2026 Fantasy Baseball Outfield Preview: Sleepers, breakouts, busts, ranking the top 24 and more

What do you need to know about the outfield position for Fantasy Baseball in 2026? Well, we'll start at the top: You're probably taking one in the first round or two. That's not a guarantee, but with eight outfielders inside of the top-20 in ADP, there's a pretty good chance. 

Here's the other thing to know: If you don't get one of those early outfielders, you're running a real risk of getting left behind. That's less of a concern in three-outfielder leagues, but it's a real one in deeper leagues. That's not to say it's a shallow position, but when the tier drops come, they come fast.

Just look at Scott White's tiers for proof. The top tier has five outfielders, while the second tier has five more, and the third has 10 more. The "Next-Best Things" tier? Just five names deep, and you might quibble with the inclusion of someone like Michael Harris or Oneil Cruz in that tier for a points league. Those 20 or so outfielders in those top three tiers are more than a half-step ahead of the rest of the position, and you typically don't see that big of a drop-off that early on.

There's plenty of solid depth, but the position is a little shorter on true impact bats, in other words. That doesn't mean you have to take multiple outfielders early -- in those three outfielder leagues especially, I would exercise patience with at least your third option, given how wide the later tiers get. But in a five-outfielder league, I probably do want at least a couple of outfielders from that top 20, if I can. I want to be ready for that drop-off. 

• Position Previews: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
• Position Strategies: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP
• Position Tiers: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP

Consensus Top 24

Projections powered by Sportsline

Aaron Judge RF NYY N.Y. Yankees • #99 • Age: 33 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 2 Roto 1 Roto (OF) 1 H2H 1 H2H (OF) 1 2025 Stats AVG 0.331 HR 53 R 137 RBI 114 SB 12 SO 160 The only knock on Judge at this point is that he'll be 34 about a month after Opening Day. Whatever risks are associated with aging have not yet impacted his game, as Judge has hit at least .311 with at least 53 homers and 250 combined runs and RBI in three of his past four seasons; he hit .267 and was on pace for 57 homers and 235 combined runs and RBI in the fourth despite playing through a toe injury. The end will come at some point, but there is no other player I'd feel comfortable projecting to hit both .300 and 50 homers this season. He's my No. 1 overall pick, at least.

Juan Soto LF NYM N.Y. Mets • #22 • Age: 27 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 1 Roto 5 Roto (OF) 2 H2H 3 H2H (OF) 2 2025 Stats AVG 0.263 HR 43 R 120 RBI 105 SB 38 SO 137 The production is going to be there. He hasn't been quite as elite a batting average source in recent years, but with consecutive 40-homer seasons to go with his typically brilliant plate discipline skills, Soto is going to put up huge numbers. The question is whether he'll perform like a top-10 player or a top-three player, and that probably comes down to whether he can come anywhere close to replicating his 38 steals from last season. With Soto publicly gunning for Shohei Ohtani's MVP crown, something tells me we're going to continue to see a more aggressive version of Soto on the bases, even if another season of nearly 40 steals seems unlikely.

Ronald Acuna Jr. RF ATL Atlanta • #13 • Age: 28 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 22 Roto 6 Roto (OF) 3 H2H 5 H2H (OF) 3 2025 Stats AVG 0.29 HR 21 R 74 RBI 42 SB 9 SO 102 Acuña is probably going to hit like a first-rounder – his 2025 pace over 162 games would have been 126 runs, 36 homers, 72 RBI, and a .290 average. The question here is also about speed, as Acuña stole just nine bases in his 95 games after returning from a torn ACL (his second). It's fair to be worried about whether we'll see a particularly active version of Acuña on the base paths, but I'm pretty confident we will after seeing him steal 11 bases in just 16 games in the Venezuelan Winter League. If he's willing to run that much in that context, I don't see any reason to think he won't be aggressive in the majors. If you're looking for a candidate to crash the Aaron Judge/Shohei Ohtani party at the top, Acuña is the best choice.

