Fantasy Baseball Draft prep: The best specialists for every category to target late in drafts

Don't leave your drafts without these category sleepers

I won't spend too much time on a long intro today, because the content here is already pretty long. Today, we're looking for late-round categories specialists for your Roto leagues. 

By the time you hit around pick 200, the core of your team is well-established, and you should have a pretty good idea of what your needs are. If you went heavy on power early on, you might find yourself in need of some batting average and steals to balance your team out; if you took a lot of high-upside strikeout arms, you might need to shift your focus to some more boring stabilizer types to make sure your ERA and WHIP don't get too ugly, or to shore up wins.

That's what we're looking for today with all 10 of the traditional Roto categories. Let's get to it: 

Late-round hitting category specialists  

We're using a relatively loose definition of "late-round" for our hitters – anyone with an ADP outside of the top 185 in the month of March in NFBC leagues qualifies here. These aren't all bench picks, in other words, though most of them go late enough that you should know what your team needs by then.

I'll also note: It's a lot easier to find true category specialists among hitters because the categories are less correlated here. At least batting average and steals are – every home run you hit necessarily leads to at least one RBI and a run, so guys who are good home run hitters tend to be good at RBI and R production. But batting average and steals are less correlated, so finding guys who are true specialists there is a little easier. 

Batting average specialists

• Luis Arraez, 1B, Giants – ADP: 262.3: The cover boy of this exercise for a reason. Arraez's limitations are real, but he's arguably the best source of batting average in the entire league. You might get below-average production or worse everywhere else, but if you took Kyle Schwarber and Jazz Chisholm with your first two picks, you won't mind. 
• Alec Bohm, 3B, Phillies – ADP: 231.4: The past two years, Bohm's price was around 150-160 in drafts. He's not a great hitter, but he wasn't so much worse in 2025 that you should be totally out on him the way so many are. He'll show up again in this article, too – which arguably makes him a poor fit for this article, but we'll take it.
• Jung Hoo Lee, OF, Giants – ADP: 311.5 There was some hope that Lee might be positioned to make a leap in his second MLB season, but we haven't seen it yet. I think the ceiling is probably no better than 10-15 homers and 15 steals, but we're more interested in turning that 10.8% career strikeout rate into something like a .280 batting average. We haven't seen it yet, but I still don't think it's asking too much. 
• Brendan Donovan, 2B, Mariners – ADP: 257.4: The move to Seattle is probably helping keep Donovan's price low, because T-Mobile is one of those venues that can be extremely hard to adapt to. We don't know how it will impact Donovan, but given his very strong bat-to-ball skills, I'm hopeful we can still rely on him for his usual .280-ish average – and he's probably in the best lineup of his career, so maybe we could hope for more helpful counting stats, too. 
• Jake McCarthy, OF, Rockies – ADP: 476.5: McCarthy could fit in as either a late-round source of average or steals, but I'll slot him here because the need for batting average is usually greater. McCarthy hit just .204 last season, of course, so there are no guarantees here. However, he strikes out at a below-average clip, has speed, and hit .285 two seasons ago. With the help of Coors Field's BABIP-inflating properties, I think we could see a .275-.280 average and 30-plus steals from McCarthy with the Rockies. 

Runs specialists

• Gleyber Torres, 2B, Tigers – ADP: 235.4: Torres is boring. He hasn't hit more than 16 homers or stolen more than four bases in either of the past two seasons, and he hasn't hit better than .257 in either, too. But he's gonna play every day, usually near the top of the lineup, and he's going to get on base.  That should lead to at least another 80-run season. 
• Ezequiel Tovar, SS, Rockies – ADP: 201.5: Tovar is a curious choice for this exercise given his sub-.300 career OBP. But even a much-diminished version of the Rockies offense will score a decent amount of runs at home, and Tovar will hit near the top of the lineup. He might be a better specialist for homers than runs, but I think he'll be at least useful in both. 
• Marcus Semien, 2B, Mets – ADP: 243.9: Ultimately, it comes down to this: Do you think Semien is going to bounce back this season? If you do, then you think he's clearly undervalued given his spot in the middle of a good Mets lineup. He figures to be less of an obvious runs standout since he won't be hitting leadoff like he did with the Rangers, but he should still get on base at a decent clip, and he still runs the bases well. If you think he's going to bounce back. 
• Daylen Lile, OF, Nationals – ADP: 201.7: The only real question for Lile here is whether the Nationals will hit him near the middle of the lineup or near the top. He has the on-base skills and athleticism to be a good choice for the leadoff spot, but his strong bat-to-ball skills could make him a great run producer if the Nationals slot him third or fourth. 
• TJ Friedl, OF, Reds – ADP: 258.4: Friedl looks like he's going to open the season as the leadoff hitter for the Reds, and he's coming off an 82-run season. The speed wasn't there in 2025, which is why he's here instead of in the stolen base category, but I could see him being pretty valuable for both categories while chipping in his typical 15-ish homers. 

