Early 2026 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 36 in the outfield gives prominent placement to surprise standouts

Outfield is shaping up to be one of the stronger positions in 2026, but the use of that qualifier, "one of," makes for a softer endorsement than I thought I'd be giving it.

A big reason why is that Kyle Schwarber, Yordan Alvarez, and Christian Yelich are all losing eligibility at the position, qualifying only at DH in standard CBS Sports leagues. Jazz Chisholm is also losing eligibility there, though he at least still qualifies at second and third base. All four would rank in the top 15 if they retained outfield eligibility, but since they don't, someone else has to. And it may not be who you expect.

Early rankings: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP

Still, outfield has come a long way from the wasteland it was just a couple years ago, so much so that I'm compelled to reveal my top 36 at the position when normally I'd be going only 30 deep at this stage of the process. Then again, that's largely because the distinctions in that 25-36 range are so painfully thin that I'd be showing undue favoritism by cutting it off halfway. I could justify ranking those players in almost any order, so when the time comes to take your third outfielder in a 12-team league, my best advice would be to follow your heart.

The dropoff thereafter is a gradual one, too, so while it's accurate to say that outfield is deep in usable talent, it's not a position where you'll be able to gain a clear advantage over your competition. To score a possible difference-maker, you may need to go a little outside of your comfort zone, ignoring the downside risk for some of those unlikely players that were pushed into the top 15.

You'll see what I mean soon enough.

Note that the focus here is standard 5x5 scoring (such as Rotisserie leagues), but if you scroll a little further, you'll see my rankings for points leagues.

