• 2018 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers - Sleeper Pitchers. Learn which fantasy sleeper pitchers will bring you the most value in your league. Nothings more valuable than a fantasy value pitcher.
• Fantasy Baseball Fantasy Baseball 2018: Sleepers, Busts and Final MLB Mock Draft Adam Wells @ adamwells1985. Featured Columnist March 28, 2018 Comments. Chris O'Meara/Associated Press.

Sleepers, breakouts and busts for 2018: Our experts predict the stars, bargains and disappointments of the 2018 season. Bounce-back hitters and pitchers: Which hitters and pitchers flopped in.

The draft is the most exciting date on the fantasy baseball calendar, as the decisions you make during the draft set the table for your season.

Are you prepared to find the hidden gems that will set your team apart? Have you scouted the next superstar waiting to rise to the top of the Player Rater? Can you navigate the player pool and avoid the busts that will leave you with regrets all season long?

Below, our experts predict the players they consider to be sleepers, breakouts and busts for the 2018 season. Here's a quick guide to what we mean by these categories ...

Sleeper: A player set to exceed the value implied by his average draft position. Each analyst has provided an early-round sleeper, a midround sleeper and a sleeper you can find at the end of your drafts.

Breakout: A player poised to enter the upper echelon of the fantasy game via a big step forward, reaching a new level of play for the first time in his career. Our analysts have picked an early breakout player who could deliver first-round value, a midround sleeper who could return value of a top-50 player and a rookie who could jump straight to fantasy stardom.

Bust: A player who will disappoint relative to his average draft position. Our experts have picked players set to disappoint as expected first-round selections, disappointments in the early to middle rounds and rookies who won't live up to expectations.

Yoan Moncada: Moncada boasts power, speed, plate discipline, a middle-infield starting spot and a place near the top of a potentially interesting lineup, all at age 22. OK, he could have been better last year, but he was still a rookie. This is a 20-homer, 30-steal profile, at least, and even if he hits only .260 or so thanks to the strikeouts, that makes him a top-100 player with the potential for considerably more, considering he can contribute in every offensive category. The breakout is still coming! -- Eric Karabell

Manuel Margot: Margot always profiled as a leadoff option with stolen base potential, and then in his rookie season, he swatted 13 home runs in 126 games as well. The Padres should score many more runs than they did in 2017, and Margot at the top is key as a potential five-category option. Margot was not supposed to hit for much power, but the underlying figures show that his rookie power was legit. Margot is certainly capable of more than 30 stolen bases, with expected gains in batting average and runs pending as well. -- Eric Karabell

Bryce Harper: Harper has achieved historic numbers, with 150 home runs before turning 25, but he is a risk in Round 1. Durability is a problem, but the numbers are inconsistent as well. Sure, Harper could hit 50 home runs ... but he has topped 30 once in six seasons. He could win a batting title ... but he has hit .275 twice. Finally, Harper attempted all of six stolen bases last season. It would not be surprising if Harper matches his 2015 MVP campaign and tops Mike Trout in value ... but it is fair to point out that Harper has reached expectations in only one of his six seasons for fantasy. -- Eric Karabell

Byron Buxton: Some might claim he already 'broke out,' as Buxton's .300/.347/.546 slash rates, 11 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 57 games played after the All-Star break made him a top-40 performer in terms of fantasy baseball earnings, but to this point of his career, including that stretch, he has been a wildly unpredictable performer. One of the reasons I believe in Buxton's strong finish -- and note, I expect him to regress to closer to a .260 batting average but with similar power/speed -- is that a significant tweak to his batting stance fueled much of it. -- Tristan H. Cockcroft

Willie Calhoun: There's always a rookie who comes from nowhere to put forth near-Rookie of the Year numbers, and the ones I typically draft possess high floors, likely to translate smoothly to the big leagues, and are rarely noticed. Calhoun fits the bill: He's a virtual lock to start -- or at least be on the strong side of a platoon -- in left field for the Texas Rangers, and he was one of three players in pro ball last season with at least 30 home runs and an 85 percent contact rate (along with Francisco Lindor and Joey Votto). -- Tristan H. Cockcroft

