Buy The Dip: 2026 Fantasy Baseball Post-Hype Sleepers

Post-hype sleepers sometimes end up being the best value picks in the middle and final rounds of fantasy baseball drafts. In fact, the 2025 version of this article mentioned Gavin Williams and Jonathan Aranda, who both went from being late-round gambles or April waiver-wire fodder to productive lineup members. Trent Grisham would have been an excellent choice as well, as he turned around a floundering career by homering 34 times.

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This year’s crop of post-hype sleepers includes options that are spaced throughout the draft, but most members are clustered as late-round options who will open 2026 on waivers in many leagues.

Francisco Alvarez, C, New York Mets (ADP: 196.2)

Once considered a budding superstar at the scarcest position when he hit 25 homers in 2023, Alvarez is now an afterthought in the deepest group of catchers we have seen. The 24-year-old dealt with multiple injuries across 2024-25 but may have finally put those issues behind him when he hit .276 with eight homers and a .921 OPS in 41 second-half games last season.

The problem is that no one noticed, as catchers such as Hunter Goodman and Shea Langeliers were stealing the show, and rookies like Agustín Ramírez and Kyle Teel were also grabbing headlines. Nonetheless, Alvarez is part of a loaded Mets lineup and could establish himself as a top-12 catcher early in the season.

Gabriel Moreno, C, Arizona Diamondbacks (ADP: 197.9)

Moreno joins Alvarez as a catcher whose post-hype sleeper status is magnified by the tremendous depth at the position. The 26-year-old is understandably going undrafted in many leagues. Sure, he has an impressive career .281 average, but he has yet to produce a double-digit homer season. Moreno could be ready for a power breakout though, as he has always produced quality exit velocities and boosted his fly-ball rate 5% in each of the past two seasons. Injuries have held the catcher back throughout his career, but with better health, he could hit .285 with 15-20 homers and 70 RBI from the heart of Arizona’s lineup.

Michael Harris II, OF, Atlanta Braves (ADP: 96.0)

Many fantasy analysts predicted Harris to be a 30-30 player in 2023, after he hit .297 with 19 homers and 20 steals as a 21-year-old in 114 games as a rookie. Unfortunately, the outfielder has trended in the wrong direction for three straight seasons. He hit rock bottom when he arrived at the 2025 All-Star break hitting .210 with a .551 OPS, but just when everyone gave up on him, Harris hit .299 with 14 homers and an .845 OPS in 67 second-half games.

Is he finally ready to reach his 30-30 ceiling? At the moment, it only requires a pick ahead of his 96 ADP to find out.

MacKenzie Gore, SP, Texas Rangers (ADP: 149.3)

Gore’s post-hype sleeper status took a hit when he was traded from the Nats to the Rangers. The deal was a clear win for his fantasy value, which put the lefty back on the radar for many managers who had previously dismissed him. Still, he perfectly fits the profile of a post-hype player, as he teased fantasy managers many times across 2023-25, when he enjoyed brilliant spurts that were always followed by maddening stretches.

He already has excellent strikeout skills and may finally be ready to post a respectable WHIP now that he has a pitcher-friendly home park and solid defensive group behind him.

Andrew Painter, SP, Philadelphia Phillies (ADP: 206.3)

Can someone be a post-hype sleeper before they appear in a major league game? That may be the case with Painter. The 2021 first-round pick missed all of 2023-24 and was expected to debut last season before logging poor results (5.26 ERA, 1.49 WHIP) across 118 minor league innings.

Along the way, youngsters such as Nolan McLean, Trey Yesavage and Jacob Misiorowski distanced themselves from Painter by having exciting major league debuts. Painter was once in front of those hurlers on prospect lists, and he now has a clear path to an Opening Day rotation spot.

Grayson Rodriguez, SP, Los Angeles Angels (ADP: 205.1)

Rodriguez had a respectable rookie season in 2023 and took a step forward when he went 13-4 with solid ratios (3.86 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) in his sophomore campaign. The right-hander missed all of 2025 due to elbow issues that eventually required surgery, and the pitching-needy Orioles had so little faith in his ability to bounce back that they traded him for one season of Taylor Ward.

The late rounds of Yahoo drafts are meant for chasing upside, and managers only need to look at Rodriguez’s career 259:78 K:BB ratio to see a reason to give him a couple of weeks on their roster.

Zebby Matthews, SP, Minnesota Twins (ADP: 194.7)

Those who analyze minor league stats were touting Matthews during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, as his strong strikeout skills and minuscule walk rate gave the right-hander the look of someone who was destined for stardom. To say that Matthews (career 5.92 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) has disappointed would be an understatement. Bad luck (67.4% strand rate, .359 BABIP) has been part of the problem, but Matthews has also given up too much hard contact at times.

Opportunities abound on the rebuilding Twins, and this feels like a make-or-break season for the 25-year-old.

Joe Boyle, SP, Tampa Bay Rays (Undrafted)

Although his skills aren’t identical to those of Matthews, Boyle has some similarities. Minor league stat analysts were digging the right-hander during 2024 spring training, as he had gaudy minor league strikeout numbers and looked sharp in three debut starts the previous September. Unfortunately, control issues (career 5.7 BB/9 rate) and bad luck (64.1% strand rate) have thus far negated any chance of Boyle having success in the majors. There was renewed optimism for a breakout when he was traded to the Rays prior to last season, but it didn’t happen.

Maybe making half of his starts at pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field will help Boyle get over the hump. But the bottom line is that the 26-year-old needs to get his walks under control before breaking out. Opportunities should be available in a Rays rotation that has few dependable members.