Fantasy Baseball: 5 MLB hitters who will have a breakout 2025 season

Fantasy leagues in all sports are won by finding middle-of-the-road players who struggled, were injured, or had limited professional experience in prior seasons and banking on them to improve. They may not be "sleepers" in the traditional sense, but they are the kinds of players who give the best teams the depth to withstand injuries and underperformance from early-round picks.

Here are five hitters that fantasy owners will want to circle on their cheat sheets heading into drafts because they are due for a breakout 2025 season.

Matt McLain

Second base lacks depth for fantasy purposes, with many superstars can significantly benefit your fantasy baseball team and few notable options besides them. Ketel Marte, Mookie Bets, Ozzie Albies, and Marcus Semien are at the top of the list, but Matt McLain, the ninth-ranked second baseman by a consensus list from experts, is the player I want this year on my fantasy baseball roster.

He had a successful rookie season (2023) with a .864 OPS, 16 home runs, 50 runs batted in, and 14 stolen bases, but he suffered an oblique injury at the end of August that ended his season. He finished fifth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, but if he could have played out the rest of the season, Corbin Carrol would likely not have won the award so easily.

McLain's 2024 season looked promising, but he injured his shoulder while diving for a fly ball in spring training, requiring surgery. Towards the end of his rehab, he suffered a rib cage stress reaction that shut him down for the entire season.

McLain's bright future is why the Cincinnati Reds felt Jonathan India was expendable to acquire Brady Singer from the Kansas City Royals. While he had a satisfying rookie season, he only played 89 games.

Reports coming out of the Reds camp are that McLain looks healthy, so if he can stay off the injured list and on the field, he could easily be a 30-30 (home runs-stolen bases) guy and be an integral part of possibly winning fantasy owners a championship.

Junior Caminero

Caminero was a name thrown around all last season, with fans wondering when he would get the call-up to the big leagues because of the power numbers he put up in his three seasons in the minors. Before his MLB debut on August 13, 2024, he had accrued 58 home runs and 184 runs batted in during various stops for different Tampa Bay Rays minor-league affiliates.

He would have likely received the call sooner if not for a hamstring injury in mid-April and a quad strain at the end of May, both of which landed him on the injured list for multiple weeks. In his brief stint at the end of last season with the Rays, Caminero failed to display his power, only hitting six home runs and 18 runs batted in over 165 at-bats, but had an above-average wRC+ of 105.

There is lots of hype around the 21-year-old in spring training as he is coming to town after recently winning MVP honors in the Dominican Winter League's postseason, including hitting a 454-foot solo home run off the scoreboard to break a five-five tie in the top of the ninth of Game 7 of the championship series.

FantasyPros currently ranks Caminero as the seventh-best third baseman this year, ahead of notable names such as Alex Bregman and Royce Lewis. I drafted Caminero in a Dynasty league before last season, thinking he would be a quick call-up. However, I am still excited for the next two seasons with him in my lineup, and he should produce strong numbers from the heart of the Rays' order.

Dylan Crews

Crews quickly showed in the minor leagues why the Washington Nationals used their second overall pick in the 2023 draft on him. In 135 games over two seasons in the minors at various affiliate levels, the 23-year-old hit 18 home runs, scored 86 runs, batted 97 runs in, stole 29 bases, and had a wRC+ of 135 and 115 in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

After his success in the minor leagues, Crews made his MLB debut on August 26 of last season. However, he struggled mightly in the big leagues. In 31 games with the Nationals, the right fielder hit three home runs, scored 12 runs, batted eight runs in, and stole 12 bases. His wRC+ was only 80, 20 points under the league average.

He is rated 35th among outfielders for fantasy purposes and, based on service time, is still a rookie. However, after gaining MLB experience and an entire offseason with the Nationals' coaches and trainers, I can see a breakout season coming.

He is projected as one of the favorites for NL Rookie of the Year, which means fantasy managers can feel comfortable taking a flier on him in the middle rounds and later.

Matt Shaw

If you miss out on drafting Caminero, Matt Shaw is a third baseman owners can draft in the later rounds. If he can translate his minor-league success to the big leagues, he will be the steal of drafts and give Crews and Roki Sasaki a run for their money in the Rookie of the Year race.

The Chicago Cubs have shown their faith in Shaw by including Isaac Paredes in the package traded to the Houston Astros for Kyle Tucker. The move freed up third base for Shaw, who the Cubs drafted 13th overall in the same draft as Crews (2023).

Shaw is a rare breed at third base as he can contribute to all five fantasy baseball's core offensive stats. He has played in 159 games over two minor league seasons, hitting 29 home runs, scoring 105 runs, driving 98 runs in, and stealing 46 bases in 60 attempts.

Shaw has also posted impressive wRC+ numbers in his two professional seasons thus far, accumulating figures of 170 and 146, respectively.

Luckily for Shaw, he will not have as much pressure on him as most top prospects do as he will likely be slotted towards the bottom of a highly talented batting order. He will have the luxury of hitting behind Tucker, Seiya Suzuki, and Michael Busch, giving Shaw plenty of RBI opportunities.

Jung Hoo Lee

Lee came over from the KBO League during the 2023 offseason, bringing high expectations. In 2022, he was named MVP in a career season with the Kiwoom Heros, in which he hit 23 home runs and 113 RBIs.

The San Francisco Giants planned on Lee being their leadoff hitter for the 2024 season, but he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after playing only 37 games. In those games, he struggled to adapt to playing in America.

Lee had only two home runs and eight runs batted in, but even though he struggled with his power, he never looked outmatched in his at-bats. He was able to put the ball in play, having struck out just 13 times (8.2% strikeout rate).

Early reports out of camp suggest that Lee may be slotted into the No. 3 spot in the batting order to better utilize his power. If this is the case, the center fielder will have plenty of RBI chances behind LaMonte Wade Jr. and Willy Adames. Lee is currently the 63rd-ranked outfielder on FantasyPros, which makes him a low-risk, high-reward asset in drafts this spring.

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