Rostering rookies in fantasy baseball is a roll of the dice. Sometimes you can hit it big, but other times you crap out completely. Let’s look at a few of the top rookies in this fantasy baseball draft class: Carson Benge, Munetaka Murakami, and Kazuma Okamoto.
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Fantasy Baseball Rookies | Top Players to Draft (2026)
Carson Benge (OF – NYM)
Carson Benge should be in the Mets’ Opening Day lineup in the outfield.
Benge was selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft as a two-way player coming out of Oklahoma State. He has since dropped pitching to focus on his time in the outfield. It was a wise choice because he has sped through the minor leagues. Last season, he progressed all the way from High A to Triple A by the end of the season. While there were some struggles at Triple A, he still finished his season with 87 runs, 15 home runs, 73 RBI, 22 stolen bases, with a .281 batting average and .385 on-base percentage.
Munetaka Murakami (1B – CWS)
Coming from Japan is the power-hitting Munetaka Murakami.
Murakami missed a significant amount of time in his final season in Japan with an oblique injury. He played in only 69 games, finishing with 40 runs, 24 home runs, 52 RBI, five stolen bases, and a .286 batting average. Because of the injury, each of his counting stats was the worst he has posted since his rookie season way back in 2018. Even though he has been playing professionally for eight seasons, he is still just 26 years old. His biggest challenge is going to be too many strikeouts, leading to a poor batting average.
Kazuma Okamoto (3B – TOR)
Another power-hitting corner infielder coming from Japan is Kazuma Okamoto.
Okamoto is coming a bit later in his career than Murakami, as he will turn 30 in the middle of the season. Similarly to Murakami, he missed time last season with an injury, but his was to his elbow. Before last season’s shortened season, he had seven straight seasons of at least 27 home runs and over 80 RBI. The batting average concern isn’t as great with him as he has only one season with a strikeout rate over 20 percent in the Japanese League.
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