Top 150 Hitters for Fantasy Baseball 2026 – Weeks 1-2

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Top 150 Hitters for Fantasy Baseball 2026 - Weeks 1-2

Regular season baseball is here, and that means so is the Hitter List. My ranks from the top-300 won’t have changed much in a single week, but there are three main reasons a guy will have moved:

Playing time opportunity is better/worse than expected
Lineup spot is better/worse than expected
Being Sal Stewart

As a reminder, these rankings are geared toward a standard, daily, 12-team H2H redraft league, which is typically the most popular fantasy baseball format. They will only factor in the five standard categories: runs, RBI, home runs, batting average, and stolen bases.
These are not best ball or draft and hold rankings. The 12-team redraft format with daily moves is the fundamental opposite of that. Pure volume plays are not valued as much here as in those no-move formats.
I take rankings like this more as art than science. Every person’s rankings are influenced by their biases, strategic philosophies, risk assessments, and projections. It’s why no two rankings are ever exactly alike. My way of evaluating and ranking players has worked well for me, but it might not be an excellent fit for you. I can’t possibly predict your team’s specific needs, your leaguemates’ player evaluations, or your current waiver wire, and if I could, it’d be weird in a bad way.
This is a safe space for me where I answer to no one but myself…and you if you leave a comment.
I’m doing my best to use five starts or 10 appearances as the threshold for positional eligibility. I have not included presumed eligibilities based on likely new positions, but I’ll add them once those eligibilities are earned. This is just a maintenance thing, and we will update eligibility throughout the season. Feel free to let me know if I’m missing any!

Ranking Philosophy

To keep things in the same ilk, here are a couple of notes on how I generally evaluate hitters before we dive in:

In 12-team formats, I don’t see much value in guys who only provide stolen bases. It’s an important category, especially in Roto, but in shallower formats, there are too many other (and better) ways to get the steals you need without sacrificing production in the other categories.
No stat is an island, and they should all be taken in proper context. For ranking purposes, the primary starting points I use are plate discipline, wRC+, quality of contact metrics (also known as Statcast batted ball data), lineup context, and the skills we can measure using tools such as our PLV Hitter Attributes (available for PL Pro members). I also use various projections (some free, some I buy) and dollar value generators.
Positional eligibility, specifically multi-eligibility, is neat but isn’t a huge factor in many 10- and 12-team leagues anymore due to the prevalence of multi-eligible players. It’s of more value in deeper contests like the NFBC or in leagues with limited roster moves (draft and hold leagues, transaction limits/costs, extremely short benches, etc.). Still, the value is fairly situational and context-dependent.
Similarly, I don’t penalize players for only qualifying in the utility slot. At most, it is a mild inconvenience if a DH-only player is available at a great value and you already have filled your utility spots.
Regardless of true talent, anyone talented enough to make it to the big leagues can be brilliant or putrid for 50 to 100 at-bats. It could even last over a month with no change in potential or skill. It also could be wildly meaningful. We can’t and don’t know which will be valid until it’s over, though track record, scouting, and trends can give us hints.
One of the most difficult things to account for in these rankings is the dynamic between low-ceiling players who have clear roles and players who could have higher ceilings but are without a clear path to playing time. I try to note this in the blurbs as much as I can. NOTE: PROJECTIONS AND AUCTION CALCULATORS WILL ALWAYS FAVOR THE FORMER OVER THE LATTER.

Read The Notes

If you’d like input on a player or have any feedback, your best bet is to contact me on Bluesky (@scottchu.pitcherlist.com), X (@ifthechufits), or Reddit (u/ChusephEsquire)

I also host an AMA in the r/fantasybaseball subreddit every Friday (starting sometime in late March) with Nate Schwartz, starting around noon ET that lasts through the rest of the day and into the weekend, so feel free to join the fun and ask questions or make comments.

For additional insight, also check out the Hacks & Jacks podcast! This is a hitter-focused pod with myself, Brett Ford, and occasional special guests.

