Yahoo Fantasy Baseball Rankings Analysis - Draft Values and ADP Advantages (2025)

March 21, 2025

Michael analyzes Yahoo fantasy baseball rankings to identify draft sleepers. Gain ADP advantages on Yahoo drafts in 2025 with his fantasy bargains and overpays.

NFBC is the platform folks use when feeling the itch to draft in December or January for the upcoming fantasy baseball season. We are now in prime drafting territory for every format and every provider, especially those that host home leagues. That includes Yahoo, which specializes in the head-to-head categories format (though also offers points and rotisserie style games as well).

As drafters of any stripe or site know, it’s important to have a sense for average draft position (ADP). Even if one likes a player more than others do, pushing him up too far above market price only squanders potential values elsewhere. Hence, it is key to know the unique ADP characteristics of the platform you use.

Today, we present the biggest differences in Yahoo ADP as compared to NFBC and Fantrax. The table below shows the various ADPs of players who represent relative bargains on Yahoo. Then, we provide a list with other values past pick 200. Finally, we created a chart of the biggest overpays on Yahoo, i.e. the players going earlier than on other platforms.

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Catcher Values for Yahoo Drafts

Will Smith (124, -25)
Shea Langeliers (165, -35)

Yahoo leagues are predominantly one-catcher formats, and as a result, the position properly gets pushed down when compared to a two-catcher platform like NFBC; Fantrax offers a mix of the two.

Will Smith has become a pretty boring but steady provider of 20ish home runs, a .250-.255 average, and good counting stats. He was banged up early this spring (ankle sprain and HBP in knee) but has since appeared in games and seems healthy to go for Opening Day.

Shea Langeliers broke out last year with 29 homers, backed by a legit 13 percent barrel rate. He plays a lot, finishing seventh at the position in plate appearances (534) and fifth in RBI (80). Despite a .224 batting average, his .241 xBA may portend upside to a more reasonable mark. He’s a nice target if you wait a bit but still want an advantage at catcher.

First Base Draft Targets for Yahoo

Michael Toglia (213, -33)

Drafters have recognized there is a cliff at first base right around the top 10, hence there are few “bargains” at the position on Yahoo. However, Toglia certainly qualifies.

The young Rockie came out of nowhere last year, establishing himself in the field and popping 25 homers with an unexpected 10 stolen bases in just 399 at-bats. Now, that came with a .218 average and Toglia struggled against non-fastballs.

We would not necessarily pair him with a Langeliers, for example. But at pick 213, he makes an intriguing potential utility bat, especially as he also qualifies at outfield on Yahoo.

Second Base Draft Targets for Yahoo

Luis Garcia Jr. (150, -25)
Andres Gimenez (208, -45)

Garcia is a popular breakout pick after, well, a breakout in 2024. (I recently saw an MLB writer call Cole Ragans a breakout, even though he finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting.) Garcia’s already done it, too, hitting for his usual good average (.282) but adding more power (18 homers) and nabbing 22 steals. He’s a platoon risk but that should make him more valuable in daily moves leagues, as many Yahoo formats are.

Gimenez is a decent source of batting average (in the .250 to .260 range), will play a lot no matter how he hits given superlative defense, and is a near-lock for 25 stolen bases. Yahoo managers can wait on second base with solid options like Gimenez and the similar Bryson Stott drafted in the early 200s.

Third Base Draft Targets for Yahoo

Luis Rengifo (212, -38)
Maikel Garcia (292, -95)

Rengifo captured the hearts of Yahoo managers everywhere last year, batting .300 with 24 stolen bases while qualifying at literally every position except catcher and first base. That was done in just 78 games as, unfortunately, he dealt with various minor injuries.

Durability is the only real knock on Rengifo, who has been slowed by a hamstring injury during spring training. While he didn’t play enough shortstop or outfield to qualify there for 2025, he may add eligibilities in-season; we know he will be penciled in every day somewhere for the Angels.

Garcia is almost a cheaper version of Rengifo. With two eligibilities coming into 2025, the team plans on using him in center field regularly, so it’s likely he will be triple-eligible by mid-April. Like Rengifo, he makes above-average contact (85.6 percent), has limited power (3.7 percent barrel rate), and runs successfully (37-39 on stolen base attempts).

Despite a rough .231 average last year, his .260 xBA and .272 from the year prior make him a likely asset in the category. Garcia’s wheels, hit tool, and versatility make him a nice, versatile weapon we can draft late in head-to-head leagues.

