Let’s dive into a few must-have hitters for the 2026 fantasy baseball season. We love drafting these players at their current cost.
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Fantasy Baseball Must-Have Outfielders
It’s always imperative to define what a must-have player is for fantasy baseball. It’s someone who’s undervalued or a relative bargain near their average draft position (ADP). Sometimes those players are worth reaching a round or more in ADP to select. Of course, reaching substantially is more palatable later in drafts, and reaching a round on a player drafted in the first three rounds is usually ill-advised.
It’s also critical to know what a must-have player isn’t. Gamers shouldn’t reach 12+ picks on all of the following players because they feel they need to roster them. The idea is to soak up value or surplus value by picking them as close to their ADP as possible. Some players will outperform their ADP, but since gamers are more informed now than ever before, ADPs are also pretty tight. Constantly reaching is a recipe for an underachieving squad. With the caveats out of the way, the following are must-have hitters, using the consensus ADPs from RealTime Fantasy Sports (RTS) and National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC).
Byron Buxton (OF – MIN): 72 ADP
Byron Buxton logged a career-high 542 plate appearances last year and had an outstanding fantasy campaign. His combination of power (35 homers), run production (97 runs and 83 RBI), speed (24 stolen bases) and a palatable batting average (.264) resulted in finishing as the 20th-ranked hitter in our value-based-ranking (VBR) metric in 2025. Buxton’s ADP makes him the 47th-ranked hitter this year.
Buxton has cleared 500 plate appearances only one other time in his career, back in 2017. Health concerns are the bugaboo for Buxton. Nevertheless, he’s not currently battling any health issues, and he’s excelled in back-to-back seasons. According to FanGraphs, in 930 plate appearances since 2024, Buxton has rattled off the following stats:
- 53 homers
- 159 runs
- 139 RBI
- 31 stolen bases (caught just twice)
- 6.6% walk rate
- 26.6% strikeout rate
- .270 batting average
- .330 on-base percentage (OBP)
- 138 wRC+
Buxton’s work in the last two seasons would amount to approximately 28.5 homers, 85.5 runs, 74.7 RBI, 16.7 stolen bases and a .270 batting average per 500 plate appearances. Buxton provides fantasy-friendly five-category production and has a bargain ADP of roughly the final pick in 12-team mixed leagues.
Michael Harris (OF – ATL): 103.5 ADP
Michael Harris got off to a nightmarish start in 2025. He hit only six homers with 18 runs, 43 RBI, 11 stolen bases, a .212 batting average, .238 OBP, 3.1% walk rate, 20.9% strikeout rate and 50 wRC+ in his first 326 plate appearances. However, Harris’ expected stats pointed to better days ahead, and they came.
Harris hit 14 homers with nine stolen bases, 37 runs, 43 RBI, a .285 batting average, .299 OBP, 1.9% walk rate, 19% strikeout rate and 117 wRC+ in his final 315 plate appearances last season.
The 24-year-old outfielder’s low walk rate makes him a less desirable option in OBP formats, but his low strikeout rate is favorable for his batting average outlook. Harris had a 20/20 season in 2025, and if his batting average ticks up from .249 to his .271 expected batting average (xBA) or .285 batting average before 2025, he’ll be a steal at his ADP.
Giancarlo Stanton (OF – NYY): 227 ADP
Giancarlo Stanton began last year on the Injured List (IL) with injuries to both elbows, and he needs to manage the discomfort for the remainder of his career. Stanton didn’t make his season debut until June 16th.
Fortunately, Stanton’s elbow injuries didn’t sap him of his trademark power. In 77 games and 281 plate appearances, Stanton ripped 24 round-trippers with a .273 batting average (his highest since 2021), .350 OBP, 10.3% walk rate, 34.2% strikeout rate and 158 wRC+.
Among hitters with at least 100 batted-ball events, Stanton was fourth in Brls/PA% (12.1), tied for sixth in maximum exit velocity (118 MPH) and second in fly-ball/line drive exit velocity (99.8 MPH).
Stanton has had fewer than 460 plate appearances in four straight seasons. Again, his elbow discomfort will likely need to be managed. Thus, Stanton isn’t an ideal selection in leagues with weekly lineup changes.
However, Stanton is a fantastic bench option in leagues with medium-to-large benches with daily lineup changes, though. Gamers can chase power and RBI production when Stanton is in the lineup. Given his checkered injury history, he’s also more appealing in leagues with IL spots.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.