Tier 1

No changes here, and unless there’s an injury or a guy like Bobby Witt Jr.. finds a new level to his game, there won’t be any changes.

Tier 2

The strikeouts and ratios are ugly for now, but I love that Kyle Tucker already has two steals. Don’t worry about the ratios and plate discipline as that should resolve itself within a week or two.
I don’t mind Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting second against righties as long as the Padres find a suitable leadoff guy. Otherwise, it could put a little damper on his stolen base upside (as a guy like Cronenworth will just clog up first base when he gets on).

Tier 3

I’m not worried about Cal Raleigh or Nick Kurtz. As a power hitters with contact issues, this kind of short stretch is par for the course. Let’s check in again next week.
Yordan Alvarez is an absolute monster and at the moment remains healthy. That ugly stretch to start 2025 looks like just a blip on the radar.

Tier 4

Jazz is yet another streaky hitter that I’m not worried about. And hey, at least he has two steals.
The stuff I said earlier about Kurtz and Raleigh also apply to Brent Rooker. No concerns.
Great to see Josh Naylor finally get a hit. He’s hitting the ball a little softer than usual, but 22 batted ball events is hardly a sample at all. He’ll be fine.

Tier 5

James Wood’s strikeout rate is a little concerning, if only because in this small sample he’s been more aggressive than usual, particularly on pitches out of the zone. Wood’s patience has been a key virtue that we’ve relied on when projecting a rebound, and if that’s not there, we may have a problem.
I’m sure someone out there is panicking about Riley Greene’s 78.9 mph average exit velocity right now, but the bat speed is fine. There are two key differences about these two power metrics: bat speed can be relied on almost immediately while exit velocity can take 50-100 batted balls (or more), and bat speed is a pure low-variable metric while exit velocity is a combination of bat speed and quality of contact. Greene’s bad exit velocity is a function of the latter: he’s just not getting the good part of the bat on the ball. That will correct itself in short order.
No concerns with Bo Bichette yet, either. Just six crummy games.
On one hand, Shea Langeliers is absolutely wrecking baseballs right now. On the other, he’s striking out a ton, which is of moderate concern. Seeing Langeliers hit 30-35 home runs is what we expect; however, his high rank was also tied to that beautiful .277 batting average that came from a significantly reduced strikeout rate. He did just have a K-free day to kick off April, so a few more of those and I’ll feel confident about moving him up the list.

Tier 6

Alex Bregman looks great to start the year, and if you had concerns about him based on the struggles of similarly pull-heavy Paredes, let them go.
Corey Seager has hit the ground running and looks much more like the Seager of old than he did at several times last season.
For now, all I want to see from Austin Riley is health. We will pay more attention to any lack of power in a week or two.
Ben Rice sat against the one lefty the Yankees have seen so far, which was maddeningly predictable. Hopefully he keeps raking and gets the Yankees to see that they should just leave him in the lineup.

Tier 7

Trevor Story is whiffing a lot, which is normal. I expect him to be much streakier than we saw in 2025 (which was a dream scenario for Story).
Michael Harris II should eventually earn a better spot in the lineup, but it may be a little bit before that happens. I just hope we don’t have as painful a start to the season as we have the last two years.

Tier 8

I’m not overly concerned with George Springer’s high strikeout rate yet, as we’ve seen little spikes like this before that can last up to two weeks or so. I’d be even less concerned if it had been against good competition…but that is definitely not the case. On a positive note, he’s kept his improved bat speed from 2025 and remains locked into the leadoff spot, so patience will likely pay off here.
Drake Baldwin’s hot start is awesome to see, and even more importantly, Atlanta has elevated Baldwin to second in the lineup, which should create a fantastic balance of runs and RBI in this top-heavy lineup. He’s swinging the bat harder than ever and hasn’t sacrificed contact ability while doing it, which could lead to a bigger breakout than even his most passionate fans predicted.
Bad batted ball luck for Ivan Herrera so far. For those in leagues where he is not yet catcher-eligible, note that he already has two starts behind the dish so he should be eligible there in early May in leagues requiring 10 starts and by June in leagues requiring 20 starts.
How did the Marlins not let Jakob Marsee steal a single bag against the White Sox?! Well, I suppose he’s only been on first base a handful of times this season (four, by my count), but still! I imagine the wheels will start turning soon, though.

