2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: Expert Picks

It can be helpful to get an early sense of where the experts stand in terms of initial fantasy baseball draft rankings. We’ll have you covered as we approach the spring and new season, but for now let’s take a look at 2026 fantasy baseball rankings.

2026 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

RK	PLAYER NAME	TEAM	POS	BEST	WORST	AVG.	STD.DEV	ECR VS. ADP
1	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	DH1	1	2	1.3	0.4	0
2	Aaron Judge	NYY	OF1	1	2	1.6	0.5	0
3	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS1	3	4	3.1	0.3	1
4	Juan Soto	NYM	OF2	3	6	3.9	0.3	1
5	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B1	4	10	5.8	0.9	1
6	Ronald Acuna Jr.	ATL	OF3	5	13	7.5	1.9	3
7	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF4	5	11	7.5	1.8	1
8	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP1	5	21	8.9	2.8	-1
9	Julio Rodriguez	SEA	OF5	7	11	9.2	1.2	4
10	Elly De La Cruz	CIN	SS2	6	18	9.9	2.3	0
11	Paul Skenes	PIT	SP2	7	18	11.3	1.9	0
12	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	OF6	8	21	12.9	2.7	2
13	Garrett Crochet	BOS	SP3	6	23	13.5	2.4	-1
14	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS3	11	20	13.9	1.4	5
15	Kyle Tucker	LAD	OF7	6	23	14.4	3.7	1
16	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS4	12	18	15.4	0.9	1
17	Junior Caminero	TB	3B2	8	44	15.6	2.6	1
18	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C1	12	21	18.8	1.3	-3
19	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B1	15	24	19.4	2.3	3
20	Nick Kurtz	ATH	1B2	17	27	19.4	1.9	0
21	Jackson Chourio	MIL	OF8	12	48	19.8	2.1	2
22	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	DH2	15	32	21.3	2	-1
23	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	NYY	2B1	13	24	21.6	1.8	1
24	Pete Alonso	BAL	1B3	22	29	24.4	1.5	2
25	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B2	20	34	27.5	3.2	2
26	Trea Turner	PHI	SS5	21	77	28.2	5.6	3
27	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF9	24	36	29.7	3	5
28	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP4	22	48	31	4.4	-3
29	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP5	26	41	31.3	4.1	-1
30	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B4	26	42	32.9	3.3	7
31	Manny Machado	SD	3B3	25	37	33.1	3.1	0
32	Matt Olson	ATL	1B5	24	48	33.3	5.1	4
33	Rafael Devers	SF	1B6	26	50	35.1	6	8
34	Zach Neto	LAA	SS6	26	47	35.7	5.4	1
35	Hunter Brown	HOU	SP6	30	60	36	4	-1
36	Pete Crow-Armstrong	CHC	OF10	25	134	36.3	9.8	-6
37	James Wood	WSH	OF11	27	64	36.7	6.6	-4
38	Chris Sale	ATL	SP7	26	49	37.2	3.8	2
39	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP8	29	44	37.6	3.6	0
40	Logan Webb	SF	SP9	33	76	41.6	6.2	8
41	Mookie Betts	LAD	SS7	27	53	41.7	3.7	1
42	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP10	32	54	41.9	3.7	-4
43	Jacob deGrom	TEX	SP11	35	73	42.6	5.2	4
44	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP12	40	65	46.6	4	2
45	Cole Ragans	KC	SP13	28	63	46.7	5.6	7
46	Brent Rooker	ATH	OF12	31	153	49.3	16.1	-2
47	Max Fried	NYY	SP14	43	72	52.1	8.3	-4
48	Wyatt Langford	TEX	OF13	29	86	52.3	8.8	2
49	Roman Anthony	BOS	OF14	28	150	53.8	10.9	0
50	Riley Greene	DET	OF15	42	70	55	5.6	7
51	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B7	28	100	55.1	13.6	0
52	Austin Riley	ATL	3B4	42	79	55.7	8.5	14
53	Josh Naylor	SEA	1B8	40	101	55.9	6.3	3
54	Brice Turang	MIL	2B3	32	79	57.3	11.2	-9
55	Joe Ryan	MIN	SP15	43	86	58	6	12
56	Jarren Duran	BOS	OF16	33	87	59.6	9	6
57	Cody Bellinger	NYY	OF17	45	73	60.1	5.5	8
58	Jackson Merrill	SD	CF1	48	90	60.6	12.3	6
59	George Kirby	SEA	SP16	46	84	61.1	5.9	13
60	William Contreras	MIL	C2	46	80	61.7	4.7	-5
61	CJ Abrams	WSH	SS8	47	83	62	9.6	2
62	Freddy Peralta	NYM	SP17	47	84	62.5	9.6	-4
63	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	SP18	53	83	63.8	4.8	18
64	Blake Snell	LAD	SP19	48	108	64	14	7
65	Dylan Cease	TOR	SP20	52	95	65.3	12.1	11
66	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	SP21	59	92	69.1	4.1	14
67	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B9	38	86	71	10.7	11
68	Geraldo Perdomo	ARI	SS9	40	92	71.6	13.5	-8
69	Mason Miller	SD	RP1	34	201	71.9	32.1	-15
70	Corey Seager	TEX	SS10	58	89	72	5.6	12
71	Bo Bichette	NYM	SS11	51	117	73.5	12.8	14
72	Kyle Bradish	BAL	SP22	45	93	75.2	8.7	11
73	George Springer	TOR	OF18	44	105	76.1	9.6	4
74	Ben Rice	NYY	1B10	58	139	76.1	14.1	-5
75	Byron Buxton	MIN	CF2	56	163	77.5	10.6	-7

What is Fantasy Baseball?

Fantasy baseball is an online game where participants act as managers of virtual baseball teams based on real-life Major League Baseball (MLB) players. The performance of these players in actual games determines the results in the fantasy league. It’s a blend of skill, strategy, and a little bit of luck, akin to the real-world decisions team managers must make.

Basic Strategy for Fantasy Baseball Success

1. Understand Your League’s Format and Scoring

Before drafting your team, it’s essential to understand the scoring system and rules of your specific league, as this will influence your drafting and management strategy. Knowing whether you’re in a points-based, category-based, or head-to-head league will guide you in selecting players whose strengths align with the scoring system.

2. Drafting Your Team Wisely

A solid draft is the foundation of a successful season. Here are a few tips for the drafting phase:

Balanced Team: Ensure you have a balanced team with a mix of power hitters, average hitters, speedsters, starting pitchers, and relievers.
Position Scarcity: Be aware of the depth of talent at each position. Some positions, like shortstop, may have fewer high-quality players, making it beneficial to draft a top player at that position early.
High-Floor Players: Early in the draft, focus on players with a proven track record of consistency.
Upside Picks: In the later rounds, look for “upside” players. These are athletes who have the potential to outperform their draft position.

3. In-Season Management

Stay Active: Constantly look for ways to improve your team through waivers, trades, and free-agent pickups.
Mind the Matchups: Pay attention to player matchups, platoon splits, and ballparks. Starting a pitcher in a hitter-friendly park, for example, can be risky.
Injury Management: Stay on top of player injuries and have backups ready for your key players.