Yahoo Fantasy Plus identifies 3 of 2025's top pitcher sleepers — how much potential do they offer at ADP?

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Using the Fantasy Plus Experts Consensus model, we’ve identified three starting pitchers whose ADPs are 150 or above with the highest consensus projected fantasy points for 2025. AKA, the starting pitchers with real sleeper appeal.

We've also included a wealth of data, both free (consensus projected fantasy points and 2025 season stats) as well as exclusive to Yahoo Fantasy Plus (consensus maximum/minimum fantasy points projections and highest/lowest expert rank) to give you a sample of all we have to offer.

Andy Behrens has analyzed the data and reveals if he believes each player is a fantasy value at ADP.

MacKenzie Gore, Nationals

The 3rd-highest fantasy points total at pick 150 or above among starting pitchers using Fantasy Plus projections
Projected fantasy points: 570
Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 795
Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 334

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

IP	W	ERA	WHIP	K
160	9	4.02	1.29	171

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 196
Highest overall rank: 157 (Andy Behrens, Yahoo)
Lowest: 273 (Dalton Del Don, Yahoo)
Yahoo ADP: 221

Gore is a former top-of-the-ranks prospect who's been of interest to dynasty managers for the better part of a decade. While it might feel as if he's been around forever, he actually just turned 26. He's only now coming into his prime. Still, Gore deserves placement in his draft neighborhood because he was elite last season in certain areas (9.8 K/9), but he was dreadful in others (1.42 WHIP). Basically, he was either the game's worst great pitcher or its best bad pitcher. Hard to say.

Bottom line: Gore is a resident of the pitching tier in which I do most of my shopping, so I'm all-in. He cut his rate of home runs allowed by more than half last year, from 4.6% in 2023 to 2.1%, while also managing to toss a career-best 166.1 innings. If he can approach 180 frames in 2025, he's going to deliver his first 200-K campaign. Also, Gore didn't have the best of luck on balls-in-play last season (.340 BABIP), so there's obvious room for improvement in his ERA and WHIP. If he takes just one more step in his development, he'll enter the ace conversation.

Brandon Pfaadt, Diamondbacks

The 9th-highest fantasy points total at pick 150 or above among starting pitchers using Fantasy Plus projections
Projected fantasy points: 552
Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 747
Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 297

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

IP	W	ERA	WHIP	K
151	10	4.07	1.20	155

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 186
Highest overall rank: 138 (Del Don)
Lowest: 212 (Daniel Marcus, Rotowire)
Yahoo ADP: 184

Pfaadt put himself firmly and irrevocably on the fantasy radar back in 2022 when he delivered the highest strikeout total the minor leagues had seen in over 20 years. He continued piling up Ks after graduating to the majors, but the fantasy ratios haven't been great (5.06 ERA, 1.30 WHIP). It's understandable that Pfaadt hasn't been drafted as a sure thing in our game, because he entered the spring fighting for a place in Arizona's rotation. He's been terrific in exhibition play to this point, seemingly doing enough to lock down his spot.

Bottom line: Pfaadt has a deep arsenal of pitches with a Wiffle ball sweeper, so it's easy to imagine him as a future fantasy star. However, it's equally easy to imagine him as one of those guys who never quite puts all the puzzle pieces together to form the complete image of an ace. We have to take fliers on pitchers like this because the K-rate basically forces our hand. As with Gore, it's clear that Pfaadt has the potential to deliver 200-plus Ks if he levels up in his prime years. Pretty much every measure of expected ERA looked much better than his actual ERA last season (4.71), so the potential payoff is certainly worth the risk at his current Yahoo ADP (184). This is what a sleeper pitcher looks like ahead of the breakout.

Reynaldo López, Braves

The 11th-highest fantasy points total at pick 150 or above among starting pitchers using Fantasy Plus projections
Projected fantasy points: 644
Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 843
Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 356

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

IP	W	ERA	WHIP	K
163	12	3.73	1.23	178

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 158
Highest overall rank: 103 (Marcus)
Lowest: 189 (Del Don)
Yahoo ADP: 153

Well, here's hoping we can all agree that the season delivered by López in 2024 was something of a baseball miracle, never to be repeated. He's a good pitcher on a good team, but nothing in the 31-year-old's repertoire or his professional history suggests he's a guy who should deliver another sub-2.00 ERA. Last year, his expected ERA (3.94) was nearly two full runs greater than actual (1.99). This is not to say, of course, that he was secretly bad. López struck out 148 hitters over 135.2 innings last season while allowing only 10 home runs. His slider is an elite pitch by any measure. López can regress a fair amount in the season ahead and still produce at a useful level in fantasy.

Bottom line: As long as you recognize that López is not about to deliver another season that looks like his outrageous 2024 campaign, it's fine to still have an interest. Atlanta is going to be a contending team and he's a locked-in starter with an excellent K-rate. Lopez has experienced a few velocity hiccups this spring, but nothing too worrisome or uncommon. There's not much in his profile suggesting he should be a proactive target for fantasy managers, but he's certainly not someone you need to place on the do-not-draft list, either. If he finds his way onto your roster at or after his ADP (153), it's perfectly fine. It feels wrong to call him a sleeper, but he might be a nice enough value.

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