Kyle Tucker RF LAD L.A. Dodgers • #23 • Age: 29 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 12 Roto 7 Roto (OF) 4 H2H 8 H2H (OF) 4 2025 Stats AVG 0.266 HR 22 R 91 RBI 73 SB 25 SO 88 When he's on the field, Tucker is a superstar. Over his past two injury-plagued seasons, he's put up the following 162-game pace: .274 average, 111 runs, 34 homers, 92 RBI, 27 steals. And now he's in the best lineup in baseball, sandwiched between some combination of the team's three future Hall of Famers at the top of the lineup. Tucker gets downgraded a bit because of the injuries, but both in the past two seasons have been misdiagnosed fractures, which just doesn't seem like something that is likely to be much of a problem moving forward. He should be a first-rounder.

Julio Rodriguez CF SEA Seattle • #44 • Age: 25 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 10 Roto 10 Roto (OF) 5 H2H 13 H2H (OF) 7 2025 Stats AVG 0.267 HR 32 R 106 RBI 95 SB 30 SO 152 You'd like more consistency from Rodriguez over the course of the season, but the slow starts are just kinda baked in now. When the final result is still 30-30 seasons in two out of the past three, it's hard to be too upset. And, at just 25, Rodriguez still has plenty of room to sand down the rough edges and emerge as a legitimate top-five option. He's a first-rounder in any category-based league, but he's a tier down in points.

Fernando Tatis Jr. RF SD San Diego • #23 • Age: 27 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 14 Roto 13 Roto (OF) 6 H2H 12 H2H (OF) 5 2025 Stats AVG 0.268 HR 25 R 111 RBI 71 SB 32 SO 129 Is Tatis just doomed to underperform his expected stats forever? He hits the ball hard and has good plate discipline, leading to a .370 expected wOBA, good for the 22nd-best mark among all hitters. His actual wOBA? .353, which ranks 41st among all hitters, right behind Miguel Andujar and just ahead of Trent Grisham. Tatis is a good player regardless, but it sure feels like he's been leaving some meat on the bones since his wrist and shoulder injuries in 2022. Tatis could be a top-five hitter in Fantasy, but his home ballpark and unoptimized swing are holding him back, and I'm not sure how likely it is that he'll overcome that.

Jackson Chourio CF MIL Milwaukee • #11 • Age: 21 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 21 Roto 17 Roto (OF) 7 H2H 23 H2H (OF) 8 2025 Stats AVG 0.27 HR 21 R 88 RBI 78 SB 21 SO 121 The step forward didn't come in his second season, though that's at least in part because he came back from a hamstring injury and was awful in September – he entered the month with a .284/.318/.489 line, then watched his OPS drive by more than 40 points over the final month. Chourio also didn't exactly take a step forward with the underlying stats, however, and that might be the biggest concern. For a guy who is supposed to be super tooled up but raw, Chourio has put up pretty pedestrian quality of contact metrics, including an average exit velocity that has peaked at the 60th percentile among hitters in his two seasons. If all Chourio is is the 25-25 threat with a useful batting average and counting stats he has looked like in his first two seasons, he's a viable second-round pick in all leagues. But it'd be nice if we saw some more evidence that a breakout was on the way.

Corbin Carroll LF ARI Arizona • #7 • Age: 25 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 7 Roto 22 Roto (OF) 8 H2H 14 H2H (OF) 6 2025 Stats AVG 0.259 HR 31 R 107 RBI 84 SB 32 SO 153 Despite a fractured hand that threatens to keep Carroll on the IL to open the season, his price hasn't really fallen much – in 63 NFBC drafts since we learned about the injury, he is still going at 15.5 in ADP. In part, that's because he hasn't been officially ruled out for Opening Day, though given the timetable, he's likely to miss most of Spring Training even if he does make it back by Opening Day. The Diamondbacks might be willing to start Carroll without much prep for the season, but that doesn't mean it won't affect him. Research shows hitters need about 50 plate appearances to be ready for the season, and Carroll might have to get those reps on the fly. It might not impact his overall production, but a slow start can snowball, too. It feels like too much risk to take on for an early second-round pick.

Pete Crow-Armstrong CF CHC Chi. Cubs • #4 • Age: 23 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 59 Roto 28 Roto (OF) 9 H2H 44 H2H (OF) 11 2025 Stats AVG 0.247 HR 31 R 91 RBI 95 SB 35 SO 155 With his elite speed and swing geared for pull-side power, Crow-Armstrong is well-suited to remain a very good player in categories. But we saw what the downside of his profile looks like after the All-Star break, when he hit .216/.262/.372. Crow-Armstrong spent the offseason working on his swing to try to avoid the slump that derailed his season, but given his poor swing decisions, I worry these kinds of issues are just always going to be inherent to his profile. He's young enough for there to be room for plenty of growth, and the power/speed profile should be strong even if the batting average tanks. But there's real risk here that Crow-Armstrong is just a major detriment to your team in a way there usually isn't for early-round picks.

