Fantasy Baseball: Early Look at the 2026 Draft Board in a 15-Team Roto League

This past weekend, Chris Towers and I traveled to Arizona for First Pitch Arizona, presented by BaseballHQ. For those who haven't attended, it's a Fantasy Baseball conference that features Arizona Fall League games, panels, live podcasts, and way-too-early drafts. If you love Fantasy Baseball, this event was made for you! One of my favorite things to do while out there is a live draft. I know, it's insane for anybody to be drafting in November for a season that starts in March. I mostly do it to get an early look at the draft board and to see what other people are thinking. Plus, drafting live with everybody in attendance is always such a fun experience.

The draft I took part in is an NFBC Draft Champion league. It's a 15-team 5x5 Roto league with 50 rounds. That's right, 750 draft picks! The reason this format goes so deep is because there are no in-season waiver moves. The team you draft is the team you're stuck with. 23 starting spots. 27 bench spots. Hence the name, 'Draft Champion'. So, we drafted 23 rounds in person this weekend, and then we'll pick things back up in Round 24 as part of a slow draft in January. I understand this is a pretty quirky format that goes very deep into the player pool, but I mostly just wanted to give you an opportunity to see an early draft board. Below you'll find exactly that, with the picks that stood out most and some decisions I faced with the 15th pick.

Draft Picks That Stood Out

Kyle Tucker – 2.01, 16th overall

I swear I'm not just starting with this one because it was my pick. I think Kyle Tucker's early average draft position of 17.9 is interesting. I get that the last two years have been frustrating, but I'm not worried about it. Yes, he struggled mightily from July on, but we know he was playing through a fracture in his hand. He also missed time in 2024 with a fracture in his shin, but the Houston Astros misdiagnosed that injury. His free agency does add a bit of uncertainty to his value, but barring a return to the Chicago Cubs or signing with the San Francisco Giants (I don't realistically think either of those will happen), his value should be unaffected. All in all, when Tucker is healthy, he's a Top-10 player in Fantasy.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto – 2.07, 22nd overall

Earlier in the offseason, 'who should be drafted as the SP4' was one of the bigger questions in Fantasy Baseball. It's becoming obvious that Yoshinobu Yamamoto is settling in as the SP4 in early ADP. It's no surprise given his stellar regular season, followed up by a historic postseason. Even more interesting is that Cristopher Sanchez and Hunter Brown joined Yamamoto in the second round of this particular draft. Do those pitchers deserve to go in Round two when names like Hunter Greene, Cole Ragans, and Blake Snell went in Round four? It's a fair question.

James Wood – 2.09, 24th overall

I think this was a touch early for James Wood, especially when you consider he went ahead of Cal Raleigh, Pete Alonso, and Ketel Marte. We've also seen Wood and Pete Crow-Armstrong linked early on in the offseason. Both are young, dynamic bats that struggled mightily in the second half. With that said, Wood went 24th overall while Crow-Armstrong went 45th (more on that in a bit), which is a pretty big disparity. 

Cal Raleigh – 2.11, 26th overall

Cal Raleigh's draft price is one we will watch all offseason. The Big Dumper is coming off the best Fantasy season by a catcher… ever! 60 home runs, 110 runs, 125 RBI, and 14 steals for anybody is bananas, let alone a catcher. With that said, he's still a catcher, and that was a clear career year. How much will he regress? Can he continue to provide this much volume while playing such a demanding position? These are some of the questions you have to consider when taking him this early in drafts.

Mason Miller – 3.02, 32nd overall

Let me quickly give you a heads-up that relievers go much earlier in these drafts. Again, there's no waiver wire, and saves are a scarce category. Anybody locked into a closer role or anybody who has a chance at saves will be pushed up in this format. With that said, is Mason Miller even a closer? As of now, we're not sure! The Padres gave up a haul to acquire him and have successfully turned relievers into starters in the past. For whatever this is worth, I spoke to some smart people this weekend who were convinced Miller will still be used as a reliever. If that's the case, he's probably the odds-on favorite to be the top closer in Fantasy Baseball.

