Bases Loaded Fantasy Baseball Podcast · Fantasy Baseball | Mike Kurland | Age of Radio

8 SLEEPERS for the 2026 Season!

·21 min·1 clip

Carson Benj now has a clearer path after the Nemo trade, plus 110.4 max exit velo and elite plate discipline.

1. Bases Loaded Fantasy Baseball Podcast episode 211 focuses on eight late-draft fantasy baseball sleepers for the 2026 season. 2. Host Mike Curlin presents the list as a pick-250-or-later exercise and says he is ranking players he likes. 3. The core question is which cheap players have enough skills and playing-time paths to matter in fantasy leagues. 4. Carson Benj gets the first case because the Nimmo trade opened a clearer path to playing time with the Mets. 5. Curlin points to Benj's elite plate discipline, strong contact skills, a 110.4 max exit velocity, and a 52.8% hard-hit rate at Triple-A. 6. He also notes Benj's strikeout rate has rarely been above 19%, which he treats as a major contact indicator. 7. Denzel Clark is framed as a tools-based sleeper because of elite defense, fast bat speed, and good speed. 8. Curlin says Clark's defense may keep him on the field, and that Oakland's ballpark plus the departure of J.J. Bleday improve his path. 9. He adds that Clark's late-season numbers trended toward league-average or better, even though the sample was small. 10. Justin Crawford is discussed as a contact-and-speed upside play with 30-plus stolen base potential. 11. Curlin says Crawford showed more power before his injury, including four home runs in the final month after a season total of six or seven. 12. He compares Crawford's stat-line upside to Nico Horner more than Chandler Simpson and says there are no platoon concerns. 13. Reese Olson is presented as a boring but useful starter whose 3.15 ERA and 3.5 FIP suggest a usable floor. 14. Curlin cites Olson's 76th-percentile chase rate and 82nd-percentile whiff rate as evidence of a skill set that can hold up. 15. Sal Stewart stands out for a 17.5% barrel rate, a 52.5% hard-hit rate, and legitimate power with usable contact. 16. Curlin says Stewart can move around the infield, crushes left-handed pitching, and should get a starting role. 17. Miguel Vargas is described as a price-dependent corner-infield option with strong contact skills and a pull-the-ball-in-the-air approach. 18. Max Anderson and Justin Sterner round out the list as deeper sleepers, with Anderson tied to Detroit's infield depth and Sterner to Oakland's bullpen openings. 19. The episode has a casual, opinion-driven delivery, with Curlin sounding like he is working through draft board value and role paths in real time. 20. Listeners who draft deep fantasy baseball teams and track spring training battles should find this useful, while managers wanting only top-100 names can skip it.

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