James Wood LF WAS Washington • #29 • Age: 23 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 35 Roto 29 Roto (OF) 10 H2H 37 H2H (OF) 9 2025 Stats AVG 0.256 HR 31 R 87 RBI 94 SB 15 SO 221 Wood's season followed a similar arc as Crow-Armstrong – he looked like a first-rounder in the first half, and he was basically unplayable for most of the second half. Wood's underlying skill set is a lot stronger than Crow-Armstrong's – he makes better swing decisions and has significantly more raw power – but he's much less optimized than Crow-Armstrong, sporting one of the lowest pulled-air rates in the league in 2025. And then he also didn't run as much as expected, further narrowing the margin for error. I think Wood's skill set as a hitter is much stronger than Crow-Armstrongs, so I'm more willing to bet on him figuring it out, but he can't put up another stretch with a near-40% strikeout rate like he did after last year's All-Star break and remain viable. There's some real bottom-out potential here.

Wyatt Langford OF TEX Texas • #36 • Age: 24 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 40 Roto 47 Roto (OF) 11 H2H 40 H2H (OF) 10 2025 Stats AVG 0.241 HR 22 R 73 RBI 62 SB 22 SO 151 On the one hand, Langford has been pretty obviously overdrafted in each of the first two years of his career, and at some point, we're starting to get into "definition of insanity" territory here. But I kind of look at this one from the opposite side: Langford managed 22 homers and 22 steals in 134 games despite playing through four different oblique injuries, including one during Spring Training that disrupted his prep for the season. That feels like the floor here, and the underlying numbers still suggest there is an extremely high ceiling to go along with it, too.

Cody Bellinger CF NYY N.Y. Yankees • #35 • Age: 30 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 48 Roto 56 Roto (OF) 12 H2H 51 H2H (OF) 13 2025 Stats AVG 0.272 HR 29 R 89 RBI 98 SB 13 SO 90 Bellinger re-signed with the Yankees, which answered the biggest question we had about him coming into 2026. He's not a superstar anymore, but he can do a reasonable facsimile of a star hitter in the friendly environs of Yankee Stadium. It's a perfect fit for his skill set, and while you may choose to use Bellinger as your first baseman (getting his speed from the 1B spot can make your whole lineup make a lot more sense), he's a perfectly fine option if you don't want to spend a premium price on an outfielder, too.

Brent Rooker DH ATH Athletics • #25 • Age: 31 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 64 Roto 53 Roto (DH) NR H2H 54 H2H (DH) NR 2025 Stats AVG 0.262 HR 30 R 92 RBI 89 SB 6 SO 155 There's already a clear drop-off in talent here with the past few players. Rooker is good, but 2024 looks like a pretty clear outlier for the 31-year-old. I could see better results from him in 2026 thanks to an improving lineup and his excellent home park, but you shouldn't expect a return to nearly 40 homers or a .300 average like he had in 2025.

Roman Anthony OF BOS Boston • #19 • Age: 21 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 28 Roto 58 Roto (OF) 14 H2H 47 H2H (OF) 12 2025 Stats AVG 0.292 HR 8 R 48 RBI 32 SB 4 SO 84 The raw power is there. The swing decisions are there. He's even an above-average athlete. Anthony has all of the tools to be an absolute superstar – his average exit velocity was bested by only Oneil Cruz, Aaron Judge, and Shohei Ohtani, while no qualifying hitter bested his 60% hard-hit rate. He didn't do a good enough job elevating the ball consistently to live up to his highest potential as a rookie, but he did start to figure that out as the season went on – his expected wOBA over his final 100 plate appearances was .407, a mark that would challenge for a top-five spot in baseball if he did it over a full season. If he can optimize his swing path, Anthony could be a 35-homer guy; if he doesn't, he might hit .300 with 40-plus doubles. He's going awfully early for a guy without a high-end track record, but Anthony might deserve it.

