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	1.8	1.2	-1
3	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS1	3	7	3.1	0.3	1
4	Juan Soto	NYM	OF2	3	7	4.3	0.9	1
5	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B1	4	18	5.9	1.6	1
6	Ronald Acuna Jr.	ATL	OF3	4	13	6.3	2	2
7	Julio Rodriguez	SEA	OF4	6	13	8.4	1.9	4
8	Tarik Skubal	DET	SP1	1	22	8.6	3.3	-1
9	Elly De La Cruz	CIN	SS2	5	13	9.1	1.8	0
10	Kyle Tucker	LAD	OF5	6	17	10.4	2.8	3
11	Paul Skenes	PIT	SP2	4	20	11.6	2.5	-1
12	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	OF6	9	17	12.1	1.9	3
13	Gunnar Henderson	BAL	SS3	8	22	12.5	2.4	4
14	Garrett Crochet	BOS	SP3	6	24	14	3.9	-2
15	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	TOR	1B1	4	24	16	3	5
16	Corbin Carroll	ARI	OF7	8	31	17.9	4	0
17	Jackson Chourio	MIL	OF8	10	32	19.1	3.2	6
18	Cal Raleigh	SEA	C1	11	33	19.6	3.7	-4
19	Junior Caminero	TB	3B2	10	45	19.6	7.9	-1
20	Nick Kurtz	ATH	1B2	9	34	20.2	5.1	-1
21	Kyle Schwarber	PHI	DH2	14	38	21.7	3.6	0
22	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	NYY	2B1	16	51	22.6	6.8	0
23	Pete Alonso	BAL	1B3	13	37	23.7	3.5	3
24	Trea Turner	PHI	SS4	15	42	24	5	5
25	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B2	15	40	26.2	4.6	3
26	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS5	17	41	28	6	-2
27	Yordan Alvarez	HOU	OF9	14	79	28.9	6.4	6
28	Cristopher Sanchez	PHI	SP4	14	47	30.3	5.2	-1
29	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	LAD	SP5	20	81	31.4	5	-4
30	James Wood	WSH	OF10	22	62	32.7	6.1	2
31	Zach Neto	LAA	SS6	22	57	33.1	8.8	3
32	Bryce Harper	PHI	1B4	20	49	33.4	7.2	6
33	Manny Machado	SD	3B3	23	57	34.3	3.7	-2
34	Pete Crow-Armstrong	CHC	OF11	23	76	35.8	8.9	-4
35	Matt Olson	ATL	1B5	25	70	35.9	6.3	2
36	Hunter Brown	HOU	SP6	26	60	36.8	6.3	-1
37	Chris Sale	ATL	SP7	20	67	38.6	4.3	4
38	Logan Gilbert	SEA	SP8	26	79	39.3	6.9	1
39	Rafael Devers	SF	1B6	14	68	40.6	11.2	1
40	Bryan Woo	SEA	SP9	12	78	40.7	4.6	-4
41	Brent Rooker	ATH	OF12	20	136	41	9	2
42	Mookie Betts	LAD	SS7	26	64	41.4	7.2	6
43	Jacob deGrom	TEX	SP10	34	75	44.6	6.9	9
44	Wyatt Langford	TEX	OF13	31	68	44.9	8.2	5
45	Hunter Greene	CIN	SP11	38	82	45.1	2.9	0
46	Cole Ragans	KC	SP12	30	94	46.1	6.8	7
47	Logan Webb	SF	SP13	32	73	48.4	9.1	4
48	Freddie Freeman	LAD	1B7	25	95	50.1	11.2	6
49	Max Fried	NYY	SP14	34	71	50.6	6.6	-2
50	Roman Anthony	BOS	OF14	27	97	52.6	10.2	0
51	Brice Turang	MIL	2B3	26	80	54.8	13.3	-5
52	Josh Naylor	SEA	1B8	40	97	57.6	8.3	5
53	Austin Riley	ATL	3B4	37	90	57.7	10.3	8
54	Jackson Merrill	SD	CF1	36	88	58.2	9.4	12
55	Riley Greene	DET	OF15	36	83	58.9	9.4	7
56	Mason Miller	SD	RP1	29	151	59.8	18.1	-14
57	George Kirby	SEA	SP15	43	83	59.9	8.8	11
