6 Fantasy Baseball Bargain Hitters With Upside - Discount Bats At Every Position (2026)

March 18, 2026

Kipp's bargain hitter fantasy baseball sleepers, discount batters with upside at each position. His top undervalued 2026 draft picks for the later rounds.

If every fantasy team could be stacked with top-end talent at the end of drafts, would fantasy baseball really be any fun? Yeah, probably, but to win your drafts and your leagues, you have to be able to find talent at bargain prices. Championships are not won in the first five rounds; they are won when you outdraft ADP in the last ten.

There are always plenty of draft selections in the later rounds that are key components to making a playoff run and winning a title. While these players can be tough to pinpoint, that is why we are here for you at RotoBaller.

In this article, I will pick one bargain player at each hitting position and compare them to their "name-brand" version. In each case, the name-brand option offers more perceived stability, but the bargain alternative shows comparable underlying traits at a fraction of the ADP. For this piece, we will reference NFBC ADP as of February 10.

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J.T. Realmuto, Catcher, ADP: 200

Bargain instead of Will Smith (ADP: 95)

We are going to kick this off with J.T. Realmuto, who slashed .257/.315/.384 with 12 HRs, 52 RBI, 57 R, and eight SB in 2025. Realmuto currently has an ADP of 200, which means he is being drafted in the 18th round. This is a far cry from his glory days when he was the top catcher off the board; however, he can still produce.

As it stands now, Realmuto is in the mix to bat cleanup for a potent Phillies' lineup, which could do wonders for his overall stock, and we may see this ADP tick up this month. While I am not going to sit here and pretend he is a direct comparable to Will Smith, he does provide immense value when comparing their ADPs.

Last season, Realmuto was comparable in xBA (.253 vs. .269), hard hit rate (45.5% vs. 47.1%), and LA Sweet-Spot % (36.7% vs. 41.7%). Realmuto also logged 134 games in 2025, a more rare workload at the catcher position that stabilizes counting stats. Smith appeared in only 100 games last season as he never saw time at DH due to sharing a lineup with Shohei Ohtani.

Smith is an overpriced No. 1 catcher, while Realmuto could have been had at a major discount as a reliable high-floor No. 2 catcher.

Sal Stewart, First Base, ADP: 184

Bargain instead of Michael Busch (ADP: 104

Sal Stewart might be one of my favorite players in this article, and that is because I think we could be looking at a player who is absolutely poised to break out in 2026. In 2025, he slashed .255/.293/.545, with five HRs, eight RBI, and 11 R across just 58 PA.

While the sample size was small, Stewart put up elite power metrics. This was noted by the fact that he ranked near the top of the league with a 95.4 mph average exit velocity. Additionally, he was superb in terms of hard-hit rate with a mark of 52.5%. He also posted a superb 12.1% Barrels/PA mark.

While Michael Busch undoubtedly put up a solid season, ranking in the top 10% in several power metrics, including average exit velocity, barrel %, and LA Sweet-Spot %, it was a total breakout season for him and may be difficult to repeat. With Busch, you are paying for last season, but with Stewart, you are not paying much for his potential breakout.

Stewart currently has an ADP of 207, which means he is being drafted in the beginning of the 18th round of 12-team mixed leagues. He could be an absolute steal at this ADP and worth the selection here, if not sooner.

SAL IS FIRED UP 🔥

Sal Stewart cracks his first Major League home run 412 feet! pic.twitter.com/tHCDFfTmpH

— MLB (@MLB) September 6, 2025

Matt McLain, Second Base, ADP: 184

Bargain instead of Nico Hoerner (ADP: 97)

I am not going to lie, comparing Matt McLain to Nico Hoerner here is a bit of a stretch, but McLain is more than capable at second base, and we are getting him almost nine rounds cheaper.

Where does McLain excel, you might ask? Speed is most certainly his strong suit. He managed to swipe 18 bags last year and should have room to grow, given his sprint speed of 29.2 ft/sec, which ranked him in the top 7% of the league in 2025. He was also able to get on base, as noted by his walk rate of 9.5%, ranking him in the top 36% of the league.