Tier 9

Nico Hoerner is doing work to start the season, already notching four doubles and four stolen bases. He’s only leading off right now against lefties, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets a look there against righties as well at some point if Busch has a slump.
Jeremy Peña should be ready for back-to-back games soon. Don’t read too deeply into the exit velocity or swing speed numbers yet: we know he’s still working through that injury. They should improve soon.
Yandy Díaz is seeing the ball well, swinging the bat hard, and getting balls in the air a bit more. Those are the essential ingredients to a Yandy hot streak. If he continues to showcase this improved bat speed, perhaps there is a path back to 20 home runs even without playing in a minor league park.
Sure, it was in Great American Ballpark, but seeing Oneil Cruz smash two dingers off lefties (and one against a righty) the last two days has been a treat. I’d like to see him walk more, but I’m not going to complain too much right now.

Tier 10

IT’S SAL STEWART SEASON, Y’ALL. It has been a perfect storm to start the season, with Stewart clearly locked into the four-hole in the lineup and displaying Joey Votto-esque plate discipline with seven walks to just three strikeouts. He’s also smashing the ball, with three doubles and two homers so far and a 62.5% hard-hit rate. Sal looked fantastic all spring and has carried that into the regular season. Hopefully Sal can start getting the ball into the air with more regularity (18.8% fly ball rate isn’t going to cut it), but that’s my only “negative” insight at the moment.
Randy Arozarena is batting fifth against righties and lefties, and that’s a bummer, as a good chunk of his value came from scoring runs and swiping bags, both of which are easiest to accumulate while leading off.
CJ Abrams isn’t leading off and that’s a bad thing as that’s where he does all his base stealing and run scoring. Perhaps he gets that job back if James Wood continues to struggle, but Daylen Lile may be a better fit.
I was high on Colson Montgomery coming into the season, though part of that experience is going to be stretches like this where he strikes out over 35% of the time. I’ll wait before dropping him too far, though, as what I am really after are those blistering hot streaks.

Tier 11

Munetaka Murakami has started hot, and I’m thrilled to see the walk rate at 16%. This is exactly what I’d expect a Murakami hot streak to look like. He moves up a bit due to seeing that walk rate stay strong, but he stays in this tier because we haven’t seen something unexpected.
Like his teammate Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson has really bad exit velocity at the moment. The swing speed is fine, though, so this is really just a case of not barreling up the ball and only having 12 batted balls. No concerns.
Heliot Ramos is striking out a ton and yet has moved up to third in the order. Not sure what to make of that but my gut says be skeptical that he stays in the top third.
Keep an eye on Ezequiel Tovar. He’s never going to walk, but his bat-to-ball skills are sharp and I think he can get close to recapturing his 2024 value with his aggressive new manager.

