Top 20 1st Basemen for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

Are the top 20 1st basemen for 2026 fantasy baseball good? How do you define good? Is good definable? Are you Plato? What is a Plato? Any hoo! This post goes on for about 1.8 million words, so let’s dive in. Here’s Steamer’s 2026 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2026 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. The projections noted in this post are my own, and I mention where tiers start and stop. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 20 1st basemen for 2026 fantasy baseball:

NOTE: All my 2026 fantasy baseball rankings are currently available on Patreon for the price of a Starbucks coffee, if you get one of those extra grande frappuccino jobbers. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out over the next month, and get them all now.

NOTE II: Free agents are marked as such and not yet projected. They are ranked for where they’re currently worth drafting.

1. Nick Kurtz – Went over him in the top 20 for 2026 fantasy baseball.

2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – This is a new tier. This tier goes until Pasketti. I call this tier, “Caked up and ready to bombso with The Naylor 27. Pasketti!” Watching Cake Batter in the playoffs and one thing was clear to me that makes no gee-dee sense — he can hit homers if he wants. It makes no sense because who wouldn’t want homers if they could hit ’em? Maybe not at the 48-homer pace like he did in 2019. Truly hilarious in retrospect that Manfred was like, “Bouncy ball? What bouncy ball?” when 2019’s baseball was for homers what the pitch clock was for stealing. Josh Naylor wanted 30 steals, so he stole ’em. Juan Soto wanted 40/40 so he came incredibly close even though he has 7-steal speed. The ball in 2019 was like, “If you want 40+ homers, it’s yours, big guy–or little guy, for that matter.” The ball alternating between dead and bouncy seems to have stopped, at least. All of that aside, Vlad still seems like he could hit 35-40 homers if he wanted. He is basically Charley Lau’s platonic ideal. Call him Charley Launchangleflat. Or maybe call him Max Dugan Returns Again:

Is Vlad Jr. actually Matthew Broderick? Or will Cake Batter swing for the fences this year? Lol, why? I mean, maybe, but there’s no reason to think he will. Closest he came to that was in 2023 with a Launch Angle over 10 and he hit 26 HRs with a .264 average. So, yeah, he doesn’t have success when he swings for the fences. That doesn’t mean he can’t be valuable, he’s basically perfect, but expect 25-30 homers and not 40. 2026 Projections: 103/27/105/.312/7 in 591 ABs

3. Pete Alonso – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Great Boogily ChrisDavisy! The Orioles have a legit power hitter at 1st base again! Or how on BBC (Baltimore’s Baseball Club), a polar bear conquered Mountcastle in his quest for Lake Trout, and the love a good woman. Ya see, Baltimore stole the Mets’ old bae. Salty with MSG, my fave! So, Pete Alonso is an Oriole, and Edwin Diaz is a Dodger, and I’m not pleased. Really don’t understand what the Mets are doing letting Pete Alonso walk. Steve Cohen has more money than he can spend in 25 lifetimes. If they overpay for Pete, will Cohen not be able to put food on the table? Will the contract look bad in five years? Who cares? Cross that Queensbridge then. There’s a certain type of analyst who will say things like, “This is just smart. Pete was only worth $21M AAV for three years” or some nonsense. It’s so infuriating. Why do people care how a billionaire spends their money? Pete was worth what someone paid. That’s it. Fin. Periodt, or whatever the hell Zoomers say. So, Alonso goes to a park that has a fence, and he will hit the ball over it 40 times. That’s pretty much him in any park. Curious like a cat, so I looked at Statcast’s “How many homers would this guy hit in this park” and was surprised any were under 40 homers for Pete. A few were (Fenway, Detroit), Camden was not one. (It’s so hilarious how Bing Bong Stadium in SacTown is always the highest; Pete is at 56 HRs there. El oh el.) Orioles’ lineup will do its part to help Pete with counting stats, as it’s now stacked as one of the best in baseball with Beavers right there in the middle. Sorry, I’m still a juvenile.” And that’s me quoting me! 2026 Projections: 93/40/112/.252/2 in 592 ABs

