{"id":621812,"date":"2026-03-13T14:12:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:12:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/621812\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T14:12:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:12:37","slug":"2026-fantasy-baseball-draft-kit-rankings-sleepers-cheat-sheets-strategy-and-more-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/621812\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Fantasy baseball draft kit: Rankings, sleepers, cheat sheets, strategy and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ready to dominate your fantasy baseball league? Welcome to The Athletic\u2019s 2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve assembled your ultimate arsenal for the draft: award-winning rankings, expert projections, customizable cheat sheets, sleepers and prospect discussion. Whether you are a veteran manager or a rookie, this toolkit will help you outsmart and outdraft your competition.<\/p>\n

Check back often; this is a living document, and we\u2019ll be dropping new analysis throughout spring training. Is there something you need but don\u2019t see? Leave a comment below \u2014 if it can help you and others win, we\u2019ll see what we can do before you\u2019re on the clock.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to get to work. Play ball!<\/p>\n

Rankings, projections and cheat sheets<\/p>\n

2026 fantasy baseball cheat sheet: Customizable rankings and projections tool<\/p>\n

Jake Ciely<\/p>\n

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2026 fantasy baseball rankings: Top 600 hitters and pitchers<\/a>
Jake Ciely offers his 2026 fantasy baseball rankings, with overall rankings for hitters and pitchers, sortable by position.<\/p>\n

Downloadable 2026 fantasy baseball draft sheet<\/a>
Jake Ciely provides his 2026 fantasy baseball draft sheet, complete with auction values.<\/p>\n

2026 fantasy baseball points-league rankings: Top 300 players<\/a>
Michael Waterloo shares his top 300 players for 2026 fantasy baseball points leagues, with Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani topping the list.<\/p>\n

Top 300 hitters for fantasy baseball 2026<\/a>
Juan Soto lands a lofty spot in Derek Van Riper\u2019s 2026 hitter rankings, but the best fantasy bat in New York still belongs to Aaron Judge.<\/p>\n

Dynasty league baseball rankings: Top 400 players<\/a>
Chris Welsh shares his top-400 dynasty list for fantasy baseball and explains how he values players at opposite ends of the age spectrum.<\/p>\n

2026 fantasy baseball top-40 reliever rankings and tiers<\/a>
Relief pitching has become increasingly valuable in fantasy baseball. Greg Jewett discusses which RPs to target in drafts.<\/p>\n

Top 75 relievers for fantasy baseball 2026 SOLDS leagues<\/a>
Greg Jewett ranks his Top 75 relievers for SOLDS leagues, a format that brings all high-leverage relievers into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Eno Sarris\u2019 starting pitcher rankings and other essentials<\/p>\n

Ranking the top 2026 MLB starting fantasy pitchers with Stuff+ powered projections<\/p>\n

Eno Sarris<\/p>\n

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Using bat speed, swing shape to find potential MLB breakout stars<\/a>
How the swing metrics Bat Speed, Swing Tilt and Intercept Point can help identify potential breakout hitters for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Which MLB pitchers are going to benefit most from the Automated Ball-Strike system?<\/a>
It isn\u2019t clear exactly who will benefit the most from ABS challenges, but pitchers who can paint at the top of the zone might get a boost.<\/p>\n

Potential MLB breakout pitchers for 2026<\/a>
These pitchers meet the criteria to be potential breakout starters this season, though some breakouts seem more likely than others.<\/p>\n

Intriguing MLB spring training roster battles that could produce exciting young players<\/a>
Roster battles aren\u2019t always that intriguing, but when one contender is a potential future roster pillar, they take on more meaning.<\/p>\n

7 pitchers showing improved stuff this spring<\/a>
Spring stats are largely meaningless but there is data from spring games that can hint at which pitchers might break out this season.<\/p>\n

Q&A recaps: Feb. 20<\/a><\/p>\n

Sleepers, bounce-backs, analysis and more<\/p>\n

First things first: How to handle your top pick in 2026 fantasy baseball drafts<\/p>\n

Owen Poindexter<\/p>\n

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A three-tiered approach to building a bullpen in fantasy baseball Roto leagues<\/a>
Al Melchior discusses when and where to draft relievers, and the pros and cons of many RPs in the top three tiers.<\/p>\n

Draft \u2018The Kyles\u2019: Tucker, Schwarber are early-round fantasy baseball gold<\/a>
John Laghezza provides a blueprint for drafting in the first five rounds ahead of the 2026 fantasy baseball season.<\/p>\n

How much will Brice Turang and other 2025 fantasy baseball breakouts regress in 2026?<\/a>
Al Melchior looks at the 2026 staying power of some of the biggest fantasy baseball breakouts from last season.<\/p>\n

Draft these 8 fantasy baseball bounce-back candidates<\/a>
Al Melchior highlights Marcus Semien, Gleyber Torres and six others primed for major bounce-back seasons.<\/p>\n

The major 2026 fantasy baseball impact of MLB\u2019s biggest offseason trades, signings<\/a>
Jake Ciely details how some of the biggest offseason MLB headlines impact fantasy baseball player values.<\/p>\n

