3 Outfielders to Fade (2026 Fantasy Baseball)

Every year, we make our fantasy baseball picks and fade the players we think may bust. However, we often don’t think about the players that we could have taken instead, with virtually the same profiles going much later.

Below is a list of players to fade and who to draft instead with similar profiles but with a lower average draft position (ADP).

Fantasy Baseball Players to Draft & Fade

Fade Kyle Stowers (OF – MIA)/Draft Owen Caissie (OF – MIA)

Kyle Stowers has a ton of power and a questionable hit tool on a bad team. The bonus to the bad team part is that he will play, even if he struggles. However, Stowers is expensive.

Stowers is going at pick 126, according to the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) ADP. A high price to pay for an unproven player. Why draft him there when you can get teammate Owen Caissie over 300 picks later? Caissie has the same power first profile on the same team, but is going at pick 489.

Fade Steven Kwan (OF – CLE)/Draft TJ Friedl (OF – CIN) or Justin Crawford (OF – PHI)

Steven Kwan is the perfect glue player who helps in the batting average category and isn’t a zero in the other categories. However, there are two similar players available later if you’d prefer not to pay up for Kwan, who is going at pick 163.

TJ Friedl is going to lead off in Cincinnati, which is arguably the best park to hit in in baseball. He has a season where he has hit .279 with 18 home runs and 27 stolen bases. Friedl’s is being drafted at pick 263.

Going even later is Justin Crawford. He hasn’t played in the Majors yet, but the Phillies love him and are going to give him the chance to play every day. He has a ton of speed and has hit .300 pretty much at every stop in the minors. Crawford’s going at pick 332.

Fade Chandler Simpson (OF – TB)/Draft Victor Scott (OF – STL) or Jacob Young (OF – WSH)

Do you need speed? Well, Chandler Simpson could be a God in that department, but there is a lot of risk. He is already dealing with a hamstring injury in spring training, and he is a bad defender, which the Rays care about. He is also going at pick 162, which isn’t free. However, there are two players much cheaper, and they can also run.

Victor Scott (pick 361) was a top prospect, and he will get a full run in St. Louis as the Cardinals rebuild. Jacob Young is even cheaper (pick 691). He isn’t a great hitter, but he does have a ton of speed and is going to play every day because his defense is exceptional.