Tier 12

Xander Bogaerts is now hitting second for the Padres as they continue to shuffle their batting order around. It’s a bummer he’s not leading off like he did this spring, but second would be just fine.
Love to see this vintage Mike Trout smacking the crap out of some baseballs. If he can stay healthy (like he did last season) and keep the strikeouts down (like he didn’t last season), Trout should be able to climb back into the top-100 hitters where he rightfully belongs.
Welcome to the show, Konnor Griffin! We assumed that signing an extension was the thing that would get him to the show since we already knew he’d crush in the minors at any level, and it’s great for Pirates’ fans that he’ll be in the lineup on Opening Day. Griffin should hit somewhere in the top-third of the lineup, and based on the fact that he played all of his games at shortstop in triple-A, I imagine he’ll takeover that position over Jared Triolo. That said, the Pirates are a disaster defensively in the outfield (as many of you saw on Opening Day), so having Griffin move out there somehow wouldn’t be a terrible idea. Maybe they could get rid of Ozuna and let O’Hearn play first base? Please?.As for expectations, the sky is the limit for this top prospect. Comps are an imperfect science, but the most recent top prospect with this all-around set of fantasy-relevant skills would be Corbin Carroll, who in his first full season hit .285 with 25 home runs and 54 stolen bases. The counting stats Carroll piled up woudln’t be in play for Griffin as those D-Backs teams were much more explosive than Griffin’s Pirates, but Griffin does have the pop and wheels to do something like 20 homers and 40 steals if given the opportunity and if everything clicks quickly (which is far from a given, of course).
Watching Kevin McGonigle work that at-bat late in the game in that series against the Padres was a perfect example of why I’m so pumped he’s in Detroit and not Toledo. He’s already elevated himself to second in the lineup and looks to be a points league stud for years to come. In fact, in a points league prospect ranking, there’s an argument that McGonigle should be at the top of the heap.
JJ Wetherholt has looked like the pesky leadoff man the Cardinals have always seemed to have in their competitive years, and while he doesn’t quite have the pop McGonigle has, he does have a bit more speed, which in the end will likely make their overall contributions similar unless one finds an extra gear (which McGonigle is more likely to do).

Tier 13

Jacob Wilson wasn’t unranked before, and he actually fell about 14 spots due to being moved down to fifth in the order instead of leading off and all those strikeouts in the opening series. He looked better in the Atlanta series though and did lead off twice (though that may just be because they faced some lefties), so there is a path back up to the next tier.
Alejandro Kirk moves down a bit due to not getting DH at-bats like I expected. If he gets that volume back, he’ll move up a tier.
So far, so good for Jac Caglianone, at least when it comes to facing right-handed pitching. He’s gotten some strong batted ball luck so far, but right now we are just happy he isn’t striking out too much. I’m hoping some of those line drives turn into fly balls to help unlock that power, so that’s what to be watching for with Cags.
We are still waiting for Caleb Durbin’s first hit, but a five-game hitless streak is nothing to be alarmed about. He’s hit the ball fairly hard, it’s just been mostly into the ground so far. Grounders have never been a long-term issue for Durbin in the minors or in Milwaukee, so I don’t think it’s anything to worry about.
Adley Rutschman also is not getting DH at-bats, which drops him a few spots in the rankings. On the bright side, the batted ball quality has been excellent.
Oh hey look, another catcher who is not longer getting DH at-bats. Yainer Diaz has scratched and clawed his way to 140 or more games in each of the last two seasons, though it looks like that will be difficult to repeat, as even when Yordan has played the outfield, they’ve had someone else DH.
The concern with Brendan Donovan is not performance, as when healthy he does a great job slapping the ball around and should be an excellent leadoff man in Seattle. The concern is health, as he’s fallen short of 130 games in three of his first four seasons. That caps how high I feel comfortable moving him up this list, along with his general lack of power or speed.
Marcus Semien’s slow start is somewhat more concerning than some of the others due to how long it took him to shake that off last season (he was a sandbag on rosters until June). When you combine that with the fact that Semien has a TON of mileage on his engine and that the Mets have multiple ways to shuffle their infield to cover second base without him playing every day, and you get a slight cause for concern. That said, it’s April 2, so it’s not THAT much concern.

