Fantasy Baseball All-Value Team: Favorite Value Picks at Every Position (2026)

March 15, 2026

Dan's "All-Value Team" for 2026, including some fantasy baseball sleepers at every position. Read his favorite draft value picks for fantasy baseball in 2026.

While preparing for a fantasy baseball draft, it can be easy to get caught up in what to do in the early rounds. Internal debates might range from individual players (“Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge?”) to draft strategy (“Grab an ace early, or focus on hitting?”) to the borderline philosophical (“Is it OK to draft a catcher in the second round?”). A bottom-up approach to draft planning can aid decision-making in early rounds by identifying the value lurking in the middle and late rounds of a draft.

You can’t avoid making selections in these later rounds, so you might as well be familiar, comfortable even, with the territory. The cream of the player pool sits at the top, naturally, but the lower ranks are not void of talent. Good players get pushed down the draft board for all kinds of reasons. An injury last year that led to suppressed numbers in turn suppresses interest in that player this year. Scarcity at one position creates an earlier demand, thereby pushing other players down in the ranks.

Since it is impossible to leave a draft with the very best at each position, I know I am going to have to miss somewhere, so I ask myself where I can afford to miss. Finding those players who are less attractive but still productive answers that question for me and helps me prioritize my options in early rounds. Here then is my “All-Value Team” featuring the players I think will give you the most bang for your buck (along with a few fallback options) in fantasy baseball drafts in 2026. Note that the ADPs I reference come from Yahoo drafts as of March 6.

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Catcher Value Pick

Drake Baldwin, ATL (ADP: 144.8)

Drake Baldwin’s MLB debut went about as well as could be hoped for, with 19 home runs, 80 RBI, and a .274 batting average. His efforts in 2025 earned him the National League Rookie of the Year award. Last season, Baldwin’s production was backed up by an outstanding 83.0% contact rate and hit quality. Baldwin had a solid 11% barrel rate, a 49.6% hard-hit rate, and had the highest average exit velocity (91.7 MPH) among catchers.

In 2026, he will continue on as the Braves' primary backstop and should soak up plenty of playing time with backup Sean Murphy expected to be out until May with a hip injury. Baldwin is hanging out at the turn of the 12th and 13th rounds in 12-person drafts, clocking in as the ninth catcher off the board. Baldwin’s 2026 projections are on par with what he put up last year and are similar to Will Smith of the Dodgers, who is going three or four rounds sooner.

First Base Value Pick

Michael Busch, CHC (ADP: 108.9)

If you missed out on the rush of the top-tier of first base, there’s no need to fear. Michael Busch is still waiting for you in the 10th round. Last year, Busch took a big step forward in his second season as the Cubs' first baseman. Busch launched 34 home runs in 2025, recorded 90 RBI with 78 runs scored, and finished the season with a .261 batting average.

Even more encouraging were Busch’s improvements to his underlying stats. His barrel rate went from 11.2% in 2024 to 17.1% in 2025, putting him in the 95th percentile among major league hitters. Busch also had marked improvements to his hard-hit rate (47.3% to 2024’s 39.9%) and strikeout rate (23.5%, down from 28.6%).

Busch's splits against left-handed pitching are not flattering, but Cubs manager Craig Counsell has already come out to say that Busch is not a platoon bat and needs to be in the lineup every day.

Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell says that Michael Busch has earned everyday at-bats and that the plan is for him to start against lefties in 2026.
pic.twitter.com/pAwSLHb98F

— Carson Wolf (@TheWrigleyWire) December 10, 2025

Second Base Value Pick

Xavier Edwards, MIA (ADP: 156.9)

Second base is a wasteland in 2026, but down the board, I do see opportunities for help in two categories where it can be hard to find an edge – stolen bases and batting average. Nico Hoerner (99.5 ADP) might be the first name to come to mind in this regard, but I’ll let him slide in favor of Xavier Edwards, who is available almost 60 picks later.

Edwards offers almost no power (.074 ISO going back to his 2023 debut), but ranks in the top 10 in zone contact rate, overall contact rate, and swinging-strike rate. After stealing 31 bases in 70 games in 2024, the 27 he swiped last year left a lot to be desired. Back tightness forced Edwards to miss two weeks at the end of May, and might have made him less ambitious on the basepaths thereafter.

Edwards is projected to flirt with another 30-steal season, and hitting at the top of the Marlins’ lineup should contribute to the runs category as well.

Third Base Value Pick

Matt Chapman, SFG (ADP: 136.4)

Had Matt Chapman not missed five weeks of action over two stints on the injured list in 2025, his final line would have been more alluring for drafters in 2026. As it was, Chapman submitted a .231 AVG with 21 HRs, 76 R, 71 RBI, and nine stolen bases in 128 games played. He also managed to reduce his strikeout rate for the third consecutive year (to 23.6%, his lowest since 2019) and establish a new personal best with a 13.3% walk rate.

Assuming a 600 PA-season is in the works for Chapman, he should be able to flirt with 30 home runs and see better RBI production with Luis Arraez and Rafael Devers setting the table in front of him. Since coming to San Francisco in 2024, Chapman has added stolen bases to his repertoire, swiping 24 bags over the last two seasons compared to his 11 from 2017 to 2023.

Chapman won’t do you any favors in batting average, but if you can take the hit there, then he can be a four-category contributor.

Shortstop Value Pick

Dansby Swanson, CHC (ADP: 160.9)

Shortstop is a deep field in 2026. Coming off his 2025 bounce-back, Bo Bichette (69.9 ADP) can be found in the sixth round. Power-speed threats like CJ Abrams (90.6 ADP), Willy Adames (105.1 ADP), and Trevor Story (120.8 ADP) can be picked up around rounds eight through 10. In other words, you don’t need to be in a rush to fill the position.