4. Josh Naylor – Re-signed with the Mariners, and I love that for him and the Mariners. Naylor is one of my favorite players, mostly because of the incredibly nutty baby-rocking home run trot he did vs. the Yankees. Players showing emotion > Better than anything. That Naylor stopped doing the baby-rocking home run trot once he had a baby in real life tells me his wife watches him play, and he’s like, “If she sees me doing this on the field and I say I’m too tired when I get home, I’m gonna hear it.” I see you, Josh. I also love him because of how crazy his Naylor 27 was last year. The Naylor 27 was a theorem put forward by me that a player can steal, thanks to the pitch clock, up to 27 bags, because Naylor, who has three-steal speed, stole 30 bags. See, three steals + 27 = 30. It’s a well-thought out theorem. M’s seem fine with Naylor running, even though he has the speed of Daniel Vogelbach after a big meal. “I shouldn’t have had that third bratwurst.” That’s Vogelbach, and the state Naylor is in at all times while running. A lot of his value here is based on steals that we’re not sure he’ll get again, but it’s kinda like Vlad in that, why wouldn’t he steal again? Maybe not 30, but 15 for Thicky Henderson? That’s no problem. 2026 Projections: 81/25/96/.287/15 in 560 ABs

5. Vinnie Pasquantino – On the Player Rater last year, Pasketti was 55th overall. Above Freeman, Kyle Tucker, and Jackson Chourio, to name some apples and oranges. He was basically the same price as Vlad Jr., while Matt Olson and Devers were both above him, but who is going up and who is going down? This is a layup for Pasketti. Hmm, Italians don’t play basketball. Let me rephrase, this is a gnocchi (the world’s easiest pasta to make). Steam your potatoes in the microwave, pop them on the counter and skin them, then watch as Pasketti hits 35 homers and mix in the egg, flour, and remember that he used to look like a .300 hitter and he’s at his peak right now. Bring a well-salted pot of water to the boil and let Pasketti cook! On a side note, Royals announced they’re moving in their fences ten feet, and I always have to think how this affects me, so that means for me: I was the high man on Pasketti by a lot, but now I’m gonna have some company. 2026 Projections: 84/34/107/.271/1 in 581 ABs

6. Matt Olson – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Freeman. I call this tier, “Landscape engineering, minor in hedging.” Bros and five lady bros, I am outside trimming some hedges and talking to my neighbor. I say, “How’s things?” And he says, “Good, until you started cutting my bushes.” I was just a minor in hedges, apologies! A Landscape Engineering major would know to ask. The hedge that pertains to this whole tier. I don’t love them, but it’ll be cost dependent. If we get to March and Freeman is being drafted in the 30’s overall, then I will write a schmohawk post on him calling him overrated. If we get to March and Freeman is being drafted around 65 overall, I might draft him. Ya know what’s funny, after I wrote, “I might draft him,” I stopped for a few hours, and went to the doctor to find out I have a sinus infection so everything pre-“I might draft him” could be the goofiest shizz I’ve ever written. Should I go back and read what I wrote pre-doctor? Who has time for that or bird sex? Okay, I kid, I went back, and I will add this, I say it’s cost-dependent, and maybe one of these guys falls, but, if I’m out on a guy, I’m out on a guy. Period.

As for Olson, seeing Olson go after Devers in drafts and that doesn’t really make sense. They’re both 94/33/106/mystery average/1, but guess who should hit .255 vs. .245? I’ll give you two guesses, but feels like a One Guess Answer. A classic OGA. Maybe people are seeing Olson as a 29-homer guy who is losing power vs. a 33-homer guy who is gaining power, but he’s 31 until Opening Day and, I don’t know, I tried to figure out why I should move Olson down and couldn’t figure it out. He is far from the sexy tier above, but he’s not dramatic garbage. Coming to the conclusion, “He’s not dramatic garbage,” is why I could see ignoring him for someone who I really like below. 2026 Projections: 92/33/103/.255/1 in 604 ABs

7. Rafael Devers – First hedge to discuss is how I was all out on Devers last year. It proved to be wrong, but he had a shoulder injury in 2024, so to be cautious about that makes sense. As for Devers, surprised at how little San Fran damaged his power. It might’ve helped his power in some strange way because no Green Monster to knock down blasts that just happened to be low-flying. Lot of his value is counting stats dependent, which I don’t love, but he plays every game and gets a ton of runs and RBIs when he does, so faulting him for it seems dumb. Though, if I were dating Carrie on Sex In The City, my name would be Mr. Dumb. The benefit to his power, losing the Monster, hurts his average, though. Devers is a 33-homer, 90+ runs, 100+ RBIs guy, who took a hit on BABIP (and average) by leaving Boston. 2026 Projections: 94/33/106/.244/1 in 579 ABs

