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	Aaron Judge	NYY	OF1	1	5	1.6	0.5	1
2	Shohei Ohtani	LAD	DH1	1	63	1.7	1	-1
3	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS1	3	7	3.1	0.3	1
4	Juan Soto	NYM	OF2	3	7	4.3	0.8	1
5	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B1	4	18	5.8	1.6	1
6	Ronald Acuna Jr.	ATL	OF3	4	13	6.5	2.1	3
7	Julio Rodriguez	SEA	OF4	6	13	8.4	1.6	4
8	Elly De La Cruz	CIN	SS2	5	13	8.8	1.9	0
9	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP1	1	22	9	4.2	-2
10	Kyle Tucker	LAD	OF5	6	17	10.4	2.5	2
11	Paul Skenes	PIT	SP2	4	23	11.8	2.9	-1
12	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	OF6	9	17	12.3	2.1	3
13	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS3	8	22	12.6	2.3	4
14	Garrett Crochet	BOS	SP3	6	24	14	4.5	-1
15	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B1	4	24	16.8	2.9	4
16	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF7	8	25	17.6	3	0
17	Jackson Chourio	MIL	OF8	10	32	18.7	3.5	5
18	Junior Caminero	TB	3B2	10	45	19.1	7.6	0
19	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C1	11	36	19.3	3.6	-5
20	Nick Kurtz	ATH	1B2	9	34	20.5	4.8	0
21	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	DH2	14	30	20.9	3.3	0
22	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	NYY	2B1	16	51	22	6.7	1
23	Trea Turner	PHI	SS4	15	42	23.8	4.5	5
24	Pete Alonso	BAL	1B3	13	37	24.1	3.8	2
25	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B2	15	41	26.4	5	2
26	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS5	16	41	27.4	5.6	-2
27	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF9	19	79	29.4	5.7	6
28	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP4	13	47	30.9	7	1
29	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP5	24	80	31.9	5.5	-4
30	Zach Neto	LAA	SS6	15	57	32.1	8.6	4
31	James Wood	WSH	OF10	20	62	33.2	7	1
32	Manny Machado	SD	3B3	23	57	33.5	3.5	-1
33	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B4	20	50	34.4	6.6	5
34	Pete Crow-Armstrong	CHC	OF11	23	75	35.6	8.3	-4
35	Matt Olson	ATL	1B5	25	70	36	5.8	2
36	Hunter Brown	HOU	SP6	28	59	38.5	5.8	-1
37	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP7	26	78	39.6	6.8	2
38	Brent Rooker	ATH	OF12	20	133	39.8	8.9	4
39	Chris Sale	ATL	SP8	20	86	39.8	7.5	2
40	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP9	12	77	40.4	4.6	-4
41	Rafael Devers	SF	1B6	14	68	41.8	10.8	-1
42	Mookie Betts	LAD	SS7	26	65	42.8	8.8	6
43	Wyatt Langford	TEX	OF13	28	62	43	8.2	6
44	Jacob deGrom	TEX	SP10	35	90	46.8	9.5	6
45	Cole Ragans	KC	SP11	30	94	47.3	8.7	7
46	Logan Webb	SF	SP12	32	77	49.3	10.3	5
47	Max Fried	NYY	SP13	34	87	50.6	7.7	0
48	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B7	25	87	50.9	10.6	5
49	Brice Turang	MIL	2B3	26	77	52	11.9	-3
50	Roman Anthony	BOS	OF14	27	97	53	10.9	4
51	Josh Naylor	SEA	1B8	40	96	56	8.1	5
52	Jackson Merrill	SD	CF1	36	87	58	8.9	14
53	Austin Riley	ATL	3B4	37	90	58.5	10.1	6
54	Mason Miller	SD	RP1	29	151	58.6	18.2	-11
55	Riley Greene	DET	OF15	36	82	59.7	9.4	6
56	CJ Abrams	WSH	SS8	25	80	59.9	10.8	13
57	William Contreras	MIL	C2	34	88	60.5	9.9	0
58	Jarren Duran	BOS	OF16	34	82	61	10.6	6
59	George Kirby	SEA	SP14	46	88	61	9.8	11
60	Freddy Peralta	NYM	SP15	47	116	62	11.8	-2
61	Edwin Diaz	LAD	RP2	28	187	62.2	24.1	-16
62	Cody Bellinger	NYY	OF17	33	91	64.2	12.3	3
63	Dylan Cease	TOR	SP16	55	103	69.8	12	9
64	Joe Ryan	MIN	SP17	43	103	69.8	13.4	10
65	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	SP18	53	104	70	10	12
66	Geraldo Perdomo	ARI	SS9	36	95	70.8	11.7	-4
67	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B9	44	86	71.2	6.5	13
68	Shea Langeliers	ATH	C3	47	104	71.6	15.1	3
69	Corey Seager	TEX	SS10	41	99	72	12.4	19
70	Maikel Garcia	KC	2B4	47	93	72.4	10.1	-2
71	Ben Rice	NYY	1B10	45	155	74	17.7	-4
72	Byron Buxton	MIN	CF2	49	92	74.8	12	1
73	Framber Valdez	DET	SP19	59	102	75.5	10.2	5
74	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP3	38	147	76.2	25.8	-19
75	George Springer	TOR	OF18	49	103	76.3	11.5	0
76	Jhoan Duran	PHI	RP4	37	170	77	27	-16
77	Hunter Goodman	COL	C4	48	134	78.8	18.1	-1
78	Cade Smith	CLE	RP5	35	189	79.3	26.7	-15
79	Kyle Bradish	BAL	SP20	50	178	80.3	20.7	0
80	Bo Bichette	NYM	SS11	46	129	80.4	13.5	5
81	Seiya Suzuki	CHC	OF19	58	104	80.7	10.8	5
82	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS12	38	106	81.4	17	13
83	Randy Arozarena	SEA	OF20	55	101	81.7	10	0
84	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP21	38	215	85.3	44.1	-40
85	Eugenio Suarez	CIN	3B5	41	118	86.4	14.6	8
86	Tyler Soderstrom	ATH	1B11	58	121	88.5	12	-4
87	Michael Harris II	ATL	OF21	52	110	91	10.7	16
88	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B5	60	116	91.2	13.3	9
89	Nick Pivetta	SD	SP22	70	136	92.4	14	-2
90	Eury Perez	MIA	SP23	64	153	93.7	22.2	10
91	Nolan McLean	NYM	SP24	67	213	94.7	22.5	13
92	Alex Bregman	CHC	3B6	58	135	96.6	16.1	4
93	Oneil Cruz	PIT	CF3	68	123	98	13.5	-4
94	Aroldis Chapman	BOS	RP6	55	203	98.8	24.1	-13
95	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B6	70	159	101.6	15.2	4
96	Christian Yelich	MIL	OF22	55	142	101.8	20.5	-6
97	Michael Busch	CHC	1B12	52	124	101.9	7.4	9
98	David Bednar	NYY	RP7	52	202	102.2	26.5	-14
99	Trevor Story	BOS	SS13	64	161	103.5	22.3	18
100	Devin Williams	NYM	RP8	46	232	103.7	27.7	-6

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.