Fantasy Baseball ADP Value Targets for Infielders (2026)

February 17, 2026

Eric Cross' top fantasy baseball ADP values and draft targets for infielders in 2026 outside of the Top 100 ADP. His fantasy baseball batters to target at their ADP in drafts who can provide good value in 2026.

One of the key parts of any fantasy baseball draft is finding value. Not only does it feel great to draft a player who provides our fantasy team with a positive return on investment, but it also goes a long way to our fantasy teams having success throughout the season.

As we approach the five week amrk until the start of the Major League regular season, fantasy baseball ADP data is becoming more set. Yes, there will still be some shifting in either direction, but we have a good idea of where each player is going to be selected in drafts. And with plenty of drafts in the books over on NFBC already, I've found plenty of players who I believe to be ADP values this season.

I'll be going over infielders, outfielders, and pitchers in separate articles, starting with five infield ADP value targets below. All the ADPs referenced are from NFBC Draft Champions drafts over the last month.

• Fantasy baseball draft kit
• Fantasy baseball rankings
• Team Sync platform and Draft Assistant
• Fantasy baseball mock draft simulator
• Fantasy baseball draft cheat sheets
• Fantasy baseball closer depth charts
• Fantasy baseball prospects

Michael Busch (1B - CHC)

ADP Since 1/16: 112

There are several good ADP value targets on the Cubs this season, with Michael Busch leading the way. The fact that his ADP is outside of the Top 100 picks blows my mind. Did most people just not pay attention to Busch's breakout season in 2025? In 592 plate appearances, Busch slashed .261/.343/.523 with 34 home runs, 90 RBI, 78 runs scored, and four steals. All seven of those metrics I just listed were new career-best marks for the 28-year-old Busch.

Busch has continued to get better and better each season. A big component of his 2025 breakout was due to a notable uptick in his quality of contact metrics. After being at an 11.2% barrel rate, 89.9 mph AVG EV, and 39.9% hard-hit rate in 2024, Busch posted a 17.1% barrel rate, 92.2 mph AVG EV, and 47.3% hard-hit rate in 2025, along with slight improvements in his air, pull, and pull-air rates.

Michael Busch's 30th home run this season is a 432-foot blast! pic.twitter.com/6zEuGYhn3R

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 20, 2025

On top of that, Busch also improved in the contact and approach departments, showing that the power surge wasn't simply him selling out to hit more home runs. In addition to the quality of contact gains, Busch also improved his zone contact rate from 79.8% to 84% and his overall contact rate from 71.6% to 74.9% while dropping his strikeout rate from 28.6% to 23.5%.

While he'll still likely get an extra day off here and there against tougher left-handed pitchers, Michael Busch is slated to be the Cubs' leadoff hitter once again against right-handers this season, with a good lineup behind him. The improvements he made were tangible last season, and I'm fully buying the breakout. His ADP is a few rounds too low in my opinion.

Jonathan Aranda (1B - TBR)

ADP Since 1/16: 199.5

Another first base ADP value that I'm going to be all over this draft season is Jonathan Aranda, going right around pick 200 on average in NFBC drafts over the last month. If it wasn't for a near two-month IL stint after colliding with Giancarlo Stanton and fracturing his wrist, Aranda's ADP would likely be several rounds higher and closer to the Top-100 ADP than the Top-200.

In 422 plate appearances last season, Aranda slashed an impressive .316/.393/.489 with 14 home runs, 59 RBI, and 56 runs scored. If he didn't miss all that time, Aranda likely would've been over 20 home runs, 80 runs, and 80 RBI at the end of the season.

Aranda ranked among the league leaders in all quality of contact categories last season, finishing with a 12.8% barrel rate, 93 mph AVG EV, and 54.5% hard-hit rate. The barrel rate was in the 80th percentile, but Aranda's xSLG, xwOBACON, AVG EV, hard-hit rate, and sweet spot rate were all in the 93rd percentile or higher. He also walked at a solid 9.7% clip with a 75.1% overall contact rate. Although Aranda's zone contact rate was a bit below league-average at 79.1%.

All in all, I'm fully on board with Aranda outperforming his ADP this season by a healthy margin. I'm also not terribly worried about him missing a ton of time against southpaws, as Aranda hit .274 with a .378 OBP against them last season. Let's just hope he doesn't run into another NFL linebacker-sized player again this season.

Addison Barger (3B/OF - TOR)

ADP Since 1/16: 218.6

While we still have some exciting elite options, the third base position starts falling off hard after you get past the first 100 picks or so in fantasy baseball drafts. For that reason, one of my strategies for the position is to wait a bit and take Addison Barger around pick 200 if I don't secure one of those elite options.

