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Roman Anthony (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

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

James Wood, OF, Nationals 

Over the first half of 2025, Wood looked like he was ascending to superstar status. He hit .278/.381/.534 with 24 home runs before things came crashing down after the all-star break. Over the final 62 games, Wood hit .223/.301/.388 with a strikeout rate that ballooned to 39%. The Ks are certainly scary, but it’s important to note that 2025 was only Wood’s age-22 season. He’s in rare air as someone so young with a 30-home run season already under his belt. There’s every reason to expect Wood will find more consistency over the next few seasons and challenge for the home run title year in and year out.  [Geoff]

Roman Anthony, OF, Red Sox

In his major league debut, the 21-year-old Anthony posted a 140 wRC+ and 2.7 fWAR in literally half a season. Boasting upper-echelon bat speed, exit velocities and barrel rates, it doesn’t take a genius to target him. But because he hit only eight home runs, he might be slept on by his fantasy managers if they haven’t looked into the numbers too deeply. Perhaps they may even think that the tools Anthony showed in the minor leagues may not translate to the major leagues. That, of course, would appear to be hogwash, as the Red Sox liked what they saw and signed Anthony to a $130 million extension before he played 50 major league games and accrued 200 plate appearances. Over the next five years, Anthony has the tools to be a 30-home run bat annually with excellent slash lines, double-digit steal totals and 40-plus homer upside. That’s a target. [Dylan]

Sleepers

Lawrence Butler, OF, Athletics

As a 23-year-old in 2024, Butler went 20/20 in only 450 plate appearances while also producing a 130 wRC+ and 4 fWAR. After “only” going 21/22 in 2025, projections have him as essentially a league-average bat who should again hover around 20/20. After it was revealed that he needed knee surgery after battling the injury for much of the season, Butler’s 22 stolen bases are actually all the more impressive. It also suggests his decline in sprint speed to the 35th percentile might not be “real”. In other words, Butler’s true talent may be closer to his excellent 2024 partial season than last year when he was not fully healthy—something that projections are not fully capable of identifying. Playing for an A’s team on the rise and in a great hitter’s park, there’s a reasonably high chance Butler has an excellent 2026 campaign and ends up being valued as a top 15 outfielder in dynasty by the end of the year. I’m targeting him where possible. [Dylan]

Joshua Baez, OF, Cardinals

Baseball has a way of proving you wrong. Even when it feels like you know everything there is to know about a player, most of the time, you know nothing. The enigma of Baez fits neatly into this narrative. Baez struggled through three terrible seasons to begin his professional career before finding another gear in 2025. Now, freshly added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, Baez looks to be a dark horse rookie of the year candidate in 2026. He accomplished this by cleaning up his approach and finding more contact, which allowed him to get to his plus power and speed tools for the first time as a professional. If these changes hold, Baez has a chance to blossom into a star. [Geoff]

Fades

Cody Bellinger, OF, Free Agent

It feels like, year after year, Bellinger shows red flags heading into the offseason. But every year, he provides value. As he creeps toward the wrong side of 30, it’s likely his luck runs out in the coming seasons, however. Few free agents this offseason have the sort of value swings Bellinger will experience based on his ultimate landing spot. If he lands in a place like San Francisco, for example, he could see his fantasy value tank, as the chances for a repeat of his 29-home run performance in 2025 would be slim to none. There are few better times to sell a player than after he signs his last big contract. Now is the time with Bellinger. [Geoff]

Kyle Tucker, OF, Free Agent

Would it surprise you to hear that Tucker has never hit more than 30 home runs in a season? Or stolen more than 30 bases? What if I told you that his sprint speed is in the bottom 15th percentile, and his bat speed has been essentially average for three years now? Although considered an elite fantasy outfielder—and to be fair, he has a career .273/.358/.507 line heading into his age-29 season—we shouldn’t be surprised if Tucker’s 20/20 floor becomes more of a stretch outcome. Projected in 2026 to be a 25-27 home run bat with 18-22 stolen bases, by the final season of a three-year window, that would drop to 21-24 home runs and 15-18 stolen bases. Productive, yes, but not the elite output that we look for in a dynasty cornerstone. Assuming he will sign with a championship contender, it may behoove you to shop Tucker around in 2026 to get a great return now. [Dylan]