Top 36 outfielders for 2026

1	Aaron Judge New York Yankees RF
Judge isn't just the No. 1 outfielder but the No. 1 player overall, a historic power hitter who has become just as much of a standout in batting average by hitting .300 or better with 50-plus homers in three of the past four seasons.
2	Juan Soto New York Mets RF
Already a first-round mainstay, Soto added to his skill set with an out-of-nowhere 38-steal season. He seems unlikely to repeat it, judging from his poor sprint speed, but his work with first base coach Antoan Richardson to improve his jumps and reads is well documented. He's likely to gain some in batting average even if he loses some in stolen bases.
3	Ronald Acuna Jr. Atlanta Braves RF
Acuna's return from his second torn ACL was a little clunky, as was also true when he returned from his first torn ACL in 2022, but we all know what followed in 2023. He turned in what may go down as the best season in Fantasy Baseball history. Mostly, we're just looking for him to regain some of his old enthusiasm for stealing bases, which seems likely given that his sprint speed remains unchanged.
4	Corbin Carroll Arizona Diamondbacks RF
Carroll genuinely grew into more power this past year with improved exit velocities and a career-best pull-air rate, and a late surge in stolen bases made him a 30/30 man for the first time. The one area where he's lacking is batting average, but the expected stats say he has room to improve there.
5	Kyle Tucker Chicago Cubs RF
The line between Carroll and Tucker is razor thin, and part of me wants to side with Tucker because of his superior plate discipline (which indeed gives him the edge in points leagues) and batting average potential. Ultimately, Carroll wins out because of downside risk, with Tucker having dealt with more injuries the past couple years, but I'll note that Tucker's 2025 line is all the more impressive when you consider how much playing through a fractured finger dragged it down in the second half.
6	Julio Rodriguez Seattle Mariners CF
By now, we know better than to apply Rodriguez's typically big second half, which happened again in 2025, to his full-season projection, but just taking the numbers as they are, he's a 30/30 man who won't hurt you in batting average. That's a first-round pick in categories leagues, though Rodriguez's poor plate discipline bumps him down a round in Head-to-Head points.
7	Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego Padres RF
A poor pull-air rate likely explains why Tatis continues to fall short of his expected stats, creating some separation between him and Rodriguez, at least in this scoring format. We're more likely looking at a 25-homer, 25-steal guy here than 30/30, though Tatis' improved walk rate in 2025 probably gives him the edge over Rodriguez in Head-to-Head points.
8	Jackson Chourio Milwaukee Brewers CF
Chourios's 2025 only feels like a disappointment because we were hoping the big jump he made in the second half of his rookie season would sustain over his full sophomore season. His overall stat line was nearly identical, though, and doesn't require any improvement to justify this draft spot. A little extra exit velocity would do wonders for him and is still possible given that he'll only be 22 next season.
9	Pete Crow-Armstrong Chicago Cubs CF
The most discussed player of 2025 slashed .272/.309/.559 over the first four months and then .188/.237/.295 over the final two, taking him out of the MVP conversation in real life and first-round consideration in Fantasy. On balance, he was a 30/30 man and could be again, but his high chase rate brings a volatility to his game that we just saw play out in the most dramatic way.
10	James Wood Washington Nationals LF
Pete Crow-Armstrong, meet James Wood, who likewise took a nosedive in the second half after seemingly establishing himself as a first-round-caliber bat in the first half. Wood's case may be even more concerning, given that his strikeout rate jumped from 26.4 percent to 39.4 percent. Then again, it was the first full season for a player with a huge prospect pedigree, and if not for the winding route he took to his final numbers, we'd be floored by them.
11	Byron Buxton Minnesota Twins CF
You know how I said you may need to go outside of your comfort zone to secure a potential difference-maker at this position? Buxton was certainly that in 2025, combining for nearly 70 home runs and stolen bases while ranking fifth among outfielders in Head-to-Head points per game, but it was a rare example of him remaining (mostly) healthy for a full season. The upside is clear, but so is the downside.
12	Wyatt Langford Texas Rangers LF
Drafting Langford this high also requires a glass-half-full approach, but it may be more palatable for him than for Buxton, given his relative youth and recent top prospect standing. The 23-year-old did take a step forward in his second season, actually bettering Jackson Chourio in home runs and stolen bases by one each, but certain aspects of his hitting profile may make him a mild liability in batting average.
13	George Springer Toronto Blue Jays DH
I said Byron Buxton trailed only four outfielders in Head-to-Head points per game this past season. Believe it or not, Springer was one of them, and his 4.79 in the second half (when he hit .369) were more than Aaron Judge averaged for the season. Yes, we all thought he was cooked just a year ago, and no, you wouldn't normally bet on a career-best performance from a 36-year-old. But looking at what follows, this is as far as I can fade Springer, who, of course, has had studly seasons in the past.
14	Cody Bellinger New York Yankees LF
I could elevate Bellinger by as much as three spots if I knew he'd be back with the Yankees, who offer the perfect venue for maximizing his modest exit velocities, as evidenced by his .302/.365/.544 slash line there vs. .241/.301/.414 on the road. But he's expected to enter the free agent market this offseason, and there are a whole host of venues that would be detrimental to his Fantasy value.
15	Brent Rooker Athletics DH
Rooker was great in 2024 but merely good in 2025, losing about a quarter of his home runs and 30 points of batting average. This happened even with him shaving nearly seven points off his strikeout rate and transitioning to what became the league's most homer-friendly park in Sacramento, so maybe you can count on him regaining some of those losses. I'm choosing to rank him more conservatively.
16	Randy Arozarena Seattle Mariners LF
Sure, his data set isn't particularly strong. Yes, he stumbled to the finish line with a .216 batting average and .641 OPS in August and September. We've expressed similar concerns for Arozarena in past seasons, only for him to bounce back with another 20-30 homers and 20-30 steals. He's a liability in batting average, sure, but there are no perfect players at this stage of the rankings.
17	Riley Greene Detroit Tigers LF
Greene has upped his home runs from 11 to 24 to 36 over the past three years, making good on his potential as a former top hitting prospect but in an unexpected way. He's a pure slugger, basically, and seems to be leaning into it all the more with escalating strikeout and pull-air rates. It's not the most versatile profile, but it's a valuable one provided your format doesn't penalize for strikeouts.
18	Seiya Suzuki Chicago Cubs DH
Suzuki did a much better job pulling the ball in the air in 2025, leading to a career-high 32 home runs, but the tradeoff was about 40 points of batting average. That second development might be the flukier of the two, though. He actually finished with a higher xBA than in 2024 and was doing fine with batting average until about midseason. It fell off even as he cut down on his strikeouts.
19	Jarren Duran Boston Red Sox LF