After an underwhelming 2024 debut with the Blue Jays, Barger enjoyed a mini breakout of sorts in 2025. In 502 plate appearances, Barger racked up 32 doubles, 21 home runs, 74 RBI, and 61 runs scored with a .243/.301/.454 slash line. Out of the 28 third basemen who had at least 400 plate appearances last season, Barger had the 7th-best slugging percentage, the 4th-best ISO, and was tied fir the 5th-most home runs.

Barger's quality of contact metrics stood out last season, primarily his 11.4% barrel rate and 51% hard-hit rate, along with having a 93rd percentile bat speed. The contact and approach metrics all slightly improved as well, with Barger's 82% zone and 73.9% overall contact rate sitting right around the league average marks for both. He also trimmed his strikeout rate by 2.6% and improved against all three pitch types.

To take it one step further, Barger posted an AVG EV above 91 mph against all three pitch types with at least five home runs against each as well. When looking at his overall profile, I believe that 2025 was just the appetizer for the full course in 2026. I'd bank on a higher AVG from Barger this season, along with 25-30 home runs as well. A .260/30 type of season would be an incredible value from this ADP, and Barger's dual 3B/OF eligibility is the icing on the cake.

Colson Montgomery (SS - CHW)

ADP Since 1/16: 232.2

Honestly, I'm surprised to see Colson Montgomery's ADP outside the Top 200 this spring after the rookie season he had in 2025. As I was never a big Montgomery supporter when he was a prospect, I fully prepared to have zero shares of him this draft season, as I anticipated an ADP closer to the Top 150. But not only is Montgomery's ADP not close to the Top 150, but he's not even close to the Top 200 ADP overall.

In just 284 plate appearances, Montgomery smashed 21 home runs while driving in 55 and scoring 43 runs as well. The .239 AVG and .311 OBP aren't numbers to write home about, but Montgomery posted a .529 SLG, .501 xSLG, and a .290 ISO.

COLSON MONTGOMERY'S FIRST MLB HOME RUN ‼️ pic.twitter.com/VEsQHWS0Xi

— White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) July 23, 2025

Montgomery is far from a masher or a hitter with elite power, but his combination of above-average quality of contact metrics and batted ball angles is a recipe for at least 30 home runs over a full season. In his half-season with the White Sox, Montgomery recorded a 14.5% barrel rate, 44.5% hard-hit rate, 63.6% air rate, and a 27.2% Pull-Air rate. And while the contact metrics were below-average (80.1% zone, 68.5% overall), they're not bad enough to warrant concerns that he'll drop down much further than his .239 average from 2025 season.

If you're getting a .240 or so hitter with over 30 home runs and maybe even 90-100 RBI, that's phenomenal value outside of the Top-200 ADP, especially when both middle infield spots become really questionable in

Brett Baty (2B/3B - NYM)

ADP Since 1/16: 282.6

Given that his ADP is still outside the top 250 picks, it appears that Brett Baty's sneaky emergence later in 2025 flew a bit under the radar. Baty was struggling a bit in the first half, but broke out after the all-star break, slashing .291/.353/.477 in 190 plate appearances with nine home runs and four steals. Overall, Baty finished 2025 with 18 home runs and eight steals in just 432 plate appearances, putting him on around a 25/11 pace over 600 plate appearances.

Baty took a notable step forward in several areas last season, primarily in the quality of contact department. He still had a higher 51% groundball rate, which is a concern, but Baty's QoC metrics jumped to a 12.8% barrel rate, 90.7 mph AVG EV, and 46.9% hard-hit rate with a new career-best 115.6 mph max EV. And while Baty's zone contact rate dipped 3.8%, he counted that by dropping his chase rate from 1.8% to 24.8%.

There are still some concerns with Baty's batted ball angles and playing time this season, but those concerns are more than baked into the cost at this point. And everything I've heard this offseason sounded like the Mets want to try and keep Baty's bat in the lineup as much as possible between second base, third base, a corner outfield spot, and DH as well. That dual 2B/3B eligibility is really beneficial to fantasy managers as well, as that also means you can slot him at CI or MI.

Other ADP Value Targets

• Andrew Vaughn (1B - MIL): 278.7
• Ozzie Albies (2B - ATL): 187.3
• Brendan Donovan (2B - SEA): 276.7
• Munetaka Murakami (1B/3B - CHW): 222.3
• Carter Jensen (C - KCR): 203.6

More Fantasy Baseball Advice