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Starting pitcher fantasy baseball sleepers, targets to draft in the mid rounds. Potential 2025 fantasy baseball sleepers and undervalued SP to target in drafts.
Welcome RotoBallers to our article about mid-round starting pitcher draft values and draft targets! We are here to help you crush your fantasy baseball drafts, as fantasy managers are gearing up for another exciting draft season. Once you reach the middle rounds of drafts, everyone is looking to draft players who can provide a great return on value. You can start taking calculated risks on emerging prospects, overlooked veterans, players returning from injury, or even players with some playing time concerns out of the gate. The early rounds are critical, and the late rounds are where you can take your chances on dart-throw sleepers, but the middle rounds can make or break your roster.
Today, we're looking at some middle-round starting pitchers for you to consider drafting in your season-long leagues this season. Are their ADPs undervalued? Will they make significant fantasy contributions and become a priority mid-round draft target? Read on to see our take.
Our editors have hand-picked these specific MLB players for your draft prep enjoyment. Usually only available to Premium subscribers, the five outlooks below are meant to give you a taste of the in-depth analysis you receive with our industry-leading 2025 Draft Kit. Be sure to subscribe today to start reading all of our in-depth 2025 player outlooks and many other premium articles and tools, including Team Sync, the Live Draft Sync assistant, Custom Rankings Service, and so much more -- available exclusively in our 2025 Draft Kit.
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Christopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cristopher Sanchez surprised many in baseball with his solid rookie season in 2023 (3.44 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 24.2% strikeout rate, and 4% walk rate through 18 starts). Still, many tempered their expectations for a pitcher who lacked the track record and pure stuff to feel confident in the long-term.
While Sanchez saw some statistical regression in his 2024 season, he solidified himself among fantasy baseball's most intriguing young pitchers, with a 3.32 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 20.3% strikeout season, 1.24 WHIP, 5.8% walk rate, and elite 58.3% GB% through 31 starts -- giving him a 4.7 fWAR.
Is Christopher Sánchez the next breakout ace you can’t afford to ignore?
He just posted a 42.1% strikeout rate, fueled by a lethal mix of sinker, changeup, and cutter that’s baffling hitters.
At 28 years old, he’s emerging as one of the most electrifying arms in baseball. pic.twitter.com/My9Kp13FIO
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 7, 2025
The Phillies starter should give us more of the same in 2025, with ATC projecting a 3.50 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and 20.9% strikeout rate through 29 starts. While he could improve his ranking if he makes more batters miss on his primary pitch (a sinker with 47% usage; 4.5% decrease in CSW% from 2023 to 2024), Sanchez's proven run-prevention skills and wins floor make him a bargain at his 188 ADP.
-- Pranav Uppalapati - RotoBaller
Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene had the strongest, most complete season of his young career in 2024 after he posted a 9-5 record with a 2.75 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 169 strikeouts in 150 1/3 innings pitched on the way to earning his first All-Star nomination.
Armed with a four-seamer that went from a seventh-percentile run value in 2023 per Baseball Savant to 98th-percentile in 2024, combined with an impressive 6.9% HR/FB%, especially when calling Great American Ball Park home, it was a recipe for success.
Greene's Achilles heel is the inability to stay healthy, undergoing Tommy John surgery as a prospect, then missing time at the major league level in 2022 (shoulder), 2023 (hip), and 2024 (elbow). While the injury history is a concern, the former first-round draft pick is expected to be ready for Opening Day, and although FIP, xFIP, and SIERA all suggest ERA regression in 2025, it should still be top-of-the-rotation-worthy given the peripheral stats.
If he can make 30 starts, the 6-foot-5 hurler could easily be a No. 1 starter for fantasy, which makes his current NFBC ADP of 98 align with his 94 overall ranking here at RotoBaller.
-- Jarod Rupp - RotoBaller
Justin Steele, Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele battled a few injuries during the 2024 campaign, including a hamstring strain in the opening month and elbow tendonitis late in the season. Fortunately, the southpaw was able to log a few starts late in the season, which suggested the elbow injury was not serious.
Overall, across 134 ⅔ innings of work, the Chicago ace held a solid 3.07 ERA and 1.10 WHIP. His ratios were almost identical to his 2023 breakout campaign, where he finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting. During this season, in a much larger 173 ⅓ inning sample, the left-hander carried a 3.06 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
Why Justin Steele will return to Cy Young form in 2025
🧵🪡 #FantasyBaseball pic.twitter.com/Ntse8cIAz4— Andy Smith (@A_Smith_FS) February 6, 2025
His underlying metrics also remained quite consistent over the past two summers. In 2024, he held an identical 24% K rate and lowered his hard-hit rate by three points and barrel rate by one point. In addition, he boasted a stellar 2.74 xERA last season, placing him in the 94th percentile among qualified pitchers.
Given his stable metrics, fantasy managers should feel confident investing in Steele at his 128.89 ADP. In fact, the 29-year-old could be a nice value pick if he can return to his ace role in 2025, as he could easily outperform his ADP.
-- Andy Smith- RotoBaller
Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryan Woo had a solid debut in 2023 and followed that up with a strong sophomore campaign that reinforced his status as a fantasy-worthy rotation piece. The former sixth-round draft pick had a 1:11 BB:K over eight-and-one-third innings during the spring, then carried that strong command into the season, posting a 13:101 BB:K during the regular season. That helped the 24-year-old to a 9-3 record with a superb 2.89 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and an 18.6% K-BB% (21.4% K%, 2.8% BB%) over 22 starts (121 1/3 IP).
Bryan Woo looks impressive this spring:
7 IP
0.00 ERA
0.71 WHIP
11 K— Kirk Snyder (@dynastyinfo411) March 16, 2025
While FIP (3.40), xFIP (3.75), and SIERA (3.75) were all higher than ERA, they still point to a pitcher that can be good in 2025 even if there is some regression on that front. The downside is that a K/9 of 7.49 is tough to swallow for fantasy, but with a career 12.68 K/9 and 34.4% K% in the minors, as well as a 9.55 K/9 in his major league debut, there's hope that the third-year big leaguer can reattain higher rates in 2025. The righty is a slight value in early drafts, with a ranking of 131 overall at RotoBaller and a 139 NFBC ADP.
-- Jarod Rupp- RotoBaller
Spencer Schwellenbach, Atlanta Braves
Spencer Schwellenbach ended up being a godsend for the Atlanta Braves in 2024. The rookie claimed a rotation spot in late May and never looked back, making 21 starts and winning eight games with a 3.35 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and 127 strikeouts in 123 innings.
While his strikeout rate was a rather pedestrian 25.4%, his 34.2% chase percentage was in the 96th percentile in all major league baseball. His 4.6% walk rate was in the 95th percentile. Schwellenbach looks like a pitcher who can start 30 games, get decent win totals, help you in the ratio categories, and earn about a strikeout per inning.
Spencer Schwellenbach racks up 10 Ks for the @Braves 🔥
Think he's ready for the regular season? pic.twitter.com/XI2F6jRgvs
— MLB (@MLB) March 20, 2025
His current ADP of 99 means he is going in the middle of the seventh round, making him the 39th pitcher off the board. Schwellenbach could easily outperform his ADP and be a terrific number-two starter on many fantasy rosters this spring. He is currently slated as the number two starter in Atlanta behind Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale.
-- Mike Carter - RotoBaller
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