We’ll provide some targets who will likely improve their value by next offseason, plus some sleepers you should take a shot on before the rest of your league catches up. Then we’ll round out the group with two fades who might be at the peak of their value right now.

Targets

Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B, Royals  

A long-time favorite of Roboscout, Pasquantino truly established himself as one of the top first basemen in baseball in 2025. It was Pasquantino’s first time playing over 150 games and the results followed, as he hit a career-high 32 home runs with 113 RBIs.

Under the hood, Pasquantino saw a significant jump in his barrel rate, climbing from 7.1% in 2024 to 10.8%. Since Pasquantino came up to the majors, he’s shown a good balance of plus bat-to-ball skills and plus power. In 2025, it finally came together. Entering his age-28 season, Pasquantino is squarely in his prime. I’m buying into a repeat of his 2025 season. [Geoff]

Sal Stewart, 1B, Reds

Like with Pasquantino, RoboScout has been a proponent of Stewart for a few years now, liking his blend of hit, power and age for level. For three straight years, Stewart’s minor league contact rate has been plus at 78 to 80%. His 90th percentile exit velocity has risen consistently from 103 mph as a 19-year-old to 107 mph last year, while he’s also barreled at a rate higher than 17% in each year. There were questions as to where he would play on defense, but it seems like his likely home will be first base.

In our rankings blurb, we likened Stewart to Pasquantino as someone who should hit .270 to .280 with on-base percentages that should reach .350 at peak while putting up 20-plus home runs yearly. His homer totals are likely to be even higher playing at Great American Ball Park. In redraft leagues for 2026, he is currently being taken in the 16th round (same as Spencer Steer and 10 rounds after Pasquantino). He’s underpriced in redraft, and once that’s discovered, we will realize he’ is’s underpriced in dynasty, too. [Dylan]

Sleepers

Ryan Clifford, 1B, Mets

With the likely departure of Pete Alonso in free agency, the projected incumbent at first base is Mark Vientos. But with only 17 career major league games at first base, it’s possible that experiment doesn’t work out. Fortunately, the Mets have Clifford, who should be more than an adequate fill-in defensively, waiting in the wings.

From an offensive standpoint, RoboScout sees the 22-year-old producing, at peak, a .345 OBP with 35 home runs. Those are essentially Bryce Eldridge-type projections without the hype. Public projections have him slightly lower, which to me makes him a sleeper. [Dylan]

Alec Burleson, 1B/OF, Cardinals 

In terms of real-life value, Burleson had a better season in 2025 than he did in 2024. However, in fantasy, value often deviates from real life, and Burleson wasn’t as valuable in 2025 for managers due to a dip in RBIs and runs.

Despite this drop in production, Bureleson showed several under-the-hood signs of a coming breakout. For example, he set his career high in barrel rate last season at 9.4%, a product of jumps in exit velocity and steeper angles. Additionally, all of his plate skill metrics trended up, as he lowered his chase rate and swinging-striking rate. With multi-position eligibility, Burleson is poised to potentially provide his managers value at multiple positions. [Geoff]

Fades

Josh Naylor, 1B, Mariners 

Outside of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., there are few players in MLB as fun as Naylor. His exuberant style of play was on full display in the Mariners’ run to the ALCS this fall.

After signing a five-year contract to stay in Seattle, we have a clearer view of what Naylor’s future lineup and home park looks like. Having split his 2025 season between Arizona and Seattle, Naylor is coming off the best season of his career. While he did see his home runs dip from 31 to 20 and his RBIs from 108 to 92, he managed to be more valuable due to a surprise 30-steal season. With only 25 career stolen bases entering 2025, it’s hard to imagine Naylor steals 25-30 bases again next year. It’s certainly possible, but due to the lack of track record as a basestealer, I’m fading Naylor. [Geoff]

Freddie Freeman, 1B, Dodgers

This is less an indictment on Freeman’s value as it is commentary on his perceived value. Hitting in the middle of a stacked Dodgers lineup, Freeman’s only true “flaw” at the position is that he is in his mid 30s.

Figuring out when to trade away aging fantasy contributors—see Paul Goldschmidt and Mike Trout— is the hardest thing to time up correctly when playing dynasty. If you pull the trigger too early, you pay a huge opportunity cost. If you wait too long, you may only return pennies on the dollar. This might be a good time to test the waters in moving Freeman, as he is currently riding the World Series wave and likely high on people’s minds. [Dylan]