Tier 13

No one fell further on this list than Lawrence Butler, who has hit the pine in half of his team’s games (including against a right-handed pitcher). I had imagined he’d at least get all the action against right-handers and some action against lefties, and that he’d lead off at least on occasion, but all of that seems to have flown out the window. As a platoon bat in the bottom-third of the order, Butler is far less interesting.
Chase DeLauter had an explosive start, but it’s important to note that DeLauter has never completed 60 games in any single professional season due to a myriad of injuries all over his body. On one hand, this isn’t quite like Royce Lewis’s chronic knee issues, but in terms of injury risk, DeLauter has as much of it as anyone in the majors due to his history. This ball off his foot seems fairly innocuous, though, and he should return soon. Hopefully he returns to action Friday, or at the very least, sometime this weekend. DeLauter’s power is legitimate and he could clear 25 home runs as soon as this season with any kind of good health, and while he’s struck out 30.4% of the time in his first 23 plate appearances while walking just once, I expect that plate discipline to correct itself based on his extensive and impressive minor league track record of taking walks and limiting strikeouts.
Isaac Paredes is getting extra playing time due to Jeremy Peña being eased into action, though it remains to be seen how they’ll work him in once Pena is ready to play every day.
Otto Lopez only falls two spots because of all the others guys I wanted to move up. He’s off to a fine start, though his upside remains limited to a guy who hits 15 home runs, steals 15 bases, and posts adequate ratios.
Brenton Doyle falls due to hitting lower in the order than I hoped on a very bad team, but we still haven’t gotten to our first series in Coors yet, so he stays on the list for now.
Chandler Simpson got a start against a lefty. Sure, he’s hitting in the latter half of the order instead of leading off, but his ability to slap the ball the other way, get on first base, and then steal second remains strong. He’ll give you average and steals by the barrel, but he’ll drag you hard everywhere else.
Bryson Stott has avoided a platoon in each of the last three seasons, but he sat against two of the first three lefties with Edmundo Sosa getting playing time instead. While it’s great that Stott will hit fifth or sixth when he plays, his streak of playing in 145+ games is in serious jeopardy.
Stories of Colt Keith’s demise may have been premature, though it helps that the Tigers have only faced right-handed pitching so far. Keith has either hit first or third in each of his five starts, and even managed to sub in for two plate appearances in the one game he didn’t start. Given 140 starts, Keith could finally unlock more of his power and hit 20 home runs with a .260 batting average, though for now all that matters is that he’s getting playing time and is hitting near the top of the order.
Liam Hicks is scorching hot to start the season, and while he’s sitting against lefties, it’s hard to ignore a catcher-eligible player who hits fourth. Hicks has strong plate discipline and should be a solid addition for points league managers looking to stream a catcher, and if he continues to get regular time should be able to put a ton of balls in play with strong ratios and counting stats (for a catcher).

