Analyzing Early Season Fantasy Baseball ADP Data for Hitters | Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., William Contreras, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and More

We still have a couple weeks before the MLB regular season gets rolling, but it's always fun to take a look at Average Draft Position data.

Here, we'll look at hitters only. Check back soon for an ADP story for pitchers.

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.

The Top-End Picks

As of the time of publication, Shohei Ohtani is the top pick on average. He has an average pick mark of 1.35.

Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. are the No. 2 and 3 players off draft boards in most drafts, with Judge holding the slight advantage right now (2.53 to 2.94).

Jose Ramirez and Juan Soto are close when it comes to the next two picks. Ramirez has an average pick mark of 5.41, while Soto sits at 5.53.

Mookie Betts (7.53), Gunnar Henderson (8.59) and Kyle Tucker (9.59) are the next three players selected on average.

Two pitchers, Tarik Skubal (10.71) and Paul Skenes (11.88) are the next two off draft boards on average and cap the top-10 picks.

Francisco Lindor (12.65), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (12.88) and Yordan Alvarez (13.65) are the other players with an average pick mark below 15.

Catchers

William Contreras is the first fantasy catcher off draft boards, with an average pick mark of 38.41. Adley Rutschman (45.12) is the only catcher going near Contreras.

Yainer Diaz is the next catcher off draft boards, but not until pick 70.53 on average.

Will Smith (92.53), Salvador Perez (93.59) and Cal Raleigh (100.76) are all going within a few picks of each other. Keibert Ruiz (141.75), J.T. Realmuto (147.23) and Gabriel Moreno (147.83) are all pretty close as well.

Austin Wells (155.5), Logan O'Hoppe (160), Tyler Stephenson (163.57), Alejandro Kirk (165.33) and Francisco Alvarez (166.64) are in the running for the top-10 draft slots among catchers.

First Basemen

Guerrero is easily the top first basemen in fantasy drafts so far.

Freddie Freeman (20.65) and Bryce Harper (22.18) are in a battle for the No. 2 slot. Matt Olson (38.59) is pretty comfortably in fourth, while Pete Alonso (50.06) is alone in fifth.

Josh Naylor (68.85), Christian Walker (75.35) and Luis Arraez (76.47) are all pretty close for the 6-8 slots. Vinnie Pasquantino (117.31) doesn't have much company in the ninth slot.

Triston Casas (136.19), Jake Cronenworth (137.88), Willson Contreras (141.12) and Yandy Diaz (141.73) are all pretty close for the 10th slot.

Second Basemen

Ketel Marte is pretty easily the No. 1 fantasy second basemen, going at pick 25.82 on average.

Jose Altuve (44.29), Marcus Semien (48.18) and Ozzie Albies (49.94) are all going within a few picks of each other for picks 2-4.

Nico Hoerner (111.38), Bryson Stott (112.6) and Brice Turang (113.77) are all stacked up for the next three picks.

Gleyber Torres (132.9), Xander Bogaerts (134.35), Jackson Holliday (136.73) and Jonathan India (142.88) are all going within 10 picks of each other and round out the top 10, and then some.

Shortstops

Witt, Betts, Henderson and Lindor are shortstops we already discussed from the top end of drafts.

Elly De La Cruz is going around pick 18 on average now and is the fifth shortstop of draft boards.

Trea Turner (39.82) and Corey Seager (42.82) are in a battle for the sixth pick. Willy Adames (71.71) is pretty locked in as the eighth SS off draft boards.

CJ Abrams (90.6) is going nearly 20 picks later, and Ezequiel Tovar (110.6) is another 20 picks after that. Matt McLain (125.53), Carlos Correa (137.83), Anthony Volpe (148.44), Bo Bichette (153.42), Zach Neto (154.38), Masyn Winn (156.67) and Jeremy Pena (161.93) are among a big group of other fantasy shortstops going in the later rounds.

Third Basemen

Ramirez was discussed as a top-end fantasy option, and he's clearly the top fantasy third basemen.

Rafael Devers and Manny Machado are in a battle for the second spot, going between picks 27.24-30 on average. Austin Riley is just a bit behind them at pick 43.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. (72.76) and Alex Bregman (74.88) are the next two third basemen up. There's a noticeable gap before Jordan Westburg (110), Nolan Arenado (113.4), Matt Chapman (114.13), Mark Vientos (116.23) and Junior Caminero (117.65) get taken.

Alec Bohm (122.19), Royce Lewis (127.47) and Isaac Paredes (131.5) aren't far off from that big cluster of players.

Outfielders

Judge, Soto, Tucker and Alvarez we discussed as top-end options.

Corbin Carroll is going around pick 15.24 on average. Fernando Tatis Jr. (20.41) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (25.53) are the next two outfielders off draft boards.

Jackson Chourio (33.06), Julio Rodriguez (33.47), Jackson Merrill (38.24) and Jarren Duran (38.71) are all going in the 30s so far.

There's a little separation before Anthony Santander (48.59) goes. Wyatt Langford (76.47) and Brent Rooker (77.41) are close together too.

Michael Harris II (80) and Steven Kwan (84.94) go in the 80s. Teoscar Hernandez (90.76), Bryan Reynolds (91), Brendan Donovan (92.22), Cody Bellinger (96.06), Oneil Cruz (97.71) and Spencer Steer (97.76) are a big group of outfielders going in the 90s.

Mike Trout (109.67) and James Wood (111.59) are going close together before things get really bunched up for outfielders.

Brenton Doyle, Brandon Nimmo, Randy Arozarena, Luis Robert Jr., Ian Happ, Christian Yelich, Lawrence Butler and Seiya Suzuki are all going between picks 115-123 on average.

Jurickson Profar (129.13) and Riley Greene (130.63) are the next two outfielders up, followed by Jung Hoo Lee (135.88) and Alec Burleson (137.11).

Adolis Garcia, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Josh Lowe are all in the 140s, while Kerry Carpenter, Dylan Crews, Colton Cowser, Nick Castellanos, Tyler O'Neill and George Springer are in the 150s.

Designated Hitters

Ohtani is listed as a designated hitter, and is easily the top guy for that position. 

Kyle Schwarber (59.24) and Marcell Ozuna (60.53) are the only other players listed at designated hitter, and they are being drafted right around each other.

There will be other players eligible for a fantasy DH spot, if your league has one.

Final Thoughts

Draft data is certainly going to shift between now and the start of the regular season, but it's fun to look at how things shift as the season nears.

Injuries will alter things, as will team news on a player's spot in the batting order. Now is the time to really lock into spring training news, because those kinds of things are being discussed daily.

If you are drafting soon, be sure to go through each position and mark your favorite players available. You might be able to get a preferred pick later in drafts, allowing you to target a different position earlier. 

For those of you drafting now though, my best advice is to still utilize the ADP list, but to also draft players where you think they should be taken. Maybe avoid taking someone 50 picks before their ADP, but if you are confident in a certain player, taking them a round or two earlier is fine by me.