With every MLB team reporting to spring training, the fantasy baseball season feels like it’s right around the corner. While there is a month between now and when your league will be drafting, it’s never a bad time to check who is at the top of the draft board. Here is a list of the top eight draft picks for the 2026 season.
With the eighth pick in any 2026 fantasy draft, the top player to select is Paul Skenes. While some fantasy owners may believe Skenes should be selected higher, his membership on the Pittsburgh Pirates limits his chances for wins, hurting his value. Either way, he still had the best ERA in MLB and scored the 12th most fantasy points by any pitcher in 2025, deserving a top-eight pick in 2026.
Skenes’ scoring a total of 472.7 fantasy points with 216 strikeouts and only 42 walks, while posting a 1.97 ERA in 2025, was incredible. As mentioned, playing for the Pirates may hurt his value, but any player earning a Cy Young Award with these statistics can’t be overlooked. In 2026, draft him eighth overall as the third pitcher off the board, or regret it the rest of the year.
The best player to draft seventh overall in 2026 and one of the most exciting players in MLB is Elly De La Cruz. While De la Cruz had a down year, fantasy-wise, in 2025 compared to 2024, he is still one of the best hitters and base-runners. In 2026, expect him to revert to his 2024 form and break the top 10 fantasy scorers for batters once again.
In De La Cruz’s “down” 2025 season, he still ranked 14th among the top-scoring batters, totaling 608 fantasy points at 3.8 per game. This is down from 2024, when he scored 681 fantasy points, but in 2025, he had a quad injury that limited his stolen bases and extra-base hits. In 2026, he heads into the season fully healthy, ready to near that 60-stolen-base mark again, earning a top-7 draft pick.
The best player to draft sixth overall in 2026 is Tarik Skubal, who is the top pitcher on this list. In 2025, Skubal had his best season with a 2.21 ERA, earning his second consecutive Cy Young Award and cementing his place as a top-six fantasy player to draft.
In Skubal’s fantastic 2025 season, he scored 551.3 fantasy points, placing him second overall for all pitchers that season. While he might not have had more points than the top pitcher, Garrett Crotchet, he had fewer earned runs, walks, hits, and stolen bases allowed. If his team performed better, allowing him to earn more wins, he would have been closer to 600. This season looks no different, and he will be fighting to earn his third consecutive Cy Young Award. Draft him sixth or miss out on the best there is.
The player that will be drafted fifth in any 2026 fantasy draft will be José Ramírez. Last season, Ramírez once again was a problem for any pitcher, clobbering 30 home runs, 34 doubles, and finishing sixth in fantasy points among batters. Having five consecutive All-Star seasons and two consecutive Silver Slugger awards, he shows no sign of slowing down in 2026 and should be a top-five selection.
Scoring a total of 647 fantasy points for an average of 4.1 per game is the fourth among batters on this list and is one of the best in MLB. Drafting Ramírez within the top five in 2026 is crucial for any owner who misses out on the top four picks. Entering his 14th season, his statistics over the past few years show he remains at the top and will hit another 30 home runs and 30+ doubles this year. Don’t overthink it, draft “Ol’ Reliable” fifth overall.
The next best player to draft beyond the first three picks in 2026 is Bobby Witt Jr. While he might not have quite as much value as the top three, Witt Jr. performed exceptionally well in 2025 and finished with the eighth-most fantasy points among batters. Heading into his fifth season in the majors, the best is yet to come, and a top-four pick is the right choice for any owner in this position.
With 184 hits, 47 doubles, and 23 home runs in 2025, Witt Jr. totaled 635 fantasy points and proved to be one of the best hitters at the plate. While he was one of the best hitters, he also recorded 38 stolen bases, adding to his value and earning owners more fantasy points. In 2026, expect the same from the young star and draft him fourth, or have fun facing him throughout the year.
The best player to draft third overall in 2026 is Juan Soto after his amazing first season with the New York Mets. With a slow start in 2025, some owners thought Soto was washed up, but he turned up the heat and ended up finishing third in fantasy points among batters. With another dominant season under his belt, he is a clear top-three pick.
In 2025, Soto scored 732 fantasy points and hit over 40 home runs, but, unlike any other year in his career, had 38 stolen bases. While most fantasy owners see him as a power hitter with great vision, he has now developed the ability to dominate the base paths in the prime of his career. Having more than five times the number of stolen bases in 2025 compared to 2024 doesn’t come by accident and adds to his fantasy value tremendously. Draft him top three or miss your chance.
The second pick in any upcoming fantasy draft belongs to Aaron Judge. After the 2025 season, when Judge crushed the ball from the plate, selecting him as the second overall pick is the smart choice for any fantasy owner.
Judge scored a total of 778 fantasy points in 2025 for an average of 5.1 per game, which led the MLB, but was just another year for the three-time MVP. In 2026, expect nothing less than a .300 batting average and over 50 home runs if he can remain healthy throughout the majority of the season. Some may be deterred by his injury history, but with over 152 games played in each of the past two seasons, don’t let the past stop you from drafting him.
The unanimous first overall pick in any fantasy baseball draft in 2026 and the most valuable player in MLB right now is Shohei Ohtani. This is no surprise, given Ohtani’s ability to pitch and serve as a designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers, making him more valuable than anyone.
In 2025, Ohtani proved that value once again. At the plate, he scored 763 fantasy points while also having 102 fantasy points pitching for a total of 865. While you might think scoring over 850 fantasy points in 2025 is enough to draft him first overall, he will demolish 850 points in 2026. With manager Dave Roberts saying he will have a “regular starter” role again, the sky is the limit for Ohtani, and you would be foolish to draft anyone else.
If you’re the lucky fantasy owner who ends up with the first overall pick, don’t mess it up, and be sure to draft Ohtani. For the second overall pick, Judge is also the only answer for a fantasy owner in this position, being one of the best batters whenever healthy. For the third and fourth picks, Soto and Witt Jr. are the smart choices, but after that, it’s up to personal choice. In my opinion, Ramírez, Skubal, De La Cruz, and Skenes round out the top eight.
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