Jackson Merrill SS SD San Diego • #3 • Age: 22 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 44 Roto 63 Roto (SS) NR H2H 59 H2H (SS) NR 2025 Stats AVG 0.264 HR 16 R 59 RBI 67 SB 1 SO 108 When Merrill suffered a concussion in mid-June, he was hitting .304/.347/.475 and looked well on his way to establishing himself as this generation's Freddie Freeman. Then he came back after missing a week and couldn't hit for two months, giving the skeptics something to point to. And then he came back in September and hit seven homers with a .946 OPS, which suggests to me that he just had a couple of bad months, likely because he suffered a concussion. I don't know that with 100% certainty, and the complete lack of basestealing he showed in 2025 does narrow his margin for error as a hitter. But Merrill underperformed his expected stats, which is a good reason to believe better days are ahead, even if you don't buy the concussion explanation. Me? Well, I have him as a top-12 outfielder for 2026, so you know where I stand.

Riley Greene CF DET Detroit • #31 • Age: 25 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 56 Roto 64 Roto (OF) 16 H2H 86 H2H (OF) 22 2025 Stats AVG 0.258 HR 36 R 84 RBI 111 SB 2 SO 201 Greene has leaned into being a power hitter, and in that ballpark, it requires some sacrifices. He has become one of the most aggressive hitters in the game, pushing his strikeout rate to 30.7% along with his 52.6% swing rate in 2025 (league average if 47.3%, and he had been below that prior to last season). That came at the cost of some walks and batting average, but you'll take that tradeoff for 35-plus homers and 110-plus RBI. It might be asking a lot for him to repeat quite that level of success, but I would be surprised if we didn't get 30 homers and close to 100 RBI out of Greene. Anything short of that, given his limitations, would be hard to overcome at his new price, of course.

George Springer RF TOR Toronto • #4 • Age: 36 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 75 Roto 69 Roto (OF) 17 H2H 63 H2H (OF) 15 2025 Stats AVG 0.309 HR 32 R 106 RBI 84 SB 18 SO 111 You should take Springer's 2025 with a grain of salt. The problem is, the average drafter seems to be applying more than a few tablespoons of salt. Yes, it's unlikely a near-career season at 35 will prove sustainable, especially coming off multiple consecutive years of decline. On the other hand, Springer didn't just get lucky in 2025 – he put up arguably the best underlying numbers of his career. He improved his average exit velocity by 2.5 mph without sacrificing strikeouts, and he started hitting the ball in the air to the pull side like when he was in his prime. It's asking a lot for him to repeat that, but at his price, he doesn't need to – Springer was a top-15 hitter in Fantasy last season and isn't being drafted anywhere close to that.

Byron Buxton DH MIN Minnesota • #25 • Age: 32 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 47 Roto 71 Roto (DH) NR H2H 74 H2H (DH) NR 2025 Stats AVG 0.264 HR 35 R 97 RBI 83 SB 24 SO 148 He just needed to stay healthy, and for the most part, he did. Buxton has always been a huge per-game producer, but after playing 140 games in 2017, he went six straight years without reaching even 100 games played, and even then, he only got to 102 in 2024. But in 2025, he played 126 games and put together his finest overall season. But it wasn't actually much different than what he's been doing on a per-game basis in recent years, so whether you're in on Buxton at his price mostly just comes down to how confident you are that something shifted in 2025 and he could play 125-plus games again. I don't think he's any more likely to do that in 2026 than he was before then, but if you want to draft for high upside, Buxton certainly has a higher ceiling than most of the other hitters in his tier.

Seiya Suzuki RF CHC Chi. Cubs • #27 • Age: 31 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 122 Roto 70 Roto (OF) 19 H2H 77 H2H (OF) 19 2025 Stats AVG 0.245 HR 32 R 75 RBI 103 SB 5 SO 164 Like Greene, Suzuki took a big step forward with his power production in 2025, but there were tradeoffs along the way. He actually managed to lower his strikeout rate, so the tradeoff here was more popups and weakly hit flyballs as he chased over-the-fence power. It cost him batting average, but the tradeoff was worth it, as Suzuki generated his first 30-homer season. I could see a world where he pushes that up to 35, but I could also see a step back, albeit likely with a rebound in batting average. Suzuki is a very good hitter, though exactly what kind of very good hitter remains to be seen.

