The 2026 MLB season is almost here and that means you\u2019re likely prepping for your fantasy baseball draft. One of the best ways to prepare is to do as many mock drafts as possible. Of course, sometimes it\u2019s tough to find an accurate representation of your league settings by using the public mock draft lobby.<\/p>\n
Not to fear! If you\u2019re a Yahoo Fantasy+ subscriber, <\/a>you have access to the Instant Mock Draft tool, allowing you to practice your draft in seconds. You can test different strategies, pick from various draft slots and experiment with roster construction as many times as you want, anytime, instantly. Now is a great time to subscribe to Yahoo Fantasy+<\/a>, so you can use the wealth of tools for your draft prep<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n [Yahoo Fantasy+ unlocks premium draft tools, player projections and more<\/a>]<\/p>\n In this series, we\u2019re going to be using the Instant Mock Draft tool\u00a0to pick from each of the 12 slots in a 12-team fantasy baseball league. Up next is drafting from the No. 4 overall pick.<\/p>\n More Mock Drafts<\/p>\n Note: We\u2019re using Yahoo\u2019s default points league settings for these mock drafts.<\/p>\n Full Roster<\/p>\n C: Agust\u00edn Ram\u00edrez, Marlins Advertisement<\/p>\n Real quick: The projections favored Juan Soto over Bobby Witt Jr., so that\u2019s who we were left with in the No. 4 slot. I opted to go with the Royals SS over players like SP Tarik Skubal and 3B Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez based on upside. Kansas City is moving the fences in and Witt is still just 25 years old and has been an AL MVP candidate in back-to-back seasons.<\/p>\n Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season<\/a><\/p>\n Hitter heavy: As you can see, we punted on starting pitching and at catcher in this draft, focusing on filling out my bats for the most part before addressing those positions. That gave us a nice core of Witt-Kurtz-Machado-Wood to carry most of our offensive categories.<\/p>\n I\u2019d been wanting to land Kurtz in one of these drafts. The A\u2019s first baseman feels like a great value toward the end of the second and early third given his potential. Same goes for Wood, who really just needs to improve his strikeout rate to take the next step.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Zero SP: Okay, let\u2019s break down the pitching. I waited until the eighth round to take my first starter \u2014 Mariners\u2019 Luis Castillo. He\u2019s described as one of the safer picks toward the back-end of your draft by analyst Fred Zinkie<\/a>, so I made Castillo a priority. He\u2019s started at least 30 games in three straight seasons and has a career ERA of 3.55. If his K\u2019s bounce back this season, he should outperform his draft slot.<\/p>\n Glasnow and Gil are pitchers looking for redemption on great teams. Rogers and Lodolo offer upside with each coming off a career year in 2025. Waiting on SP feels like a strong play in points formats. Worst case, you can explore trade options given your depth on offense. Best case, some of your late-round gems shine and you can shore things up off the waiver wire.<\/p>\n THIS SEASON WE SPELL REDEMPTION M-I-K-E: Many have spelled the downfall of Mike Trout. These people are cowards!<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Just kidding. Trout isn\u2019t going to return to his MVP form, perhaps ever. But if you wanna buy into foolish spring training narratives, Trout did hit 29.9 mph running the basepaths recently<\/a>. Legs are pretty important at the plate, so if Trout is feeling fresh and healthy, he could (at least) bounce back a bit in 2026. That could mean 30+ homers, and who knows, maybe the future Hall of Famer has another great season left in him.<\/p>\n Draft the Mets: I don\u2019t like talking about the Mets as a Yankees fan, but we\u2019re going to suck it up here. I ended up grabbing three bats in that lineup and none of them are the big names (Soto, Lindor, Bichette). But remember, it\u2019s important to target batters in good offensive environments.<\/p>\n
1B: Nick Kurtz, Athletics
2B: Brice Turang, Brewers
SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals
3B: Manny Machado, Padres
OF: James Wood, Nationals
OF: Cody Bellinger, Yankees
OF: Byron Buxton, Twins
UTIL: Mike Trout, Angels
UTIL: Luis Robert Jr., Mets
SP: Luis Castillo, Mariners
SP: Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers
RP: Carlos Est\u00e9vez, Royals
RP: Abner Uribe, Brewers
P: Nick Lodolo, Reds
P: Trevor Rogers, Orioles
P: Luis Gil, Yankees
P: Kris Bubic, Royals
Bench: Jorge Polanco, Mets
Bench: Kyle Teel, White Sox
Bench: Colt Keith, Tigers
Bench: Bryan Abreu, Astros
Bench: Mark Vientos, Mets<\/p>\n