Alex Reyes: While I like Reyes' skill set a lot -- he'll be someone I acquire in dynasty formats -- his 2018 role is uncertain, as it's his first year following Tommy John surgery, and he has never exceeded 111 1/3 innings in a single pro year. Coming off a year in which the multi-inning reliever was back in vogue, especially during the postseason, Reyes makes a heckuva lot of sense to the St. Louis Cardinals in a Chris Devenski-esque role as he works his way back. That, unfortunately, is a role of limited fantasy appeal. -- Tristan H. Cockcroft

Matt Duffy: Here's a guy who finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 behind Kris Bryant. In 2016, he was traded to the Rays for the stretch drive but almost immediately got hurt and then had to sit out all of last season due to surgery. All signs point to Duffy being 100 percent healthy headed into 2018, and Tampa Bay has doubled-down on the third baseman, having traded Evan Longoria to the Giants. If everything clicks, we could have 20-20 production from a guy who might not even show up on some fantasy draft lists due to the goose egg in stats he had in 2017. That's not too shabby. -- AJ Mass

Luis Castillo: In his final five starts of the 2017 season, Castillo had a 1.86 ERA, a .158 BAA and a 12.1 K/9. He has a fastball that averages 97.5 mph and clearly was able to adjust to the majors after his leap from Double-A in June after a rocky start (4.05 ERA, .243 BAA in his first seven starts of the season). Sure, he could flame out like far too many young arms before him. However, it's also not unrealistic that he'll finish the season in the top five in strikeouts, with an ERA around 3.00 and at least a dozen wins under his belt. I'd call that a breakout. -- AJ Mass

Tyler Chatwood: We always upgrade hitters in a big way when they go to Colorado, so why do we not treat pitchers leaving the thin air with similar levels of excitement? Over the past two seasons, Chatwood's road ERA is lower than that of Max Scherzer and Chris Sale. Heard of those guys? I'm not saying he is on that level, but for those of you who draft an ace to lead your staff and then wait on pitching ... Chatwood should be on your radar. -- Kyle Soppe

Elvis Andrus: None of his production from last season is going to help you this year, so be careful about how high you draft him. Andrus' stock skyrocketed last season thanks in large part to 20 homers ... or, you know, three more than he hit in the previous three seasons combined. He has been successful on less than 71 percent of his stolen base attempts the past four seasons, so I worry that both his ceiling and his floor aren't as high as most seem to be assuming. -- Kyle Soppe

Alex Bregman: It's easy to find power in today's fantasy baseball landscape. Everything else seems to come at a premium. As such, a player who can do 'everything else' while essentially keeping up with the power guys is incredibly valuable. Enter Bregman, who was fantastic during the second half of last season, finishing with a post-All-Star break wRC+ on par with names such as Arenado, Judge and Lindor. He's delivering on his prospect promise and should take another step forward in 2018. -- Leo Howell

ESPN's Fantasy Baseball is back!

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Below you'll find all of ESPN's best content, from rankings to analysis, to help you win your draft.

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Sign up for ESPN Fantasy baseball: Create or join a league with friends, customize your settings, and battle for the top spot all season.

Mock draft lobby: Practice makes perfect! Jump into a mock draft and prepare for the real thing against other ESPN Fantasy players.

Live draft lobby: Jump into a live draft with other ESPN Fantasy players!

ESPN Fantasy Baseball 101: Thinking about trying fantasy baseball for the first time? Start here.

Rankings

Eric Karabell's rankings for roto leagues: Top 300 and position-by-position rankings for the season ahead.

AJ Mass' rankings for head-to-head points leagues: Overall and positional rankings for those in points-based leagues.

Tristan H. Cockcroft's rankings for head-to-head categories leagues: All of the rankings you need for your head-to-head categories leagues.

Custom auction values: Plug in your league's settings and get custom auction values to help you in any kind of league.

