Late-round pick is a funny term. The multitude of fantasy baseball league types and formats creates serious degrees of separation between what could be considered a late-round pick. In a casual eight-team home league, late-round may be anything past pick 150. If you’re a fantasy baseball sicko who plays in a 15-team league with 30+ man rosters, you may not consider someone a late-round selection until at least 300 players are off the board.
For this article, I’m honing in on players being taken around pick 200 or later. I’ll sprinkle in players throughout the ADP spectrum though, so if you’re looking for a power bat after pick 400, you’ll have at least a couple of names to consider.
All ADP data is courtesy of NFBC drafts that have taken place over the last two weeks.
Kerry Carpenter (186 ADP)
Kerry Carpenter is a batted-ball darling. He was tied for the biggest barrel rate improvement from 2023 to 2024 among all players who accumulated 250 PA in both seasons, jumping from 10.2% to a gaudy 16.9%. That kind of quality of contact would’ve led to 90th+ percentile rankings in xwOBA, xSLG, Barrel%, and LA Sweet-Spot% if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.
A stress fracture in Carpenter’s back landed him on the IL for 78 days, and when he returned to the lineup, it was only as the strong side of the Tigers’ DH platoon. That resulted in Carpenter only totaling 296 plate appearances. Despite the limited playing time, he still launched 18 home runs—that’d be a 40-homer pace over a full season—but that’s the major question with the Tigers’ free-swinging lefty. Will he once again be stuck in a platoon?
Not many teams platoon a hitter as good as Carpenter. He wrapped up 2024 with a 160 wRC+ and had the 7th-highest SLG in baseball after the All-Star break. If he swings his way to a full-time starting role, this ADP is going to look very low. He should absolutely be a 30-homer hitter given 500+ plate appearances, and he’s one of the few bats that has the upside to threaten 40+ long balls given the opportunity. His main competition for a full-time role is a platoon situation with Javier Báez and Justyn-Henry Malloy, and that’s not a duo that should hold Carpenter back.
Jorge Soler (210 ADP)
Jorge Soler can hit baseballs with the best of them. Even if you aren’t familiar with his power exploits, his domineering stature in the box tells you all you need to know. He’s posted at least 20 home runs in four of the last five full seasons and reached the dizzying heights of 48 long balls in homer-happy 2019 and 36 big flies as recently as 2023.
Even entering his mid-30s, Soler can still swing it. His bat speed last year was 94th percentile and it formed a deadly combo with his high barrel rate. Soler had the 5th-best barrel rate in baseball in the second half of last year and it has been north of 12% every year since 2019.
Soler’s move to Los Angeles is an ideal fit for his power numbers. Angel Stadium isn’t a well-regarded hitter’s paradise, but its three-year rolling Statcast Park Factors grade out as the 7th best stadium in boosting home runs for right-handed hitters. With the Angels’ otherwise uninspiring DH options, Soler could threaten for the MLB home run lead if he can avoid the injury bug.
Max Muncy (245 ADP)
Few players can match Max Muncy’s power ceiling. He’s gone deep at least 35 times in four of the past six full MLB seasons, and it’s not outlandish to think he could do so again.
Muncy’s draft stock has slipped considerably not just because he’s a batting average liability, but because he’s coming off an injury-marred season at 34 years old. Despite posting just 293 plate appearances, Muncy’s .232/.358/.494 slash line was right in line with what we’ve come to expect from the two-time All-Star.
If Muncy can stay on the field for at least 130 games—something he did each year from 2021 through 2023—there’s no reason to think he won’t return to his 30-homer days.
Jésus Sánchez (245 ADP)
Jésus Sánchez may be the most confounding hitter in the player pool. If you saw his batted-ball data without his name attached, you’d assume those numbers belong to one of the game’s premier power bats, not someone who’s never even reached 20 bombs in a season.
