Four players hit 50 or more home runs this past season. Los Angeles Dodgers DH/SP Shohei Ohtani and New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge were the top picks in most every fantasy draft, while Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber and Seattle Mariners C Cal Raleigh were eighth-round selections in ESPN ADP. These fellows were terrific in 2025 and we surely appreciate their efforts, but they all were on fantasy rosters to start the season.
On the other hand, Arizona Diamondbacks SS Geraldo Perdomo and Boston Red Sox SS Trevor Story both went undrafted in almost every ESPN standard league. It is hard to quantify the value for a player when a fantasy manager adds him to their roster during the season and the player performs alongside the most productive options in the sport. Hurray for Schwarber and Raleigh, but Perdomo and Story were nearly as important — and at a mere fraction of the investment cost.
Perdomo, 25 and rostered in barely 1% of leagues entering the season, drove in 24 runs over the first month, adding seven stolen bases, and quickly became a fixture on fantasy teams. He was signed to a contract extension by the Diamondbacks prior to the season, a seemingly odd move considering that top prospect Jordan Lawlar is also a shortstop. Perdomo played in 161 games and hit .290 with 20 home runs, 100 RBIs and 27 stolen bases, earning the No. 13 spot on ESPN’s Player Rater.
Story, 32 and a bit more rostered in standard leagues (but still outside of the top-300 options), at least had a history of production, but that was long ago when he played with the Colorado Rockies. Raise your hand if you gave up on this fellow because he played in only 26 games during the 2024 season. He had reached 100 games and 400 PAs in only one of the past five campaigns entering 2025. Few expected much as Story entered his age-32 season. As with Perdomo for the D-backs, I thought prospect Marcelo Mayer would handle most of Boston’s shortstop duties.
Instead, Story delivered five home runs and six stolen bases during March/April, intriguing many potential managers. He struggled in May, though, hitting .158 with a .432 OPS, and many of those managers moved on. That was a mistake. Story’s magical season surprisingly got back on track, and he hit at least .278 in each of the final four months. He finished at .263 with 25 home runs and 31 steals over a stunning 157 games. He was No. 23 on the Player Rater.
Perdomo and Story are the easy choices for their respective league’s top hitter awards for fantasy baseball, based on a combination of production and investment expense. There simply wasn’t much of any expense for players who weren’t productive during the 2024 season but became five-category stars. They will rightfully be coveted players for the 2026 season.
Honorable mention: Maikel Garcia, 3B, Kansas City Royals; Andy Pages, OF, Dodgers; Zach Neto, SS, Los Angeles Angels; Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics; Jeremy Pena, SS, Houston Astros; Tyler Soderstrom, 1B, Athletics; Sal Frelick, OF, Brewers
Dishonorable mention: Anthony Santander, OF, Blue Jays; Marcus Semien, 2B, Texas Rangers; Austin Riley, 3B, Atlanta Braves; Ozzie Albies, 2B, Braves; Marcell Ozuna, DH, Braves (a disappointing season for the Braves, obviously); Nolan Arenado, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals; Alec Bohm, 3B, Phillies; Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
I hadn’t considered this angle before. It’s refreshing!