12 Up-Arrow Fantasy Baseball Players To Target For 2025
Image credit: Casey Mize Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Keeping up in fantasy baseball is essential.
In the age of rapid information, you need to be better prepared to attack the player acquisition market with cold-blooded precision. If you play in competitive leagues, understanding how to take advantage your league’s acquisition windows is essential.
With the return of baseball, there’s a stream of constant player information coming in daily. Many leagues have yet to draft, so lots of early news from spring training can shift preseason targets and rankings rapidly.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at 12 names who have raised their stock the most over the first few weeks of spring action.
Casey Mize, RHP, Tigers
The 2018 No.1 overall pick has been limited by injury over the early years of his MLB career. After returning from Tommy John surgery to begin 2024, Mize missed two months due to a left hamstring sprain. There were reports throughout the offseason around Mize finding improved fastball shape. It seems like those reports were accurate, as Mize has shown significantly more ride on his fastball (+3 inches of induced vertical break) while sitting 96 mph.
Mize has mixed in a two-seamer with less ride and heavier armside run, findingsuccess with that pitch, as well. All four Mize’s whiffs came against the fastball in his last outing. He threw all his secondaries a little harder, but that could have been due to the shorter nature of the outing. The slider and splitter looked largely unchanged outside of the velocity, but each should likely play better off his improved fastball shape, particularly the splitter, which has the ability to change eye levels when working off of the two fastball variations.
At the moment, Mize is likely to be penciled into one of the final two spots in the Tigers’ rotation alongside No. 1 prospect Jackson Jobe. Mize will turn 28 in May and looks to have some runway into his prime years if he’s truly figured something out. Mize is an above-average buy.
Ryan Weathers, LHP, Marlins
The 2018 seventh-overall pick by the Padres has teased us with a potential breakout before. However, Weathers arrived at camp in significantly better shape than last season, and his stuff seems to have followed suit. Per the reporting of Lance Brozdowski, Weathers has taken a significant jump forward with his stuff.
In his first spring training start, Weathers was sitting 98 mph and touching 99 with, on average, 18 inches of induced vertical break. Brozdowski also reported that Weathers was showing greater vertical separation off his fastball and a hard, upper-80s-to-low-90s gyro slider. It’s a nasty lefthanded arsenal, and if Weathers can hold his stuff over full starts and remain healthy, he could be the breakout pitcher to roster this season. Weathers is a must-add and excellent draft target.
Davis Martin, RHP, White Sox
The White Sox landed a steal when they picked Martin in the 14th round out of Texas Tech back in 2018. Martin debuted in 2022, appearing in 14 games, including nine starts. He had Tommy John surgery early in the 2023 season and returned in the middle of 2024. After struggling over the first few starts in his return to the White Sox rotation, Martin started messing with a kick changeup grip in his side sessions. He began throwing the pitch during his Aug. 7 start against the Athletics and saw immediate results.
Martin’s fastball shape is below-average, but he has solid velocity on his four-seamer, sitting 93-95 mph regularly. He also has feel for spin with average spin rates on his slider (2700-2900 rpm), which sits in the mid 80s with moderate gloveside break. There’s still a window to buy Martin in deeper leagues (20+ teams) where he’s most relevant. In shallower, mixed leagues, he’s a higher-priority stream option on a bad team.
Grant Holmes, RHP, Braves
A Dodgers first-round pick back in 2014, it’s taken a decade for Holmes to establish himself as a major leaguer, and he looks poised to capture a rotation spot with the Braves this spring. Holmes saw time primarily as a reliever in 2024, but he did make seven starts for the Braves.
While he only made it into the fifth inning in three of his seven starts, Holmes did show well. Over those seven starts totaling 33.2 innings, he produced a 4.01 ERA, 3.30 xFIP, 28.2% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 45.2% groundball rate. Holmes’ arsenal features two breaking ball shapes that drive whiffs and weak contact, while his fastball sits in the mid 90s. This spring, he’s added the trendy kick changeup, and it has strong metrics. If Holmes earns a spot in the Braves’ rotation, he has real breakout potential thanks to a deep arsenal of quality pitches, command and swing-and-miss stuff.
Brandon Sproat, RHP, Mets
One of the top pitching prospects in the game, Sproat looks like he could pitch his way to the majors in the first half of the season. The Mets’ starting rotation depth has already taken significant hits with Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea each going down with injuries. While Sproat will likely begin the season in Triple-A, the introduction of a new sinker to his repertoire might be what he needs to survive with a below-average four-seam shape. Sproat’s slider is plus and can dominate for stretches, while his changeup grades as a plus pitch. He’s also flashed a curveball and cutter this spring. Thanks to a well-rounded arsenal, a pair of out pitches and plus velocity in both of his fastball shapes, Sproat has the potential to make a successful jump to the major leagues in 2025.
Will Warren, RHP, Yankees
Early this spring, Warren has been impressive. He’s shown an improved version of his signature sweeper and a revamped changeup over his first few turns, building some buzz in the process. Even with the loss of Luis Gil, the Yankees’ rotation is full at the moment. But further injuries to any of their current starters could spell immediate opportunity for Warren.
