2025 Fantasy Baseball: Top 5 Middle Infielders plus Schedule Update
Here’s my work plan for the next three weeks:
Today: Finish the Top Middle Infielders before starting working on my projections
The projections for hitters take about 4 days (I'm hoping to speed up the process by adding another part to my spreadsheet)
The projections for pitchers take about three days (I’m out of the house for a half day on Saturday)
Breakout, fades, sleepers, deep sleepers, and more over the first week of March
One more round of 15 outfielders
30 more starting pitchers
Anyone I can’t get to will be washed out and identified in the projections
More in-depth cheat sheets after I do the projections
I have AL and NL-only auctions for the NFBC on 3/16 and 3/17 (I’ll have those cheat sheets done before then).
I fly to Las Vegas on March 18th for 10 nights to draft the live events for the NFBC and take about four days off. I’ll fill in the baseball blanks if needed.
I’ve added to the 2025 NFBC Top Player Cheat Sheet as I continue to work through the player pool.
Additional Tabs:
Closer Depth
12-Team NFBC Online Championship ADPs w/movement over the past nine days
15-team NFBC Draft Champion ADPs w/movement over the past nine days
Players highlighted by color (I need to do this for the pitchers)
1 – Masyn Wynn, STL (ADP – 161.2)
Winn had 75.0% of his at-bats from the lead-off position in his first entire season in the majors. His bat played well at the bottom of the order in April and May (.306/16/2/18/7 over 160 at-bats), but he lost his approach in June (six walks and 30 strikeouts over 106 at-bats). Winn found his power stroke over the final three months (.252 with 53 runs, 11 home runs, 29 RBIs, and three stolen bases over 321 at-bats).
His strikeout rate (17.1) was an asset, but Winn had a below-average walk rate (6.4). He graded poorly in exit velocity (87.0 mph), barrel rate (3.7), and hard-hit rate (32.7). His bat had more power against left-handed pitching (nine home runs over 178 at-bats), but Winn had higher fantasy value vs. righties (.274/58/6/30/7 over 409 at-bats).
The Cardinals drafted Wynn out of high school in the second round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft. Over three seasons in the minors, he hit .272 with 266 runs, 35 home runs, 168 RBIs, and 92 stolen bases over 1,304 at-bats. His bat showed more power (18 home runs) in 2023 at AAA (.288 with 99 runs and 61 RBIs over 445 at-bats), but Wynn didn’t run as often (17 steals – 75 over his first 859 at-bats in 2021 and 2022). His walk rate (10.3) and strikeout rate (20.1) were in a competitive area in the minors.
Fantasy Outlook: Over the winter, Winn stated that he wanted to run more, with an eye on stealing at least 30 bags. His minor league resume supports his position. His average hit rate (1.554) doesn’t support a push over 20 home runs. Let’s go with a .270 batting average with 100 runs, 15 home runs, 65 RBIs, and a floor of 30 stolen bases.
2 – Dansby Swanson, CHC (ADP – 174.7)
Over the past five years, Swanson missed 30 games, leading to sneaky fantasy value. He finished 22nd in FPGscore (1.98) in 2020, 62nd in 2021 (1.13), 9th in 2022 (7.01), 80th in 2023 (-0.33), and 70th in 2024 (0.00). This season, he is the 99th batter drafted.
His contact batting average (.331) and average hit rate (1.612) were five-year lows in 2024. Swanson posted almost a career-average strikeout rate (24.3) and walk rate (9.1). He had a weaker swing path, highlighted by a new top with his groundball rate (49.9) and the lowest line drive rate (16.8) of his career. His exit velocity (89.4 mph) aligned with his previous resume.
Swanson played well vs. left-handed pitching (.318/28/4/15/4 over 110 at-bats). From May through July, his bat was a massive liability (.213 over 240 at-bats with 20 runs, six home runs, 21 RBIs, and four steals). He scored 62 runs in the other three months with 11 home runs, 45 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.
Last December, Swanson had core surgery. He landed on the injured list last May with a right knee issue.
Fantasy Outlook: With steals added to Swanson’s equation over the past four seasons, his floor in fantasy value has been much higher. He offers a four-category skill set with an outside chance to rebound in batting average. Most of his at-bats last season came in the second (101), sixth (127), and eighth (208) slots in the batting order, decreasing his value in RBIs (66) and RBI chance (340). Ideally, any fantasy supporter wants him to hit his way to a better spot in the batting order.
3 – Zach Neto, LAA (ADP – 196.6)
The progression of Neto in his second year with the Angels led to him ranking 34th in FPGscore (2.45) for hitters. His season ended last year with a right shoulder issue that required surgery in November. Los Angeles expects him to miss some time this year, with an unknown return date. As a result, his price point (115th batter selected) is well below his success in 2024.
