roto rage Jarad Wilk Overlooked Reds infielder is a perfect late-round fantasy baseball steal — but he’s not the only one By Jarad Wilk Published March 7, 2026, 1:59 p.m. ET Cincinnati Reds' Sal Stewart (27) celebrates after he hits a home run against the Chicago White Sox in the second inning during a spring training baseball game, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Phoenix. AP Early rounds of fantasy drafts are about minimizing risk. You draft proven producers and establish positional strength to form the heart of your roster.
But championships aren’t won in the early rounds, they’re won later in the draft when you’re building out the depth of your roster. Titles are won by managers who find the breakout candidates, overlooked contributors and youngsters with upside in the late rounds.
Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart played in 18 games last September, hitting .255 with a .839 OPS and five homers in just 55 at-bats. He had eight RBIs, 11 runs, struck out 15 times and walked three times.
Among players with a minimum of 25 batted-ball events, Stewart’s 95.4 mph average exit velocity was the second best in the majors (tied with Aaron Judge), according to Baseball Savant. His 52.5 percent hard-hit rate was in the top 30, and his barrels per plate appearance (12.1 percent) was the sixth-best mark.
