Fantasy Baseball Player Notes

Jorge Polanco rebounded in 2025, posting a .265/.326/.495 line with 26 home runs and a 134 OPS+ across 138 games for Seattle. Looking ahead to 2026, projections that peg him closer to the low-.250s with 20-23 homers suggest some pullback from last year's career-high ISO (.229) and HR rate (5.0%). That's reasonable given his age, but the improved contact quality and stabilized plate discipline from 2025 give him a higher floor than most mid-tier second basemen. Health remains the primary variable, yet if he approaches 140 games again, Polanco profiles as a strong MI option with 20-plus homer power and counting stats buoyed by everyday run production.

Mark Vientos failed to build on his 2024 breakout, with his 2025 season showing notable pullbacks. The plate skills did improve slightly (career-best strikeout rate to 24.8%), but the quality-of-contact gains from 2024 didn't hold, leaving him closer to league average overall production. The 2026 projections still lean on his raw power and everyday role potential, but expect more of a low-OBP, mid-20s HR corner bat rather than a true middle-of-the-order force.