5 Must-Have Infielders (2026 Fantasy Baseball)

Let’s dive into a few must-have hitters for the 2026 fantasy baseball season. We love drafting these players at their current cost.

Fantasy Baseball Must-Have Infielders

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).

Tyler Soderstrom (1B, OF – ATH): 92 ADP

The Athletics will play six home games in Las Vegas this year. Otherwise, their home games will be at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park in 2026. According to Baseball Savant’s one-year park factors, Sutter Health Park had the second-highest park factor for runs (117) and is tied with George M. Steinbrenner Field (which won’t host the Rays this year since they’re returning to Tropicana Field) for the sixth-highest park factor for homers (112) in 2025.

Tyler Soderstrom is the first of two Athletics featured as must-have hitters. Getting affordable exposure to the Athletics’ launching pad home is alluring. Soderstrom’s 2025 breakout resulted in a 47th-ranked-hitter finish. Moreover, the left-handed-hitting Soderstrom was adequate against left-handed pitching and didn’t just feast in his home ballpark.

Soderstrom did his best work against righties, mashing 20 homers with a .278 batting average, .356 OBP, 9.8% walk rate, 21.5% strikeout rate and 132 wRC+ in 478 plate appearances with the platoon advantage. He didn’t embarrass himself against lefties, though. In 146 plate appearances against southpaws in 2025, Soderstrom hit five homers with a .270 batting average, .315 OBP, 5.5% walk rate, 26% strikeour rate and 103 wRC+.

In 311 plate appearances on the road, Soderstrom launched 15 long balls with a .279 batting average, .344 OBP, 8.7% walk rate, 22.8% strikeout rate and 132 wRC+. Again, his hitter-friendly home digs didn’t artificially inflate his numbers.

Soderstrom’s splits by half are also stellar. He hit for more power in the first half, hitting 18 homers in 395 plate appearances compared to seven home runs in 229 plate appearances in the second half. However, he offset the dip in dingers with an increase in batting average and OBP from .262 and .339 to .300 and .358.

Soderstrom is an excellent target and gets an added boost in leagues with weekly lineup changes since he doesn’t have sizable platoon splits to navigate.

Jackson Holliday (2B, SS – BAL): 134 ADP

Jackson Holliday raked at every level of the Minors. Unfortunately, he struggled at the dish in his first taste of 208 plate appearances in the Majors in 2024. Holliday made considerable strides in 2025, as evidenced by bumping his wRC+ from 62 in 2024 to 96 in 2025.

Holliday had a decent blend of power and speed, with 17 homers and 17 stolen bases. The young infielder’s .242 batting average was lackluster, but he drastically reduced his strikeout rate from 33.2% in 2024 to 21.6% in 2025.

The 22-year-old infielder is on an upward trajectory, and he sat atop Baltimore’s lineup most of the year. Holliday demonstrated enough last year to buy into another step forward this season, and a full-blown breakout isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Jacob Wilson (SS – ATH): 172.5 ADP

Jacob Wilson is the second hitter from the Athletics I foreshadowed earlier. Wilson’s .311 batting average was tied for second among qualified hitters last year, and he was one of only seven qualified batters with at least a .300 batting average. The young shortstop’s 7.5% strikeout rate was also the second-lowest among qualified batters. Wilson’s batting average is his calling card.

Wilson is not a one-trick pony, though. He also hit 13 homers with 62 runs, 63 RBI and five stolen bases. Gamers in need of middle infield help, a batting average boost or both should consider Wilson in this area of the draft.

Matt Chapman (3B – SF): 181 ADP

Matt Chapman has been unfazed by the pitcher-friendly conditions at Oracle Park, posting rock-solid hitting numbers since joining the team in 2024. In 1,182 plate appearances for the Giants, Chapman has slugged 48 homers with 174 runs, 139 RBI, 24 stolen bases, a .240 batting average, .333 OBP, 11.4% walk rate, 24% strikeout rate and 120 wRC+.

Chapman’s an excellent bet for 20+ homers and 10 stolen bases. The veteran slugger hit cleanup to close last year, providing him with ample run-production potential, assuming the same lineup assignment this year. Chapman’s .231 batting average last year was a fly in the ointment, but it was considerably lower than his .247 xBA. He recorded a .240 batting average in 2023 and a .247 batting average in 2024.

Chapman can return to a borderline .240 batting average this year, which can be stomached with his other contributions. The total package isn’t too shabby for a player at Chapman’s ADP.

Spencer Torkelson (1B – DET): 187.5 ADP

Spencer Torkelson won’t be a fit for every fantasy baseball roster at this point in the draft. His .240 batting average in 2025 was a career high; he’s a .227 hitter through 2,118 career plate appearances. Torkelson isn’t a threat to steal bases, either. He stole only two last year and has just five in his career.

Torkelson brings legitimate power to the table, though. He’s hit precisely 31 homers in two of the last three years. Among qualified hitters last year, Torkelson’s 23.1-degree launch angle was the second-highest, and his 13.55 barrel rate was tied for 30th. The slugging first baseman bounced back and forth between batting cleanup and fifth for the Tigers. Torkelson is a cheap source of power and RBI value.