Home run specialists

• Daulton Varsho, OF, Blue Jays – ADP: 189.6: For a while, Varsho was one of those hitters who had to really lean into pulling the ball in the air to get to his usual 20-ish homers. He was a power hitter who didn't actually hit the ball very hard, ala Isaac Paredes. But he suddenly started hitting the ball a lot harder in 2025, putting up an 89.9 mph average exit velocity, more than 2 mph better than his previous career-best, and he did that while maintaining his elite pulled-air rate. That all led to 20 homers in 71 games, and while I don't expect Varsho to just be a 40-plus homer hitter moving forward, I do think 30 could be pretty doable. 
• Colson Montgomery, SS, White Sox – ADP: 228.5: A decade ago, there would be a lot more excitement for a 24-year-old top prospect coming off 21 homers in his first 71 games. But the thing is, I think the power here is probably legit. Montgomery has at least above-average raw power, as seen both by his average exit velocity (89.4 mph) and max (1145), and he does an excellent job of elevating the ball to the pull side consistently, ala Varsho. The strikeouts are likely to drag the overall profile down and make him a batting average liability, but I think it's reasonable to hope for at least 30 homers from Montgomery, making him a viable late-round target for power. 
• Christian Walker, 1B, Astros – ADP: 199.8: Walker was so disappointing last season that I think most Fantasy players – and I count myself among this group – hoped he would just outright lose his job to Isaac Paredes this offseason. But that isn't going to happen – the Astros value his defense too much. He's going to play. And even in that disappointing season, he still had 27 homers and 88 RBI and more or less looked like himself in the second half. I'm not much of a believer in Walker either, but what if he just had a bad half-season? 
• Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Yankees – ADP: 249.4: It's pretty remarkable that a guy who can't open a bag of chips due to the pain in his elbows is still capable of hitting the ball just about as hard as anyone in baseball. He probably won't be able to stay in the lineup for anything like a full season, and he'll strike out so much that you're probably going to get a pretty bad batting average out of him, too. But Stanton is also still a candidate for a 40-homer pace, so just keep him in your lineup as long as he's upright and enjoy the homer boost. 
• Kyle Manzardo, 1B, Guardians – ADP: 240.1: Even if you aren't much of a believer in Manzardo taking a big step forward, he's a perfect choice for this exercise. Despite spending most of the season in a platoon, Manzardo hit 27 homers last season. He could get to 30 if the Guardians trust him more often against lefties (something I think they'll do, at least to start the season); he might be able to get to 30 even if he's a part-time player. 

RBI specialists

• Alec Bohm, 3B, Phillies – ADP: 231.4: Bohm had 97 RBI in each of 2023 and 2024, and now he looks locked into the cleanup spot for the Phillies, hitting behind Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper. The case for Bohm's inclusion here is pretty self-explanatory, isn't it? He just has to avoid being a total disaster, and he'll be a terrific RBI specialist. 
• Jorge Polanco, 2B, Mets – ADP: 202.6: The Mets are sure buying Polanco's bounceback from 2025, giving him a two-year contract to play a position he's never played before so they can slot him into the middle of the lineup. Likely hitting cleanup behind Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette. Polanco's first 100-RBI season seems like just a matter of staying healthy, making him one of my favorite targets if I wait on either second base or first base (where he'll end up eligible after the first week or so of the season).
• Marcus Semien, 2B, Mets – ADP: 243.9: Again, if he bounces back, Semien should just be an excellent pick all around. But he might actually be a better RBI producer than runs this season, given his projected spot in the No. 5 hole for the Mets. That'll mean fewer plate appearances than he was used to as a leadoff man, but his contact-heavy approach could serve him very well as a run producer behind the Mets' heavy hitters. 
• Andrew Vaughn, 1B, Brewers – ADP: 268.6: What if what he did after joining the Brewers was real? Everyone is mostly approaching Vaughn as if that won't be the case, but he's having a great spring and might have just unlocked something. Vaughn always hit the ball hard and made a lot of contact; he just didn't hit the ball to the right parts of the field often enough. What if the Brewers just unlocked the talent that has always been there? In that ballpark and lineup, I'm willing to take the cheap bet. 
• Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pirates – ADP: 194.7: If we get the bounceback season many are hoping for from Reynolds, he's probably just going to be a solid all-around contributor, like he was prior to 2025. But with the best lineup of his career surrounding him, Reynolds could push for 90-plus RBI, hitting third. 