8. Bryce Harper – Will say this for the Hedging tier, these guys are more interchangeable than most players inside tiers. You want 33 homers with power upside but average downside? Go Devers. You want 25/10 but seemingly on the downswing of career? Go Harper. I could totally see Harper becoming a Zombino this year, after he made a point of coming out publicly that he didn’t like hearing the Phils’ GM was bashing him. The hedge is, the mind might want to prove Dombroski wrong, but the body might not allow it at 33. 2026 Projections: 81/26/85/.267/10 in 507 ABs

9. Freddie Freeman – Did you see this offseason there was a video going around of Freeman doing the breakdance move, The Worm, at a Dodgers’ celebration party? That stood out to me because we think players are old, then you see they’re old compared to each other, but they’re still super-humans who can bust out The Worm. If I tried to do The Worm, I would do a belly flop onto the hard floor, and possibly never get up again. At 36, Freeman can still worm? Damn. The steals are gone, the power’s been gone for a while, but the average is still propping him, but the average could bottom out (like me doing The Worm) at any moment. 2026 Projections: 77/21/88/.283/5 in 537 ABs

10. Michael Busch – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Soderstrom. I call this tier, “I can taste ‘want.'” The tier name refers to how badly I want these guys that I can taste the idea of wanting. I have ‘want’ on my tongue and I’m insatiable. Give me what I WANT!

As for Busch, nearly wrote a sleeper for Busch, but didn’t because he shouldn’t be a sleeper. This is similar to why I didn’t write a sleeper last year for his teammate, Pete Crow-Armstrong. I can love a guy, but if they’re priced appropriately or I feel like there’s plenty of hype around them, then they’re not sleepers. So, last year Busch went 78/34/90/.261/4 in 524 ABs with a 9.5 BB% and 23.5 K%. He’s 28. He’s being drafting 50 spots after Freeman; 60 spots after Harper, Devers and Olson. Okay, now that I think about it, maybe I should’ve wrote a sleeper post for him. Not to get all Revenge of the Nerds but I want BUSCH! 2026 Projections: 86/31/84/.263/5 in 539 ABs

11. Tyler Soderstrom – I have Bing Bong Fever. Well established at this point. Will I be gaga-goo-goo for Soderstrom when the A’s get to Vegas? Honestly, yeah, maybe. Vegas is going to be Bing Bong, part two. Vegas might be better than SacTown. For another day! Last year, Soderstrom sparkled as he bubbled over (pay attention to what I did there), and went 25/8/.276 with a 22.6 K% and 8.8 BB%. His HardHit% was 39.8% and his fly balls went down. Wait, his FB rate is a negative. OR IS IT?! Hell yeah, Mr. Reversal Question! In 2024, his LA was 9.6 (perfectly respectable vs. 7.9 last year) and his fly balls were 38% in 2024 vs. 31.4% this year. If a guy had a terrible season with these trends, it wouldn’t matter where he played, but, even with his fly balls falling, he was 72 on the Player Rater and a skosh better than Seiya, CJ Abrams, Zach Neto and Jarren Duran. This ranking for Soderstrom is gonna be around 70 overall so, if we get the same from last year? Fine, great, but if we get more from the 24-year-old in the best park? Gimme, gimme, gimme. 2026 Projections: 84/30/102/.256/5 in 554 ABs

12. Ben Rice – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Yandy. I call this tier, “Mehever.” When one is truly bored, they give you a meh or whatever. When they can’t be bothered to even finish a thought, it’s mehever.

As for Rice, went over him in the catchers rankings.

13. Yandy Diaz – Finally, he found his Launch Angle–[sees it was 5, quite possibly the worst Launch Angle ever of someone who hit 25 homers]–okay, but Yandy did his 25 homers, so why can’t he–[sees the Trop is back in working order]–okay, but the last time he was in The Trop he had a 5 Launch Angle, he hit 14 homers! Wait, that was supposed to be exciting. Oops. 2026 Projections: 79/17/71/.304/2 in 567 ABs

14. Alec Burleson – This is a new tier. This tier goes until Stewart. I call this tier, “Is it worth it to pay a nickel to the Board of Trustees at the Kool-Aid factory?” Let’s get hyped up for players again, shall we? Oh yeah! [smashes through a wall, pays the nickel trademark fee to the Kool-Aid corporation, realizes this tier is hard to get excited about and it may not have been worth the nickel] So, I like this tier, and will draft them, but there’s a reason they’re not ranked up with Busch and Soderstrom. Namely, there’s less excitement for them. Also, it’s a good time to mention how sad the 1st basemen are, and you better go all-in for Busch or Soderstrom, if you miss one of the top five or so.

