool, but Hendo is not an afterthought!

Sheehan has to be the other big name to circle. Lady Luck pummeled him in the playoffs (.464 BABIP), but he didn’t help himself out either. The Dodgers didn’t give him a steady role until August, and then he turned six appearances into a 45:7 K:BB with a 1.11 ERA (1.99 FIP) over 32 1/3 IP.

The Dodgers love to manage innings, and their staff is certainly prone to missing time. More on that later! For better or worse, the opportunity should present itself for Sheehan on a winning ballclub with an elite bullpen. His ADP will rise, but it won't go high enough to reflect the ceiling.

Only three starting pitchers met the below four thresholds in 2025:

70+ IP
K-BB above 23%
BAA under .200
FIP under 3.00

Tarik Skubal (Duh)
Paul Skenes (Also Duh)
And...

Emmet Sheehan 👀👀pic.twitter.com/4ojK7XgrtB

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) October 23, 2025

2026 Underdog Fantasy Baseball Values

Underdog Infield (IF) Values

Pete Alonso (26), Vinnie Pasquantino (79), Ivan Herrera (212), Max Muncy (220)

There are 15 hitters whose THE BAT X projections have clearing 1,400 Underdog points, and Alonso is the one who goes the latest. In fact, 13 of the 15 have an ADP of 16 or earlier (shocker!). Gunnar Henderson (18.7) is coming off a down season affected by a shoulder injury, but his new teammate at 26.1 as of Feb. 6 is a significant gap that high up.

Pasquantino only missed two games last year, crushing 32 HRs with 113 RBI (only 72 runs) while turning his mid-40s hard-hit rate into a better barrel rate (7.1% to 10.8%). The hitter-friendly wall change at Kauffman Stadium is a rising tide that should lift all K.C. ships.

Herrera will return to catching after bone spurs were removed from his right elbow in November 2025 (he also sprained his knee on April 6). Let’s hope that doesn’t deter his upward-trending bat after he produced a 30-homer pace with significant improvement against southpaws.

Muncy’s seasonal line and recent performance were waylaid by astigmatism in his right eye, which he addressed after producing a jagged .180/.295/.236 triple slash with zero HRs and a 32.4% K rate (nearly 2.5x the BB rate). Corrective eyewear led to a .268/.406/.563 line with 19 HRs and 106 R+RBI across just 72 subsequent games.

He missed five weeks due to a left knee bone bruise after an ugly collision at third base and then endured a right oblique strain in August. This all helped overshadow the new man that Muncy became, making him a favorite late pick of mine.

Underdog Outfield (OF) Values

Luis Robert Jr. (84), Brenton Doyle (133)

It’s easy to forget that ol’ LouBob is only 28 years old, and his going around pick 85 even in an OF-inflated market doesn’t reflect his raw skills suddenly on a competitive, contending roster. How many darts can you throw this late at players with proven 40 HR/20 SB on a frontrunner for the N.L. East?

Doyle opened 2025 going 17-for-53 (.321) with three homers, 19 R+RBI, and a steal in 12 games. Then he hurt his left quad before his family endured a miscarriage in mid-April, which goes well beyond the game.

The next two months yielded only two homers, a .469 OPS, and poor defense. He then improved both in the batter’s box and the outfield, citing mechanical tweaks, but most are scared of 2024 being a blip on a bad team. I’m giving the man grace and rooting for a rebound with an offseason to recover.

Underdog Pitcher (P) Values

Eury Perez (122), Chase Burns (126), Trey Yesavage (129), Nathan Eovaldi (162), Tyler Glasnow (156), Logan Gilbert (68)

Loading up on arms in the middle rounds is how we like to build. The nature of best ball, at least with multi-entry tournaments such as The Dinger, allows us to aim for the stars.

Atlanta’s Spencer Strider is a fun option, but it’s harder to talk myself into the 95th-percentile case for him after the recent health problems and players like a rising Kyle Bradish versus the next tier.

If I’m picking near the 10/11 turn with two picks near 120, then I’m hoping to get Perez, Yesavage, and Burns. Perez got slapped around with shaky command in his first four starts back on the hill following Tommy John surgery, but his 22% K-BB rate ranked 14th among SPs from July on (min. 50 IP).

