For the most part, these are players who have "helped" their cause in Spring Training, which is always a tricky situation. You shouldn't totally ignore spring results, but you definitely shouldn't change how you view a player just because they got hot against a lineup half-full of Double-A guys, either. Especially with the sample sizes as small as they are – Jackson Chourio and Ezequiel Duran are the leaders in at-bats this spring right now with … 27. That's like six regular season games, and you wouldn't change how you feel about any player based on six games in April, right?
In addition to the list or risers below, be sure to review my list of the top 12 fallers to help you avoid taking on additional risks in your next Fantasy Baseball draft.
James Wood, OF, WAS -- Feb. ADP: 617.8; March ADP: 442.5
Wood almost certainly isn't going to break camp with the Nationals, but he's making a heck of a case, hitting .474/.600/.947 with six walks and four strikeouts in his first nine spring games. He'll probably open the season at Triple-A and should be up before the summer if he avoids falling on his face, and is a terrific late-round stash in leagues where it makes sense.
Wyatt Langford, OF, TEX -- Feb. ADP: 150.3; March ADP: 113.0
There are still some questions about whether Langford will break camp, because they don't really have a spot available in the outfield and may prefer not to have him as a full-time DH this early in his career. On the other hand, Langford absolutely dominated the minors in his first taste and is doing the same in his first spring training, and might not have much left to gain from minor-league seasoning. 113.0 is a pretty steep price, but a justifiable one for a guy who might be a candidate for 25-20 as a rookie (and that's not the ceiling).
A.J. Puk, P, MIA -- Feb. ADP: 460.9; March ADP: 349.4
With Braxton Garrett looking unlikely for Opening Day, Puk has a rotation spot seemingly locked up for the Marlins. But he might have been pitching himself into one even without Garrett's injury. Puk has only thrown five innings this spring, but he's been dominant, with nine strikeouts, three walks, and one hit allowed while showcasing a deeper arsenal featuring a cutter and splitter. Puk hasn't proven he can hold up to a full-time starting role, but he's put up a 3.72 ERA and 28.8% strikeout rate in the majors over 147.2 innings, so we know the stuff plays in the majors. As a late-round sleeper, he's a very good target.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, P, LAD -- Feb. ADP: 43.8; March ADP: 34.4
We're getting into the third round in a 12-team league, and that's a hefty price to pay for a pitcher who has never thrown a pitch in anger in the majors. And, after a sterling first spring outing, he was hit around a bit in his second Wednesday, giving up five earned runs on six hits and three walks in three innings of work. The defense let him down a bit, but it still wasn't a great showing for a guy you have to draft as an ace. He's got incredible upside, but I preferred his previous price, and I might be out at this one.
Cole Ragans, P, KC -- Feb. ADP: 105.4; March ADP: 83.6
Ragans has looked terrific this spring, but I'm not sure that should really be pushing his price up. We knew he was good last season, striking out 89 batters over 71.2 innings with a 2.74 over 12 starts after joining the Royals, so this isn't really new information. The one thing this spring has taught us is that Ragans hasn't just sustained last year's velocity gains; he's expanded on them. He's fine at his new price.
Jackson Merrill, SS, SD -- Feb. ADP: 536.1; March ADP: 426.2
Merrill isn't exactly dominating in spring yet, but he hasn't been overwhelmed either, hitting .273/.360/.318 in his first eight games. He's climbing because it looks increasingly likely that the consensus top-20 prospect in baseball will be in the Padres outfield on Opening Day as a 20-year-old. He's a long shot to be an impact player in Year one given his lack of present-day power, but you could be getting a 15-15 player with a helpful batting average here.
Chris Sale, P, ATL -- Feb. ADP: 138.9; March ADP: 113.6
Sale's velocity is up this spring, and he's looked like his vintage self, with nine strikeouts and six baserunners allowed in 4.2 innings of work. But the thing about Sale is, if all he does is what he's done since the start of 2021 – 3.93 ERA, 1.185 WHIP, 182 strikeouts in 151 innings – he's probably a decent value at his current price. I don't have him ranked quite this high, so I'll probably end up missing out, but I don't mind the swing for upside here.
Carlos Estevez, P, LAA -- Feb. ADP: 276.2; March ADP: 228.6
With Robert Stephenson nursing a sore shoulder, the Fantasy community has had to come to grips with the fact that its collective least favorite closer is, in fact, still his team's closer. The Angels have said so explicitly, and yet he remains a very solid value as one of the better late bets for saves.
Byron Buxton, UT, MIN -- Feb. ADP: 233.4; March ADP: 196.5
Buxton's price continues to climb, and yet I continue to think he's a very nice value, if not quite a steal. Since his 2019 breakout, Buxton has averaged 24 homers and 11 steals per-100 games, so even if he doesn't stay healthy for long, he's likely going to be a nice contributor. And, for whatever it's worth, he's currently healthy, something we couldn't say this time last year, when he was nonetheless a top-100 pick.
Paul Skenes, P, PIT -- Feb. ADP: 320.4; March ADP: 270.9
This one is going to move in the opposite direction after the Pirates confirmed that Skenes isn't going to break camp with the team, but I'm not going to bury him in the rankings. It probably won't be more than a month or two before Skenes gets called up, assuming he stays healthy, and he still has incredible upside. He was viewed as arguably the best pitching prospect in college since Stephen Strasburg, and Strasburg made his debut on June 8 the year after he was drafted. I wouldn't be surprised if Skenes beats that timeline.
Reynaldo Lopez, P, ATL -- Feb. ADP: 526.1; March ADP: 446.8
With one earned one run on a solo homer across his first two spring outings, Lopez has seemingly solidified his hold on the fifth starter's spot for the Braves … and yet I find myself less interested in him as a late-round sleeper after seeing him in spring. The thing is, we've seen a lot of Lopez as a starter in the majors, and it's been awfully uninspiring – 4.73 ERA, 1.372 WHIP over 97 career starts. His velocity spiked in a relief role and he was much more effective, but it's been back down to the mid-90s so far in spring, and I'm just not sure he can be effective in that velocity range. I think Lopez is a fine late-round target in H2H points leagues, but my expectations are low.
Andres Munoz, P, SEA -- Feb. ADP: 115.2; March ADP: 98.4
I guess Munoz's price is rising with Matt Brash's spring elbow injury, but I'm not sure the two things really should be related. Munoz was the guy they turned to after Paul Sewald was traded last summer, and I don't think there was much reason to assume he wouldn't be the guy even with a healthy Brash. However, with Brash's early-season status very much in doubt now, Munoz is the clear top option and should be treated as such.