While Hoerner does provide elite speed with minimal power, McLain has the upside to produce a 20/20 campaign, making the far more balanced player.

Second base is going to be a tough position to fill in 2026, and if you miss out on the top-end guys, it would be prudent to wait until the much later rounds for players like McLain. He currently has an ADP of around 184, meaning he is being drafted nearly 100 picks after Hoerner. If you need a player with speed and on-base skills later in the draft, he is your guy.

Addison Barger, Third Base, ADP: 185

Bargain instead of Eugenio Suarez (ADP: 93)

Addison Barger is a poor man's Eugenio Suarez. In 2025, Barger slashed .243/.301/.454, with 21 HRs, 74 RBI, 61 R, and four SBs. He also showed some solid pop in terms of his power metrics.

Overall, Barger posted a 91.7 mph average exit velocity, which ranked him in the top 14% of the league. Additionally, he posted a hard-hit rate of 51%, which ranked him in the top 9% of the league. He actually performed better than Suarez in each of these categories, yet he is going more than six rounds later.

Barger should be in line for the bulk of at-bats at the third base position for the Blue Jays in 2026, given his production last season and in the playoffs and with Anthony Santander (elbow) on the 60-day IL. The Blue Jays will also hope to sustain the level of offensive output they had last year, when they ranked fourth-best in baseball with a wRC+ of 112.

Barger makes for a fantastic selection later in drafts to shore up your third base position.

Off the light tower 😲

Addison Barger with a LONG grand slam! pic.twitter.com/KcItqSVu9M

— MLB (@MLB) March 2, 2026

Colson Montgomery, Shortstop, ADP: 221

Bargain instead of  Trevor Story (ADP: 107)

Colson Montgomery is another player featured in this article, entering his second season, and could be in line for a breakout year. In 2025, he slashed .239/.311/.529 with 21 HRs, 55 RBI, and 43 R. These numbers came across just 283 PA and had some solid power metrics backing them as well.

Overall, he posted a hard-hit rate of 37.6%, which ranked him in the top 18% of the league. Additionally, he posted a Barrels/PA mark of 8.8%, ranking him in the 91st percentile of the league. He was especially strong against right-handed pitching, as noted by his .887 OPS, but he can swing it against lefties too, having posted a .731 OPS against them in 2025.

While he does not quite measure up to Story on these metrics, the gap in ADP here might not be justified. Montgomery is in a prime spot to break out this season, and while the White Sox offense may have ranked near the bottom of the league in terms of wRC+ last season, I do think they improve in 2026 on the backs of some of their younger bats.

Montgomery is a solid choice at his current ADP, and even if you do not end up starting him, having him on your bench to plug in on other players' off days will make you feel very fortunate you drafted him.

CLUTCH COLSON

Colson Montgomery's 20th homer of his rookie season is a 9th inning go-ahead shot! pic.twitter.com/c6krI5qybJ

— MLB (@MLB) September 27, 2025

Heliot Ramos, Outfield, ADP: 209

Bargain instead of Jose Altuve (ADP: 109)

Heliot Ramos has been one of my favorite under-the-radar outfielders over the past couple of seasons. He continues to produce every season, yet gets no ADP respect. In 2025, he slashed .256/.328/.400, with 21 HRs, 69 RBI, and 85 R.

He also posted a very respectable average exit velocity of 91.8 mph, which ranked him in the top 13% of the league. Additionally, his hard-hit rate of 47.4% ranked him in the top quartile of the league. He is currently going a full 100 picks later than Jose Altuve, which feels overly punitive for a player with Ramos' power indicators.

Altuve did not even rank in the top 45% of the league in the aforementioned metrics. While Altuve will likely get on base for you, he is no longer a threat to steal bases (he stole just 10 bases last year) and simply is not the producer he once was. The choice to wait on Ramos in your outfield is pretty clear on this one.

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