Case in point: eighteen shortstop-eligible players are being taken ahead of Dansby Swanson in Yahoo’s latest ADPs, which means there should be relatively little competition for his services.

Much like the aforementioned Chapman, he probably won’t help you in batting average, but he will be a healthy contributor in the counting categories. In three of the last four seasons, Swanson has stolen 18 to 20 bases. In four of the last five seasons, hit between 22 and 27 home runs and recorded between 77 and 96 RBI. Going back to 2019, Swanson has scored no fewer than 77 runs.

Swanson is rumored to be working on a new plate approach to improve his zone contact, at the cost of some power.

Dansby Swanson to Sacrifice Power for Contact This Year? https://t.co/9w9H7kq145

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) February 19, 2026

Outfield Value Picks

Teoscar Hernandez, LAD (ADP: 103.6)

Depending on which projection system you look at, there is a reasonable expectation that Teoscar Hernandez ends 2026 with 26 to 30 home runs, 71 to 78 runs scored, anywhere from 80 to 97 RBI, and carry a batting average around .260. Riley Greene (58.2 ADP) is also projected to flirt with 30 home runs, score 85 runs, and drive in somewhere between 83 and 103 RBI with a .260 batting average.

Greene is being drafted in the fifth round, while Hernandez can be picked up in the ninth.

Hitting behind Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman, I am optimistic that Hernandez will not have trouble meeting the higher side of his projections in 2026. Even with last year’s regression relative to his debut with the Dodgers in 2024, he still racked up 27 home runs and 89 RBI. Hernandez now has at least 25 home runs in every season (removing 2020) since 2019, and has the fourth most RBI (474) among outfielders since 2021, trailing only Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and Juan Soto.

Bryan Reynolds, PIT (ADP: 181.7)

After years of being one of fantasy baseball’s more consistently good (but not quite great) performers, Bryan Reynolds hit the skids in 2025. Reynolds met or established new career lows in runs, home runs, and batting average, and put up his lowest RBI total since 2022. Reynolds limped into the All-Star break with an uncharacteristically high 27.2% strikeout rate, a .225 batting average, and .656 OPS.

Reynolds turned things back around in the second half, though, slashing .276/.364/.453 the rest of the way. Last season’s results are curious, given that Reynolds’ peripheral stats fall right in line with his body of work over the last several years. He even managed to post career highs in maximum and average exit velocities, along with his second-highest hard-hit rate.

At his current price, I have no qualms about taking a chance that Reynolds rebounds in 2026.

Wilyer Abreu, BOS (ADP: 210.0)

Wilyer Abreu lost roughly a month and a half to oblique and calf injuries in 2025. Had he stayed healthy, he likely wouldn’t be this cheap in 2026. In 417 plate appearances, Abreu had a line of .247-22-69-53-6, putting him on a 30-homer pace had he made it to 600 PA. In his third year at the big-league level, Abreu made some solid progress.

He brought up zone and overall contact rates, lowered his strikeout rate to a more manageable 24.2%, and his barrel rate ticked up to 12.3%.

Even with the lost time, Abreu made enough of an impression in the outfield to earn a Gold Glove for the second year in a row. Abreu has been a strong-side platoon bat, but could see more regular playing time thanks to his defense. If I need to plug other holes than outfield earlier in the draft, Abreu and his 30 HR potential make for a great safety net late in drafts.

Wilyer Abreu Viewed as "Everyday" Player in Boston Lineuphttps://t.co/bYOffGwlBe

— RotoBaller MLB (@RotoBallerMLB) February 11, 2026

Starting Pitcher Value Pick

Drew Rasmussen, TBR (ADP: 189.3)

Finding help with pitching ratios can be hard to do, and it only gets harder as the draft moves on. Drew Rasmussen is lingering as late as he is thanks to his injury history and subsequent workload management. In 2025, he hit a career high of 150.0 IP, though he pitched more than five innings in only eight of his 31 starts and went longer than six innings in only one.

Combined with an underwhelming 21.7% strikeout rate, Rasmussen turned in 127 punchouts last year. We could see a bump in whiffs if the changeup Rasmussen has been developing is enough to work it into his pitch mix.

Rasmussen’s command of the zone held his walk rate to 6.3% in 2025, just a touch lower than his career 6.5% mark. His heavy reliance on his cutter and sinker contributed to a 49.5% ground-ball rate, again consistent with the rest of his career. In turn, Rasmussen turned in a 1.02 WHIP in 2025, his fifth straight season with a WHIP of 1.08 or less.

Similarly, his 2.76 ERA was the fifth time in as many seasons that he finished with a mark of 2.84 or less in the category.

Drew Rasmussen flashed the full arsenal over three scoreless innings against the Braves.

The changeup, in particular, looks like a real weapon to watch this season. pic.twitter.com/RVGH3cOOxh

— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 1, 2026

Relief Pitcher Value Pick

Bryan Abreu, HOU (ADP: 198.7)

When Astros closer Josh Hader’s 2025 campaign was interrupted due to a shoulder strain, Bryan Abreu stepped in as the team’s primary closer and came out of the season with a new career high of seven saves. Hader, now dealing with inflammation in his left bicep, is still working his way back to full health. Should Hader miss time at the start of the season, Abreu is expected to fill in once again, making him a cheap source of early saves.

Even if Hader only misses a brief period at the start of the season, Abreu can still be a useful piece in fantasy baseball. In 2025, Abreu once again posted an absurdly high strikeout rate (35.5%) and recorded 105 strikeouts, his third consecutive 100-strikeout season.

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