So, Alec Burleson is a tough one to rank. I wrote a sleeper post for him last year and he basically made good on that promise — 18/5/.290, but I shouldn’t have wrote the sleeper, because a sleeper post implies a guy has huge upside and Burleson’s upside is–Well, remember when your dad had you on his shoulders and he accidentally conked you into a low ceiling and you blacked out and saw Abe Lincoln, who told you that you can become a fantasy baseball blogger in 30 years, and you were like, “Lol, shut up, Abe.” Wait, maybe that was just me. 2026 Projections: 77/20/81/.286/6 in 502 ABs

15. Jac Caglianone – Remember the Bash Brothers? Well, the Royals have the Smash Brothers — Mario (Pasquantino) and Luigi (Jac). The upside is crazy with Luigi — 30+ homers? Handful of steals! Only struck out 22.4% of the time as a rookie! He also hit .157. Which is hilarious. Seems to be he was the unluckiest person since the person at the movies underneath the balcony where The Goonies’ Chunk threw fake vomit (a very new reference). 2026 Projections: 61/25/72/.234/3 in 474 ABs

16. Sal Stewart – Already gave you my Sal Stewart fantasy. It was written while traveling around Cape Horn. 2026 Projections: 63/26/71/.241/6 in 488 ABs

17. Spencer Torkelson – This is a new tier. This tier goes until Aranda. I call this tier, “A poor man’s…” This entire tier’s players remind me of someone else. Some good comps, some less good. I don’t mean my comps are bad, I mean the player I’m comping them to isn’t great. That was prolly clear. Moving on!

Torkelson is a poor man’s Devers. Call him Rafell-to-me-at-200? Then maybe I’m interested. His 2025: 82/31/78/.240/2 in 563 ABs. If he can repeat that, it’s easy money at this ranking. He really has no room for error though. If he slumps on power, and average and goes 25/.230, it’s awful. If he clocks in and goes 35/.250, this is one of the best bargains. I have feelings about everyone, but I can’t land on anything concrete for Tork. Think he’s either solid here or a waste and you’ll want to drop him. 2026 Projections: 73/30/79/.231/2 in 531 ABs

18. Salvador Perez – Went over him in the catchers rankings.

19. Spencer Steer – He’s a poor man’s Mystery-flavored Dum-Dum lollipop. Call him, I’m an “all-day sucker for drafting him again.” Steer goes 23/15/.271 in 2023 and the stage is set for him to be a huge fantasy contributor in 2024 and he goes 20/25/.225. 20/25 — noice! But where’s that .225 coming from? Nowhere good, but it’s an outlier we tell ourselves. He’s a 20-plus homer, 20-plus steal, .270 hitter who was unlucky, 2025 will be the bounce back? And then he goes 21/7/.238, which brings to the Mystery. Maybe he bounces back but to what? 2026 Projections: 71/20/81/.246/9 in 512 ABs

20. Willson Contreras – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Traded to the Red Sox. Over in Beantown, they’re like, “We’ll have what the Cardinals are having. RIP Rob Reiner. Wait until the Red Sox find out the Cardinals, who they acquired two players from now, sucked last year. Acquiring them is not going to make you better. Guessing Contreras and Casas will share DH and 1st base, assuming Casas is healthy, which is a Milky Way galaxy-sized assumption. As for Willson Contreras, he’s a poor man’s William Contreras without catcher eligibility. Call him Willson Cantcatcheras.” And that’s me quoting me! 2026 Projections: 73/19/77/.261/3 in 509 ABs

21. Kyle Manzardo – He’s a poor man’s Vinnie Pasquantino. Call him Kyle Mancotti. Ya know one thing you can say about the 1st basemen? If you want a 27-32 homer, .240-ish hitter, you will have no problem finding it. 2026 Projections: 61/28/67/.238/2 in 498 ABs