Stolen base specialists 

• Jose Caballero, 2B, Yankees – ADP: 193.9: The true definition of a specialist. Caballero probably won't give you much of anything beyond steals, but he's eligible at four positions (3B/SS/2B/OF) and managed 49 steals in just 370 trips to the plate. Just stash him on your bench for when you need a fill-in or feel like you need to make up ground in steals. 
• Victor Scott II, OF, Cardinals – ADP: 349.2: The bat just hasn't developed the way we hoped it would – he swings and misses way too much for a slap hitter, and it's held him back. But the speed has been there, with Scott stealing 34 bases in 463 plate appearances in 2025. He probably won't do too much beyond that, though at 25, I suppose there's still some room for a breakout. 
• Nasim Nunez, SS, Nationals – ADP: 483.1: Nunez's defense should help keep him in the lineup, and he stole 45 bases in just 102 games between the majors and minors last season. Can he hit enough to take advantage of the opportunity? On a better team, that might be a concern. 
• Caleb Durbin, 3B, Red Sox – ADP: 222.1: Based on his 18 steals in 506 games last season, Durbin doesn't appear to have the same stolen base upside as some of the other names here. But it's worth noting that he did have 31 steals in 90 games in 2024, so there could be some untapped potential here. His pull-heavy swing should fit Fenway Park very well, too. 
• Victor Robles, OF, Mariners – ADP: 568.9: The truth is, we really never got to see if Robles' 2024 breakout was for real – he suffered a serious shoulder injury 10 games into the season and might have never been fully healthy even when he returned for the stretch run. I think he could potentially be a helpful source of batting average, but at the very least, it seems safe to bet on something like 25-plus steals if he stays healthy – he has 36 in 109 games since joining the Mariners. 
• This exercise is a little harder to do with pitching, just because a lot of our favorite late-round targets are more of the "overall breakout" type. And, if your late-round breakout does put up a good ERA, it follows that they should put up a pretty good WHIP and will likely win a decent number of games. If your late-round strikeout upside pick hits, he'll probably be pretty good at those other categories, too. And so on. 

Late-round pitching specialist targets

ERA specialists

• Justin Steele, SP, Cubs – ADP: 472.7: So I guess we should acknowledge something off the top here: A bunch of these late-round categories specialists among pitchers are coming back from injuries. In Steele's case, that is an Internal Brace procedure that could have him back in the majors by May. But that's an awfully long time, and a lot can change between then and now: the final steps of Steele's recovery could go poorly, or your team's apparent needs may just be different than expected. But if Steele looks more or less like himself, he could be a decent bet for ERA with that Cubs defense backing him up, even if he never gets back to his pre-injury form. 
• Connelly Early, SP, Red Sox – ADP: 299.6: If we thought Early was going to be in the Red Sox's rotation, I suspect his ADP would be closer to 150. Which might just make him an excellent sleeper all around, because he might only need one name ahead of him in the pecking order to get hurt or stumble to get a chance, and that could come at any point. I think Early's teammate Payton Tolle might be the better bet for strikeout upside, but I think Early might be ahead of him in the hierarchy and could be a better bet to be an ERA standout. 
• Braxton Garrett, SP, Marlins – ADP: 440.5: Garrett's velocity has been up quite a bit in his return from Tommy John surgery, and he'll land in a good pitcher's park, if not a great overall team context. Garrett was a mid-3.00s pitcher in two seasons before his injury, so even if the improved stuff doesn't stick, he could still be quite useful. 
• Joey Cantillo, SP, Guardians – ADP: 286.9: I'm not sure I see a ton of upside with Cantillo, but I think the floor here is fairly high thanks to his elite changeup. He'll hold his own against righties, and while I don't know if I expect a repeat of his 3.21 ERA in 95.1 innings in 2025, I think something like his 3.71 xERA is doable – and helpful!
• Parker Messick, SP, Guardians – ADP: 310.3: This is another one where, if Messick were guaranteed a rotation spot, I think he'd be going a lot earlier, though I don't know if there would be quite as much excitement for him as there would be for Early. He doesn't have the same strikeout upside, but what Messick does have is a really advanced approach from the left side, with excellent command of his entire arsenal, including his changeup. This type of pitcher had a lot of success last season, and I think Messick can follow in Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga (among others') footsteps. 

