Outfield can sometimes feel like the most difficult position to draft. The position is home to some of the biggest names in sports. For fantasy baseball managers, this can create a false sense of security in waiting on the position. The other challenging aspect is that you must draft at least three and sometimes five starters. With such a large player pool, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. This article helps to outline what fantasy baseball managers can expect in 2026 as they prepare for drafts.
You can check out the 2025 outfield recap here.
2026 Fantasy Baseball: Outfield Preview
The Elite Fantasy Baseball Picks
Juan Soto – New York Mets
While the Mets’ season as a whole was a major disappointment, nobody should spend any time complaining about Juan Soto’s performance. Soto was even better than fantasy baseball managers could have expected in 2025. He continued to show off dominant power, hitting 43 home runs. His walk rate, contact skills, and batted ball data were as strong as ever. The one thing fantasy baseball managers were not expecting was stolen bases. Over the last four seasons, Soto had only stolen 34 bases total. In 2025, Soto stole 38 bases. While predicting 30+ steals again from a player with 13th percentile sprint speed would likely be a mistake, Soto will continue to be one of the best assets in all of fantasy baseball. He should be in strong consideration for the first overall pick in 2026.
Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
Aaron Judge is as consistent as they come. Not only is Judge a lock to compete for the home run crown each season, but he is also a competitor in the batting title race. Judge hit 53 home runs in 2025, clearing the 50 home run threshold for the fourth time in his career. He also posted the best batting average of his career up at .331. Judge’s elite production is even more valuable in H2H league formats where you are okay with his underwhelming stolen bases totals. He provides elite four-category contributions and is showing no signs of slowing down at age 33. Health and durability are certainly things to monitor as Judge ages, but for now he remains an elite fantasy baseball asset and one of the most complete hitters in all of baseball. Expect his success to continue in 2026.
Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Candidates
Dylan Beavers – Baltimore Orioles
With the Orioles disappointing for most of the season, the late season production from Dylan Beavers has gone relatively unnoticed. In 35 Major League games last season, Beavers hit four homers, stole two bases, and posted a 125 wRC+.
Throughout his Minor League career, Beavers has shown an impressive combination of power and speed. He stole 23 bases in the Minor Leagues and posted an 89th percentile sprint speed. Beavers also posted contact and whiff rates much better than the league average.
Beavers does not have elite exit velocities, but he gets the ball in the air and to his pull side with consistency. There is 20/20 upside here with even more value for OBP leagues. He should get a chance to play everyday in 2026 and should be a valuable addition to fantasy teams late in drafts.
Jackson Merrill – San Diego Padres
This is really all about where Jackson Merrill winds up being drafted. Merrill entered 2025 with high expectations after a fantastic rookie season. Unfortunately, injuries derailed the early part of Merrill’s 2025 season and limited him to just 115 games played.
Teams who drafted Merrill in 2025 were likely not competing deep into the playoffs, so it may have been easy to miss the run Merrill went on to end the season. Over the final month of the season, Merrill slashed an incredible .308/.341/.718. He hit seven home runs in his final 82 plate appearances with a 23.2% barrel rate.
Merrill is only 22 years old and the injuries he suffered certainly contributed to his early season struggles. Buying into a bounce back 2026 season is an obvious in this situation. Merrill’s late season struggles are likely to turn him into a value on draft day in 2026.
2025 Seasons to be Wary Of
Byron Buxton – Minnesota Twins
The obvious starting point with Byron Buxton is durability. Entering 2025, Buxton had only played in 100+ games twice in his career. The first time was 2017, and the second time was 2024 in which he played 102.
In 2025, Buxton was able to stay (mostly) healthy and would up playing in 126 games. 2026 will be his age-32 season and believing that Buxton will suddenly be a model of durability is a mistake.
On top of that, Buxton suddenly contributed in all five-categories. That is something he had never done. We had seen average without steals. Power without average. Never all five which Buxton suddenly showed in 2025.
