7 Fantasy Baseball Bold Predictions - Eric Cross' 2026 Picks

February 26, 2026

Eric Cross' 7 fantasy baseball bold predictions for the 2026 MLB season, including predictions for Konnor Griffin, Jac Caglianone, and Mike Trout.

One of my favorite articles to write every pre-season is my bold predictions article here on RotoBaller. Why? Well, a bold predictions article can be both fun and informative. Many of these won't come true, but they're bold predictions for a reason. But at the same time, while the chances are slim, there's an element of possibility with each prediction, and the reasoning behind each prediction is almost more important than the prediction itself.

In my bold predictions article last year, I hit on Nick Kurtz, Luis Rengifo, and Cristopher Sanchez, and came close on Chandler Simpson. Spencer Schwellenbach was another possible success if he hadn't missed half of the season.

Below are my seven 2026 fantasy baseball bold predictions with my reasoning behind each one. And what better place to start than with maybe the most hyped prospect of the last half-decade.

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Konnor Griffin Goes 25/50 as a Rookie

Let's start with a bang, shall we? While I still believe that Pittsburgh should give Konnor Griffin a couple of months in the upper minors, he might force their hand with a strong spring training. And on the day this article is going live, Griffin is coming off a two-homer game against the Boston Red Sox, with one of those home runs coming off Ranger Suarez.

There should be zero doubt in anyone's mind that Griffin is capable of a 25/50 season. But while he's capable of it, doing so as a rookie would be historic. There have only been 15 players in the history of baseball to join the 25/50 club, with Mike Trout coming up one steal shy of doing so as a rookie back in 2012.

TWO HOME RUNS FOR KONNOR GRIFFIN TODAY pic.twitter.com/6ujwEMDiOy

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) February 24, 2026

Griffin is coming off one of the best minor league seasons in history, slashing .333/.415/.527 with 48 extra-base hits, 21 home runs, and 65 steals in 122 games while making it up to Double-A as a 19-year-old. And on top of his elite speed and plus-or-better raw power, which he's already flexed this spring with four of his first nine batted balls having an exit velocity of 104.8 mph or higher, Griffin also improved his contact, walk, and strikeout rates as the season went on in 2025.

These are supposed to be BOLD predictions. Saying that Griffin will go 20/20 this season, while still incredible, isn't overly bold. Saying he'll have one of the best rookie seasons in the history of baseball would be bold. And if any prospect were to do so, Griffin is the guy.

Chase DeLauter Wins American League Rookie of the Year

If I were a betting man, I'd definitely be putting some money on Chase DeLauter to win the American League Rookie of the Year award this season. The bold part of this prediction has nothing to do with DeLauter's talent because the talent to win Rookie of the Year is there. No, the bold part is assuming he'll be healthy enough to win the award. And you know what they say about assuming...

In DeLauter's 138 career minor league games, he's posted an impressive slash line of .302/.384/.504 with 40 doubles, 20 home runs, eight steals, and nearly as many walks (70) as strikeouts (80). The problem is that those 138 games have come over three seasons. He was limited to 42 games last season and has never played more than 57 games in a season.

When DeLauter has been on the field, the metrics have been impressive. In Triple-A last season, he recorded a 51.9% hard-hit rate, 12.5% barrel rate, 83.3% zone contact rate, and an 81.1% overall contact rate in 34 games. On top of that, he walked at a 14.8% clip while only striking out in 15.4% of his plate appearances. He's also an above-average runner who could add double-digit steals over a full healthy season.

I'm targeting DeLauter in all of my fantasy drafts this season as a late-round upside flier, and will be crossing my fingers that he finally stays healthy for a full season.

Emmet Sheehan Finishes as a Top-10 SP

Everyone on the planet should know how high I am on Emmet Sheehan at this point, so why not include him in a bold predictions article as well? In 73.1 innings with the Dodgers last season, Sheehan dominated to the tune of a 2.82 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 7.6% walk rate, and a 30.6% strikeout rate.

Sheehan was one of just three pitchers to have a BAA under .200, a FIP under 3.00, and a K-BB rate above 23% over at least 70 innings last season. The other two were your two Cy Young award winners, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal. Pretty elite company right there. Sheehan was also one of just three pitchers to have a whiff rate and chase rate both in the 90th percentile or higher.

Outside of a lower groundball rate, there's not a lot to dislike in Sheehan's 2025 profile and underlying metrics. All three of his most used offerings (4-seamer, slider, changeup) had a BAA under .220 and a whiff rate above 26%, with the slider having a 43.6% whiff rate.

But the one question is, how many innings will he get this season? The Dodgers might go with a 6-man rotation, which limits Sheehan to some degree. But at the same time, it's not like that Dodgers rotation is filled with durable arms. If Sheehan can just get 150-160 innings this season, a Top-10 SP finish isn't out of the question. He's my favorite pitching target this year, both in redraft and dynasty.