Whittle that down to September, and a warmed-up Perez (with a more efficient wind-up?) had a 30.6% mark, which gave us elite sabermetrics behind the 4.88 ERA. Strap in for 2026!

Eury Pérez simplified his delivery from the windup in September. Tiny sample size, but over his last 4 starts, he was completely dominant (1.09 FIP in 20.0 IP). pic.twitter.com/QGTpfgvNaA

— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) January 30, 2026

And when the stage shone brightest, Yesavage didn’t look like he’d recently turned 22 as he logged a 39:11 K:BB over 27 2/3 IP in the postseason. Between all levels and play, Yesavage parlayed 139 2/3 IP into 215 Ks with a 1.04 WHIP. I have slight fears that the workload will be managed come September (assuming they're a contender), but it'll be a fun ride getting there.

Otherwise, I’m happy to sprinkle in the glass-cannon pitchers who pair wicked upside with durability concerns. The prices on Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Glasnow are of particular interest to me.

2026 Underdog Fantasy Baseball Busts

Underdog Infield (IF) Busts

Cal Raleigh (26), Bryce Harper (39), Geraldo Perdomo (62), Josh Naylor (69)

I’m not prepared to chase Raleigh’s career campaign, but you either are fully in or out by now. The price is too high, and those who believe that even 80% of last year is coming back are clicking. It’s the same with Perdomo.

Harper’s right wrist bothered him throughout 2025 and eventually required an IL stint. I’ll concede that his power returned in the second half after the break, but the 33-year-old hasn’t topped 145 games played since 2019. I’m not paying a premium for this ledger on the wrong side of the aging curve.

I don’t know what shocked me more about Naylor’s 2025 season. That he became Sonic the Hedgehog on the basepaths, or that he hit .360 at T-Mobile Park in his 25 home games following the trade to Seattle (.248 on the road post-trade). He was great in 12 playoff games, too!

Underdog Outfield (OF) Busts

Rafael Devers (14), James Wood (17), Oneil Cruz (58)

Devers enjoys the OF bump on Underdog and just played 163 games thanks to scheduling wrinkles around his trade from Boston to San Francisco. Despite the marine layer and Oracle Park’s massive right-field wall, Devers did pop 11 HRs in 48 home games there.

However, he only hit .236, and despite sustaining power, he produced only 103 runs and RBIs in 90 games after the Red Sox helped him reach 105 in 17 fewer games.

With Wood, you’re hoping he develops a more lifted swing path and digs out of the miserable ~25% fly-ball rate zone. This required him to run an MLB-leading 30.7% HR/FB rate, which is tough to bank on, even for someone whose Savant page is blood red.

I had the Devers post-trade time window leaderboard up, and Wood’s 36.9% K rate paced the majors from June 17 on. He’s only 23 and has an incredible skill foundation, but that second-half fade was horrifying. Wood was missing pitches in the zone, and his vulnerability low and away remains a problem.

And then there’s Cruz, who did run more (38 SBs in 135 games) with 20 HRs, but that’s the extent of our good news. He only hit .200 with an ugly .676 OPS, seeing his performance against four-seamers plummet from a .357 average to .196, including a 10-percentage-point rise in Ks and an identical drop in meatball-swing rate.

If he can’t punish the mistakes, then we’ve got a problem.

Underdog Pitcher (P) Busts

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (45), Hunter Brown (56), Blake Snell (102), Zack Wheeler (118)

I’ll get ahead of this quickly: Yamamoto is a “bust” in part due to being the first of the non-elite trio to come off the board. This reflects the market jumping the gun on wanting to lock in an SP1, but his projected points are really not far from the Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom grouping around pick 70.

Brown also falls into that top bucket. I can’t knock the guy, but it’s worth noting that his 2.43 ERA clipped his 3.14 xERA just one year after his 3.29 xERA led to a 3.49 ERA. He’s going as the SP6, though ATC projections have his UD score trailing players like Dylan Cease and Hunter Greene.

There are many risky picks that I’m willing to click, but Snell’s medical history and news of left shoulder fatigue slowing his 2026 prep take him off the board. Likewise, Wheeler falls onto the black list due to thoracic outlet syndrome.

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