One of the best ways to figure out who sharp fantasy baseball drafters really love is to stop looking only at public rankings and start looking at where players actually go in high-stakes rooms. That was the core idea behind this FantasyPros MLB episode. Instead of building a list off vibes, the show compared standard consensus ADP to NFBC draft behavior to find players experts are taking earlier than the field. That does not automatically make every one of these players a must-draft, but it does tell you where smarter rooms are leaning and which profiles are getting pushed up for a reason.
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Fantasy Baseball | 10 Players Experts Love To Draft (2026)
What stood out most from this exercise is that experts are not just paying for raw talent. They are paying for category juice, lineup context, position scarcity when it matters, and any hint of untapped upside. In some cases, the market movement makes perfect sense. In a few others, it feels more like a warning that you need to understand the risk before you follow the crowd.
Zach Neto is the type of player who does not always dominate preseason conversation, but his fantasy profile is getting harder to ignore. The gap between his consensus ADP and his NFBC cost is not enormous, but it is meaningful because it shows sharper drafters are willing to pay a little more to lock in what looks like one of the steadier power-speed shortstop profiles on the board. Neto has already shown he can flirt with a 30-homer, 30-steal season, and at just 25 years old, it is not difficult to argue there is still another step forward available.
The appeal here is pretty simple. He gives you category balance without needing everything to break perfectly. The batting average is probably not going to carry a roster by itself, and the Angels are not exactly the lineup most people get excited about, but Neto has become the kind of player who fills every box well enough to matter. That is why experts seem more willing to push him up than casual drafters. He is not a flashy pick, but he is the kind of player who helps you avoid chasing speed later.
Ben Rice is one of the clearest examples of a player whose value changes depending on how seriously you take playing time. In NFBC, his catcher eligibility naturally pushes him up, but the bigger point from the show was that Rice should not be viewed only as a catcher. If he is playing every day and hitting in the middle of the Yankees lineup, then this is a legitimate bat first and a positional bonus second.
That is what makes him so interesting. There just are not many catchers who can realistically offer everyday volume with meaningful power. Rice looked like a strong breakout candidate even before you factor in the lineup spot. Once you do, the path becomes much easier to see. If he gets 550 to 600 plate appearances, then 30 home runs is not some wild dream. It is very much on the table. Experts seem to be reacting to that before the broader market fully catches up.
CJ Abrams feels like the kind of player the market respects without really loving, which is usually where high-stakes drafters start to get interested. He is not a perfect hitter, and he is not likely to be one of the more glamorous names at shortstop, but a player who can give you 20 homers, 30 steals, around 90 runs, and a batting average that does not wreck your roster has a lot more value than his public perception suggests.
That seems to be what experts are paying for. Abrams does not have to be spectacular to matter. He just has to keep doing what he has already shown. The deeper point from the show was that players like this are often a product of roster construction. If you need speed and do not want to sacrifice too much elsewhere, Abrams makes a lot of sense. He may not be the most exciting pick in that range, but he is one of the more functional ones.
Eury Perez is the player on this list who most clearly screams sharp-room target. The NFBC market is already more aggressive than standard consensus, and recent drafts have pushed him even higher. That tells you exactly how experts see him. They are not drafting the conservative innings projection. They are drafting the strikeout rate, the ace-level arsenal, and the possibility that the workload estimate is too timid.
That is the whole bet. If Eury throws only what the lower-end projections say, he can still be useful. If he throws more like a full season, then the value changes fast. Suddenly you are not looking at a nice mid-rotation fantasy arm. You are looking at someone who can finish much closer to the frontline starters. That is why this is one of the strongest signals in the whole episode. Experts are not just intrigued by Eury. They are actively buying the ceiling.
Trevor Story is probably the most polarizing name of the group because the argument really depends on how much faith you still have in the health. From a pure fantasy standpoint, the case is easy to make. He still offers power, speed, a good offensive environment, and the ability to put up a very useful stat line if he stays on the field. In a world where steals are still difficult to find without sacrificing power, that combination gets pushed up quickly.
That said, this feels like one of the more fragile expert pushes on the board. The production is still believable. The durability is harder to trust. High-stakes drafters seem more willing to embrace that risk because the upside is clear, but in shallower formats, it is easier to understand why some managers would prefer a steadier profile. Story is a good example of how the same player can make perfect sense in one build and feel too risky in another.
Luis Robert Jr. might be the easiest player on this list to understand once you stop focusing on the mess of the last couple seasons and start focusing on what the fantasy line still looked like even when things were going badly. The floor, even in a bad environment and in an underwhelming version of himself, still came with power and stolen bases. Now he gets a change of scenery, a better lineup, and a much stronger competitive context.
That is why the experts are interested. This is not some blind leap of faith. This is a bet that a very talented player in a dramatically better situation can rebound faster than the public expects. If he gets back to anything close to his better form, the payoff is obvious. There is real 30-30 upside here, and that kind of ceiling is hard to find this late in drafts. Among the players discussed, Robert sounded like one of the strongest target endorsements.
Andy Pages (OF – LAD), Noelvi Marte (3B, OF – CIN) & Brenton Doyle (OF – COL)
This trio really captured three different reasons experts push players up. With Andy Pages, it is mostly about wanting a reasonably priced piece of the Dodgers lineup with real power. That one is easy to understand. If he is locked into everyday at-bats in that offense, then he does not need to be a superstar to return value. He just needs to hold the job and let the environment do some of the work.
Noelvi Marte is a different bet. That one is more about tools, flexibility, and upside. The multi-position eligibility matters, and there is still enough belief in the bat-speed and athleticism to see a breakout path even if there is some risk around consistency and role. He feels like a more volatile target, but also one with a payoff that makes sense if you are chasing ceiling in the middle rounds.
Brenton Doyle was the most surprising inclusion. The push in NFBC is much stronger than in standard ADP, and the logic seems to be tied to Coors Field, a useful category blend, and the belief that he can provide enough power and speed to matter. Still, compared to the other names here, Doyle feels like the one where the market may be reaching a bit more than the actual profile deserves.
Carter Jensen is a deeper name, but one worth paying attention to, especially in two-catcher formats. The rise here is less about current safety and more about offensive upside. Jensen flashed enough impact in a small sample to make sharper drafters start dreaming on a catcher who might actually provide real power and enough plate appearances to matter.
That is the key. Catchers are usually drafted for survival. Jensen is being drafted for potential difference-making offense. If the playing time climbs and the bat keeps showing what it teased, then this is the kind of catcher who can rise in a hurry. In shallow one-catcher leagues, he is more of a watch-list or stash profile. In deeper formats, it is easier to see why experts are getting there first.
Fantasy Baseball Takeaways
- Experts are prioritizing category balance and upside before the broader market fully adjusts
- Zach Neto and CJ Abrams are being pushed up because power-speed middle infielders still carry a premium, even at deep positions
- Ben Rice stands out due to everyday playing time + middle-of-the-order power, which is rare at catcher
- Eury Perez is the clearest sharp-room target, with ace-level upside if innings projections are too low
- Trevor Story and Luis Robert Jr. reflect a willingness to embrace risk when the category payoff (power + speed) is high
- Andy Pages and Noelvi Marte are appealing as upside bats in strong contexts, especially for mid-round value
- Brenton Doyle looks more like a market overcorrection than a clear must-draft target
- Carter Jensen is a sneaky upside catcher, especially valuable in formats where catcher scarcity still matters
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