Jarren Duran CF BOS Boston • #16 • Age: 29 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 52 Roto 73 Roto (OF) 20 H2H 67 H2H (OF) 18 2025 Stats AVG 0.256 HR 16 R 86 RBI 84 SB 24 SO 169 On most teams, Duran would just be an everyday outfielder, and there would be very little risk in his profile. On the Red Sox, however, he looks like he'll split time between the outfield and the DH spot, and might sit against at least some lefties. Given the Red Sox depth, that makes sense, but it hurts Duran's chances of putting together another season like 2024. He's still a solid power/speed option who won't kill you in batting average, but the counting stats could be hurt by his role. There's also some trade potential here, though that might not be a bad thing if it takes him out of the quasi-platoon he might find himself in with Boston.

Randy Arozarena LF SEA Seattle • #56 • Age: 30 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 80 Roto 85 Roto (OF) 21 H2H 95 H2H (OF) 21 2025 Stats AVG 0.238 HR 27 R 95 RBI 76 SB 31 SO 191 At the end of the season, the numbers are usually there. The path there may be fraught with inconsistency and frustration, but that frustration is also already baked into the price – he's going lower than someone who nearly went 30-30 last year probably should. Yeah, the batting average hurts, but Arozarena has had at least 20 homers and 20 steals in five straight seasons with solid counting stats, so if you've built a team that can handle the batting average hit, he's a very solid starting outfielder.

Michael Harris CF ATL Atlanta • #23 • Age: 24 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 129 Roto 90 Roto (OF) 22 H2H 156 H2H (OF) 31 2025 Stats AVG 0.249 HR 20 R 55 RBI 86 SB 20 SO 128 Many of you will just take Harris off your draft boards. There are too many stretches where he just isn't useful at all, and it's probably just built into his game right now, thanks to his poor approach at the plate. But here's the thing: Harris went 20-20 in a down season, and while the counting stats can be iffy, 2025 feels like his floor. He's still only 24 years old despite entering his fifth MLB season, and he still has premium physical tools. If he ever improves the approach, Harris could be a superstar, but even with his evident, present-day flaws, there's still a ton to like about the profile here.

Jose Altuve 2B HOU Houston • #27 • Age: 35 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 96 Roto 93 Roto (2B) 5 H2H 89 H2H (2B) 5 2025 Stats AVG 0.265 HR 26 R 80 RBI 77 SB 10 SO 109 Altuve played enough left field last season to qualify here, but you're probably more likely to use him at second base, still. The extra flexibility is nice, and if Altuve avoids any further slippage of his skills, he should remain a perfectly fine Fantasy option. But the risk that age catches up to him rapidly will keep his price down.

Tyler Soderstrom C ATH Athletics • #21 • Age: 24 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 91 Roto 96 Roto (C) NR H2H 109 H2H (C) NR 2025 Stats AVG 0.276 HR 25 R 75 RBI 93 SB 8 SO 141 When he put up a sub-.700 OPS across May and June, it sure looked like Soderstrom was being exposed as a flash in the pan. So it was really nice to see him bounce back with an OPS north of .825 in each of the final three months of the season, including a .300/.358/.495 line after the All-Star break. He still hit nine of his 25 homers by the end of April, so how trustworthy the power is remains something of a question. But the underlying power metrics are strong, and the contact and swing decision skills look solid enough that they shouldn't drag him down too much. Soderstrom probably isn't a star, but I'm not expecting much regression from his 2025 breakout, either.

Don't Forget About ...

Projections powered by Sportsline

Kyle Stowers RF MIA Miami • #28 • Age: 28 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 125 Roto 103 Roto (OF) 25 H2H 120 H2H (OF) 28 2025 Stats AVG 0.288 HR 25 R 61 RBI 73 SB 5 SO 125 If you just take what he did in 2025 at face value, Stowers looks like one of the more obvious values in drafts right now. His age-27 breakout included a .375 expected wOBA, a top-20 mark among all hitters, and even against lefties, he posted a good-enough .309 mark. If he just repeats that, you're looking at an everyday player who should hit 30-plus homers without killing your batting average. There's just a lot of skepticism about what he did being sustainable, seeing as he had more like a .300 expected wOBA in parts of three seasons before this. There's some Brent Rooker vibes here, and if you bet right on a repeat performance, you could get a ton of profit from Stowers.