Even with improved exit velocities, Duran's production declined across the board, making it easier to say in retrospect that his monster 2024 season will likely never be repeated. Still, 2025 seemed like an overcorrection, particularly for stolen bases and, to a lesser degree, batting average. He wouldn't need to regain much to justify this price tag.
20	Roman Anthony Boston Red Sox RF
The consensus top prospect at the time of his promotion, Anthony enjoyed immediate success as a rookie and was beginning to tap into power, finally, when his season ended a month early due to an oblique strain. There are refinements to make with regard to launch angle and contact rate, but he already made such strides during his short time in the majors that optimism is warranted.
21	Jose Altuve Houston Astros 2B
You're obviously drafting Altuve to man second base rather than the outfield -- really, it shouldn't be in question -- and the upcharge for that preferred eligibility is fairly minimal. The decline for the 35-year-old isn't as clear as some would have you believe, judging by the underlying data, but his 2025 did see him give up some batting average and stolen bases.
22	Michael Harris Atlanta Braves CF
Harris did the reverse of Pete Crow-Armstrong en route to his first 20/20 season, slashing .210/.234/.317 in the first half compared to .299/.315/.530 in the second. The comparison seems apt since both are athletic marvels with considerable chase issues, which invites volatility, but seeing as Harris entered 2025 with a career .285 batting average, it's fair to presume he'll regain something there.
23	Jackson Merrill San Diego Padres CF
Merrill's sophomore season was partly salvaged by him hitting seven of his 16 home runs in September, but even with that late surge, the final line wouldn't warrant a pick this high. He gets some benefit of the doubt because his season was throttled by three separate IL stints, and of course, his rookie performance still speaks for itself. If he's not a base-stealer, though (swiping just one bag in 2025), it puts even more pressure on him to deliver a high batting average.
24	Oneil Cruz Pittsburgh Pirates CF
Cruz is no longer eligible at shortstop and no longer figures to be a Draft Day darling after batting .200 in 2025, including .185 from May 1 on and .140 over his final 37 games. He still hits the ball as hard as anyone, but he's now 27 and has made no progress with respect to the finer points of hitting. His base-stealing bails him out somewhat, and you'd be satisfied to take him here if he can bring that batting average back up to the .230-.240 range.
25	Kyle Stowers Miami Marlins LF
It's easy to forget about Stowers because he missed the final six weeks with an oblique strain, but the dude was one of the biggest outfield breakouts of 2025, delivering the fifth-best OPS at the position (minimum 300 at-bats) with expected stats that fully back it up. His strikeout rate raises concerns, as do his occasional sits against left-handed pitchers, but even taking those into account, this ranking is hardly aggressive.
26	Tyler Soderstrom Athletics LF
There's a good chance you'll be drafting Soderstrom to man first base instead, but he's perfectly viable in the outfield as well. He's still learning to optimize his swing, seeing his fly-ball rate collapse after hitting more than one-third of his home runs in April, but he contributes to batting average as well and is only beginning to hit his stride at age 23.
27	Brandon Nimmo New York Mets LF
Even with some bumps and bruises along the way, Nimmo has played in more than 150 games each of the past four seasons, which keeps his run and RBI production high in a deep Mets lineup. You can go ahead and pencil him in for a .260-24-85-85-12 line right now, and while that may seem boring to some, it's incredibly valuable at the point in the draft when he's likely to be taken.
28	Andy Pages Los Angeles Dodgers CF
Pages broke out with similar 5x5 production to Nimmo, though he isn't as proven, and his exit velocity readings are a little suspect. The walk disparity also makes for more separation between the two in points leagues. It's doubtful Pages moves up in a deep Dodgers lineup, keeping his counting stats modest, though he should still make an impact in RBI while batting sixth or seventh.
29	Jo Adell Los Angeles Angels CF
There may be less separating Adell from Riley Greene than these 12 spots in the rankings would have you believe, but that's only if you take the 26-year-old's breakthrough season at face value, putting aside all the futility that came before it. Adell's batting average in 2025 trailed Greene's by more than 20 points, but that advantage is reversed if you look at xBA (.273 for Adell vs. .250 for Greene).
30	Lawrence Butler Athletics RF
Butler couldn't deliver on the hype that made him the darling pick of Fantasy Baseball analysts everywhere, reverting to his past struggles with left-handed pitchers and making contact in general. He still eked out a 20/20 campaign, but he was routinely sitting against left-handers by the end of the year. There may be hope for a rebound given his youth and athleticism, but you'll want to take a guarded approach in drafts.
31	Trent Grisham New York Yankees CF
With only small gains in exit velocity, strikeout rate, and pull-air rate, Grisham transformed himself from benchwarmer to 30-homer guy just in time for free agency. Mid-career transformations are always deserving of skepticism, but if you're presuming his power will dry up upon leaving the Yankees, given that he bats left-handed, the splits suggest otherwise. Twenty-one of his 34 homers in 2025 came on the road.
32	Taylor Ward Los Angeles Angels LF
After staking out a reputation as a just-good-enough option for standard-size leagues, Ward took his power game to new heights, besting his previous high in home runs by 11. But there were no underlying improvement to back up this windfall -- his expected stats were virtually identical to the previous two years, in fact -- which makes me wary of drafting him as if it will continue.
33	Teoscar Hernandez Los Angeles Dodgers RF
This may seem like too steep of a downgrade for Hernandez if you just glance at the final numbers. Yeah, they were down a little across the board, but they weren't an order of magnitude different from what we've come to expect from him. You should note, though, that he did the heavy lifting in April. From May 1 on, he batted only .228 with a .678 OPS, which deserves additional scrutiny coming from a 33-year-old.
34	Jakob Marsee Miami Marlins CF
Marsee came up in August and immediately shook up the Fantasy Baseball world, his 3.33 Head-to-Head points per game ranking 13th among outfielders in 2025. But he fell off quite a bit in September, which should raise some alarm given his lack of prospect pedigree and modest contact quality. I trust him to work the count and steal bases, but with much to sort out still on the hitting side, I can't rank him any more aggressively than this.
35	Luis Robert Chicago White Sox CF
I wouldn't blame anyone for writing off Robert after two straight disappointing seasons, but he showed genuine improvement during his last healthy stretch in July and August, focusing on letting pitches travel deeper into the zone en route to hitting .293 with an .808 OPS and 16 percent strikeout rate. Even going by his full-season numbers, he had a 162-game pace of 21 homers and 49 steals, so there's still plenty to dream on here.
36	Jurickson Profar Atlanta Braves LF
A year later, it's still hard to say whether Profar's 2024 breakthrough was legitimate. His big August relieved concerns that it was entirely PED-fueled, but all the time he lost to that suspension still made for an inconclusive sample. His average exit velocity was closer to 2024 than the years prior, at least, and his on-base skills eventually got him hitting leadoff for the Braves, which may continue. I feel better about him in points leagues, for sure.