I am back again for this year’s edition of Yahoo average draft position (ADP) values! Last year, I did a solid job, with wins on Seiya Suzuki (ADP 124.2), Andrés Muñoz (128), Bailey Ober (168.9), and Shota Imanaga (199.6). I would call George Kirby (49.3) a push, and I whiffed on my earliest and latest targets, Spencer Strider (10.2) and Ke’Bryan Hayes (208.7).
Yahoo is a popular site for more casual players looking for 10-team and 12-team leagues. I still enjoy playing a couple of Yahoo leagues as well as some National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) leagues because my introduction to fantasy baseball came in the form of daily moves leagues, a common format on Yahoo. Those who play fantasy hoping to take home some cash winnings may also like Yahoo, as they typically only charge a 2% management fee to join their prize leagues.
While Yahoo is a good place to play, its in-house rankings and average draft position (ADP) data often diverge noticeably from what you see on NFBC or what projection systems might recommend. The gap may widen even further as we progress through Spring Training, when players who are flashing new skills or appear to be healthy get pushed up by sharp drafters. Below are five players who are great values in Yahoo drafts for standard 10- or 12-team leagues. I compare Yahoo’s rankings and ADP data to NFBC ADP data from 48 RotoWire Online Championship (12-team) leagues (OCs) drafted from March 7 to March 17. All cited stats are from 2024 unless otherwise noted.
1. Wyatt Langford (TEX, OF, Yahoo rank 49, Yahoo ADP 53.4, OC ADP 35.5)
As a first-round pick in 2023, Langford was fast-tracked to the majors and forced to learn on the job in 2024. He was mediocre in the first half, posting a line of .254/.318/.384 (98 wRC+) with five HR and eight SB in 72 games before taking off down the stretch. In the second half, Langford slashed .251/.333/.450 (123 wRC+) with 11 HR and 11 SB in 62 games. He was elite in September and October specifically, with eight HR and seven SB coming in those five weeks alone.
This torrid finish to 2024 has caused Langford to soar up people’s draft boards for this season. I’ve seen him go in the first two rounds (top 30) of multiple Main Event leagues. Even when you consider that OCs and Main Events have five starting spots for OFs, that’s some serious helium. But, I get it. Langford will hit third and be a five-category contributor in a good, albeit not great, offense. If he has a big season this year, you might not be able to draft Langford at a lower price for the rest of the decade! Langford has hit at every stop in his career, and his profile has no real holes. In fact, his PL xwOBA suggests that he was unlucky last year (.321 wOBA vs .342 xwOBA), especially from a power perspective (.415 SLG vs. .462 xSLG).
2. Spencer Schwellenbach (ATL, SP, 86, 90.5, 74.9)
Schwellenbach burst onto the scene last year, climbing from high-A ball to the majors, where he posted a 3.35 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 127 strikeouts and eight wins in 123 2/3 IP. Despite converting to pitching in the middle of his college career at Nebraska, his arsenal is among the deepest in the league. Schwellenbach boasts five offerings (four-seamer, slider, cutter, curveball, splitter) with PLVs of 5.10 or higher, and he throws each of them at least 13% of the time. Oh, and he also mixes in a sinker (7% usage) that didn’t allow a single homerun last year.
While we typically have volume concerns with younger pitchers, Schwellenbach has already shown the ability to shoulder a heavy workload. He made 29 starts covering 168 2/3 IP across all levels last year, so he shouldn’t face any serious restrictions. Schwellenbach is on the precipice of breaking out as a truly elite arm and boasts a 16:1 K:BB in 12 2/3 IP this spring. He’s being drafted as SP23 in Yahoo leagues despite going as SP16 in OCs and sitting at 17th on Nick’s most recent list. Schwellenbach will not carry you in any one category but should be above average across the board, allowing you to take chances on different types of arms at other points in your draft.
3. Willson Contreras (STL, C, 115, 118.4, 68.3)
This OC ADP is a bit inflated because those leagues require starting two catchers, but Contreras remains a great value on Yahoo. He’s ranked and being drafted as C6 on Yahoo but C4 in the OCs, just ahead of Salvador Perez (70.8). The key here is that Contreras made a permanent move this offseason from catcher to first base/designated hitter. This is huge because it will allow Contreras to stay in the lineup nearly every day and preserve his body throughout the season. Even if the move away from the catcher position doesn’t improve his offensive performance, Contreras’ career line per 600 PA is as follows: .258 AVG, 74 R, 25 HR, 76 RBI, and 5 SB.
Projections anticipate slightly less volume than that, but Contreras still feels poised to put together a season that would only be bested by the elite at the catching position. He also offers a great floor, having never posted a below-average offensive season by wRC+, and his best three seasons by wRC+ have come from 2022-2024. In shallow leagues, I generally prefer to wait on catcher until the very end of drafts because it’s more important to great strong contributors at other positions, but I would make an exception for Contreras around pick 100. If you notice catchers getting pushed down in your draft, you might be able to wait even longer.
4. Spencer Strider (ATL, SP, 116, 121.9, 103.5)
I am going back to the well here on Strider, who blew out his elbow last April and is on the comeback trail from internal brace surgery. This is a relatively obvious pick, as he just made his spring debut today (March 17) and went 2 2/3 perfect IP with six strikeouts. Strider will begin the season on the IL as he makes some rehab starts in the minor leagues. But, he should return in late April or early May. When Strider returns, managers will be able to plug in an arm who is one of the best in fantasy baseball on a per-inning basis. In 329.2 career IP (67 games, 54 starts), Strider’s stats are as follows: 3.47 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 495 K, and 32 wins.
We can’t expect Strider to immediately return to peak form, but even still, he is guaranteed to be a great source of strikeouts, wins, and WHIP with some slight ERA risk. He’s also a good option in shallow league formats where the replacement level of available players is relatively high, so you can stay afloat with smart streams while waiting for Strider to return. Lastly, if you play in a league with playoffs, Strider is a good fit if you are confident you can make it by without him for the first month. Because Strider has just made his spring debut, he will continue to climb up draft boards in smart rooms. You need to target him before pick 100 or potentially earlier if you want to guarantee he will end up on your squad.
5. Cristopher Sánchez (PHI, SP, 175, 175.5, 140.8)
Sánchez is one of those guys whose ADP is falling as he has continued to dominate this spring. His average sinker velocity last season jumped to 94.5 MPH from 92.1 in 2023, and he rode it to an 11-9 season with a 3.32 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 154 K in 181 1/3 IP. In his most recent spring start, Sánchez sat 95.7 over 60 pitches! In 11 2/3 IP over four spring outings, he has allowed two runs while striking out 17 and walking only 2. While Sánchez does throw hard, he relies on his bowling ball sinker to generate groundballs (56% GB% this spring, 57.1% career). The increased velocity failed to produce more strikeouts last season for Sánchez, but his swinging strike rate stayed consistent (12.5% in ’24 vs. 12.7% in ’23) while his PLV took a huge leap forward (5.38 vs 5.13). Nick has him up to SP37 in his latest ranking.
Because of the low ERA, high WHIP profile, Sánchez would pair very nicely with Strider to help balance your staff. I would have to think twice about paying a top-140 pick for Sánchez because he’s unlikely to post a great WHIP, but his current profile strongly resembles that of Framber Valdez, who is far more expensive (63.3 OC ADP). Scoop him up around pick 150 while you still can!