Rank
Hitter
Team
Position
Change

1Shohei OhtaniT1LADDH-2Aaron JudgeNYYOF-3Juan SotoT2NYMOF-4José RamírezCLE3B-5Bobby Witt Jr.KCSS-6Julio RodríguezSEAOF-7Kyle TuckerLADOF-8Fernando Tatis Jr.SDOF-9Junior CamineroT3TB3B-10Corbin CarrollARIOF-11Cal RaleighSEAC-12Nick Kurtz1B-13Kyle SchwarberPHIOF-14Pete AlonsoBAL1B-15Francisco LindorNYMSS-16Gunnar HendersonBALSS-17Yordan AlvarezHOUOF+318Elly De La CruzCINSS-119Vladimir Guerrero Jr.TOR1B-120Ronald Acuña Jr.T4ATLOF-121Jazz Chisholm Jr.NYY2B, 3B+122Zach NetoLAASS+123Ketel MarteARI2B+124Brent RookerOF+125Bryce HarperPHI1B+126Josh NaylorSEA1B+127Manny MachadoSD3B+128Trea TurnerPHISS+129Matt OlsonATL1B+130Pete Crow-ArmstrongT5CHCOF+131Mookie BettsLADSS+232Brice TurangMIL2B+233James WoodWSHOF-134Riley GreeneDETOF+135Rafael DeversSF1B+136Freddie FreemanLAD1B+137Jackson MerrillSDOF+138Wyatt LangfordTEXOF+139Bo BichetteNYMSS+140Hunter GoodmanCOLC+141Shea LangeliersC+142Cody BellingerT6NYY1B+143Eugenio SuárezCIN3B+144Maikel GarciaKC2B, 3B, SS, OF+145Byron BuxtonMINOF+146Corey SeagerTEXSS+347Austin RileyATL3B-48Vinnie PasquantinoKC1B-49William ContrerasMILC+150Ben RiceNYYC, 1B+151Christian YelichT7MILOF+152Alex BregmanCHC3B+553Trevor StoryBOSSS-54Geraldo PerdomoARISS-55Willy AdamesSFSS-56Michael Harris IIATLOF-57Jose AltuveHOU2B, OF+158Salvador PerezKCC, 1B+159Taylor WardT8BALOF+460Roman AnthonyBOSOF+161George SpringerTOROF+162Drake BaldwinATLC+1263Jarren DuranBOSOF+164Will SmithLADC+165Ivan HerreraSTLC, DH+166Jo AdellLAAOF+167Tyler Soderstrom1B, OF+168Andy PagesLADOF+169Jakob MarseeMIAOF+170Nico HoernerT9CHC2B, SS+371Brandon NimmoTEXOF+572Jeremy PeñaHOUSS-73Matt ChapmanSF3B+574Ian HappCHCOF+675Yandy DíazTB1B+776Oneil CruzPITOF+177Steven KwanCLEOF+478Brandon LowePIT2B+579Sal StewartT10CIN1B, 3B+2080Teoscar HernándezLADOF+481Luis Robert Jr.NYMOF+482Randy ArozarenaSEAOF-783Michael BuschCHC1B+384Bryan ReynoldsPITOF+785Ceddanne RafaelaBOS2B, OF-686CJ AbramsWSHSS-1587Luke KeaschallMIN2B+188Colson MontgomeryCWSSS+189Trent GrishamNYYOF+190Ramón LaureanoSDOF+591Jonathan ArandaT11TB1B+692Alec BurlesonSTL1B, OF+993Munetaka MurakamiCWS3B+994Spencer TorkelsonDET1B+495Dansby SwansonCHCSS-896Heliot RamosSFOF-397Daulton VarshoTOROF-598Willson ContrerasBOS1B+299Jorge PolancoNYM2B, 3B+4100Luis ArraezSF1B, 2B+4101Ozzie AlbiesATL2B+5102Ezequiel TovarCOLSS+5103Agustín RamírezT12MIAC+5104Xavier EdwardsMIA2B, SS+6105Xander BogaertsSDSS+11106Gleyber TorresDET2B+7107Wilyer AbreuBOSOF+10108Alec BohmPHI1B, 3B+10109Daylen LileWSHOF+10110Mike TroutLAAOF+10111Konnor GriffinPITSS+12112Kevin McGonigleDETSS+12113JJ WetherholtSTLSS+12114Jacob WilsonT13SS+UR115Alejandro KirkTORC-6116Kerry CarpenterDETOF-5117Caleb DurbinBOS2B, 3B+4118Kazuma OkamotoTOR3B+4119Jac CaglianoneKC1B, OF+7120Adley RutschmanBALC-6121Christian WalkerHOU1B+11122Yainer DiazHOUC, 1B-10123Brendan DonovanSEA2B, SS, OF+14124Marcus SemienNYM2B-9125Max MuncyLAD3B+2126Giancarlo StantonNYYOF+2127Royce LewisMIN3B+2128Lawrence ButlerT14OF-32129Gabriel MorenoARIC+2130Chase DeLauterCLEOF+16131Isaac ParedesHOU3B+9132Matt McLainCIN2B, SS+6133Chase MeidrothCWS2B, SS+9134Samuel BasalloBALC+9135Otto LopezMIA2B, SS-2136Jordan BeckCOLOF+3137Carlos CorreaHOU3B, SS+7138Colton CowserBALOF+9139Willi CastroCOL2B, 3B, OF+2140Jake BurgerTEX1B+8141Brenton DoyleCOLOF-11142Luis García Jr.WSH2B-7143Chandler SimpsonTBOF+7144Ryan O’HearnPIT1B, OF+UR145Bryson StottPHI2B, SS-11146Adolis GarcíaPHIOF+UR147Nolan SchanuelLAA1B+UR148Colt KeithDET1B, 2B, 3B+UR149Liam HicksMIAC, 1B+UR150Cam SmithHOUOF+UR

