Fantasy Baseball Who Should I Draft? Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mike Trout, Tarik Skubal and More

Deciding who to draft in fantasy baseball includes many variables, such as your roster construction, positional scarcity, personal preference, and more. When you are on the clock, you must crunch all those numbers in your head in real time; it's a stressful proposition, especially late in drafts.

Knowing that those decisions will come up, it's good to have a plan ahead of time based around what type of players you want to target and which positions you want to hit early. Mock drafts help with that; you'll get an idea for which players are available at different points in the draft, possibly informing some of your earlier choices.

Our FantasySP “Who Should I Draft?” tool lets you compare two players and breaks down who is the better draft pick based on our ADP rankings while giving you more information on each guy. The most common comparisons always offer a few interesting insights.

Owners compare just two players, but the type of player included can say more than just the individuals. It's different if you're looking at two guys at the same position: then it's more about who is better or has better value. When looking at guys at different positions, though, more goes into it, such as strength at the position, where you are in the draft, and more.

Let's go through some of the most common players and head-to-head matchups showing up on the draft tool. I will mostly list individuals, but those guys will often be stand-ins for a wider group. Most stats are from MLB.com.

Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge vs. Juan Soto

First, Ohtani: If he is available as both a pitcher and DH as just one player, he is the unquestioned top pick. It's not even close. Pay up for him in auction drafts also.

Then it becomes about Judge vs. Soto, which is a better argument. Soto has played at least 150 games in each of the past four seasons, while Judge topped that number twice (along with 148 and 106 games the other years). Judge is a bit more of an injury risk, which is enough to lean toward Soto.

Judge hits for more power, and Soto is generally better with batting average and getting on base. Soto walks more than he strikes out, a rare trait in 2025 and especially for a guy who hits for as much power as Soto. This really is a 50/50 proposition.

I will slightly favor Soto, especially since he's more than six years younger. Judge is a fine pick at No. 2, and I can't argue with anyone who prefers that route. I'm grabbing Soto when I'm on the clock, though.

Adley Rutschman vs. J.T. Realmuto

This is more about the early catcher (Rutschman and William Contreras) versus waiting and grabbing a guy in the later rounds. If you're getting someone in the Realmuto range, you're probably going to be streaming at catcher rather than sticking with one guy, and that's a fine strategy if it comes to that.

I prefer grabbing Contreras or Rutschman this year, though, because of how much higher rated they are than any other catcher. Our FantasySP ADP rankings have them both in the fourth round; no one else is before the eighth round, and only two others are before the 10th.

Getting one of the top guys means you are theoretically getting a huge advantage at one of the toughest positions at which to find fantasy production. Many big-league catchers derive a lot of their value from defense, but that doesn't help us here. The few elite offensive guys are worth reaching for.

If you miss those top two, then Will Smith of the Dodgers and Salvador Perez of the Royals (who is also eligible at first base) are my next favorite players. I usually end up with Perez in mock drafts because of his multi-positional ability.

Mike Trout vs. Jasson Dominguez

This is all about upside: Trout was once the best player in baseball and still shows those flashes, but he spends more time on the IL than on the field, leaving him as a risky fantasy player. Dominguez has less than 100 at-bats to his name, and he was a former top prospect who has since cooled into more of an everyday player rather than future star.

Dominguez could still find that previous potential and break out once he gets his chance in the majors, but that's more of a lottery ticket than anything. He is likely to be the starting left fielder most days, so he'll have the opportunity to put up fantasy stats immediately.

I like the idea of betting on Dominguez with the caveat that he's not someone you are counting on. We have Trout ranked 25th among outfielders by ADP and Dominguez 49th, so the value on Dominguez is much better (your last pick versus the 10th round). He's a guy to round out your bench.

Trout is a good draft pick because he starts the season with three games against the White Sox, probably the worst team in baseball. If you're worried about injury (a serious concern with Trout), his chances of staying healthy for the first three games are pretty good, meaning he'll provide plenty of potential value to start the year.

Both Trout and Dominguez are worthy of being picked where they are ranked, but I wouldn't be heartbroken about missing on either of them. If I were taking only one, I would go with Trout.

Tarik Skubal vs. Corbin Carroll

This is about pitcher versus hitter. These two young stars are fine stand-ins for guys like Paul Skenes, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Freddie Freeman. I'll give you a simple rule that I follow at all times: I prefer hitters to pitchers.

Injuries are more common among pitchers due to the nature of their job, so an early pitcher is automatically a bigger risk than an early position player. Pitchers also only play about 20-25% of the games that top position players do, so they have less chances to make a fantasy impact (this is especially true in points leagues).

Maybe most importantly, it's easier to approximate fantasy pitcher performance by streaming than it is with hitters. Pitcher performance is more fickle, being more affected by randomness in small samples. Targeting the worst offenses with good pitchers rather than just trying to find the best quality pitcher regardless of opponent can be a more lucrative strategy, though it takes more time and effort.

Starting Pitcher vs. Relief Pitcher

So, I like hitters more than pitchers, but when it comes to the hurlers, I always prefer starters. Many of the same rules apply: RPs are more volatile, and they make less volume impact than starters. I like the strategy of mostly eschewing saves and relievers, instead focusing on guys who are going to (hopefully) put up at least five innings per outing.

Only putting in guys who have good matchups unless you have an ace is a good way to manage innings if your league has limits, especially early in the year. We will know more about who the worst lineups really are as the season goes on, so getting most of your pitching production after the first month is a good strategy also.

The only time I'd say to focus on a reliever is if it's a high-level guy who drops far (like Josh Hader) or with your last few picks when you are rounding out your staff. Specific to this year, I like Pete Fairbanks of the Rays and Kenley Jansen of the Angels as last-round picks. They start the season against the Rockies and White Sox, respectively, giving them a better chance at save opportunities. They can also both easily be dropped at any point, giving you roster flexibility.