Zach Neto – 3.06, 36th overall

Get used to seeing Zach Neto this high on draft boards. His early ADP is 32.9. In our first mock draft, Neto went 51st overall. I think that will wind up being an outlier. In Neto's first full season in 2024, he put up 23 home runs with 30 steals. He followed that up by going 26-26 in just 128 games this year. On top of that, he was coming back from offseason shoulder surgery last November. Neto is a safe bet for power and speed, somebody who can push 30-30 in 2026.

Yordan Alvarez – 3.10, 40th overall

Yordan Alvarez was a huge disappointment in 2025 as he was limited to just 48 games due to injury. Honestly, it was the Houston Astros' medical staff that was the disappointment. They misdiagnosed Alvarez's hand injury, which turned out to be a fracture and led to multiple setbacks. He returned for a brief stint late in the season and then suffered a nasty left ankle sprain. This has led to a pretty big discount on Alvarez. Last draft season, his ADP was 16.8. Now it's 35.9. Whether or not you buy the dip will be determined by your risk tolerance.

Roman Anthony – 3.14, 44th overall

Roman Anthony entered 2025 as one of the top prospects in all of baseball. He was called up in June and impressed, batting .292 with 8 home runs, 4 steals, and an .859 OPS. Anthony posted ridiculous exit velocities while displaying exceptional patience at the plate. His biggest downside thus far has been the launch angle, as Anthony hits too many ground balls to reach his power upside. Regardless, it's always interesting to track the hype names to see how early they get drafted. If this price remains, it's a pretty steep one for Anthony.

Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Schwarber – 3.15 and 4.01, 45th and 46th overall

Well, well, well… How the turnables. Last offseason, Scott White, Chris Towers, and I all considered Pete Crow-Armstrong a bust when his ADP was 133. Here I am drafting him 45th overall. PCA will remain a polarizing player. He was brutal in the final two months, but when you look at his season as a whole, he provided 31 homers with 35 steals. With my other pick, I selected Kyle Schwarber. I understand that Schwarber isn't for everybody. He can only be used in the utility spot and is most likely a detriment in batting average. With all of that said, his batting average has been more tenable two years in a row, and he's one of the best bets for counting stats. To be honest, I wanted to take pitchers with these two picks, but couldn't pass up the bats in this spot. 

Quick Hitters

Freddie Freeman – 4.10, 55th overall

This is the lowest we've seen him drafted in over a decade, but he's entering his Age-36 season. 

Hunter Greene – 4.12, 57th overall

Injuries have been a problem, but when you consider his talent, it feels like Greene should be at least one round higher than this.

Austin Riley – 5.01, 61st overall

Riley has let us down two years in a row, but now we're getting a 30-pick discount on last year's ADP. Is that enough?

Ben Rice – 5.07, 67th overall

Rice was taken as the fourth catcher off the board in this draft. Scott White isn't the only one who loves Rice, Rice, Baby in 2026. 

Byron Buxton – 5.08, 68th overall

Buxton mostly stayed healthy and was a league-winner this season. Will you pay the increased price after his ADP was 210 last offseason?

Josh Naylor – 5.11, 71st overall

That doesn't seem like a bad price after Naylor has provided back-to-back Top-40 overall seasons.

Jackson Merrill – 5.14, 74th overall

Merrill had an injury-riddled 2025 but finished strong. Is this enough of a discount?

Spencer Strider – 6.02, 77th overall

Strider's velocity was down coming back from elbow surgery, and he wasn't the same pitcher. Is this enough of a discount?

Spencer Schwellenbach – 6.06, 81st overall

The breakout was on for Schwellenbach, but then his season ended with a fractured elbow. Stop me if you've read this before, but is this enough of a discount?

Geraldo Perdomo – 6.09, 84th overall

Perdomo was the top league winner in 2025, but how much do we trust the breakout? His ADP will be fun to follow.

