As the old expression goes, you can’t win your fantasy baseball league in the early rounds of the draft, but you can lose it there. Many fantasy managers prefer to anchor their teams with surefire picks at the outset of the selection process before targeting boom-or-bust options in the second half of their drafts. For those with a goal to chase high floors over high ceilings during the initial rounds, here are the players to target. Please note that players are divided by rounds on the basis of a 10-team league.
Round 1: Juan Soto, OF, New York Mets
Although Soto trails Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Bobby Witt Jr. in ADP, he is safer than all of them. With a lifetime .948 OPS, the outfielder is among the best hitters in baseball. He is in his prime for his age-27 season, and his career injury history consists of brief injured-list stays in 2019 and 2021. According to Yahoo Fantasy Plus data, Soto’s 58.3% Relative Range — highlighting the narrowest ranges between floor and ceiling projections — is the second best of any hitter, behind Judge.
Round 2: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
Guerrero’s recent power numbers are slightly disappointing, but there is no disputing that he is a terrific hitter who can be counted on for a high batting average and plenty of counting stats. He also hits third in a productive lineup and has never visited the IL during his seven-year career. Guerrero trails only Judge and Soto as having the narrowest range between his floor and ceiling, according to Yahoo Fantasy Plus data.
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Round 3: Pete Alonso, 1B, Baltimore Orioles
Alonso has produced 34-46 homers in each of the past five seasons. The career .253 hitter is arguably baseball’s most consistent power producer, and he has spent a total of 21 days on the IL over his seven-year career. Relocating to Baltimore shouldn’t impact Alonso at all. Like Soto and Guerrero, Alonso is a top-10 hitter in terms of his Relative Range (62.1%) via Yahoo Fantasy Plus.
Round 4: Logan Webb, SP, San Francisco Giants
The first pitcher in this article is the definition of an innings eater, having thrown 61.1 more innings than any other pitcher over the past three seasons. Webb uses his heavy groundball lean to limit the damage of a mediocre WHIP, and he took a step forward by logging an improved 26.2% strikeout rate last year.
Round 5: Mason Miller, RP, San Diego Padres
Admittedly, I struggle to find spots for pitchers in this article due to the injury-prone nature of the position. But Miller deserves a spot, as he may be the most talented reliever in baseball (career 2.81 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 13.8 K/9 rate) and has all the saves to himself now that Robert Suarez has left via free agency.
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Round 6: Edwin Díaz, RP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Díaz is the one man who can challenge Miller as the most coveted fantasy reliever. The soon-to-be 32-year-old is in his prime, has 253 career saves and has logged remarkable statistics (2.36 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 14.6 K/9 rate) over the past five seasons. As the bullpen anchor on baseball’s best team, he has a 50-save ceiling and a 35-save floor.
Round 7: Wyatt Langford, OF, Texas Rangers
Langford wasn’t that impressive in his rookie year but still tallied 16 homers and 19 steals in 134 games. His sophomore season was slightly better (.775 OPS), and he produced 22 long-balls and 22 swipes. The 24-year-old’s fantasy-friendly power-speed combo keeps his floor high while his overall skills continue to develop.
Round 8: Framber Valdez, SP, Detroit Tigers
A heavy groundball lean and four straight seasons with at least 28 starts gives Valdez a high floor. He has logged an ERA under 3.70 and a FIP under 3.50 in four straight seasons, while amassing between 169-200 whiffs in each of those campaigns.
Round 9: CJ Abrams, SS, Washington Nationals
Abrams has been virtually the same player for three straight seasons, and while that player isn’t a game-changer for the Nats, he’s valuable in fantasy circles. After three years with 18-20 homers and more than 30 steals, the 25-year-old has established a floor that he can hopefully improve on as he enters his prime.
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Round 10: Nico Hoerner, 2B, Chicago Cubs
Hoerner is similar to Abrams, but with a slightly better batting average and a little bit less power. The 28-year-old has hit between .273-.297 with 7-10 homers, 29-43 steals, 86-98 runs and 48-68 RBI in each of the past three seasons.
Round 11: Will Smith, C, Los Angeles Dodgers
In all honesty, I wouldn’t draft Smith at his ADP (107.2) due to a mediocre ceiling that is caused by the Dodgers’ insistence in limiting his workload. But there is no doubting that he is a capable hitter in a high-scoring lineup who can be counted on for roughly 20 homers, 75 RBI and 70 runs scored.
Round 12: Luis Castillo, SP, Seattle Mariners
If you believe that Castillo can hang onto his skills for his age-33 season (which I do), he is one of the safest mid-rotation starters. The right-hander has made 95 starts over the past three seasons and has six 30-start seasons on his resume. In each of the past four seasons, Castillo has logged sub-4.00 ERA, a FIP under 4.00 and a WHIP below 1.20. According to Relative Range data via Yahoo Fantasy Plus, Castillo is the 27th-safest starter in baseball.
Round 13: Willson Contreras, 1B, Boston Red Sox
Despite spending most of his career blocking baseballs behind the plate, Contreras has been a consistent fantasy asset who has logged six seasons with 20-24 homers. Now that he is the first baseman and cleanup hitter on a team with a hitter-friendly home park, the 33-year-old has a rock-solid floor.
Round 14: Ian Happ, OF, Chicago Cubs
Middle-round options don’t get much more consistent than Happ, who has hit between .243-.248 with 21-25 homers, 79-86 RBI and 86-89 runs in each of the past three seasons. He has also endured just two minimum stays on the IL during his seven-year career.
Round 15: Ryan Pepiot, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
Since joining the Rays two years ago, Pepiot has made 57 starts. His 2025 ratios (3.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) were nearly identical to his 2024 marks (3.60 ERA, 1.15 WHIP), and the slight uptick last year was likely influenced by temporarily switching to a hitter-friendly home park. Finding someone as reliable as Pepiot at this point in the draft is rare, as his Relative Range percentage via Yahoo Fantasy Plus ranks 19th among starting pitchers.
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