Fantasy Baseball Draft Picks to Avoid (2026)

ESPN rankings typically assign more value to aging veterans and players who are good in points formats. Highlighting players that ESPN overvalues reveals players that ESPN users should avoid in fantasy basball drafts.

Overvalued Fantasy Baseball Players to Avoid on ESPN

Framber Valdez (SP – DET) | ESPN ADP: 40/Consensus ADP: 79

Framber Valdez has been consistently good for so long. Last season was Valdez’s fourth consecutive campaign throwing over 170 innings with an ERA below 3.70. Valdez continued to excel in 2025, but he struggled after the beginning of August. He had a rough 6.05 ERA in 10 appearances to close the season.

These struggles led the 32-year-old to his worst season since 2019. It goes to show that Valdez’s worst season in half a decade was 192 innings of 3.66 ERA baseball with 187 strikeouts. Despite Valdez’s talent, it does not make much sense to draft him this early when so many other good pitchers are available later.

Nico Hoerner (2B – CHC) | ESPN ADP: 48/Consensus ADP: 91

Nico Hoerner is a high source of batting average and stolen bases. He rarely misses games. The 28-year-old is a token of speed and health, but not power. He has 36 career homers in seven seasons (but he has homered seven times in both 2024 and 2025).

Hoerner looks to continue his excellence in 2026, but is someone without power a fifth-round pick? It is hard to say he is, especially when late-round stolen base options are abundant.

Jesus Luzardo (SP – PHI) | ESPN ADP: 49/Consensus ADP: 76

ESPN ADP values Jesus Luzardo as a top-20 pitcher. He was awarded Cy Young votes last season, throwing 183.2 innings with a 3.92 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 ratio. It is hard to find 20 better pitchers. However, 2026 is not based on 2025, and Luzardo has had an up-and-down career.

Luzardo will still most likely be a great option this season. However, it makes more sense to draft a more proven arm here, such as Joe Ryan (ESPN ADP of 53).