Players are listed by position and in no particular order

Catcher

Carter Jensen (C, KCR) — The playing time is great and he can hit the ball hard, the only question is whether he will make enough contact for it to matter.
J.T. Realmuto (C, PHI) — He’s fine.
Francisco Alvarez (C, NYM) — Could absolutely hit 20 home runs if he stays healthy and doesn’t hit as many balls into the ground as he has the last two seasons.
Austin Wells (C, NYY) — He plays a lot and should get close to 20 home runs with decent counting stats but bad ratios.
Ryan Jeffers (C, MIN) — Not DHing like I expected, not even against a lefty.
Dillon Dingler (C, DET) — Off to a great start and hit fifth on Wednesday.
Kyle Teel (C, CWS) — The more interesting of the two South Side catchers, though he might miss most of the month.
Edgar Quero (C, CWS) — He’ll need to start hitting soon to carve out a larger role when Teel returns.
Gary Sánchez (C, MIL) — No thanks. Enjoy the dingers but the juice ain’t worth the squeeze for long.

First Base

Andrew Vaughn (1B, MIL) — The hamate bone claims another. He’ll miss a little over a month.
Kyle Manzardo (1B, CLE) — A slow start and yet again platooning.
Spencer Horwitz (1B, PIT) — Interested to see how good the first half of the order is with Griffin.
Gavin Sheets (1B/OF, SDP) — Streaky, power-hitting lefty.
Miguel Vargas (1B/3B, CWS) — The strikeouts are a little ugly but remains a replacement-level third baseman.
Coby Mayo (1B/3B, BAL) — He struck out a ton this spring and is still doing that in the regular season. Hard to see how he sticks around without taking care of his whiffs against breakers.
Jake Bauers (1B/OF, MIL) — Super hot start and fine to stream if you want a spark, at least while he’s hitting fourth.
TJ Rumfield (1B, COL) — He’s putting the ball in play and that’s great. I don’t think the’ll have enough power to justify using outside of a points league, though.

Second Base

Jackson Holliday (2B, BAL) — On a rehab and should be back by mid-April.
Brett Baty (2B/3B, NYM) — Getting playing time and has hit a few fly balls.
Ernie Clement (1B/2B/3B/SS, TOR) — Plays everyday and puts the ball in play. Just don’t expect much else.
José Caballero (2B/3B/SS/OF, NYY) — He’ll play every day until Volpe comes back, but may not play much at all afterwards.
Nolan Gorman (2B/3B, STL) — Can sock dingers, and the strikeouts were improved over the spring.
Andrés Giménez (2B/SS, TOR) — Bats last, but has a little bit of speed. Not the worst short-term replacement in 12-teamers.
Jake Cronenworth (2B, SDP) — Had a couple looks as the leadoff guy, which would make him interesting.
Jonathan India (2B/3B/OF, KCR) — Let’s see how many more homers he can hit with the new dimensions at his home park.
Luisangel Acuña (2B, CHW) — Looks like the White Sox will let him run, but the jury is still out on whether he can hit enough to make an impact.
Travis Bazzana (2B, CLE) — Not much more for him to prove in triple-A apart from just continuing to do what he’s done, and at some point they’ve gotta get sick of Arias and his sky-high whiff rate.
Cole Young (2B, SEA) — Playing time will get messy when Emerson is promoted and Crawford returns, so he needs to keep piling up the hits.
Nick Gonzales (2B, PIT) — He’ll add third base to his eligibility with his next start there, and could hit like 10-12 homers with a .270 average I guess.