WHIP specialists

• Spencer Schwellenbach, SP, Braves – ADP: 644.6: It all comes down to how his recovery from elbow surgery goes. If it goes smoothly, Schwellenbach could be back by mid-season and could provide a real boost to your WHIP. But you have to be in a league with IL spots to play with. 
• Shane Bieber, SP, Blue Jays – ADP: 350.6: Bieber will have his season delayed due to forearm fatigue from last season, and I have a lot of concern about whether he's actually going to be able to get through the season. But he's always been a low WHIP guy, even when things haven't gone great, and his best-case scenario would have him on the mound sometime in May, a much earlier timeline than Schwellenbach's. 
• Bryce Miller, SP, Mariners – ADP: 309.8: Miller continues to deal with left oblique inflammation, and his chances of being ready for Opening Day look all but dashed after he felt renewed discomfort during a bullpen session. That continues to drive Miller's price down, but I'll take comfort in the fact that his elbow seems fine after last year's bone spur issues. Miller had a 1.05 WHIP and could be a true standout in that category, with a timeline that could still have him back in the majors in April. 
• Matthew Boyd, SP, Cubs – ADP: 219.8: Even earlier in his career, when Boyd struggled, he would still occasionally throw up a really impressive showing in WHIP – in 20218, he had a 1.16 WHIP despite just a 4.39 ERA. His command has improved in his 30s, and the defense behind him should continue to enable great results on balls in play, so I do think the WHIP should be very useful even if the ERA is inflated. 
• Ian Seymour, SP, Rays  – ADP: 427.9: The Rays probably need at least one pitcher to move out of the way for Seymour to get a chance, but that'll happen eventually. He's been a standout in the minors across the board, and while it's fair to wonder if the strikeout upside will carry over given the low velocity, Seymour shares a lot of traits with Messick and could have some similar outcomes when he gets the chance. 

Strikeouts specialists

• Gerrit Cole, SP, Yankees – ADP: 258.3: I mean, you're probably not going to get 200-plus strikeouts out of Cole, not when a pre-May return seems unlikely. But he has been pumping fastballs as high as 98 mph in his bullpen sessions this spring and could even pitch in a Grapefruit League game over the final week, so he's not as far off as you might think. You can never guarantee a pitcher will come back at full capacity from Tommy John surgery, especially one in his mid-30s. But it's hard to imagine a world where Verlander isn't at least a good source of strikeouts when he's on the mound.  
• Kodai Senga, SP, Mets – ADP: 250.9: We haven't seen the strikeout upside from Senga since his rookie season, when he posted a borderline elite 29.1% mark. But his stuff has looked very good amid a velocity bump this spring, and that forkball remains one of the game's most dastardly putaway pitches, so I remain hopeful. 
• Ryan Weathers, SP, Yankees – ADP: 247.8: Weathers has actually been a pretty mediocre strikeout pitcher in his major-league career, but the stuff for more is obviously there for him to take a step forward. I have a lot of concern about his ability to stay healthy as a starter, but his 97-plus mph four-seamer is a great base on which to pile a bunch of strikeouts for as long as he stays on the mound. 
• Kyle Harrison, SP, Brewers – ADP: 441.4: I've never been a huge fan of Harrison's, but I'm kind of intrigued by what we've seen this spring. The fastball velocity bump that helped push his whiff rate to 26% with the pitch last season has sustained, and his slurve has always been a solid putaway pitch, but that combo hasn't really been enough in the past. However, he's added a kick-change grip that has made that pitch play up so far in the spring, and it could complement the rest of his arsenal well. He's a risky bet, but a cheap enough one to be worth making. 
• Jack Flaherty, SP, Tigers – ADP: 215.2: Look, I get how frustrating it was to have Flaherty around last season. But he still finished with 188 strikeouts in just 161 innings, and you just aren't likely to find many guys with that kind of projectable total this late. I'll take the under on last year's 4.64 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, too, for whatever that's worth to you. 