Jo Adell RF LAA L.A. Angels • #7 • Age: 26 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 159 Roto 110 Roto (OF) 26 H2H 168 H2H (OF) 36 2025 Stats AVG 0.236 HR 37 R 63 RBI 98 SB 5 SO 151 It took a while, but Adell finally turned all of that promise and potential into actual production against MLB pitching in 2025. The red flags in the profile are still there – his contact skills are bad and his swing decisions might be worse (not to mention his awful defense) – but the positives definitely outweighed the negatives for the first time in his career. The underlying numbers suggest Adell might have even been a bit unlucky, as his .260 xBA shows, but I'm not sure I'm ready to buy in on Adell being a solid contributor in batting average. But I'll take the 30 homers and what should be strong RBI numbers, at least, and there might be upside for double-digit steals here, too.

Lawrence Butler CF ATH Athletics • #4 • Age: 25 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 178 Roto 125 Roto (OF) 30 H2H 180 H2H (OF) 40 2025 Stats AVG 0.234 HR 21 R 83 RBI 63 SB 22 SO 179 In retrospect, Butler was an obvious bust call after his price rose into the top-50 in some drafts a year ago. He didn't have the track record to justify anything like that, and it required overlooking some serious flaws in his game. But I am willing to give him some benefit of the doubt that his struggles in 2025 were a result of a knee injury that ultimately required surgery, especially with the way he faded in the second half. Despite that, he still went 21-22, and it's not unreasonable to think he could be at least a little better in 2026 now that he's healthy. On the other hand, he might just be a platoon bat, which will definitely limit the upside. But with Butler so much cheaper than he was this time last year, I'm willing to give some benefit of the doubt here.

Jakob Marsee OF MIA Miami • #87 • Age: 24 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 156 Roto 133 Roto (OF) 32 H2H 147 H2H (OF) 33 2025 Stats AVG 0.292 HR 5 R 28 RBI 33 SB 14 SO 48 Marsee dominated in August and struggled in September, and that's tough enough to wrap your head around. On the whole, I think he'll almost certainly be worse than his .292/.363/.478 line from his 55-game debut, but I think that'll mostly just come in the form of batting average regression. Expect something more like .250-.260, and I think you'll still be happy with an approach that should lead to mid-teens homer totals, a good on-base percentage, and plenty of steals and runs at the top of the lineup. There are certainly some lower-end batting average outcomes here, but if he avoids the worst-case scenarios, he should be a very solid third outfielder in all formats.

Chandler Simpson CF TB Tampa Bay • #14 • Age: 25 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 305 Roto 181 Roto (OF) 43 H2H 204 H2H (OF) 44 2025 Stats AVG 0.295 HR 0 R 53 RBI 26 SB 44 SO 43 If Simpson is playing every day for the Rays, he's going to be a great Fantasy option, likely in all formats. He's going to hit for a good batting average and he's going to steal a ton of bases, and he'll probably score a bunch of runs, too. It's just … how likely is it that he's an every day player? Is it more likely than the chances that he's just sent back down to Triple-A again? I'm not sure! Simpson needs to show real growth as a defensive player for the Rays to trust him in that role, and there's some real risk that he'll just never be good enough there to justify it. If he is, congratulations, you just drafted the likely MLB steals leader. But he might be the highest drafted player right now with a real chance to be demoted to the minors, too.

Sleeper

Projections powered by Sportsline

Daylen Lile RF WAS Washington • #4 • Age: 23 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 318 Roto 221 Roto (OF) 50 H2H 224 H2H (OF) 69 2025 Stats AVG 0.299 HR 9 R 51 RBI 41 SB 8 SO 56 Lile's breakout came out of nowhere, which is why he's being met with such skepticism. But he was also just 22 last year, so I think some are underestimating the possibility of the breakout just being legitimate. He has real plus contact skills and athleticism, and enough raw power that he probably isn't just a slap hitter. It's probably asking too much to expect him to be a .300 hitter forever, but his xBA was actually the best among all qualifying hitters in 2025, so it's certainly not impossible. If you expect something like a .280 average with double-digit homers and 20-plus steals, you'll be happy with Lile, and I don't think that's the ceiling here.