Stuff has never been a problem for the righthander, as, since his 2022 debut, Warren has lit up Stuff+ model scores. In 2024, however, that did not translate to success. Still, whatever Warren seems to have working this spring is worth a second look. It often takes pitchers some time to settle into the major leagues. Warren has two fastball shapes, a demon sweeper with outlier horizontal break and now also a changeup that moves in the reverse direction of his sweeper. It’s not a matter of if Warren sees MLB time this year—but when.
Ben Rice, 1B, Yankees
It was a storybook beginning to Rice’s career, as he slugged seven home runs in his first full month in big leagues. The early success was marred by real contact issues, however. Entering 2025, Rice finds himself in the catbird’s seat to nab playing time in the wake of the Giancarlo Stanton injury. Rice is still showing a lot of swing-and-miss, but he has posted above-average-or-better exit velocities, too. He has some potential to hit for good power numbers at least in the early part of the season. If Rice can start to replicate his minor league contact and chase rates, he has a chance to break out. As things stand, the improvements to his plate skills are a big if.
Victor Robles, OF, Mariners
On June 1, 2024 Robles was released by the Nationals. It was quite the fall from grace for the former top prospect, who ranked No.1 in the Washington system from 2017 to 2019 and ranked as the fifth-best prospect on the Top 100 Prospects list entering 2018. A few days later, Robles signed with the Mariners and found himself thrust into a regular role in the team’s outfield. What followed was the best offensive showing of Robles’ career, as he hit .328/.393/.467 over 77 games and produced a wRC+ of 154.
Robles made some slight tweaks to his swing, adding some loft to his bat path. This, in turn, led to a substantial rise in flush contact, as his barrel rate rose to 6.8%—a career high. Robles’ projections are still factoring in his previous struggles, and this might be an opportunity to buy low on an ascending asset. Robles is penciled in as the Mariners’ leadoff hitter this spring, and the team extended him for two years last August. So, there’s obvious belief in the second-half breakout for the outfielder. Robles will provide 40+ stolen base-type of speed, with the potential for a higher batting average and lots of runs if he holds down the leadoff spot ahead of Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena.
Brayan Rocchio, SS, Guardians
With the departure of Andres Gimenez, the Guardians have openings in their infield. Rocchio, who broke through as the Guardians’ full-time shortstop in 2024, looks likely to take on a bigger role in the lineup in 2025. Rocchio turned 24 in January and is one of the youngest full-time shortstops in the game. He was well below-average offensively in 2024 but has added strength and worked on adding bat speed this offseason.
Rocchio showed not only exceptional defense in 2024 but also solid underlying skill traits. His 86.9% zone-contact rate and 9.9% swinging strike rate are both above-average. Rocchio’s biggest issue is his approach, which was too passive in the zone (67.8% zone-swing) and aggressive outside of it (32.6% O-swing). Rocchio is still young enough and shows enough bat-to-ball skills to find more power and likely improved approach with some tweaks. It typically takes switch-hitters longer to settle in, and Rocchio is likely not yet as his physical peak, making him an especially good buy in dynasty heading into the season.
Maikel Garcia, 3B, Royals
The Royals were the surprise team of 2024, and while Gracia was a solid player for them for two years prior, he had a down season despite the team’s success. Garcia had bone spurs removed from his right elbow this offseason and looks fully healthy this spring. The team has started to give him reps in the outfield, potentially offering up second base, third base and outfield eligibility early this season.
Garcia has also reworked his swing, adding a toe tap to get more on time. Despite the struggles in 2024, Garcia shows strong swing decisions, excellent bat-to-ball skills and above-average exit velocity data that hints at power upside still to come at just 25 years old. With an everyday job and three years of MLB experience now under his belt, a potential breakout in 2025 could be in the cards. Garcia is an excellent buy-low candidate in all formats.
Drake Baldwin, C, Braves
The question entering the 2025 season for Baldwin was: “Where is he going to play?” That issue has resolved itself, as Sean Murphy went down with fractured rib on his left side. He’s on the shelf for a minimum of 4-6 weeks, opening up a window for Baldwin to win the starting catcher role out of camp. In 2024, Baldwin reached Triple-A, where he hit .298/.407/.484 over 72 games with 12 home runs and a 15.6% walk rate.
Baldwin can hit—there’s little doubt around that—but his defensive skills are fringy and were his biggest question mark entering the season. Now, he looks like the Braves’ best option behind the plate. Baldwin has the ability to carve out a bigger chunk of at-bats at catcher by proving he can fill in capably for Sean Murphy. His long-term playing time is still murky, but Murphy has never been the picture of health, and Marcell Ozuna is 34 and on the last year of his contract.
George Lombard Jr., SS, Yankees
No player received as much “move him up” feedback from front office officials and scouts as Lombard did in our Top 100 Prospects process this offseason. So far in spring training, Lombard is showing why. Through eight games played, Lombard is 5-for-15 with two home runs while looking great at the plate. He has added noticeable strength since last season, and at 19 years old entering the season, he looks poised for a breakout.
Yankees prospects will always get additional coverage due to the size of the New York media market, making Lombard likely to gain serious notoriety with a strong performance in 2025. He has a combination of tools that make him both an exciting fantasy prospect and one for real life, as well. Lombard shows strong bat-to-ball skills, approach and growing power giving him the upside to blossom into a 20+home run and 20+ stolen base threat with a strong average.