30 top prospects to know for fantasy baseball 2026<\/a>
Owen Poindexter highlights all the prospects worthy of attention for those preparing for their upcoming redraft leagues.<\/p>\n

Prospects proving their fantasy baseball worth in spring training, plus draft-day steals<\/a>
Andy Behrens has steals and draft-day deals on his mind as he touts the fantasy ROI potential of Justin Crawford, Matt McLain and more.<\/p>\n

Check these injury-predicting fastball metrics before drafting an ace<\/a>
John Laghezza looks at which pitchers might be most susceptible to injury this season based on their four-seam fastball velocity data.<\/p>\n

Projections vary on these 6 players. How to value them in fantasy baseball drafts<\/a>
Al Melchior looks at highly variable 2026 projections for six players and offers guidance on how to value them in fantasy baseball drafts.<\/p>\n

Dollar values, tier drops and unicorns: A positional breakdown for fantasy baseball 2026<\/a>
Owen Poindexter dives deep into the hitting positions, illustrating the value pockets and highlighting the unique contributors at each spot.<\/p>\n

Bored with Roto? Try Head-to-Head fantasy baseball<\/a>
Michael Salfino explains how head-to-head fantasy baseball can spice things up if your traditional Roto format has become a drag.<\/p>\n

Best late-round buys in fantasy baseball<\/a>
John Laghezza picks through the rubbish beyond ADP 250 in fantasy baseball drafts to surface some late-round treasures.<\/p>\n

7 late-round fantasy baseball SPs having great springs<\/a>
Need a late-round starting pitcher? Owen Poindexter offers up seven SPs who are showing promise this spring.<\/p>\n

Dalton Del Don\u2019s draft-day diamonds: First base<\/a> | Third base<\/a> | Second base<\/a> | Shortstop<\/a> | Outfield<\/a> | C & UT<\/a><\/p>\n

Staff sleepers: SP<\/a> | Corner infield<\/a> | Middle infield<\/a> | Outfield<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Salfino\u2019s Zero SP series: Draft strategy<\/a> | Hitters<\/a> | Mid-to-late round SP targets<\/a><\/p>\n

Keith Law\u2019s prospect reports<\/p>\n

2026 Top 100 MLB prospects from Keith Law: Pirates\u2019 Konnor Griffin tops the list<\/p>\n

Keith Law<\/p>\n

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Ranking all 30 MLB farm systems<\/a>
The top tier includes the Brewers, the Mariners and \u2026 yes, the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

MLB prospects who just missed Keith Law\u2019s top 100 ranking<\/a>
These players are all significant prospects, but just missed Law\u2019s latest top 100 prospect list for a variety of reasons.<\/p>\n

Every MLB team\u2019s top 20 prospects for 2026 by division<\/a>
A complete index of Keith Law\u2019s MLB top prospect rankings heading into the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

The top 20 most likely rookies to make an impact this season<\/a>
These 20 rookies have the potential and playing time opportunity to impact their big-league teams in 2026.<\/p>\n

2026 MLB Draft ranking 1.0<\/a>
This year\u2019s MLB Draft class has a clear-cut favorite for the No. 1 pick, UCLA\u2019s Roch Cholowsky. It\u2019s also deep in high school pitching.<\/p>\n

Q&A recaps: Top-100 prospects<\/a> |\u00a02026 top MLB prospects<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rates & Barrels: Positional previews<\/p>\n

Eno Sarris and Derek VanRiper discuss advanced stats, strategy, prospects and more on their podcast<\/a>, also available on Apple,<\/a> Spotify<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>. From the first move of the Hot Stove season to the final pitch of the World Series, join us for year-round baseball talk.<\/p>\n

Infield previews: Shortstop<\/a> | First base<\/a> | Second base<\/a> | Third base<\/a> | Catcher<\/a><\/p>\n

Outfield previews: Part 1<\/a> | Part 2<\/a> | Part 3<\/a> | Part 4 + Utility rundown<\/a><\/p>\n

Insights from The Athletic\u2019s MLB writers<\/p>\n

2026 spring training survey: MLB insiders on the players, teams and storylines to watch<\/p>\n

Jayson Stark<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

MLB rookies to watch this spring<\/a>
The potential MLB rookie class is extremely deep. These 20 prospects, in particular, are worth monitoring closely this spring.<\/p>\n

The biggest offseason change for every National League team<\/a>
The Mets and Braves made a flurry of moves, but is it enough to get them past the Dodgers?<\/p>\n

The biggest offseason change for every American League team<\/a>
As full-squad workouts begin, some clubs have added key players, others have blown it up, and for a few, the plan is a little unclear.<\/p>\n

Early spring training observations: ABS system a hit, young players standing out and more<\/a>
From the ABS system to young players opening eyes to teams exploring contract extensions, it\u2019s already been an exciting spring.<\/p>\n

The Phillies hear the \u2018noise\u2019 about running it back: Why they think they can make history<\/a>
After three disappointing October exits, the Phillies brought back the same core group again to try to win it all. Legacies are on the line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ready to dominate your fantasy baseball league? Welcome to The Athletic\u2019s 2026 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit. We\u2019ve assembled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,28,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-621812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-fantasy-baseball","10":"tag-mlb"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116222284975890948","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/577735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}