Breakout

Projections powered by Sportsline

Roman Anthony OF BOS Boston • #19 • Age: 21 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 28 Roto 58 Roto (OF) 14 H2H 47 H2H (OF) 12 2025 Stats AVG 0.292 HR 8 R 48 RBI 32 SB 4 SO 84 The case kind of makes itself: Anthony was the top prospect in baseball a year ago, he dominated the minors, and then he came up to the majors as a 21-year-old and more than held his own while showing plus-plus raw power. He probably won't steal many bases, and his home park might make hitting his high-end outcomes for power harder. But Anthony has the skills to be the rare early-round hitter who doesn't steal many bases. I could see some Bryce Harper-esque outcomes here on the high end.

Bust

Projections powered by Sportsline

Oneil Cruz SS PIT Pittsburgh • #15 • Age: 27 Fantasy Breakdown ADP 123 Roto 111 Roto (SS) NR H2H 150 H2H (SS) NR 2025 Stats AVG 0.2 HR 20 R 62 RBI 61 SB 38 SO 174 The physical tools are ridiculous. So are the shortcomings. He can't hit lefties. He doesn't elevate the ball consistently. He strikes out more than anyone in baseball. He's not even an especially good defensive player, which doesn't matter directly for Fantasy, but would at least insulate him from some playing time risk. If he fixes some of those flaws, yeah, Cruz could be an absolutely dominant Fantasy option. But he's also 27, so at some point, we probably just need to take him for what he is. The ceiling is high, but there's also a real chance we get a repeat of last season, where he was a big contributor in steals and a below-average one everywhere else. Except, with the Pirates actually seemingly trying to win games this season, the playing time against lefties might be at risk.

1. Carson Benge, OF, Mets

Age (on opening day): 23
Where he played in 2025: High-A, Double-A, Triple-A
Minor league stats: .281 BA (441 AB), 15 HR, 22 SB, .857 OPS, 68 BB, 92 K
The departure of Brandon Nimmo would seem to signal the arrival of Benge, who's just as discerning at the plate but is likely to deliver higher-end outcomes, judging by his 92.1 average exit velocity at Triple-A and knack for drilling the ball the other way. He was slashing .308/.413/.513 before arriving at Triple-A, where a hand injury slowed him down.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: fighting this spring

2. Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins

Age (on opening day): 21
Where he played in 2025: Rookie, Low-A, Double-A, Triple-A
Minor league stats: .286 BA (308 AB), 10 HR, 17 SB, .850 OPS, 50 BB, 76 K
Jenkins' legs have been betraying him ever since the Twins made him the fifth pick in the 2023 draft, undermining what's a picture-perfect approach and swing. He did begin to flash some of his promised power this past year, though, slashing .309/.426/.487 as a 20-year-old at Double-A, where he spent two-thirds of his season.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful

3. Joshua Baez, OF, Cardinals

Age (on opening day): 22
Where he played in 2025: High-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .287 BA (418 AB), 20 HR, 54 SB, .884 OPS, 59 BB, 103 K
Learning to elevate is often the biggest hurdle for tooled-up prospects, but Baez's case was just the opposite: His swing had gotten so steep that he simply wasn't making enough contact. Leveling it out in 2025 shaved 15 percentage points off his strikeout rate and unleashed a five-category monster.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: midseason hopeful

4. Eduardo Quintero, OF, Dodgers

Age (on opening day): 20
Where he played in 2025: Low-A, High-A
Minor league stats: .293 BA (433 AB), 19 HR, 47 SB, .923 OPS, 88 BB, 123 K
You may be surprised to see Quintero leapfrog Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope in the Dodgers system, given that he was the least heralded of the three coming in, but he's more disciplined than Hope and has a swing better adapted for power than De Paula. His baseball-stealing prowess also makes for a friendlier Fantasy profile.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: late-season look

5. Josue De Paula, OF, Dodgers

Age (on opening day): 20
Where he played in 2025: High-A, Double-A
Minor league stats: .250 BA (360 AB), 12 HR, 32 SB, .791 OPS, 82 BB, 91 K
From the time he was 18, De Paula has stood out for his patient approach and penchant for hard contact -- two rare traits for a prospect so young -- but sooner or later, he'll need more to show for it than a high on-base rate, particularly since he brings no defensive value. Getting the ball in the air to his pull side is the key.
Scott's 2026 Fantasy impact: late-season look