Fantasy Baseball Designated Hitter Draft Steal Candidates for 2025: Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson, Masataka Yoshida and More

After taking a look at some designated hitter draft bust candidates, let's go over some draft steal candidates right away.

We've already looked at draft steals for relief pitchers, starting pitchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen and shortstops.

Also be sure to check out my top-10 redraft rankings for DHs for 2025. I'm not going to put together a dynasty list for that position with so much turnover at the position from season to season.

Check out Fantasy Baseball Average Draft Position data for 2025 and get ready for your fantasy drafts by utilizing the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Simulator.

1. Shohei Ohtani

You might consider this cheating, but I'm taking Ohtani first. He's the consensus first overall pick, especially if you get him as a hitter and pitcher. He's obviously my No. 1 redraft fantasy DH, and he's my No. 1 fantasy player overall for 2025.

Wait, how can a guy being drafted first possibly be a draft steal? It's simple. Ohtani is so good that he can carry fantasy teams to greatness, and if he delivers another big season at the plate, he'll be a steal to me.

Ohtani was the top fantasy hitter a season ago, so if you add some pitching to that, he's clearly the best fantasy option for 2025. He's being drafted as the No. 1 guy because he's going to score the most points combined easily. If he is the top fantasy hitter again (not including any pitching stats), he's a draft steal for me.

In 159 games last season, Ohtani had a .310 average, .390 OBP, 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 59 stolen bases and 134 runs scored. I mean, that's just ridiculous production.

The thing is, most expect Ohtani to repeat those numbers again in 2025. The Dodgers are stacked, and as long as Ohtani plays a similar amount of games, those stats should all be achievable again. Even if he isn't hitting when he's pitching, I like his fantasy ceiling more this season as a hitter because of all the talent around him in the lineup.

Take Ohtani with the first pick if you can utilize him as a hitter and pitcher, or just as a hitter. He's going to power fantasy teams to greatness, and if you're lucky enough to roster him, you should be in for a good fantasy season as long as you can draft pretty well around him.

2. Jorge Soler

Soler is my No. 6 fantasy DH for 2025. He is a late-round draft pick right now, but someone who I think could surprise a lot of fantasy owners.

In 142 games between time with the Giants and Braves last season, Soler had a .241 average and .338 OBP. He hit 21 homers, drove in 64 runs and scored 84 times. 

Soler should have right field eligibility going into this season, which is a plus in his favor. That way, you can utilize him there instead of just a DH or utility spot.

I expect Soler to hit in the heart of the Angels' lineup. If the team can stay healthy, the likes of Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo and Mike Trout could be the ones hitting before him, setting up Soler with a chance to drive in a bunch of runs.

It's not often you could draft a cleanup hitter in the later rounds, but Soler is on the short list there. Because he's not limited to just being a DH for fantasy purposes, I think there's enough positives to take a gamble on Soler.

He shouldn't be looked at as a main fantasy contributor, but instead as a secondary guy who might get hot for a few stretches during the season. Soler has a little more value in deeper leagues of course, but I'd also be fine taking Soler in a standard league and roster/play him at the start of the season.

3. Joc Pederson

Pederson is my No. 8 fantasy DH for 2025. He isn't part of the ADP data yet, but likely isn't too far off it either.

In 132 games with the Diamondbacks in 2024, Pederson had a .275 average and .393 OBP. He hit 23 home runs, drove in 64 runs, stole seven bases and scored 62 runs. 

His average was near his 2022 mark, but he batted just .235 in 2023, so there's definitely some inconsistent results. Pederson's OBP last season was a career high by 40 points, so I expect some regression there.

He has big homer potential, but topping out around 20 seems most likely again. Pederson's RBI production is really based on the team around him, as are his runs scored totals.

Playing with Texas this season should boost his fantasy value. He's expected to hit in the heart of the lineup, but his fantasy ceiling will be capped if he continues to be a platoon player, which he should be again. He has only played over 150 games once in his career, and most often sits between 130-140. Pederson hasn't had over 450 at-bats in any of the past three seasons.

You can see why Pederson isn't a big draft asset for 2025. He's got enough upside to take a chance on with a late-round pick in standard leagues though, and the deeper the league, the more valuable he becomes.

Even if he's only rosterable in standard leagues during his hot streaks at the plate, he's likely going to outperform a lot of his preseason projections, and that makes him a draft steal.

4. Masataka Yoshida

Yoshida is another late-round fantasy pick right now. He's my No. 9 fantasy DH for 2025.

Yoshida had a really good first MLB season in 2023, but was then limited to 108 games last season. In those games, Yoshida had a .280 average, .349 OBP, 10 homers, 56 RBIs, two stolen bases and 45 runs scored.

We still haven't seen a complete season out of Yoshida, but his 162-game averages (.285 average, .343 OBP, 16 home runs, 84 RBIs, seven stolen bases and 76 runs scored) are really good, and deserving of a much higher draft pick.

I think Yoshida is really flying under the radar right now. His draft stock could rise as the season nears, but if you're drafting soon, you have a great opportunity to take him late and have him be a big draft steal.

A problem with him is that he might only be eligible at the DH spot for this season, at least at the start of things. He's expected to play some outfield this season, so it might not take him long to gain eligibility there.

I'd be more than happy to spend a late-round pick on Yoshida, especially if you took gambles on picks earlier on. He should be able to help out in the outfield in time, and I just think he's going to outperform his draft slot by a lot.

5. Ryan O'Hearn

O'Hearn was not a top-10 fantasy DH for me, but he made the honorable mention list. He's also not in the draft data right now, but like Pederson, probably isn't far off.

In 142 games last season, which was a career high for him, O'Hearn had a .264 average, .334 OBP,  15 home runs, 59 RBIs, three stolen bases and 60 runs scored.

He was a force in the middle of the lineup, although his overall numbers lacked a bit. O'Hearn should be in a similar position going into 2025, just with some new names around him.

A big reason O'Hearn isn't being drafted in every league is because he's likely going to platoon again for 2025. He showed last season that he could still deliver decent numbers in that role, but it also limits his fantasy ceiling.

I like the idea of taking O'Hearn the deeper a fantasy draft/league gets. He plays and produces enough to be rostered in some standard leagues, and likely won't ever be rostered in every league.

He was good enough last season to hold early in the season to see if he can replicate some of that success. At least to begin the season, O'Hearn looks like he has the opportunity to do that.