Trevor Story – 6.13, 88th overall

Story stayed healthy and provided 25 homers with 31 steals. But he also has an extensive injury history.

Zack Wheeler – 7.05, 95th overall

Wheeler is the biggest Wild Card in Fantasy Baseball heading into 2026. He underwent thoracic outlet decompression surgery in late September. We have no clue when he'll return next season and how effective he'll be.

George Springer – 7.13, 103rd overall

Springer turned back the clocks and provided one of the best seasons in his career… and then he did it in the playoffs, too! Like Perdomo, Springer's ADP will be fun to watch.

My Team and Observations

Honestly, I'm not in love with this team, but that was always a possibility when drafting this early in the process. Plus, you're always going to have weaknesses in a 15-team league. The first thing that stands out is the infield, particularly first and third base. One of the things I learned is that corner infield really dries up, especially when Derek VanRiper kept taking all the players I wanted! That's also a product of drafting last in a 15-team league. There were so many times when I thought a first or third baseman would make it back to me, and they just didn't. I did try and address my weakness at corner infield by drafting solid backup options in Miguel Vargas and Kazuma Okamoto. We haven't talked much about Okamoto yet, but he's an intriguing bat who should be posted by the Yomiuri Giants this offseason. 

Along with the corner infielders, my pitching seems underwhelming. I went into this draft with the plan to take any of Tarik Skubal, Paul Skenes, or Garrett Crochet at my pick. I figured they wouldn't make it that far, and I was right. Plan B was to take at least one, maybe two, starting pitchers at the Round 3-4 turn, but I couldn't pass up Crow-Armstrong and Schwarber. On to Plan C. At the Round 5-6 turn, I grabbed my first two pitchers with Framber Valdez and David Bednar. I strongly considered pairing Schwellenbach with Valdez, but like I mentioned earlier, you really want at least one lockdown closer in this format. I expect Bednar to be that with the Yankees, plus I was a little nervous about Schwellenbach coming back from that fractured elbow.

From there, I tried to really hammer the middle rounds with starting pitching depth, taking a bunch of bites at the apple, and hope some of them hit. At the Round 7-8 turn, I was really hoping somebody like Nick Pivetta or Kyle Bradish would fall to me, but that wasn't in the cards. So instead, I went the upside route with the Mets' stud rookie Nolan McLean. Let me be very clear. I like McLean a lot, but ideally, he's your SP3 in a 15-team league and your SP4 in a 12-team league, not your SP2 in either. With my next couple of picks, I wanted to draft some veteran arms who should provide a strong WHIP since Valdez and McLean might be on the higher side. I successfully drafted Brandon Woodruff, Nathan Eovaldi, and Emmet Sheehan. Woodruff and Eovaldi should perform well when they pitch, but both come with injury risk. Sheehan isn't a veteran pitcher, but he's my SP5 and I love the talent. Later on, I grabbed Ryne Nelson and Bailey Ober as my SP6 and SP7, respectively. 

It might turn out to be a decent pitching staff, but this is the risk you take on when you have just one starting pitcher in the first seven rounds of a league this deep. As for the relief pitchers, I mentioned that I drafted Bednar as my RP1. He finished really strong with the Yankees, and I expect him to have a decent leash as their closer in 2026. I waited too long to grab a second reliever and wound up with Edwin Uceta. The Rays somewhat surprisingly declined Pete Fairbanks' $11 million option, making him a free agent. As of now, my guess is the Rays will use a closer-by-committee, and Uceta will be in that mix. I also have a little cheat code when it comes to relievers in this draft. Since I was drafting 15th and we were only doing 23 rounds, I have the first pick in Round 24 when we start back up in January. That means I'll have two months of information by then and hopefully some late-round closer has emerged via signing or trade.

Overall, I think this is a pretty flawed team, but I figured that would be the case going in. I mostly enjoy doing this specific draft this early so that I can get a look at the draft board and start to get the wheels turning. I hope that it's done the same for you!