2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: Expert Picks & Predictions

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	0	0
2	Aaron Judge	NYY	OF1	1	3	1.8	0.4	0
3	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS1	3	4	3.1	0.3	1
4	Juan Soto	NYM	OF2	3	6	4.2	0.6	1
5	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B1	4	10	5.9	1.1	1
6	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP1	2	15	7.6	2.2	1
7	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF3	5	12	7.8	1.4	1
8	Ronald Acuna Jr.	ATL	OF4	5	13	7.9	1.9	1
9	Julio Rodriguez	SEA	OF5	7	13	9.5	1.1	3
10	Elly De La Cruz	CIN	SS2	6	14	9.7	2.2	0
11	Paul Skenes	PIT	SP2	5	14	10.5	2	0
12	Garrett Crochet	BOS	SP3	6	19	12.2	2.2	1
13	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS3	10	16	13.9	1.4	6
14	Kyle Tucker	LAD	OF6	7	23	14.1	3.4	0
15	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	OF7	8	20	14.1	1.7	0
16	Junior Caminero	TB	3B2	10	42	15.2	2.2	2
17	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS4	15	18	16.4	0.9	0
18	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C1	18	21	19.1	0.8	-2
19	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B1	12	26	19.3	1.7	3
20	Jackson Chourio	MIL	OF8	12	47	19.9	2.1	3
21	Nick Kurtz	ATH	1B2	16	22	19.9	1.8	-1
22	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	DH2	19	32	22	1.3	-1
23	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	NYY	2B1	15	36	22.4	1.1	1
24	Pete Alonso	BAL	1B3	23	33	24.8	2.5	2
25	Trea Turner	PHI	SS5	21	76	26.6	2.9	4
26	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B2	23	34	27.9	3.6	1
27	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP4	22	38	29.5	3	-2
28	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP5	26	40	30.2	2.7	0
29	Zach Neto	LAA	SS6	26	41	31.3	3.2	5
30	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF9	25	40	31.6	3.5	2
31	Manny Machado	SD	3B3	21	51	33.6	4.8	0
32	Pete Crow-Armstrong	CHC	OF10	26	133	34.2	6	-2
33	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B4	26	51	36	5.5	3
34	James Wood	WSH	OF11	27	64	36.1	7.8	-1
35	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP6	29	43	36.1	3.9	5
36	Chris Sale	ATL	SP7	26	51	36.6	5	2
37	Matt Olson	ATL	1B5	24	61	36.9	6	2
38	Hunter Brown	HOU	SP8	30	60	37	4.3	-3
39	Rafael Devers	SF	1B6	27	52	38.4	7.3	2
40	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP9	17	54	41.2	4.3	-3
41	Jacob deGrom	TEX	SP10	38	73	42.7	2.4	6
42	Logan Webb	SF	SP11	33	62	43.4	8.6	6
43	Mookie Betts	LAD	SS7	34	64	44.1	5.6	-1
44	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP12	38	58	45.8	4.9	2
45	Cole Ragans	KC	SP13	28	63	47.9	4.8	7
46	Brent Rooker	ATH	OF12	27	140	49.6	15.1	-3
47	Wyatt Langford	TEX	OF13	29	85	51.3	8.3	2
48	Max Fried	NYY	SP14	41	67	51.5	7	-4
49	Roman Anthony	BOS	OF14	28	150	53	16.3	1
50	Brice Turang	MIL	2B3	44	79	53.6	7.5	-5
51	Mason Miller	SD	RP1	28	201	53.8	15.9	3
52	Edwin Diaz	LAD	RP2	27	82	56.6	15.1	1
53	Josh Naylor	SEA	1B7	50	100	57.3	5.6	3
54	Riley Greene	DET	OF15	41	80	58	6.1	4
55	Austin Riley	ATL	3B4	35	79	59.3	9.9	9
56	CJ Abrams	WSH	SS8	41	83	59.3	9.3	7
57	Joe Ryan	MIN	SP15	51	72	59.6	5.1	10
58	Jackson Merrill	SD	CF1	48	89	59.7	7.1	8
59	Jarren Duran	BOS	OF16	33	86	61.5	10.7	2
60	George Kirby	SEA	SP16	45	77	61.5	3.9	11
61	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B8	28	96	61.9	10.5	-10
62	William Contreras	MIL	C2	45	81	63.2	7.6	-7
63	Freddy Peralta	NYM	SP17	47	87	63.4	10.5	-6
64	Cody Bellinger	NYY	OF17	45	77	64.8	8	1
65	Spencer Schwellenbach	ATL	SP18	53	88	65.6	7.4	16
66	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP3	39	83	66.8	11.5	-7
67	Dylan Cease	TOR	SP19	52	107	68.5	13	9
68	Jhoan Duran	PHI	RP4	35	260	69.4	12.1	1
69	Ben Rice	NYY	1B9	48	108	70.1	10.5	1
70	Geraldo Perdomo	ARI	SS9	46	92	70.4	10.4	-8
71	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	SP20	59	99	71	6.1	9
72	Kyle Bradish	BAL	SP21	45	142	72.3	7.6	11
73	Cade Smith	CLE	RP5	38	264	73.5	19.9	1
74	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B10	43	87	73.9	10.8	4
75	Shea Langeliers	ATH	C3	53	118	75.6	16.2	-15

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.