2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep: Top 25 position battles, from Pirates shortstop to Brewers closer
Konnor Griffin and Trevor Megill are among those competing for jobs
Narrowing down the top position battles isn't as straightforward as you might think.
They're not so well defined, first of all. While it's technically true that the Cubs could go with someone other than Moises Ballesteros in their DH spot, it's not an idea anyone is seriously entertaining. Likewise, the Marlins wouldn't seem to have a reasonable alternative to rookie Owen Caissie in right field. So, is there nothing he could do to lose the job? I doubt that. But is he in a true competition for it? I doubt that, too.
Chase Burns is another example. Some might claim he's competing with a handful of far inferior pitchers for the fifth spot in the Reds rotation, but why? He's battle-tested and wouldn't be subject to any service time chicanery. In fact, he was up for so long last year that he used up his rookie eligibility. You don't send down a player of that talent level when he's already proven he belongs. I can't take such claims of a position battle seriously, and since they're all judgment calls anyway, I won't.
I've also limited myself to what I think are the 25 most impactful position battles for Fantasy, by which I mean they involve players we actually care about and raise enough doubts to capture our interest. It's a deep list, but it's not an all-inclusive one. For instance, the Athletics, Rockies, and Twins are among the teams that still need to settle on a closer, but their options are so numerous and uninspiring that I'm not sure it matters for drafting purposes. It's doubtful we'll know before opening day anyway.
Of course, the idea that a team is going to change its plans based on a one-month sample conducted in less-than-competitive circumstances is antiquated anyway. More accurately, spring training serves as a final readiness check for players on the bubble. I suspect the teams in question already know, with something just shy of complete certainty, which of these players are going to win these jobs. They're just not ready to reveal it yet, leaving us to watch and wonder.
| Candidates |  |
Likely choice: Gonzales
Preferred choice: Griffin
Anyone with even a passing interest in baseball is begging the Pirates to throw caution to the wind with the 19-year-old Griffin, who slashed .333/.415/.527 with 21 homers and 65 steals while climbing all the way to Double-A last year. They haven't ruled out the possibility, but manager Don Kelly recently called it "a really tough ask," and you have to think an organization as thrifty as the Pirates would want to delay his service clock for however long they could justify it. He may force their hand, though.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: McGonigle
Preferred choice: McGonigle
Second only to Griffin on most prospect rank lists, McGonigle is also expected to get a serious look this spring, and according to Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, no one in Tigers management has downplayed the possibility of him claiming the job. The 21-year-old has yet to advance past Double-A, but his superlative bat-to-ball skills should make for a smooth transition. The Tigers' hopes of contending help his case, particularly after both Baez and McKinstry bombed in the second half last year.
| Candidates |  |
Likely choice: Benge
Preferred choice: Benge
Rumors of Benge being on the opening day roster have persisted ever since the Mets dealt Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers, but since then, Brett Baty has been displaced from third base, introducing him as another right field contender. The Mets also recently signed on-base specialist Tauchman to a minor-league contract, revealing some measure of doubt in the options they already had. The job will most likely come down to Baty and Benge, with the concern for Baty being defense and the concern for Benge being readiness (talented though he is, he struggled in his brief introduction to Triple-A last year). Either would be a sleeper if he claims the role.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Megill
Preferred choice: either one, as long as it's one
Megill was an All-Star closer for the Brewers last year, but then strained his elbow flexor in August. That opened the door to Abner Uribe, who actually had better numbers overall. Megill returned to make one more appearance in the regular season and five more in the playoffs, but none in a closing capacity. The presumption among those on the Brewers beat is that the team was just easing him back from injury and will likely turn the role back over to him now, but the team itself has been awfully quiet about it.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Stewart
Preferred choice: Stewart
Stewart appears to have the inside track on the starting first base job after making a strong first impression last September, but manager Terry Francona seemed reluctant to play him then. Doing so now, with Eugenio Suarez being brought in as a full-time DH, would mean playing Steer out of position in left field. If Stewart hits like he did in the minors last year, it shouldn't be a problem -- particularly since the alternatives to Steer in left field are nothing to write home about -- but the sliver of doubt explains why Stewart continues to be drafted well outside the top 200.