22. Christian Walker – What happened to Walker is what happens to all hitters eventually. They start sucking. Scientific term “sucking” from the root word “to suck,” Latin in origin, “suckitus.” In sentence, “Caligula, you suckitus all the breasts of men and women. Leave some for me, Plato.” Walker is a poor man’s “a bit younger Christian Walker.” Call him Christian Needs-Walker. 2026 Projections: 67/24/79/.231/2 in 517 ABs

23. Luis Arraez – FREE AGENT 2026 Projections:

24. Jonathan Aranda – Nearly wrote a sleeper post for Aranda, but he went 14/0/.316 (with a .409 BABIP) last year, and I couldn’t generate enough enthusiasm. I actually got three sentences in and was like, who is this, a poor man’s Yandy? Call him Discardy-in-Shallower-Leagues Diaz. That line from last year was in 370 ABs, so maybe he’s more Got-More-In-The-Tanky Diaz. If he gets 500 ABs, and hits the ball hard, maybe there’s something here for deeper leagues, but I kinda doubt it. 2026 Projections: 61/16/66/.266/1 in 479 ABs

25. Alec Bohm – This is a new tier. This tier goes until Casas. I call this tier, “Banging head in the 1st basemen section of the YMCA pool.” 1st basemen have a lack-of-depth sauce. They’re giving shallow. No cap, no cap, fr fr. That’s all I have for Zoomer talk. Why even do Zoomer talk? What, you prefer that I talk about the guys in this tier?

As for Bohm, I just ran him through my Turn A Modern Player Into A Dead Ball Era Player calculator and Bohm becomes a two-homer, .125 hitter. Sadly, he also succumbs to consumption. 2026 Projections: 58/12/79/.282/3 in 548 ABs

26. Ernie Clement – Almost wrote a sleeper post for Clement, but then I realized I was watching the World Series and Clement, hitting like .750 in the Series, wasn’t indicative of anything. It was a good few games. As anyone knows though, Clement will appear a few times in the weekly Buy column, because he does get hot for stretches, like a yoga mom. Even though I like Clement for deeper leagues — and it’s time for a reminder: In deeper leagues (deeper than 12-team mixed), these guys are fine. If you draft Ernie in a 12-team mixed league or shallower, you’ll grow bored of him by mid-April. 2026 Projections: 80/12/53/.279/10 in 549 ABs

27. Jake Burger – Can I tell you a quick story? I ordered an Impossible Burger and when I bit into it, I felt something metal in my mouth. I pulled out one of those industrial staples they use to hold together cardboard. I told the restaurant and they were like, “Hunh…that’s weird…” And that’s it! Guess I was in LA, so if I swallowed it, I wouldn’t be the first person with staples in my stomach. So, went to look at MLB’s park factors to see how bad Globe Life is. I mean, I know, it’s bad, but how bad. Well, it’s not the worst park. Only 2nd worst! Is Jake Burger a meaty, meat burger bounce back or an Impossible Burger with a staple in it? His price seems to be around 300th overall which sounds fine, but any more expensive and not worth it. 2026 Projections: 63/24/71/.242/1 in 488 ABs

28. Gavin Sheets – If everything breaks right with Sheets, you got yourself a Dutch Oven! Bang! Zoom! To the moon! Also, you’d have a repeat of last year. 2026 Projections: 51/17/64/.254/2 in 483 ABs

29. Colt Keith – I wrote his name as Colt Keither at first, and, boy, did I laugh. I effin’ howled at my blunder! Then I thought about how uninteresting Keith is that I couldn’t be bothered to learn his name. Cool Colt Keith isn’t very good at anything and isn’t very bad at four categories either. The Meh Line. 2026 Projections: 71/15/54/.260/3 in 445 ABs

30. Ryan O’Hearn – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed by the Pirates. Not to be too complimentary of the Pirates’ moves, because they should still receive scorn, in general, but O’Hearn is a solid middle-of-the-order bat for real baseball. Low Ks, high walks, some power. Oh, he still had an under-30% HardHit%, which is so comical for a 1st baseman and a middle-of-the-order bat, but for Pirates? Great! I’m being generous, you cowards! Try it some time!” And that’s me quoting me! 2026 Projections: 68/15/73/.262/3 in 481 ABs

31. Nolan Schanuel – Not the right tier for this, but Schanuel is a poor man’s Bohm. Call him Alec Dud. 2026 Projections: 72/14/59/.267/6 in 507 ABs

