Fantasy baseball drafts are down to the wire. With spring training finishing up and the Tokyo Series already done, we have more information on late-round rookie pitchers to target, since rosters are getting finalized.
Below are five rookie pitchers for your fantasy baseball teams. The focus will be on the later rounds, using National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) average draft position (ADP), since this has been the most active platform for drafts throughout the offseason. Each pitcher discussed is available outside of the top 350 picks.
With that in mind, let’s find some late-round rookie pitcher fantasy baseball sleepers to help you build a championship roster. While some of these pitchers will start the year in the Minors, expect them to make an impact at some point this year.
- 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit
- Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings
- Fantasy Baseball Research & Advice
- Fantasy Baseball Average Draft Position (ADP)
Fantasy Baseball Rookie Sleepers to Draft
Sean Burke (SP – CWS) | ADP: 388
Sean Burke is penciled in as the Opening Day starter for the White Sox. The 25-year-old righty looked impressive in a 19-inning small sample with Chicago last season, registering a 3.56 SIERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate. Playing for a rebuilding team desperate for innings, expect Burke to get plenty of opportunities, especially in the early stages of the season.
Burke combined for 90.2 innings between the Minors and Majors last season, so a 40-to-50-inning jump feels about right for his volume projection this season. Despite playing for a bad team, we should remember that this time last year, Garrett Crochet was an afterthought in drafts as well. Don’t avoid premium talent just due to team context.
Burke posted 40+% whiff rates on his slider and change-up last season. There’s a high upside for strikeouts here, as highlighted by projections systems. The OOPSY projections from Jordan Rosenblum on FanGraphs have Burke slated for a 24.3% strikeout rate in his rookie season.
Richard Fitts (SP – BOS) | ADP: 390.23
Richard Fitts has an opportunity to open the season in the Red Sox rotation since Brayan Bello (shoulder) will start the year on the injured list (IL). We’ve seen Fitts look completely dominant during spring training, posting a 0.84 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with four walks and 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings.
This is a pitcher who showcased velocity gains, which translated to strong spring results, sitting at 97 miles per hour (MPH) after he was at 94 MPH last season. The fact we’ve seen more strikeouts due to this uptick in velocity has to have you feeling optimistic about Fitts’ chances of making an early-season impact.
We’ve seen the Red Sox have some success in pitching development lately — look at Tanner Houck last season. While Fitts’ stay in the rotation could be short-lived when Bello returns, this is a group that also includes injury risks like Lucas Giolito, Walker Buehler and Crochet, so Fitts could be in and out of the rotation all year.
Zebby Matthews (SP – MIN) | ADP: 403.77
Zebby Matthews posted an impressive 30.5% strikeout rate and a 1.9% walk rate in 97 innings in the Minors last season, resulting in some hype before his call-up to the big leagues. Once Matthews joined the Twins, he still put up a respectable 18.1% strikeout-to-walk rate (K-BB%) in 37.2 innings, but it came with a 6.69 ERA due to an inflated 2.63 HR/9.
The good news is Matthews’ ability to rack up strikeouts and limit walks translated to the big leagues. If he can just keep his home run rate more in check, there’s some upside here. Matthews boasts a diverse arsenal that includes a four-seamer, change-up, cutter, curveball, and slider. The slider generated a 37.6% whiff rate last season.
We saw Matthews look good in spring training, putting up 9.1 shutout innings, but he’s already been sent down to the Minors. However, with Simeon Woods Richardson and Chris Paddack occupying the final two spots in the Twins’ rotation, there is room for Matthews later in the season. Matthews seems more polished than fellow prospect David Festa, so expect the former to be called up first.
Michael McGreevy (SP – STL) | ADP: 435.54
Michael McGreevy is a polished starter who can induce ground balls at a high rate, including an impressive 62.5% ground ball rate in 23 innings in the big leagues last season. We’ve seen the Cardinals’ rookie look impressive during spring training, registering a 1.54 ERA and 0.77 WHIP with zero walks and eight strikeouts in 11.2 innings.
There have been rumblings the Cardinals are considering a six-man rotation. This would include Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, Andre Pallante and Steven Matz. The idea here would be to open up a spot for McGreevy, who is ready for the big leagues.
The Cardinals appear to be embracing a youth movement, letting Paul Goldschmidt walk and looking to trade Nolan Arenado. It would make sense for them to see what they have in McGreevy. The one issue is that Matthew Liberatore could be another candidate for the sixth rotation spot. Even still, McGreevy is worth a dart throw in deeper leagues.
Thomas Harrington (SP – PIT) | ADP: 589.61
Thomas Harrington put up a 2.61 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 19 walks and 115 strikeouts in 117.1 innings in the Minors last season. While Bubba Chandler is the more highly-touted Pirates prospect, don’t count out Harrington to make an impact at some point this season.
With Jared Jones seeking a second opinion on his elbow, he’ll likely be spending time on the IL. It’s just a matter of whether that’s an extended absence or not. It’s worth noting Harrington was mentioned as one of the potential replacements for Jones by Pirates beat writer Noah Hiles in a recent interview on 93.7 The Fan.
We saw the Pirates award a spot to Jones over Paul Skenes out of the gate last season. We might see a repeat scenario with the less-flashy Harrington getting the nod over Chandler. It would be well-deserved, as Harrington has looked sharp this spring, putting up a 2.70 ERA in 6.2 innings.
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