| Candidates | |
Likely choice: Lawlar
Preferred choice: Lawlar or Waldschmidt
The Diamondbacks have repeatedly gone out of their way to obstruct Lawlar's rise to the big leagues, and the former top prospect's struggles to hit anything other than a fastball may make his odds here longer than they seem. We'd still like to see him get an honest chance, though, entertaining dreams of his 20-homer, 30-steal upside. Waldschmidt would also be enticing as a quick riser with significant on-base skills, but with Lourdes Gurriel pushing to return from ACL surgery as early as April, the Diamondbacks may prefer to go the low-key route with someone like Barrosa.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Oviedo
Preferred choice: Early
Oviedo has some experience as a swingman, and maybe that's all the Red Sox acquired him to be. But the prevailing sentiment is that he'll get the first crack at it even though Early impressed with a 2.33 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 13.5 K/9 over a four-start stretch late last year. He makes for a more promising pick in Fantasy, as would Tolle, who places even higher on most prospect rank lists.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: a committee
Preferred choice: anyone but a committee
Uceta seemed like a strong contender for the closer role after putting together a 1.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 12.7 K/9 in the second half last year, but now that he's having his shoulder checked out, this competition may have been reduced by one. And if that's the case, Jax emerges as the strongest contender just by virtue of throwing right-handed. His 2025 wasn't as dominant as his 2024, but he still had 13.5 K/9. Given the Rays' preference for mixing and matching, left-hander Garrett Cleavinger -- who himself had a 2.35 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 12.0 K/9 last year -- is also likely to factor.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Painter
Preferred choice: Painter
This competition could continue until the point when Zack Wheeler is ready to return from his thoracic outlet surgery, which may not be until late April. Am I suggesting, then, that Painter already has a spot on the opening day roster? Well, he was supposed to debut in 2023, before needing Tommy John surgery, and was supposed to debut in 2025, before struggling to return from Tommy John surgery. The buzz out of spring training is significant, noting that the 22-year-old has regained his old arm slot and command, and the Phillies are lacking the sort of depth that would allow them to pivot to someone else.
| Candidates | |
Likely choice: Young
Preferred choice: Emerson
The Mariners' acquisition of Brendan Donovan lengthened Emerson's odds by reducing his potential paths by one. It's second base or bust now, and the Mariners already have a candidate who they like there in Young. Young didn't exactly hit the ground running in an extended look last year, but demonstrated an excellent hit tool through his minor league career and will likely have first dibs unless Emerson, who's only 20 and barely reached Triple-A last year, sets the world on fire this spring. It's a relative long shot but worth monitoring for the upside he presents.
| Candidates | |
Likely choice: Wetherholt
Preferred choice: Wetherholt
This might seem too far down the rank list, given the impact Wetherholt could have as a top prospect with five-category potential, but that's only because I think it's a foregone conclusion. There isn't much to see here because the Cardinals took great pains this offseason to ensure they had a job to turn over to Wetherholt -- something that probably should have happened last September. Seeing as Wetherholt has yet to set foot in the majors, I can't say the job is his with 100 percent certainty. My guess is that his competition with Saggese is for appearances' sake.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Crawford
Preferred choice: Crawford
The Phillies have been intimating for months now that Crawford is their preferred choice to claim the center field job, and as if to drive home the point, they left themselves with few viable alternatives. The best is defensive specialist Rojas, which is fitting since Crawford's biggest hurdle is defense. His offensive profile is a bit unconventional as well, but true standouts in batting average and stolen bases generally aren't as available late in drafts as he is.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: O'Neill
Preferred choice: Beavers
Beavers broke through with a .304/.420/.515 slash line at Triple-A last year and had a respectable showing as a September call-up as well. In a fair world, the 24-year-old would get regular at-bats this year, at least until he proved unworthy of them, but in this unfair world, the Orioles still owe O'Neill $31 million over the next two years and will probably give him an opportunity to fail first. And look, he's only a year removed from a 31-homer season, so he may be able to salvage something in Fantasy. There's also a scenario in which Samuel Basallo falls flat on his face this spring, thus vacating the DH spot, but seeing as the Orioles have already signed him to a long-term deal and are also counting on him to back up Adley Rutschman at catcher, they're probably ride-or-die with him.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: committee led by O'Brien and Romero
Preferred choices: anyone but a committee
Though the Cardinals have a number of relievers who would make for effective closers, they'll probably start out doing what they did after trading Ryan Helsley to the Mets last July, having the right-handed O'Brien and the left-handed Romero split chances. Things seemed to be trending more O'Brien's direction as last season drew to a close, but he's been limited by a calf strain early in camp and may be forced to play catch-up. It likely won't change manager Oliver Marmol's thinking, but it's a potential opening for someone like Svanson.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Diaz
Preferred choice: anyone, as long as it's one
New Rangers manager Skip Schumaker has seemingly narrowed down the competition to the right-handed Diaz and the left-handed Garcia, and it may come down to whether the Rangers' optimism about some of the mechanical tweaks Diaz made this offseason prove valid. He was an All-Star for the Reds in 2023 but has been pretty terrible since. I've included Chris Martin here because he's clearly the Rangers' most reliable reliever, and while that wasn't enough for Bruce Bochy to try him in the role last year, Schumaker may be a different story.
| Candidates |
Likely choices: Simpson and Fraley
Preferred choices: Simpson and Melton
This is mostly just to underscore that Simpson's role isn't guaranteed, despite his high standing in Fantasy. Sure, we like him for batting average and especially stolen bases, but he's a defensive liability with zero pop and limited on-base skills. You may remember that the Rays sent him back to the minors late last May, even though he was batting .285 and had been playing close to every day for more than a month. My hunch is that manager Kevin Cash likes the disruptive element Simpson brings to the lineup, but from the front office's cold, analytical perspective, the impact isn't there. We'll see how that push-and-pull plays out. Meanwhile, Melton, who came over from the Astros in a three-team deal with the Pirates, has been earning rave reviews so far and still carries some prospect shine.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Grisham
Preferred choice: Grisham
I'll admit it's a stretch to call this one a position battle, given that Grisham hit 34 homers last year and the Yankees just signed him to a $22 million deal, but it's not clear that they actually wanted him back. More likely, they extended him a qualifying offer just so they'd score a draft pick when he inevitably left for another team, but then he ended up accepting the qualifying offer. Dominguez is the future and spent all of last season with the big club, but now the Yankees are talking about sending him to the minors just to get him at-bats. Spring training may offer some clues as to how this will ultimately play out, even if it doesn't change the math for opening day.
