Yahoo Fantasy Plus identifies 5 boom-or-bust infielders — should you draft them?

In case you haven't heard the exciting news, Yahoo Fantasy Plus has some major upgrades for this fantasy baseball season, giving subscribers new tools with deeper insights for a competitive edge.

Among the improvements, you can access new, detailed maximum and minimum projections in points leagues to better predict a number of things when it comes to your draft prep, including which potential picks might exceed their projection and be a “Boom” for your squad — or fall short of expectations and be a “Bust”.

[Unlock premium draft tools & player projections with Yahoo Fantasy Plus]

Using the Fantasy Plus Experts Consensus model, we've identified five infielders with the widest range of outcomes (AKA the hardest players to project) for 2025. We've also included a wealth of data, both free (consensus projected fantasy points and 2025 season stats) as well as exclusive to Yahoo Fantasy Plus (consensus maximum/minimum fantasy points projections and highest/lowest expert rank) to give you a sample of all we have to offer.

Scott Pianowski has analyzed the data and reveals if he’s in or out on each player.

Tyler Stephenson, Reds

3rd-widest range of outcomes among catchers using Fantasy Plus modeling

Projected fantasy points: 825

Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 1036

Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 573

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

AVG

HR

RBI

SB

R

.253

16

60

1

58

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 165

Highest overall rank: 147 (Scott Pianowski, Yahoo)

Lowest: 220 (Daniel Marcus, Rotowire)

Stevenson has been a better-than-average offensive contributor in three of his past four seasons, though the 2022 campaign was truncated by injury. The average slash line comes in at .267/.342/.424, and even his worst OPS season also included 13 home runs and 56 RBI, passable production from a catcher.

Bottom line: A lot of positive dots connect here — Stevenson enters his age-28 season and plays in a hitter-friendly park, and I suspect a healthy year from his teammates will allow the Reds to improve on last year's ordinary run count. Fantasy managers don't have to attack the catcher position early in drafts, because a handful of affordable options at reasonable prices are waiting for you. Stevenson is a primary member of that target group.

Michael Toglia, Rockies

8th-widest range of outcomes among first basemen using Fantasy Plus modeling

Projected fantasy points: 1019

Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 1226

Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 728

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

AVG

HR

RBI

SB

R

.232

25

71

8

69

Avg: | HR: 25 | RBI: 71 | SB: 8 | R: 69

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 203.6

Highest overall rank: 178 (Dalton Del Don, Yahoo)

Lowest: 235 (Ryan Rufe, Rotowire)

Toglia conked 21 homers in 116 games last year, we can't unsee that. He also struck out 147 times and hit .218, we can't unsee that either. His home/road splits were strange, as he hit 17 of his homers away from Coors and had a higher OPS on the road.

Bottom line: First base used to be a fantasy fun zone. It's become trickier in recent years. You better look at the bottom half of the first base pool and find someone you like. If it's not Toglia, maybe it's Tyler Soderstrom or Ryan Mountcastle. How can Carlos Santana keep producing at his age? Soderstrom is my favorite of these guys at the current market, but I did target Toglia for a best-ball draft, expecting a volatile profile (that's why he's in this article) but ultimately a good power line by the end of the year.

Jackson Holliday, Orioles

The widest range of outcomes among second basemen using Fantasy Plus modeling

Projected fantasy points: 821

Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 985

Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 546

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

AVG

HR

RBI

SB

R

.233

12

50

9

64

Avg: | HR: 12 | RBI: 50 | SB: 9 | R: 64

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 236.2

Highest overall rank: 211 (Andy Behrens, Yahoo)

Lowest: 319 (Rufe)

Baseball is hard and development is not always linear with prospects. We saw this with Holliday last year, as he didn't hit a lick after his recall and finished with an OPS+ of 66, a whopping 34 percent off the league average. Left-handers in particular knocked the bat out of his hands, holding him to a .100/.271/.200 slash. It was almost like watching a pitcher bat from an era we've thankfully left behind.

Bottom line: Until about 24 hours ago, I was unintentionally the highest Yahoo-and-friends ranker on Holliday, a stance I have since amended (I've moved him down). While it's important to remember that Holliday has a glittering pedigree and the skills could kick in at any time, he's also merely 21 and the Orioles will likely keep him buried in the lineup, ostensibly to lessen pressure on the kid. Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde also has a habit of yo-yoing his younger players in and out of the lineup; again, the intent is good, but I suspect it's a hindrance to player development. I'll need a prove-it season from Holliday, and if that means I'm a year late to the party, so be it.

Masyn Winn, Cardinals

6th-widest range of outcomes among shortstops using Fantasy Plus modeling

Projected fantasy points: 1042

Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 1197

Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 763

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

AVG

HR

RBI

SB

R

.255

14

63

15

78

Avg: | HR: 14 | RBI: 63 | SB: 15 | R: 78

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 156.2

Highest overall rank: 134 (Pianowski)

Lowest: 176 (Behrens)

When it comes to Winn on the bases, to this point he's been more fast (87% sprint speed) than heady (11-for-16 on swipes last year). Alas, Winn's been talking about more steals this season, and he'll probably get a long look in the leadoff spot for St. Louis. Last year's 15 homers were a pleasant surprise, although Statcast says he was lucky with his slugging percentage (his hard-hit metrics were also mediocre).

Bottom line: Hopefully Winn can hang onto the No. 1 slot, as his OBP tumbled in the second half of 2024. You'd also like to see a spike in his walk rate. That said, he has good plate discipline and makes excellent contact, and he's already a star defender — he has no risk of losing his starting job. Winn's makeup and approach to the game makes me willing to price some improvement into his 2025 projection. The depth of the shortstop pool means I don't have to attack him aggressively, but I'm certainly willing to roster him.

Alex Bregman, Red Sox

5th-widest range of outcomes among third basemen using Fantasy Plus modeling

Projected fantasy points: 1179

Consensus maximum fantasy points projection: 1336

Consensus minimum fantasy points projection: 915

2025 Yahoo Fantasy consensus projections

AVG

HR

RBI

SB

R

.264

24

85

3

85

Avg: | HR: 24 | RBI: 85 | SB: 3 | R: 85

Rankings overview

Composite expert rank: 91

Highest overall rank: 81 (Pianowski)

Lowest: 111 (Del Don)

The Bregman signing completed a strong offseason for the Red Sox, as they decided to stop acting like a small-market team. The contract was creative (opt-outs, deferred money) and although there's been mild attrition to Bregman's bat, he's still a plus offensive player who does a lot of things well. He's also a .375 career hitter in Fenway, for whatever that small sample matters to you. The possible second-base shift shouldn't be a problem, and Bregman obviously has a rapport with manager Alex Cora.

Bottom line: Bregman is likely past his prime entering his age-31 season, but Fenway's dream setup should mitigate some of that. He's likely to pick up extra position eligibility during the year, and Boston has a fun lineup, especially the upper half (Bregman is expected to bat third). I'm the highest ranker of Bregman but try to take him around ADP (90th overall)), not my ranking, for maximum profit.

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