Ryan Pasti | Tue, Feb 10th 2026, 7:11am EST

How to Approach Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2026)

Even the most knowledgeable fantasy baseball managers can be disoriented by the mystery of draft day. The draft in some leagues can span nearly 30 rounds. There are many moving parts. It is enticing to enter the draft with a strict strategy.

But anything can happen in fantasy baseball drafts. Your strategy might be lost after one or two factors go unplanned. Adjust instead. Below, you will find a flexible draft strategy that can be applied to all fantasy baseball formats.

Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy

The Beginning

Begin every draft ready to swing at a curveball. In some rounds, you will get a meatball down the middle. In other rounds, Mason Miller will launch a fastball in the corner. The point is, you will get lucky in some rounds and unlucky in others. To avoid being governed by luck, be prepared. And be prepared to be flexible.

Know Your League’s ADP

To prepare, first find players who interest you. Read up on the average draft position (ADP) of players for your specific league platform. Find intriguing players, and use their ADP as a very loose estimate of where they might be drafted.

Just remember that ADP is 1.) Always changing and 2.) An average of all fantasy leagues, and cannot predict your Orioles fan league mate drafting Gunnar Henderson first overall.

To fully prepare for the first rounds, I recommend creating a ranking of enough players to fill the first two rounds of your draft. This ranked list allows you to be ready for the absolute worst-case scenario where every single player you want gets drafted. It is critical to know where to pivot in the early rounds so you do not panic and pick a player you do not want.

The list should include your top 20 favorite players in a 10-team league or top 24 players from a 12-team league. These players should generally have high ADPs. For example, even if you think a player like Freddy Peralta (current ADP of 62) is going to win the Cy Young this year, do not put him in your top 20. Your two-round ranking should include players who would reasonably be drafted that early.

Build a Strong Foundation

Fantasy baseball lineups can be huge. As a result, your first picks usually do not impact your team as much as football. Do not fall into the dangerous trap called upside so early. Your first picks should ideally be proven, reliable players such as Jose Ramirez or Juan Soto, who will build the foundation of your lineup. This is more of a personal preference, but I recommend drafting batters in these early rounds and pitchers later.

Utilize the early draft to find consistently good players to anchor your team. If any talented players, like Bobby Witt Jr., fall early in the draft, ignore positional needs and build around them.

In leagues with positional scarcity, such as with five outfielders or two catchers, it is also a good idea to target outfielders or catchers early on. The good players fly off the board much faster than expected. By the time you get to the fifth round, it sometimes feels like the only outfielder available is someone like Jurickson Profar.

Target reliability. Be prepared. Do not swing for the fences. Acquire great batters and perhaps an ace pitcher to build around in the later rounds.

The Middle

Some might say the middle of the draft is the boring part. I say the middle of the draft is where you make sure you have a lineup for Opening Day.

Reinforce Your Lineup

The very early middle of the draft is a great opportunity to reinforce your team with more batters. Although Aaron Judge will be long gone, a batter does not need to be a superstar to be a fantasy star. Try to grab some great batters who sneak into the early-middle rounds.

Although every draft is different, some possible batters currently going around these rounds are Bo Bichette (ADP of 82) and Alex Bregman (ADP of 98). Also, be open to grabbing talented starters who fall to you.

Arms In Numbers

The mid-to-late draft is finally the time to target starting pitching. Heavily. One by one. Maybe you already selected a starter as an anchor earlier. Maybe not. Either way, this is the perfect time to build your rotation.

Try to select about two starters short of what your team needs (around seven if there are nine starter spots). Just remember that this draft strategy is flexible, and do not be afraid to grab a tempting batter who grabs your position.

This strategy thrives on elite hitting and solid pitching. Waiting to draft pitching is paramount to this strategy. Every season, elite pitchers are available on most waivers, such as Kris Bubic in 2025 or Garrett Crochet in 2024. Be active on the waiver wire and draft pitchers who will compete in the meantime.

Have a flexible plan throughout the middle of the draft. Make sure you end this section with a competitive team without many gaps. Although you should focus on starters in this section of the draft, be open to good batters who fall to you.

The End

The final rounds of the draft are what define a team. The end draft is the fun part where the draft truly falls off the rails, and you get to draft your sleepers. Leading into the draft, have some sleepers ready on your mind. These final rounds are where you fill your final positional needs and stack your bench with upside.

Target Upside

Targeting upside could be betting on a veteran like Marcell Ozuna to show the league he still has it, or for a young starter like Grayson Rodriguez to return to form after injury. Either way, the worst-case scenario for these upside picks is dropping them guilt-free for someone on waivers. Take chances and take risks here. It is how leagues can be won.

I also recommend taking relief pitchers at the end of the draft. Relievers are more important than others in some formats. A good closer should be drafted earlier in the mid rounds in save-heavy formats. Because closers are very volatile, it is a good idea to not spend high draft capital on them. Just like good pitchers come out of nowhere on the waiver wire, teams often promote non-rostered players to closer. These are the closers you should target.

Use the final rounds for upside, closers and to polish your roster.

Conclusion

If you follow this strategy advice, your team should be set up for success. However, the fantasy season is not won overnight. The draft is a day, and the season is several months. The draft is an important day, yes, but be ready to scour waivers and make trades throughout the season to create an All-Star team.

Have a great season.

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