In 2024, Sánchez had the 11th-best hard-hit rate in baseball, and the loud contact didn’t stop there. He posted the 7th-highest MaxEV and finished the season ranked 24th in xSLG and 31st in barrel rate. That’s the exact recipe for a big-time bopper!
Despite the Herculean contact quality metrics, results on the field haven’t followed. Sánchez set a new career-high in home runs last year, but he only left the park 18 times.
Entering his age-27 season, 2025 feels like the make-or-break season for Sánchez. If things come together, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him double his home run highwater mark. His batted ball numbers are seriously that good. But it also wouldn’t be surprising to see the same old Sánchez—a good, not great outfielder hovering around the 20-homer mark despite so much unrealized potential in his bat.
Christopher Morel (250 ADP)
After two solid seasons in Chicago where he combined to hit at a 116 wRC+ clip, Christopher Morel sunk fast last year and found himself the headliner in the deal that nabbed the Cubs Isaac Paredes at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, Morel’s time in Tampa Bay didn’t come with a resurgence at the plate. He slashed a weak .199/.302/.373 in Wrigleyville in 2024, but things cratered in Florida. In 190 plate appearances as a Ray, he hit .191/.258/.289.
Despite his 2024 struggles, Morel still has the raw talent that fantasy managers dream about, especially going this late in drafts. I mean, the guy’s already had a season with 26 home runs and he’s still just 25 years old. Tropicana Field hasn’t always been friendly to hitters—ask Willy Adames about hitting in Tampa—so the Rays’ move to Steinbrenner Field this summer may be exactly what Morel needs to find himself at the plate.
If you can set aside your recency bias, Morel’s still the same guy who’s posted three straight seasons with double-digit barrel rates and a 95th-percentile swing speed. It’s hard to project playing time for Rays’ hitters, but Morel should crack the starting nine more often than not, and it’s not outlandish to think he could push for a 30-homer season if things break right.
Michael Busch (251 ADP)
In 2024, Michael Busch slashed .248/.335/.440 with 21 HR, 73 R, and 65 RBI. A ridiculously loaded National League rookie class kept attention off of the Cubs’ first baseman, but a 119 wRC+ and 2.3 fWAR in a player’s freshman year is commendable. Now that we’re in the 2025 draft season, it feels like he’s being valued as if there’s no room for improvement, and I’m not entirely sure why.
Busch doesn’t have the jump-off-the-page power numbers that others in this article have, but there’s still plenty to like. His 11.2% barrel rate was the 41st best in the sport last year, and even more importantly, he makes the most of his contact. Busch had a 92 mph average exit velocity on his fly balls, a mark bested by just seven other hitters.
Somehow, only one of the eight projection systems housed on FanGraphs expects him to repeat his 21 HR performance from 2024. Sure, Busch doesn’t have superstar potential, but it seems ill-advised to expect a 27-year-old former top prospect entering his second full MLB season to regress. Busch is a fun late upside play that carries the potential to push to mid- or upper-2os home runs.
Rhys Hoskins (269 ADP)
There aren’t a lot of safe late-round picks, but Rhys Hoskins sure feels like one. His 26 home runs in 2024 were the fewest he’s hit in a full season dating back to 2018, and if that’s your power baseline, it feels pretty good getting him this late in drafts.
Hoskins is getting knocked down draft boards for slipping to a career-worst output in his age-30 season, but I’m giving him a pass considering he was coming off a torn ACL that sidelined him for the entirety of 2023. After all, he still posted the 23rd-best barrel rate in baseball, and Milwaukee is a hitter’s paradise.
If Hoskins’ batting average bounces back a bit, he’ll outperform this ADP quite easily. If it doesn’t, he’s still the safest late-round power bat you can target and should once again flirt with 30 home runs. Sign me up if you need a power boost at this stage of drafts.