Win specialists

• Zac Gallen, SP, Diamondbacks – ADP: 220.7: I'm kinda starting to buy into some Gallen post-hype sleeper appeal. His velocity has been up a couple of ticks on his fastball this spring; he's never been cheaper in drafts, and he's got a lot to pitch for this season heading into free agency. Sure, he had a lot to pitch for last season heading into free agency and was kind of a dud, but between his second-half improvements (3.97 ERA) and velocity bump this spring, I like Gallen's chances of improving. He's a veteran who should pitch deep into games with a pretty good team backing him up, so I like his chances for a dozen or so wins at least. 
• Carlos Rodon, SP, Yankees – ADP: 210.8: Rodon has 34 wins over the past two seasons, so this one feels like a pretty easy call. He'll miss the first month of the season coming back from an offseason elbow cleanup, but the Yankees are hopeful his stuff should be even better after he pitched through bone spurs in his elbow for most of last season. While we can't know how Rodon will look coming off this surgery, I think expecting something like a 15-win pace when he returns isn't unreasonable. 
• Matthew Boyd, SP, Cubs – ADP: 219.8: He's a veteran who should pitch deep into games with a good offense and maybe the best defense in baseball behind him. Is the bullpen a little shakier than you'd like? Perhaps, though it might be better than last year's, at least. He won 14 games in 2025. 
• Chris Bassitt, SP, Orioles – ADP: 345.1: It's another veteran with a good supporting cast around him. Bassitt is boring, which is why he's as cheap as he is, but you should be able to expect double-digit wins from him in Baltimore. 
• Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies – ADP: 211.2: This one is really just a bet on Nola having a bounce-back season. He was a disaster in 2025 while pitching through an ankle injury and then a stress fracture in his rib, but his peripherals suggest there was at least some bad luck at play, and even if he's never an ace again, an ERA in the mid-to-high-3.00s could lead to a dozen or more wins with the Phillies offense and bullpen backing him up.

Saves specialists

• Seranthony Dominguez, RP, White Sox – ADP: 223.4: Dominguez's price is starting to rise, but he still qualifies here, which is surprising given the job security. The White Sox aren't a good team, and Dominguez isn't a great pitcher, but he gets strikeouts, and he has had an xERA of 3.73 or better in each of the past two seasons, so I think he's good enough to get 25-30 saves. 
• Robert Garcia, RP, Rangers – ADP: 275.6: We don't know who the Rangers' closer will be, but smart money should be on Garcia. He is coming off a 2.95 ERA in 2025 and has a career 3.21 xERA, and while he's better against lefties on the whole, he isn't bad enough against righties to think that'll be a deal breaker. I don't think he has an especially strong grip on the job, but Skip Schumaker tended to stick with one closer during his time in Miami, so if Garcia is good enough, he should avoid a committee situation. 
• Robert Suarez, RP, Braves – ADP: 226.1: Raisel Iglesias is the closer here. But Suarez's contract keeps him around longer, and he might just be the better pitcher. Teams love to have an elite arm to use as a fireman in flexible situations, so they might be content to have Suarez setting Iglesias up. But Iglesias did lose his job last season before eventually gaining it back. If he loses his job to Suarez this time around, I don't think he's getting it back. 
• Kirby Yates, RP, Angels – ADP: 325.9: Things seem to be aligning for Yates. Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson won't be ready for the start of the season, so his competition at this point looks like Jordan Romano or Drew Pomeranz. Pomeranz is probably the best pitcher here, but some managers struggle to get their heads around a left-handed closer, so Yates seems like the best bet here. He struggled last season with homers, but he still missed a bunch of bats and actually had a lower walk rate than any season since 2019, so I'm not giving up on him. Remember, he was arguably the best closer in baseball in 2024. That's not that long ago. 
• Clayton Beeter, RP, Nationals – ADP: 349.4: Given the state of the team and the skill set involved, Beeter is a pretty bottom-of-the-barrel option. But there's strikeout upside here, and if he can just keep the walk rate in the 12% range, he could be okay – he was at 17.3% last season, so that's asking a lot.