32. Andrew Vaughn – It makes a lot more sense how good he became in Milwaukee, after years of struggling in the South Side of Chicago. When you realize A) Jerry Reinsdorf is the Grim Reaper. B) Vaughn is a time traveler. C) There’s no C. When you’re a time traveler it allows you to go forward, see what pitch is coming, then come back and hit it. Why didn’t he do that in Chicago? See A. 2026 Projections: 64/16/71/.259/1 in 474 ABs

You just got beat by a time traveler from the 1910s

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— Razzball (@razzball.bsky.social) October 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM

33. Triston Casas – Fun fact! Triston Casas translates to Triston HOMES and HOMES is an acrostic for the Great Lakes, and Casas will need to find a new home near one of those lakes when he’s traded to an AL or NL Central team. (Just a guess, but we’ll see.) It’s truly sad when a guy has been injured so much in his career that you forget why you were originally interested. Casas is only 26 and it’s not the worst flyer if you’re this late in deeper league drafts. Though, it is very hard to remember why we ever liked him, and he already sounds like he’s gonna miss Opening Day. 2026 Projections: 54/17/57/.244 in 376 ABs

34. Spencer Horwitz – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Cronenworth. I call this tier, “The 2nd advertising exec to suggest naming something Strawberry Fields because it’s strawberry-flavored.” The first guy to name a strawberry drink or yogurt or balm, Strawberry Fields. Cool, man, you’re fine, we get it, it’s a Beatles nod, but fine. The 2nd advertising exec? Leave us the eff alone with Strawberry Fields! It’s everywhere! I drink a Strawberry Fields kombucha, eat a Strawberry Fields yogurt, lick Strawberry Fields ice cream–crap, I’m lactose intolerant, go get me my Strawberry Fields kaopectate! We get it, it’s got a strawberry flavor! Name it something else! Any hoo! These guys are about helpful as that 2nd advertising exec.

As for Horwitz, after April 15th, he’s kinda useless. Unless you file an extension. 2026 Projections: 51/14/54/.266 in 413 ABs

35. Josh H. Smith – We are firmly in the area of guys where it’s like: Do I want them? Not in mixed leagues. Should they be drafted in the top 500? Yup. As for Josh The H. Smith, he had 70 runs last year, guess how many RBIs. Would you say above or below 50? Come on! Guess! I know Smith hit leadoff a lot, but Juan Pierre had 50 RBIs his last full season. So, how many did Smith have? 35! Look at the company this guy had from last decade:

I don’t know what they’re feeding their hitters in Texas, but they should stop. Is it Impossible Burgers? 2026 Projections: 53/11/49/.253/10 in 477 ABs

36. Lenyn Sosa – Wrote a Lenyn Sosa sleeper, and I still like him but we have to address the elephant in the room. “Hello, Mr. Elephant.” [elephant continues to chew peanuts] Hmm, okay, he’s busy. So, the problem is once Murakami signed and they traded for Luisangel Acuña, then Sosa was squeezed out of playing time. I had to knock a bunch of his at-bats off his projections. 2026 Projections: 33/13/41/.276/1 in 304 ABs

37. Miguel Vargas – Something I’ve mentioned in the past, but maybe not this year is how I rank: I write all the players’ names, then go through them, not necessarily in order. So, I wrote Vargas’s name next to Bohm, then looked at his stats from last year — 16/6/.234 — and moved him way down. Is there any scenario you want him? Not rhetorical, truly asking. Fine, AL-Only or deeeeeeeeeeeep mixed leagues. Yes, twelve E’s. 2026 Projections: 67/18/77/.229/4 in 527 ABs

38. Josh Bell – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the Twins. Josh Bell is the most, “This team is not really trying to win,” signing. If your team signs Josh Bell, they did it to trade him in July when they’re out of it. He’s not some kind of galaxy-brained signing that is going to look much better in April and you’re like, “Damn, we are trying to win this thing.” No, they’re not. Though, I guess it’s better than Kody Clemens.” And that’s me quoting me! 2026 Projections: 56/20/59/.231 in 443 ABs

39. Rhys Hoskins – FREE AGENT 2026 Projections:

40. Jared Triolo – If we get to Opening Day and Triolo is a starter for the Pirates at a corner infield spot, we’ll know how serious they are about contending. 2026 Projections: 51/9/47/.224/15 in 409 ABs

41. Jake Cronenworth – When you get to the end of each position’s rankings, it’s always, “How did this guy get that many at-bats last year and why would they give him that many again?” 2026 Projections: 53/10/54/.238/5 in 404 ABs

42. Otto Kemp – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the end. I call this tier, “Let’s end with something sexy! [a young Roseanne Barr enters]” Well, at least it’s not old Roseanne Barr, right? [dodges tomato thrown] Tier name is pretty explanatory. These guys have some upside, but there’s a reason why they’re ranked so low. There’s some major issues here.