Jo Adell (291 ADP)
Jo Adell finally showed off some of that top-10 prospect hype he carried for so long, finishing with 20 homers and 15 steals across 451 plate appearances last year. The Angels’ young right fielder cut down on his monumental levels of swing-and-miss, dropping his strikeout rate to 27.9%, nearly eight points lower than his previous career average. Despite more contact, Adell still finished with an unremarkable .207/.280/.402 slash line, good for a 90 wRC+.
There’s a serious risk that Adell stumbles and adds his name to the long list of players with incredible tools who just can’t put it all together, but there’s also the chance things click and you get the steal of the draft at an incredible price point. Whether things click or not, Adell should get a long look in Anaheim. Even if he’s hanging around the Mendoza line with loads of strikeouts, he’ll put a healthy amount of balls over the Angel Stadium fence.
Luke Raley (310 ADP)
Over the last two seasons, Luke Raley’s emerged as one of the game’s best power hitters stuck in a platoon role. Of the 105 games he started last year, just two came against an opposing left-handed starter, and while platooning Raley may seem like a questionable decision given his 129 wRC+ since 2023, it makes sense given his career splits. The Mariners’ lefty slugger has posted a .804 OPS against righties compared to a meager .575 OPS against southpaws.
Given his platoon designation, Raley hasn’t racked up a full season’s worth of playing time, but he’s made the most of his opportunities. Of all hitters with fewer than 900 plate appearances since the beginning of 2023, his 41 home runs are the sixth most.
While it can be scary to buy into Mariners hitters due to T-Mobile Park’s well-documented drag on offensive production, Raley seemed to handle his new home rather well, especially as the season wore on. In last year’s second half, Raley’s wRC+ (159) ranked 12th and his SLG (.538) was 25th. He’s especially valuable in daily lineup leagues where you can bench him when Seattle faces a lefty.
Nolan Gorman (454 ADP)
Since making his big league debut in 2022, Nolan Gorman’s 16% barrel rate is the eighth highest in baseball, but unfortunately, it’s also come with the game’s fourth-highest strikeout rate—34.1%. The power numbers alone haven’t been enough to make him stick as the lineup regular, and he was even demoted to Triple-A last August to try to get things right. He never made it back to the show.
The Cardinals say they want to give Gorman at least 550 plate appearances this year, but if Nolan Arenado is still on the roster come Opening Day, the playing time picture looks murky. Gorman will likely split time between second base and DH in that scenario but should take over as the hopeful heir to third base if Arenado agrees to waive his no-trade clause.
Jhonkensy Noel (492 ADP)
I would’ve thought Jhonkensy Noel’s late-season surge and subsequent heroic ALCS Game Three home run would’ve drawn him more attention in drafts this spring, but he’s proven to be an afterthought given his unclear path to steady plate appearances. He’ll have to outplay Will Brennan and Kyle Manzardo to avoid being stuck on the weak side of an OF/DH platoon.
Big Christmas wrapped up a limited 2024 run with just 198 plate appearances, but his dreamy 14.5% barrel rate combined with his ability to reach the upper echelon of exit velocities (115.9 MaxEV) gives fantasy managers upside to chase. His eye-popping power may win him more playing time, especially given that Cleveland inexplicably traded their second-best hitter this winter. The Guardians will need all the offensive help they can get, and Noel’s bat looks like one of the fiercest in their system.
Deyvison De Los Santos (591 ADP)
While splitting time between the Diamondbacks and Marlins Double-A and Triple-A squads in 2024, Deyvison De Los Santos posted a combined .294/.343/.571 slash line with 40 home runs. When he gets to the big leagues, the power should absolutely play.
That’s the big question with De Los Santos, though. When will he make his big league debut? The sad state of the Marlins’ roster should get De Los Santos some MLB action before long, but it’s doubtful he’ll make the Opening Day roster. With Miami taking a “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” approach at first base—the current favorites for playing time are Jonah Bride, Matt Mervis, and Eric Wagaman—De Los Santos could be called up very quickly if none of the other options seize their opportunity.
Featured image by Michael Packard (@CollectingPack on Twitter) | Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire