The American League East always draws plenty of attention. You have the reigning American League champs in the Yankees. Their bitter rivals the Red Sox are trying to get back into things after trading for Garrett Crochet. The Orioles are filled with. young talent but have failed to find success in the playoffs. The Blue Jays try to sign every big free agent but come up short, and then there are the Rays who consistently find ways to win despite minuscule payrolls. 2025 projects to be no different. This is a high-profile division with lots of impactful fantasy assets. Several starting roles are up for grabs as we head towards Spring Training. This article details the Spring Training battles for fantasy managers to watch from the AL East.
Spring Training Battles to Watch for Fantasy
Tampa Bay Rays – Designated Hitter
The Rays’ overperformance came to an end in 2024. Now, as the team looks to retool for 2025, many are wondering if they will give some of their younger hitters a longer leash. The use of analytics frequently has stalled prospects from regular playing time and could continue in 2025. A prime position to watch for this is the DH role. Jonathan Aranda has put up big-time numbers in the Minor Leagues but has never been given the chance to play regularly at the Major League level. Curtis Mead is another prospect who has failed to cement himself at the big-league level. Then there is Eloy Jimenez who was signed this off-season and who is looking to rebound. The DH spot is wide open and could come down to who plays best this spring.
Aranda has already found himself featured in one of my articles this year. Looking at his small sample from 2024, Aranda could turn into a significant fantasy asset. He has the batted ball data to support significant positive regression in the power department. He also drastically improved his contact skills last year. Fantasy baseball managers need to see if the Rays are letting him accumulate at-bats against left-handed pitching this spring. Aranda hit just .176 off of lefties last year and could be forced into a platoon. He is the player I am rooting for this spring but his fantasy upside could be capped.
Curtis Mead is in a similar position as Aranda. A former top prospect who cannot seem to get an extended leash. The difference is that Mead offers significantly less upside. The batted ball data, specifically his barrel rates trail far behind Aranda’s. His speed is better but an aggressive approach has gotten him in trouble against Major League pitching. Mead will need to show off an improved hit tool if he is going to win this job in Spring Training.
Jimenez has probably the most upside of anybody in this group but feels like the least likely to succeed. After hitting 31 home runs in his rookie year, Jimenez has looked like a shell of his former self. He hit just .238 last year with the White Sox and Orioles and will require a major swing adjustment to ever tap into his power consistently. He has been unable to lift the ball and has dealt with injuries every year. If there is one team to unlock Jimenez’s potential it could be Tampa. If he is swinging a hot bat in Spring Training, he will fly up draft boards.
Baltimore Orioles- Second Base/Third Base
Will the Orioles take the training wheels off? The team is flush with young talent that has come up over the past couple of seasons. Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, and Jordan Westburg have cemented themselves as core lineup pieces moving forward. Now the attention shifts to Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo. Both top prospects struggled at the Major League level last year. There is one lineup spot open for the two of them to fight for. Oh, also do not forget about Ramon Urias who the team is always looking to find at-bats for.
Urias represents the key to figuring this out. There is a chance that with a strong Spring Training, Urias could force the Orioles to send both Holliday and Mayo back to Triple-A. Although he is maligned in the fantasy community, Urias posted a 115 wRC+ for Baltimore last season. He hit 11 home runs in just 100 games. He has consistently been the preferred option of manager Brandon Hyde and there is no reason to assume this will change in 2025. His playing time is likely more contingent on the performance of the other two options in Spring Training than it is on his own.
As previously mentioned, Holliday struggled in his first taste of Major League action. However, he is going to be just 21 for the entire 2025 season. There is no reason to write him off yet. Holliday also looked better in his second stint with the team hitting five homers with four steals in the second half. His 600 PA pace was 17 homers and 14 steals. Not elite production, but steady improvements. Holliday needs to prove this Spring Training he can handle Major League pitching. He whiffed over 34% of the time last year looking overmatched at times. This is an elite talent, and talent should win out, but this is still a situation to monitor.
Mayo is in a similar boat as Holliday. He collected just four hits in his 46 plate appearances. His hit tool appears to be a bigger issue than scouts originally thought and could prevent him from getting to his power consistently. He has 40 home run upside but will need to show improvements to his hit tool this spring. The other area that Mayo will need to prove himself is defensively. Mayo is not the defender that Holliday is giving him another hurdle to overcome. First base and DH are filled by Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle making third base the only option for Mayo at this time.
Boston Red Sox – Second Base
All eyes are on baseball’s top prospect Roman Anthony. However, the Red Sox outfield is overcrowded as it is. Ceddanne Rafeala projects as the starting center fielder with Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, and Masataka Yoshida all looking for at-bats. The true battle is really at second base. David Hamilton was a nice story last season, Vaughn Grissom once seemed like a future star with Atlanta, and then there is the other top prospect Boston has in Krisitian Campbell. Spring Training performance is sure to decide this battle.
Hamilton played in 98 games for Boston last season, accumulating 33 stolen bases and eight home runs. Hamilton stole bases at an elite rate in the games he played. Fantasy managers could extrapolate his stats to 600 plate appearances and see a 60-steal player. The issue is that Hamilton does not produce much outside of that. His batted ball data was poor and he strikes out a good amount. He also hit just .208 against lefties last season. The ceiling for Hamilton feels like the strong side of a platoon but he could have the “veteran edge” entering Spring Training.
The team could also go with Vaugn Grissom who was the headline return for last year’s NL Cy-Young Award winner Chris Sale. Grissom has seen his offensive production decline with each season and wound up playing in just 31 games for Boston last year. He continued to make too much weak contact and has nearly zero fantasy value. His numbers are better against lefties making him a logical platoon partner for Hamilton.
The real fantasy appeal is with Kristian Campbell. Campbell set the dynasty world on fire last season. He broke out to the tune of 20 homers with 24 steals plus a .330 batting average. Campbell looks like a potentially elite fantasy prospect. He has plus speed, plus power, strong contact skills, and elite plate discipline. The one area of concern is a high ground ball rate. His defensive versatility should get him to Boston soon and a strong Spring Training would certainly land him the second base role out of the gates. Campbell is a prospect to know for redraft and could finish inside of the top 10 at the second base position as a rookie.
New York Yankees – Third Base
The Yankees made it back to the World Series for the first time since 2009. Even with the departure of Juan Soto, the team is still in a prime spot to take another trip there in 2025. Although there has been speculation that they could add another bat to the lineup, the team does not appear to be making any other moves. This leaves third base as a wide-open battle heading into Spring Training this year. Veteran DJ LeMahieu will have a chance to prove he still has something left in the tank. Then there is Oswald and Oswaldo (Peraza and Cabrera) who have been seemingly hanging around for years waiting for their chance. The dark horse in the battle is prospect, Jorbit Vivas.
Considering the team is still paying DJ Lemahieu $15 million, his winning the job in Spring Training would be easiest for them. LeMahieu however has gotten worse and worse since signing that contract following the 2020 season, His average dipped from .364 to .268, down to .261, then to .243, and finally .204 last season. His batted ball data has steadily declined despite strong contact rates. Age and the weight of 6680 Major League plate appearances are clearly taking their toll on LeMahieu. He is well past his glory days and even if he wins the job in camp, there is little fantasy value to be had.
Oswaldo Cabrera is the current projected starter, according to Roster Resource. Cabrera has served as a utility player for the Yankees for the past three seasons but has not produced much offensively. Through his first 827 plate appearances, Cabrera owns an 80 wRC+. The lack of power and speed makes it difficult to see him accumulating much of any fantasy value. His glove could win him the job, although he is unlikely to hold onto it throughout the season.
Peraza put up big Minor League numbers in 2021 and 2022 but has struggled in extended Major League plate appearances. Peraza has plus speed but his hit tool is suspect at best. Major League pitching has easily exploited the holes in his swing leading to high strikeout rates. His underwhelming batted ball data makes it difficult to believe in his Minor League home run totals. Even still, he likely offers the highest ceiling in terms of fantasy value. There is 15 homer and 30 steal potential if Peraza shows off an improved hit tool this spring. Vivas is a longshot but could earn some consideration with a strong Spring Training. Vivas struggled in his first season with the Yankees’ organization and posted an exit velocity under 84 mph in Triple-A. He profiles best as a utility infielder.
Toronto Blue Jays – 3B/DH
This whole section could be irrelevant if the Jays go through with signing Alex Bregman. However, they have been rumored to be in on just about every big free agent this season. Sorry Jays fans. Assuming that the Jays do not sign Bregman, there are still a few big holes in their lineup. In particular, there are a handful of young players battling for playing time in the infield. Even after trading for Andres Gimenez, the third base battle is wide open. A lot of the players battling for time at third base are also battling for the designated hitter role. Will Wagner, Addison Barger, Orelvis Martinez, and Ernie Clement are all trying to lock down the two starting positions open. With lots of young talent in that group, this position battle could be one that has big-time fantasy implications.
The two projected starters in this battle according to Roster Resource are Ernie Clement and Will Wagner. Clement stepped into regular playing time for most of the 2024 season and put up unspectacularly decent numbers. In 452 plate appearances, Clement hit 12 homers with 12 steals and a 94 wRC+. Clement has a plus hit tool thanks to great contact skills. The issue is that he is extremely aggressive and does not walk much. From a fantasy perspective, it would likely take an approach change to unlock any significant fantasy value. For now, he is a better real-life player than a fantasy asset thanks to his glove. If the other young players do not perform well in Spring Training, Clement is likely the Jays’ fallback option.
Wagner came over from the Astros at last year’s trade deadline. Criminally underrated as a prospect, Wagner hit over .300 in his Major League debut last season. He possesses a much more attractive option for fantasy managers thanks to his ability to hit the ball hard. He has even more potential if he can get the ball in the air with more consistency. This is something to monitor in Spring Training. The other issue for fantasy managers is Wagner’s platoon splits. He hit .190 off lefties last year and could be forced into a platoon even if he wins the starting DH role out of Spring Training.
The two players on the outside looking in are Orelvis Martinez and Addison Barger. Martinez has the highest upside of the group. He has incredible raw power with 30+ home run upside. His contact tools are suspect at best, making a strong Spring Training crucial. Martinez is also coming off an 80-game suspension for PED use last year. He is the player fantasy managers should root for although his ability to win the job could be a long shot.
Meanwhile, Barger is a former top prospect himself. His production in 225 Major League plate appearances has not solidified him as a starter in the Jays’ lineup. Barger owns a .197 average in the Major Leagues. That average drops to .143 against lefties. Things did improve in his second stint last year as he hit seven homers in 159 plate appearances in the second half. This is a 26-HR per 600 PA pace. Barger has fantasy upside. The issue is that fantasy baseball managers are unable to rely on any form of consistency. Barger needs to show off significant improvements to his hit tool to crack the Opening Day roster and win a starting job.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