Last year, his average hit rate (1.778) supported over 30 home runs with 550 at-bats. Neto only had 34 barrels, with no edge in his exit velocity (88.5 mph) or hard-hit rate (38.6). Despite regression in his fly-ball rate (38.6), his HR/FB rate (14.9) beat his rookie season. He had almost no change in his approach – strikeout rate (23.3) and walk rate (6.5).
His bat was on point against left-handed pitching (.374/18/5/17/9 over 107 at-bats) while needing work vs. righties in batting average (.218). Neto had the most production in June (.239/13/5/20/3 over 88 at-bats) and August (.235/13/7/19/6 over 102 at-bats). He had 34.9% of his at-bats hitting second in the batting order but 52.4% in the bottom third of their lineup.
Fantasy Outlook: Similar to Nolan Schanuel, Neto had a minimal minor league resume (.321/39/10/40/8 over 187 at-bats) before reaching Los Angeles while showcasing a favorable walk rate (8.7). The Angels manager (Ron Washington) suggested he would hit five or sixth in their batting order when Neto returns to health.
Without more insight about his recovery timetable, a drafter can only speculate on his skill set and buy another replacement option on draft day. Shoulder injuries and less work over the winter tend to lead to less power. The key to his fantasy value is a return to the top two slots in the batting order. I like the direction of his bat, but I need more information before investing. Neto is a wild card player for me in 2025.
4 – Zack Gelof, ATH (ADP – 212.5)
After a productive half-season with Oakland (.267/40/14/32/14 over 270 at-bats), Gelof had a much weaker approach strikeout rate (34.4) and walk rate (7.0) last season. In addition, his contact batting average (.340) was below 2023 (.340) and his minor league career (.422). With runners on base, Gelof has a disaster RBI rate (10). On the positive side, his average hit rate (1.714) was high enough to support 25 home runs if he had more balls in play.
Gelof hit .196 over his first 92 at-bats with 11 runs, three home runs, seven home runs, and four stolen bases while striking out 33 times. He missed the following three weeks with an oblique issue. His bat was more productive in May and June (24/10/24/7 over 164 at-bats) despite hitting .207. Gelof ran more over the final two months (13 steals) with an uptick in batting average (.242), but he only had four home runs and 14 RBIs over 182 at-bats.
Left-handed pitchers held him to a .138 batting average with 13 runs, two home runs, six RBIs, and five stolen bases over 109 at-bats. Gelof had similar struggles in 2023 (.168/6/1/23 over 72 at-bats with 28 strikeouts). His HR/FB rate (14.4) was well below 2023 (22.2%) and minor league career. Gelof also lost his line drive swing path (19.6% - 25.5% in 2023).
Fantasy Outlook: His top attraction is his ability to offer a high contact batting average, and his minor strikeout rate (27.0) suggests a rebound in approach in 2025. On the downside, Gelof doesn’t belong in the lineup against lefties at this point in his career.
He profiles as a 25/30 player with 550 at-bats, but there is some playing time concern due to Luis Urias now on the A’s roster (.264 vs. lefties with 66 runs, 17 home runs, 56 RBIs, and two steals over 420 at-bats). I don’t view Gelof as a lock to kill a fantasy team in batting average, and at some point, his right-handed bat should improve against left-handed pitching (.326 with 10 home runs over 89 at-bats in 2022 in the minors).
5 – Gleyber Torres, DET (ADP – 231.3)
Consistency has been a problem for Torres over his seven seasons with the Yankees. He underperformed expectations three times while never reaching his stellar output in 2019 (.278 with 96 runs, 38 home runs, 90 RBIs, and five steals over 546 at-bats).
Last year, New York gave him 40.4% of his at-bats from the leadoff position, where Torres has his best value (.283/38/6/22/2). His bat played well against left-handed pitching (.265 with 28 runs, seven home runs, 16 RBIs, and three stolen bases over 147 at-bats). He hit .306 over the final two months over 206 at-bats with 33 runs, five home runs, and 21 RBIs.
His average hit rate (1.470) was below 2022 (1.756) and 2023 (1.656), suggesting fewer than 20 home runs this season. Torres continues to have a favorable strikeout rate (20.5) and walk rate (9.8). He posted a career-low hard-hit rate (35.4) and only 29 barrels (43 in 2022 and 40 in 2023). His launch angle (15.0) remained intact while having a three-low in his exit velocity (88.6 mph).
Fantasy Outlook: Torres is in a contract year, and the Tigers will start him at second base on most nights. Over the past five seasons, he’s been a below-league-average run producer (RBI rate – 13.4). In 2023 and 2024, Torres was a top-50 fantasy hitter in both seasons (135th batter selected in 2025). I don’t like his direction, but he has enough tools to outperform his ADP by a minimum of a couple of rounds just by adding steals back into his equation. Buy his potential steady five-category stats, with the hopes he’s motivated to get paid in 2026.