| Candidates |
Likely choices: Allen, Cantillo, Cecconi
Preferred choices: Cantillo, Cecconi, Messick
You might think Messick's 2.72 ERA in seven starts down the stretch last season would make him a shoo-in on a team with so few reliable starting pitchers, but early indications are that he may get squeezed by a surplus of alternatives. He has the least experience and most remaining options of the bunch, and, for as common as pitching injuries are, it won't be long before he's contributing regardless. The Guardians may choose to delay his arrival, though, for the sake of sustaining what little depth they have.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: anybody's guess
Preferred choice: Yates
The Angels have taken on a couple of reclamation projects in Romano and Yates, both of whom were top-flight closers in the not-so-distant past. Yates' peak was the better of the two, though, and he's being reunited with Mike Maddux, the same pitching coach who helped straighten him out with the Rangers a couple years ago. Joyce and Stephenson have both been floated as potential closers in the past, so they can't be ruled out here with no obvious front-runner. Both missed most of 2025 due to injury, though, and still have to prove they belong in a major league bullpen, much less in the highest-leverage role.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Ruiz
Preferred choice: Ford
Ford was blocked by Cal Raleigh in Settle, but now, with the Nationals, the only one standing in his way is Ruiz, who has been in free fall statistically for a couple years now and missed all of the second half with a concussion. Ford won't have as much time to make an impression with his new club because he'll be representing Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic, but he could be the de facto choice if Ruiz still isn't right. Ford is also the rare sort of catcher who could contribute both power and speed (modest power, but still).
| Candidates |
Likely choice: anybody's guess
Preferred choice: anyone, as long as it's one
There are no great choices for a team that lost both Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk to Tommy John surgery last year, but because the Diamondbacks still project to be halfway competitive this year, their closer could be a respectable saves source if they happen to settle on one. It may not even be any of these three. They just look like the best of the bad options to start out. Ginkel and Sewald have at least shown closer stuff in the past, with Sewald actually serving as Diamondbacks closer for their NL Championship run in 2023.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Matz
Preferred choice: Seymour
When the Rays signed Matz back in December, they said they'd give him a chance to start again, and many on the Rays beat have taken that to mean he will start. But his track record as a starter is spotty at best, and in Boyle and Seymour, the Rays have a couple of rotation alternatives that would seem to have much higher upside, Boyle with his triple-digit heat and Seymour with his strike-throwing and funky left-handed delivery. Both still have options and can be stashed in the minors, so stretching out Matz just for the sake of maximizing starting pitcher depth makes some sense. If that's the way it plays out, though, we'll all be counting down to Boyle's and Seymour's return.
| Candidates |
Likely choices: Harrison, Patrick
Preferred choices: Henderson, Sproat
The choices here are numerous, with Ashby and Hall being stretched out to start this spring, but I wouldn't say all of these pitchers are on equal footing. Patrick spent almost all of last season in the majors and performed well enough that he likely has a leg up, and most sources seem to think that the newly acquired Harrison, who came over from the Red Sox in the Caleb Durbin trade, is a leading contender, in part because of his left-handedness. Of course, we'd all like to see Henderson get a shot, given how good he looked in five scattered starts last year, and Sproat is a consensus top-100 prospect as well. It's hard to draft either with much confidence right now, though.
| Candidates |
Likely choices: Cole, Smith
Preferred choices: Cole, Smith
My actual hope here is that Yordan Alvarez comes in off the top rope and declares himself the primary left fielder, freeing up the Astros' infield logjam by allowing either Christian Walker or Isaac Paredes to play DH (it's Paredes' at-bats that are most in jeopardy). But Alvarez is, of course, too much of an injury case to play left field more than occasionally, and it doesn't seem like Paredes himself will get a serious look there. So it's down to this uninspiring trio. Cole made a pretty strong impression in September and has the power and speed to matter, but he also has major contact issues that will keep his probability of success low. Smith was a good enough prospect that it wouldn't be surprising to see him make a big leap in Year 2, but I'm not counting on it.
| Candidates |
Likely choice: Johnston/Crim platoon
Preferred choice: Condon
Any batter who plays half his games at Coors Field has a chance to matter, right? The most interesting of these batters is Condon, seeing as he was the third pick in the 2024 draft and a record-setting slugger in college, though his minor league production has been underwhelming so far. He's a relative long shot, particularly since Johnston and Crim, while not nearly as talented, at least have interesting minor league track records. Crim homered five times in his 15 games with the Rockies late last season.