Under the surface, Buxton still struggled with his whiff and chase rates and also posted a below average sweet spot percentage. Buxton’s power is legit, and he remains an enticing fantasy option. However, his success in 2025 could push his draft price up too far based on what his expected 2026 outcome will be.
Christian Yelich – Milwaukee Brewers
Christian Yelich has phenomenal raw power. However, since his back injuries, Yelich has struggled to get the ball in the air consistently. Fly balls are obviously an important part of hitting home runs. Since 2021, Yelich’s 2025 season is the only one in which a player posted a fly ball rate below 25% and hit at least 20 home runs. Yelich hit 29 in 2025.
His run of success last season was a flash to the past, but should not be something that fantasy managers count on in 2026. Although the power came back, Yelich posted his worst chase rate since 2021 and his worst whiff rate since 2020. His pulled fly ball rate continues to be well below the league average as well. Yelich turns 34 in December. While his 2025 success was exciting, fantasy baseball managers should proceed with caution when drafting for 2026.
Prospects Set to Make a Fantasy Baseball Impact
Carson Benge – New York Mets
Carson Benge’s success in his first professional season has put him on the fast track to the Major Leagues. The team’s first round pick from 2024 was sensational in 2025. In 116 games split between three levels, Benge hit .281 with 15 homers and 22 stolen bases.
Under the surface, Benge excelled at just about everything. His contract rates were excellent, he showed off great plate discipline, he hits a ton of line drives, the exit velocities were strong, and he showed off plus speed. The Mets have an glaring hole in center field and Benge proved more than capable of playing there in the Minor Leagues this season.
Fantasy baseball manager should expect Benge to make his Major League debut in 2026 and he is worth taking a flier on late in drafts.
Walker Jenkins – Minnesota Twins
Walker Jenkins is one of the top ranked prospects in all of baseball. In 2025, Jenkins made his way up to Triple-A signaling a likely Major League debut in 2026.
The 6’3″ lefty packs plenty of projectability in his frame. He is a plus athlete who has a great feel for getting to his pull side consistently. His swing is currently more designed to produce line drives, but there is plus power projection that oozes from his profile. Jenkins is also a plus runner with at least average contact skills and strong plate discipline. The Twins are in a rebuild and fantasy managers should expect Jenkins to contribute in 2026.
Pay Attention to the Off-Season
Does Luis Robert Jr. finally get traded?
At this point, it is difficult to determine if Luis Robert Jr. is washed up, or if his team context is just so poor that he lacks any motivation to perform. Fantasy baseball managers saw the same thing with Eloy Jimenez as his career failed to rebound following a trade out of Chicago.
While Robert has been the subject of trade rumors for years now, he has yet to be traded. In 2025, Robert played in 110 games and hit .223 with 14 homers and 33 stolen bases. Even though the batting average was disappointing, his power and speed combination still shows how he could be valuable fantasy asset. A trade out of Chicago could add a glimmer of hope as to what his fantasy value could look like in 2026.
What does Philadelphia do with their outfield?
Dave Dombrowski has already verbalized the team’s inability to run back the same squad in 2026. Outfield feels like the biggest area that could see a shakeup. Nick Castellanos is all but gone despite his $20 million contract in 2026. Brandon Marsh played well down the stretch, but struggled in the playoffs. Harrison Bader was a revelation in Philly, but is a free agent with an inconsistent track record. Could Bryce Harper move back into the outfield? Will they go after the big name in Kyle Tucker? Justin Crawford appears likely to be given a chance to earn an everyday role during Spring Training and the team remains high on Otto Kemp. There will be plenty of fantasy fallout from the decisions Philly makes with their outfield this offseason.
Fantrax is one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites in the fantasy sports industry, and we’re not stopping anytime soon. We are the most customizable, easy-to-use, and feature-rich platform in the industry, offering the greatest fantasy experience for your dynasty, keeper, redraft, and best ball leagues. Fantasy sports doesn’t sleep, and neither does Fantrax, with seasons running 365 days a year. Take your fantasy leagues to the next level now at Fantrax.com!
