Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: 9 intriguing pitchers to consider after pick 200

Finding effective pitchers in the late rounds is paramount to having a successful fantasy baseball season. Pitchers tend to be more volatile than hitters, which means managers who fail to find successful late-round hurlers are leaving so much profit potential for their competitors.

This year, I tried to avoid listing pitchers who should be slightly more valuable than their ADP suggests. For example, I like Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Eflin at their current Yahoo ADP. But I wouldn’t call them sleepers. They are good value picks but are unlikely to blow away expectations. The 10 men listed below all have a chance to be much better than expected, and they are all available past pick 200 in Yahoo drafts.

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One more note: I decided not to include any rookies. There is obvious sleeper potential for the likes of Jackson Jobe, Kumar Rocker and Quinn Mathews. But I have already written about them in previous articles.

Without further ado, let’s look at some hurlers who could blow the doors off their current projections.

Bowden Francis, Toronto Blue Jays (Yahoo ADP: 212.7)

It’s hard to believe that one of last season’s best stretch-run starters is available late in 2025 drafts. Francis produced a 1.53 ERA and a 0.53 WHIP after becoming a full-time starter on August 7, and he threw at least seven innings in five of nine outings across that stretch. Francis could regress heavily and still be a value pick at his current ADP.

Clarke Schmidt, New York Yankees (Yahoo ADP: 220.9)

There were two factors suppressing Schmidt’s draft value in February: he made just 16 starts last year, and he didn’t have a secure rotation spot. But between Luis Gil suffering an injury and Schmidt seemingly ahead of Marcus Stroman in the pecking order, there is a clear path for the right-hander to make 30 starts this year. Schmidt made notable improvements in 2024, which included boosting his strikeout rate to 26.3%. Schmidt’s 105 Stuff+ score placed 28th among pitchers who threw at least 80 innings.

Jason Adam, San Diego Padres (Yahoo ADP: 229.9)

The Padres front office is among the most active in baseball, which means that we should take the offseason Robert Suárez trade rumors seriously. It seems sensible that a team with a strong relief corps and holes in their batting order would entertain the idea of trading away a 34-year-old closer whose value will never be higher than it is right now.

Adam (1.95 ERA, 0.86 WHIP in 2024) is among the best relievers in baseball and would easily be a top 10 closer if the Padres moved him to the ninth inning. Even in a setup role, Adam will return enough production to justify his Yahoo ADP.

Jesús Luzardo, Philadelphia Phillies (Yahoo ADP: 242.4)

Luzardo is the perfect type of boom-or-bust pitcher to select late in Yahoo drafts. His ceiling is incredibly high, as is evidenced by the 3.58 ERA and 208 strikeouts he produced in 2023. The left-hander has stated that he is healthy after an injury-impacted 2024 season, and any negative effects of being traded to a club with a more challenging home park should be offset by having a better supporting cast.

Nestor Cortes, Milwaukee Brewers (Yahoo ADP: 253.4)

Cortes has been an effective starter in three of the past four years, with a blip during an injury-impacted 2023 season serving as his only disappointment. The left-hander will now ply his trade for the Brewers, who are one of the best franchises in baseball at getting outstanding results out of their hurlers. Cortes could repeat his 2024 season (3.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 162 SO) and repay his current ADP, but he has the potential to be much better than that.

Cody Bradford, Texas Rangers (Yahoo ADP: 260.1)

Bradford was limited to 14 outings in what could otherwise be categorized as a breakout season (3.54 ERA, 1.01 WHIP). The southpaw doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he is among baseball’s best control pitchers (4.2% walk rate) and limits base knocks by inducing plenty of fly balls. Although Bradford will be more prone to homers than the average starter, we have seen many pitchers thrive with a low-walk, fly-ball-heavy game plan.

DJ Herz, Washington Nationals (Yahoo ADP: 259.5)

The upside of Herz is obvious — he struck out 106 batters in 88.2 innings last season, which gives him the potential to have a remarkable strikeout total across 30 starts. And according to Statcast, the rookie was unlucky, as his xBA (.208) and xERA (3.26) were far lower than his actual marks. Herz will need to battle for a rotation spot in spring training, but he is in competition with two unremarkable starters who threw less than 100 innings last year (Trevor Williams, Michael Soroka).

David Festa, Minnesota Twins (Yahoo ADP: 256.4)

Like Herz, Festa will need to earn a rotation spot in spring training. Fortunately for him, Chris Paddack (4.99 ERA, 88.1 IP in 2024) is not much of an obstacle. After some struggles in his initial three major league starts, Festa produced solid ratios (3.96 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) and an eye-popping 11.2 K/9 rate across his final 11 outings, which was identical to his lifetime mark in the minors. Like Herz, Festa is a boom-or-bust final-round option who can be cut at the end of March if he fails to earn a rotation spot.

Ben Brown, Chicago Cubs (Yahoo ADP: 267.5)

Brown is the third consecutive pitcher in this article who needs to earn a rotation spot by beating out mediocre veterans. In the case of Brown, the competition includes Javier Assad and Colin Rea. And like Festa and Herz, Brown should be exciting for fantasy managers because of terrific swing-and-miss skills (28.8% strikeout rate) that give him a high ceiling when working out of the rotation. My only reason to pause on Brown is that he uses just two pitches, but he has made his arsenal work thus far.