Shortstop Draft Targets for Yahoo

Oneil Cruz (58, -10)

The dual-eligible Cruz (OF) is a borderline third-rounder on NFBC. While he has his detractors, who question the 30 percent strikeout rates and struggles against lefties, he’s a reasonable bet to take another leap after posting 100th-percentile hard-hit, barrel, and exit velocities.

Cruz began running more in the second half, too, perhaps portending a spicier categories profile after he just went 20/20 (he already has four swipes in spring). If everything breaks right, Cruz could produce like a first-round player.

Outfield Draft Targets for Yahoo

Lawrence Butler (82, -12.5)
Taylor Ward (225, -63)

The flashy young breakout and the boring but productive vet are great outfield values on Yahoo. The 24-year-old Butler made a swing adjustment last June and over his final 61 games, he knocked 13 home runs with a .300/.345/.553 line. He also went 18-18 on stolen base attempts and says he wants to run more often in 2025. Butler is penciled in to lead off for a rising Athletics offense, so he could be a five-category stud.

Ward seems to do the same bland but effective thing every year: .255-.260 average, 22-25 home runs, 70-plus RBI. He’s not a burner but will throw in the odd five or six steals as well. It appears he is going to lead off for the Angels. There are much worse ways to fill out one’s outfield even in a three-outfielder league.

Pitcher Draft Targets for Yahoo

Garrett Crochet (39, -10)
Bailey Ober (104, -25)
Hunter Greene (111, -27)
Ryan Pepiot (197, -27)

Garrett Crochet has steadily risen through the draft season on NFBC; once available in the fifth round of 12-teamers, he’s now at the back end of the second round. The reigning starter king in strikeout rate and strikeout minus walk rate, Crochet makes for a tempting Yahoo value in the fourth round.

Bailey Ober can be divisive as his rising four-seam fastball generates whiffs but clocks in at under 92 mph and can lead to homers, hence his ERA is usually a bit inflated. He possesses elite control, however -- Ober has a 1.03 WHIP over his last 68 starts -- to stabilize that category. He is not only a great source of volume, but his strikeouts are above average on a rate basis (9.6 K/9, leading to 191 strikeouts in 178.2 IP). He’s an ideal No. 2 or even No. 1 if you wait.

Hunter Greene reached an entirely new level last year -- 2.75 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 10 K/9 -- after showing great tools he could never fully hone in his first two seasons. Greene added a splitter last season to better attack lefties, and the third offering helped keep batters off balance. The market is a bit cautious given his prior volatility, but a near 30-pick discount on Yahoo sure seems like a nice place to take a shot on what could be an imminent ace.

Ryan Pepiot has always produced well when he pitched but last year was the first time he made more than seven starts in the majors. It went well as he posted a 3.60 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and well over a strikeout per inning, showing an improved fastball and slider to go with what has always been a strong changeup. Grabbing Pepiot near pick 200 is an ideal add as SP4 or SP5 to fill out your fantasy rotation.

Jeff Hoffman (136, -17)

A few of the top-tier closers are mispriced on Yahoo on the bargain end. In head-to-head categories leagues, saves are one of the five pitcher statistics and the weekly minimum innings requirement is low enough (around 20-25 IP) that some managers can excel by going reliever-heavy to dominate the two ratios as well as saves categories (the “Marmol Strategy”). This makes closers scarce resources.

In Hoffman’s case, it appears the Yahoo market has not fully adjusted to his set role as Toronto’s closer. He has elite skills (2.39 SIERA, .96 WHIP, 12 K/9 last year) and with the role secure, he represents a major value going later than, for example, less skilled closers like Alexis Diaz and Robert Suarez.

Other Fantasy Baseball Bargains After Pick 200

These are the other players who Yahoo drafters can pick at relative bargains after pick 200.

Yahoo Overpays for Fantasy Baseball Drafts

Given the gameplay and different league types on the various platforms, there are a few general trends with players who are more expensive on Yahoo.

Hitters and closers tend to go early here relative to NFBC and Fantrax. There’s a markup for first and third basemen in particular. With Fantrax having so many points leagues embedded in its ADP, closers go very late relative to the other platforms.

Yahoo requires two relievers, and with saves being a category, the elite closers are in relatively high demand. Even guys like Ryan Pressly and Pete Fairbanks are pushed up (given this general trend, we did not list all the relievers or that would be the entire table).

Meanwhile, Yahoo public leagues are exclusively 12-teamers while NFBC offers a plethora of 15-team contests, so starting pitching gets pushed up in the latter.

Here are the most relevant players Yahoo owners are drafting more aggressively in the top 300. Be prepared to pay up for these guys.

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