Dynasty rankings: Who will be best in 2018 and beyond?

Top 50 prospects for 2018: Which rookies will make the biggest fantasy impact this season?

6x6 roto rankings: Tristan H. Cockcroft introduces a different format for you to try, plus his rankings to help you draft.

Mock drafts

10-team roto -- Feb. 22: Our staff got together for the first mock of the season. Find out who went where.

10-team head-to-head points -- Feb. 28: New format, different results. Check out our first head-to-head points mock of the season.

10-team head-to-head categories, two catchers -- March 13: With two starting catchers required, our experts had to change their approaches.

10-team roto -- March 20: With the season quickly approaching and news of Justin Turner's injury, there's plenty of change in this mock draft.

Cheat sheets

Cheat sheet central: Get our experts' rankings in printable, one-page documents you can bring with you to your draft.

Insider cheat sheet: Get all of the best insight from ESPN's fantasy Insiders, all in one place.

Position previews

Catcher First base Second base Third base Shortstop Outfield Starting pitcher Relief pitcher

Analysis

Bold predictions: Tristan H. Cockcroft goes beyond his rankings and cheat sheets to deliver his strongest takes for the season ahead.

Deep sleepers: Tristan H. Cockcroft digs deep to find 12 players who are so far under the radar, you can grab them with your last pick.

The perfect draft: What if you could pick your draft position and every player for your roster without any interference from other managers?

'Do not draft' list: Eric Karabell highlights the players he's avoiding in drafts due to inflated cost.

'Plant my flag' list: Eric Karabell provides the players he's looking to draft as often as possible this season.

Saves projections for every team: Who will get the saves for every team this season?

Tristan's 20: Success in fantasy is all about value, and these players represent some of the best values available.

Baseball Fantasy Sleepers

The Rule of Seven: AJ Mass has developed a way to scout great fantasy pitchers using a single number.

Finding late-round versions of early-round stars: Willing to take risks? If so, you can find some players who can match the stats of stars like Aaron Judge.

Sleepers, breakouts and busts for 2018: Our experts predict the stars, bargains and disappointments of the 2018 season.

Bounce-back hitters and pitchers: Which hitters and pitchers flopped in 2017 but are ready to bounce back in 2018?

Keeper league building blocks: How do you find the next Jose Altuve to build your dynasty or keeper team around?

Lower ADP players who could return first-round value: Here are players going outside the top 15 who could return first-round value at season's end.

2021 Mlb Fantasy Sleepers

How the humidor will impact the D-backs: With news that Arizona will use a humidor for the 2018 season, Todd Zola explores what that means for your fantasy drafts.

Park Factors: Find out which ballparks are best for hitting, which are the most pitcher-friendly, and what it all means for fantasy.

Kings of Command: Scouting 2018's breakout pitchers: Tristan. H. Cockcroft crunches the number to spot the pitchers set to break out in 2018 thanks to great command and strikeout upside.

Our experts debate: Who's No. 1? The perfect draft Midround SPs Drafting injured players Position scarcity Importance of power

Shohei Ohtani

Sleeper Mlb Fantasy Picks

How Shohei Ohtani will work in ESPN leagues: The 'Japanese Babe Ruth' could change fantasy forever as a two-way player. Here's how you can utilize him in our leagues.

Assessing the bust potential of Ohtani: Ohtani has plenty of talent, but there are several factors that could lead to a disappointing season relative to expectations.

The case against drafting Ohtani: In points-based leagues, the novelty of Ohtani's two-way profile doesn't deliver the same value it does in category-based leagues.

2020 Mlb Fantasy Sleepers

Offseason recap

Fantasy baseball free-agent tracker: Who has signed where, and which key players remain free agents?

Mlb Fantasy Sleeper Pitchers

Fantasy baseball trade tracker: Which trades have made a meaningful impact on player value?

Fantasy Sleepers 2018 Mlb Draft

Closer chart: Scouting each bullpen for saves, including those next in line for the ninth-inning job.