Third Base

Addison Barger (3B/OF, TOR) — He’s sat three times, including against a righty. Feel free to drop in 12-teamers.
Jordan Westburg (2B/3B, BAL) — Won’t be back until at least June.
Marcelo Mayer (3B, BOS) — He’ll have to cut down the strikeouts to get me interested.
Jordan Lawlar (3B/OF, ARI) — The opportunity is there, but can he get the strikeout rate down and/or hit with any kind of power whatsoever?

Shortstop

J.P. Crawford (SS, SEA) — He’s on the last year of his contract and the young middle infielders have started to break through. Will Seattle keep starting him?
Colt Emerson (SS, SEA) — With an extension signed, he should be up any minute.
Carson Williams (SS, TBR) — If he gets that strikeout rate below 30% for an extended period, he could stick on the roster and is a threat to have a 20-20 season, albeit with bad ratios and counting stats.
Mauricio Dubón (2B/3B/SS/OF) — He’s gonna play most days and put the ball in play a lot.
Masyn Winn (SS, STL) — How much longer does he bat fourth?
Nasim Nuñez (SS, WSN) — He’s getting the playing time and stealing bases, but he’ll need to strike out a lot less for this to work out.

Outfield/DH

Jackson Chourio (OF, MIL) — He should be back by the start of May, but man, that came out of nowhere.
Seiya Suzuki (OF, CHC) — Suzuki shouldn’t be out long, and when he returns, he’ll be somewhere in the top 70.
Jung Hoo Lee (OF, SFG) — If he leads off a few more times, maybe I’ll be interested.
Cedric Mullins (OF, TBR) — This rough start is not the path to being more than a platoon guy in Tampa.
TJ Friedl (OF, CIN) — He’s not much of a hitter, but he leads off for a decent offense with a fantastic home park.
Mike Yastrzemski (OF, ATL) — He bats fifth whenever they play a righty, which should lead to a healthy amount of RBI.
Brandon Marsh (OF, PHI) — Stayed in the lineup against two of three lefties and should be a fringe top-150 player all season.
Matt Wallner (OF, MIN) — Walks, strikeouts, homers, and injuries. That’s the story here.
Josh Lowe (OF, LAA) — He’s painfully streaky but should start against most righties and will heat up for a few weeks at a time to provide pop and speed.
Luke Raley (1B/OF, SEA) — Streaky platoon bat with some pop.
Domonic Canzone (OF, SEA) — Showed some strong numbers in 2025 and off to a hot start, though definitely locked into a platoon. if he keeps putting the ball in the air, he’ll make the list.
Justin Crawford (OF, PHI) — It’s a Chandler Simpson profile with (hopefully) more walks and a bit less speed.
Mickey Moniak (OF, COL) — When he’s healthy, he’ll be a streaky power-hitting lefty who you’ll turn on when he’s in Coors against a righty and off at all other times.
Jake McCarthy (OF, COL) — Two hits, zero walks, and four stolen bases. Absolutely wild. It’s speed only here, as I am certain he cannot hit.
Kyle Isbel (OF, KCR) — He’s swinging harder, hitting harder, and already has gotten close to his homer and stolen base totals from last season (four each, and it took 135 games). Is this an insane breakout? Maybe, and he’s worth a pickup if you have an open space. That said, we have 496 games and over 1,500 plate appearances of an insanely uninteresting player for fantasy purposes and it’s far more likely than not that he turns back into that. So you’re saying there’s a chance?! Sure.
Owen Caissie (OF, MIA) — Injuries have opened up some playing time and a higher spot in the order, so let’s see if he’s more than the 15-20 home run platoon bat I expect him to be.
Garrett Mitchell (OF, MIL) — Mitchell has the pop and speed to be interesting, but a lengthy injury history and a major contact problem.