Jac Caglianone Hits 40 HR with 120 RBI

Remember when there was a Nick Kurtz vs Jac Caglianone debate early in 2025? Well, that is no longer a debate as Kurtz dominated and Caglianone struggled mightily. But as we enter 2026, I'm fully on board with a Caglianone bounce-back and breakout season.

This Jac Caglianone home run...

460 Feet
115.2 mph EV

I'm buying Cags in 2026. Both in redraft and dynasty.pic.twitter.com/M65scLWShD

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) February 25, 2026

With Caglianone, the power upside is massive, even if the quality of contact metrics wasn't exactly elite. Caglianone did have a solid 12% barrel rate, 89.4 mph AVG EV, and 42.4% hard-hit rate, but those metrics were limited by his overly aggressive approach, leading to too many weak hit balls, many of which he chased outside the zone.

The chase rate has always been the main issue for Caglianone, dating back to his days at the University of Florida. He made solid contact at a 84.7% zone and 73.2% overall rate last season with the Royals, but a 38.5% chase rate wasn't doing him any favors.

If he can become a bit more patient and wait for his pitch to drive, Caglianone could quickly turn into a middle-of-the-order masher and top-notch run producer, especially if he's going to be hitting 5th behind Maikel Garcia, Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez. Kansas City moving the fences in is a bonus as well.

Chase Burns Leads The National League in Strikeouts

I was tempted to go with Chase Burns leading the Majors in strikeouts this season, but predicting any pitcher to have more strikeouts than Tarik Skubal flies past bold and straight to crazy. So I'll stick with just the National League, which is still a bold prediction.

In 2025, Logan Webb led the National League in strikeouts with 224 as one of eight National League arms to surpass 200 strikeouts. As for Burns, he finished 2025 with 156 strikeouts between the minor leagues and the Major Leagues. Those came in just 109.1 combined innings. If you extrapolated out Burns' entire 2025 season to 160 innings, he would have been close to 230 strikeouts.

Just some ridiculous stuff@ChaseBurns20 pic.twitter.com/FvGxD2glzJ

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 8, 2025

Even when Burns got to the Majors, he was striking out batters in bunches, racking up a whopping 67 in just 43.1 innings with the Reds. For pitchers with at least 40 innings last season, only Edwin Diaz (38%) had a higher strikeout rate than Burns 35.6% mark.

Burns has been able to dominate opposing hitters at all levels with his upper-90s 4-seamer, which averaged 18.1 inches of IVB, along with a 91 mph slider that registered a .197 BAA and 43.9% whiff rate in the Majors last season. He seldom used his curveball and changeup last season, but Burns himself said in mid-February that those two pitches have been "drastic improvements."

Agustin Ramirez Finishes as the Top Catcher

Due to the existence of that Big Dumper fellow, saying that any other catcher will be the top fantasy backstop is incredibly bold. If anyone were to dethrone Raleigh, I'm sure the popular choice would be Ben Rice, so I decided to go another route with 2025 rookie, Agustín Ramírez.

In 585 plate appearances last season, Ramírez racked up 21 home runs, 16 steals, 67 RBI, and 72 runs scored with a .231/.287/.413 slash line. He was the second rookie catcher in the history of baseball to go 15/50 and the only one to have at least 20 home runs and 15 steals in his debut season. And don't let the lower AVG fool you, Ramírez is far from a below-average contact hitter.

That .231 average is incredibly misleading. Not only did Ramírez have a .259 xBA, but he also posted an 86.3% zone contact rate and 74.5% overall contact rate while only striking out in 19.3% of his plate appearances. All of Ramírez's quality of contact metrics were impressive as well, with an 11% barrel rate, 90.8 mph AVG EV, and 47% hard-hit rate. And while Ramírez isn't a burner by any means, he's consistently shown the desire to steal bags every year.

Ramírez putting together a .260/30/15 type season with over 80 runs and 80 RBI isn't too far of a stretch.

Mike Trout Provides Top-25 Value

Out of all of these bold predictions, this might be the one I want to come to fruition the most. A healthy Mike Trout is good for baseball, and an elite-performing Trout is great for baseball. And it might just be me drinking the "best shape of his life" Kool-Aid that we all get served every spring, but all reports I've seen have said Trout is 100% healthy and in great shape right now. He reportedly trimmed down a bit and is focusing on playing center field again.

While the injury bug has been a nuisance for Trout over the last several years, there are still plenty of elite metrics under the hood. In 2025, Trout posted a 15.8% barrel rate, 49.3% hard-hit rare, and a 15.6% walk rate, along with a 92nd percentile chase rate and 77th percentile bat speed.

Sure, the contact rates were below-average last season, and he's not the same runner that he used to be, but Trout also had an above-average 84.5% zone and 79.5% overall contact rate in 2024 (small sample size), and was a 90th percentile runner that season as well. Who's to say a fully healthy Trout can't bounce back and make more contact with double-digit steals?

It's certainly bold to assume Trout will stay healthy all year, but if he does, a .260/35/10 season is well within reach for the future Hall of Famer.

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