As for Kemp, will the Phillies really give him 550 ABs? Then maybe a 25/15/.240 season. Reality: 2026 Projections: 39/12/41/.226/4 in 326 ABs

43. Romy Gonzalez – There’s a case to be made that Romy should be starting over Casas (when healthy — ha! — if ever healthy). I’m not making the case, but that I’m even saying a case could be made shows you how bad Casas has been. The upside for Romy is likely just Horwitz with some speed, so. Dot dot dot. Turbotax? 2026 Projections: 37/7/41/.281/7 in 305 ABs

44. C.J. Kayfus – Here’s what I said when he was called up, “Kayfus, who sounds like a Zoomer term for a doofus. ‘Bro, you’re such a Kayfus, I can’t even. I said I wanted to start filming a TikTok at 3. I meant 3 AM, you know I’m sleeping at 3 PM.’ That’s a Zoomer. Kayfus’s stats in the minors this year (14/4/.300, 25.2 K%, 12 BB%) look like what you might’ve saw from Naylor back in the minors. In fact (sigh, Grey’s got more), Naylor’s last full year in the minors he went 17/5/.297. I wouldn’t be against trying Kayfus in deeper mixed leagues for power, unless you’re punting power like a total Kayfus.” And that’s me quoting me! 2026 Projections: 43/15/53/.247/4 in 376 ABs

45. Tyler Austin – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Signed with the Cubs. Watched some clips of the 34-year-old slugger, who’s spent the last six seasons in Japan, and I kept thinking he looked like Steve Finley from the other side (Austin’s a righty), but I know that’s not it, because a Steve Finley reference would make me old, and I am a Zoomer. Austin’s had three .600+ SLG seasons in Japan since 2020, which is more than Murakami and Seiya Suzuki, but that’s like saying a guy went 40/40 in Triple-A. Okay, but if he were great, he’d be playing the majors and not Japan. He looks like a short-side platoon bat with power.” And that’s me copying and pasting me! 2026 Projections: 27/12/31/.241 in 247 ABs

46. Liam Hicks – Went over him in the catchers rankings.

47. Ryan Mountcastle – The most drinking Earl Grey voice says, “BBC’s Mountcastle returns after this break.” (The break is the offseason, and he returns to no spot in the lineup and coming off a 7-homer season.) 2026 Projections: 28/9/31/.255/3 in 212 ABs

48. Coby Mayo – Can O’s develop bats? I don’t know. Gunnar’s solid, but is he the exception to the rule I just made up? Could be. Coby Mayonnaise needs to make so much better contact, and I don’t just mean more of it, though that would help too. He had a HardHit% of 26.8, and a 28.6 K%. Pound for pound, that’s about as awful as things get. 2026 Projections: 24/7/27/.223/4 in 224 ABs

49. Troy Johnston – The Rockies’ rebuild starts today! Emoji that is flexing but as we pull back we see it’s standing on a deserted island with an SOS spelled out in coconuts. 2026 Projections: 34/9/41/.251/8 in 308 ABs

Considered but omitted: Kody Clemens, Pavin Smith, Charlie Condon, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Michael Toglia, Curtis Mead, Eric Wagaman, Luke Raley, Wilmer Flores, Jake Bauers, Warming Bernabel, Endy Rodriguez, Ty France, Blaine Crim, Deyvison De Los Santos, Rowdy Tellez, Ryan Clifford, Enrique Hernandez, Tyler Locklear, Edouard Julien, Abimelec Ortiz, Ezequiel Duran, Tre’ Morgan, Carlos Santana, Trey Mancini, Tyler Black, Rafael Flores, Nick Sogard, Andres Chaparro, Jonathan Long, Nathan Martorella, Enmanuel Valdez, Tim Elko, Ralphy Velazquez, Paul Goldschmidt, Nathaniel Lowe, Casey Schmitt, Tim Tawa, Jhonkensy Noel