58	Jarren Duran	BOS	OF16	36	82	60.8	9.1	7
59	CJ Abrams	WSH	SS8	41	82	61.3	10.2	10
60	Freddy Peralta	NYM	SP16	43	116	61.4	12	-1
61	William Contreras	MIL	C2	34	88	62.1	9.3	-3
62	Cody Bellinger	NYY	OF17	47	89	64.1	11.2	-6
63	Edwin Diaz	LAD	RP2	28	187	64.8	24.5	-19
64	Dylan Cease	TOR	SP17	55	98	67.4	10.9	9
65	Joe Ryan	MIN	SP18	43	103	68.7	12.7	7
66	Jesus Luzardo	PHI	SP19	55	101	69.5	8.2	11
67	Corey Seager	TEX	SS9	41	105	71.2	10.9	23
68	Vinnie Pasquantino	KC	1B9	48	87	71.4	8.5	14
69	Geraldo Perdomo	ARI	SS10	36	95	71.5	12.6	-5
70	Shea Langeliers	ATH	C3	51	104	74.4	13.8	1
71	Maikel Garcia	KC	2B4	47	93	74.8	7.8	-1
72	Framber Valdez	DET	SP20	59	94	75.6	9.7	6
73	Byron Buxton	MIN	CF2	51	93	76.1	10.7	1
74	George Springer	TOR	OF18	49	102	76.8	12.7	1
75	Ben Rice	NYY	1B10	47	155	77.1	17.9	-8
76	Jhoan Duran	PHI	RP3	36	170	78.6	27.4	-16
77	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS11	38	106	78.7	12.9	19
78	Andres Munoz	SEA	RP4	34	147	79.3	26.2	-23
79	Bo Bichette	NYM	SS12	46	111	79.6	12.9	2
80	Kyle Bradish	BAL	SP21	51	178	80.8	21.2	0
81	Randy Arozarena	SEA	OF19	56	98	81.4	10.3	5
82	Hunter Goodman	COL	C4	49	134	81.7	17.4	-6
83	Cade Smith	CLE	RP5	37	189	82.1	26.3	-20
84	Seiya Suzuki	CHC	OF20	59	109	82.1	10.3	3
85	Tyler Soderstrom	ATH	1B11	68	121	89.2	11.2	0
86	Eugenio Suarez	CIN	3B5	58	125	89.6	13.6	7
87	Nick Pivetta	SD	SP22	70	122	90.3	13.3	-4
88	Michael Harris II	ATL	OF21	53	107	90.7	10.4	15
89	Eury Perez	MIA	SP23	63	153	92.1	21.8	11
90	Nolan McLean	NYM	SP24	68	213	94.5	22.6	15
91	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B5	60	119	94.7	13.3	3
92	Alex Bregman	CHC	3B6	58	135	96.3	14.9	3
93	Oneil Cruz	PIT	CF3	75	123	98.6	12.1	-4
94	Jose Altuve	HOU	2B6	50	163	99.6	15.9	5
95	Kevin Gausman	TOR	SP25	63	129	102.4	14.5	11
96	Michael Busch	CHC	1B12	90	124	103.4	6.6	12
97	Christian Yelich	MIL	OF22	56	142	104.4	22.4	4
98	Teoscar Hernandez	LAD	OF23	61	146	104.6	12.5	23
99	Aroldis Chapman	BOS	RP6	54	203	104.7	25.5	-20
100	Blake Snell	LAD	SP26	48	170	105.3	34.9	-12

Fantasy Baseball Draft Rankings: Player Spotlight

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rebounded nicely in 2025, hitting .292 with 23 HR, and his 2026 projections expect his power to climb back over 30 HR. His contact quality improved year over year, driven by more line-drive contact and a stabilizing strikeout rate. The projected power bounce is supported by underlying metrics, suggesting 2025 may have been closer to his floor than his median outcome. Vladdy profiles as a strong early-round value with legitimate top-five 1B upside if the HR surge materializes.
– Kelly Kirby

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.