Fantasy baseball 2026 draft prep: What to learn from experts league mixed draft

Fantasy baseball draft season is officially underway.

A select group of 15 fantasy industry stalwarts gathered on Monday, Feb. 23, for the League of Alternative Baseball Reality’s mixed league draft, providing a first look at how the 2026 MLB player pool shakes out and offering a variety of strategic options for fantasy baseball managers everywhere.

Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. are the consensus top three picks in just about every mixed league. And that’s exactly the order they went in Mixed LABR. All three are significant five-category contributors, and they give their fantasy teams almost unlimited options with their next few picks.

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$765,000,000: Juan Soto, New York Mets (2025-39)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$765,000,000: Juan Soto, New York Mets (2025-39)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$700,000,000: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers (2024-33)

3 / 39

MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$500,000,000: Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Toronto Blue Jays (2026-39)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$426.5 million: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (2019-2030)* includes extension

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$365 million: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers (2020-32)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$360 million: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (2023-2031)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$350 million: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres (2023-33)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$341 million: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets (2022-31)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$340 million: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres (2021-34)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$330,000,000: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies (2019-31)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$325 million: Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins (2015-2027) – traded to New York Yankees in 2017

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$325 million: Corey Seager, Texas Rangers (2022-31)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$325,000,000: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers (2024-35)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$313.5 million: Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox (2024-33) – traded to San Francisco Giants in 2025

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$300 million: Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies (2023-33)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$292 million: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (2014-2023)* includes extension

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$288,777,777: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals (2024-34)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$280 million: Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres (2023-33)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$275 million: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (2008-2017)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$260 million: Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (2019-26) – traded to St. Louis Cardinals in 2021, traded to Arizona Diamondbacks in 2026

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$252,000,000: Alex Rodriguez, Texas Rangers (2001-10)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$245 million: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals (2020-26)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$245 million: Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels (2020-26)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$240,000,000: Kyle Tucker, Los Angeles Dodgers (2026-29)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$240 million: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels (2012-2021)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$240 million: Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners (2014-2023) – traded to New York Mets in 2019

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$225 million: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds (2012-2021)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$218,000,000: Max Fried, New York Yankees (2025-32)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$217 million: David Price, Boston Red Sox (2016-2022) – traded to Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$215 million: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers (2014-2020)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$215 million: Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers (2020-28)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$214 million: Prince Fielder, Detroit Tigers (2012-2020) – traded to Texas Rangers in 2013

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$212 million: Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves (2023-32)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$210 million: Corbin Burnes, Arizona Diamondbacks (2025-30)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$210 million: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals (2015-2021)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$209.3 million: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners (2023-34)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$206.5 million: Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks (2016-2021) – traded to Houston Astros in 2019

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$202,000,000: CC Sabathia, New York Yankees (2009-17)

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MLB’s $200+ million contracts

$200 million: Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins (2023-28) – traded to Houston Astros in 2025

Few surprises in Round 1

Most mixed league drafts don’t really start until pick No. 4. At that spot, a case can be made for one of several top players.

After hitting 43 home runs and stealing 38 bases in 2025, Mets outfielder Juan Soto was the choice for Scott Pianowski of Yahoo Sports with the fourth pick. Then, Tim McLeod of Prospect 361 delivered a mild surprise by taking Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz at No. 5. Again, the power and speed potential is tantalizing − as is the fact that he’s only 24 years old.

The most common option for the fourth overall selection, Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez, dropped into the lap of Dr. Roto, Mark Bloom, at No. 6. Ramirez offers a similar skillset as both Soto and De La Cruz, as well as a longer track record. But he’s 33.

The full 29-round grid for the 15-team 2026 LABR Mixed league draft.

Definite top tier emerges among pitchers

There seems to be a clear elite trio of starting pitchers in this year’s pool. Sure enough, the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, the Pirates’ Paul Skenes and the Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet were all taken in the first round.

Skubal went seventh, Skenes two picks later at No. 9, and Crochet just before the turn at pick 13.

Notably, 18 more players would be taken before the next pitcher went off the board. That’s a very clear line between first- and second-tier starters. But once defending champion Ryan Bloomfield of Baseball HQ pulled the trigger on Cristopher Sanchez with the 32nd overall selection, an avalanche of pitchers soon followed.

Eight pitchers were selected in the third round and nine more (including five closers) went in Round 4.

Other LABR Mixed draft takeaways

In addition to the early run on pitchers, a few other things stood out.

Battery-powered: In one of the most unusual draft openings you’ll ever see, Fred Zinkie of Fangraphs and Rotowire took three pitchers and two catchers with his first five picks. It’s hard to argue with Crochet as a late first-rounder and Cal Raleigh of the Mariners is coming off a historic 60-homer season. But to follow that up with Seattle’s Bryan Woo, Padres closer Mason Miller and then Rockies backstop Hunter Goodman is almost unprecedented.

Unafraid to double up: Zinkie wasn’t the only one to take multiple players at the same position in the first few rounds. Dr. Roto also claimed a pair of catchers with Ben Rice in the fourth and Salvador Perez in the seventh. The Athletic’s Derek VanRiper grabbed two shortstops (Geraldo Perdomo and Jeremy Peña) in the fifth and seventh. And Fangraphs’ Paul Sporer nabbed two of the top three second basemen in Rounds 2 and 3 with Jazz Chisholm and Brice Turang (although Chisholm is also eligible at third base).

Patience with pitching: Ray Flowers of Fantasy Guru somehow managed to resist temptation as pitchers flew off the board in Rounds 3 and 4. He started his roster with five consecutive hitters: OF Ronald Acuña Jr., 2B Ketel Marte, SS CJ Abrams, 3B Maikel Garcia and 1B Freddie Freeman. Flowers did come back with several high-upside pitchers in the following rounds, including the Braves’ Spencer Strider in Round 8.

Closer tiers: The first closer in the draft wasn’t taken until the third pick in Round 4, when Zinkie selected the Padres’ Miller. Four others (Edwin Diaz, Cade Smith, Andres Muñoz and Jhoan Duran) also went in that round. Devin Williams, Aroldis Chapman and David Bednar were fifth-round picks. Ryan Helsley, Rafael Iglesias and Jeff Hoffman were taken in the sixth. After that, it took until the middle of Round 8 before another closer (Pete Fairbanks) went off the board.

Injury uncertainty: Health concerns are always a factor, especially in early drafts when we don’t really know how quickly players will recover and be ready for game action. Here are some of the players with the biggest injury questions and where they were drafted:

SS Francisco Lindor (hamate surgery): Round 2, pick 6.

OF Corbin Carroll (hamate surgery): Round 2, pick 7.

SP Joe Ryan (back inflammation): Round 4, pick 15.

SP Zack Wheeler (thoracic outlet surgery): Round 8, pick 1.

RP Josh Hader (biceps inflammation): Round 11, pick 12.

2B Jackson Holliday (hamate surgery): Round 13, pick 5.

SP Blake Snell (shoulder inflammation): Round 13, pick 7.

3B Jordan Westburg (UCL tear): Round 17, pick 13.

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