Happy September, friends, as we’re suddenly down to just a few weeks left in the season. MLB September roster expansion is complete, but it doesn’t quite move the fantasy needle as much as it used to. While we might take a look at some of the new roster additions in a couple weeks to see if anyone fantasy-worthy has turned up, for now I’m more in a mood of reflection.
This week I want to take a look at the ones that got away, namely the most valuable fantasy players who literally went undrafted in at least one of my leagues this year. And when I say my leagues, I’m keeping this only to my NFBC draft and hold leagues, which are 15-team, 50 round, mixed re-draft leagues with no waiver wire. Your team on draft day is your team through September; there’s no free agent pick ups, and all you do is decide each lineup period who’s active and who’s on your bench. With 750 players taken per draft, it feels like the deepest of deep leagues by the end; after round 40 or so it seems like you’re already in Hail Mary territory trying to find anyone left in the player pool who could possibly have positive value. As you know if you’ve participated in a league like this, especially if it’s early in the offseason, they tend to be filled with sharks. One of my leagues this year had three fantasy analysts I’d heard of plus a prominent MLB team beat writer in it. Folks know each team’s major and minor league systems inside and out, and it would seem impossible for anyone at all to fall through the cracks. And yet, they do.
So this week I’m presenting the top fantasy hitters of 2026 who went unclaimed in my leagues, their names still sitting frozen outside our player pool, their stats taunting us as we look at our lineups full of injury and demotion-ridden holes. I’m not sure yet if there’s much we can learn from these names to help us in the future, but I like doing this exercise if nothing else as a reminder just how big that deep league pool is. There’s always, always going to be a diamond in the rough; it’s just a matter of finding it before anyone else does… or at least before the end of your 750-player draft in December. So, here we go, with the six most valuable undrafted hitters:
Sam Antonacci. Antonacci still feels like he’s under the radar, despite the fact that he’s now played 133 games for the White Sox. One of the biggest hitting surprises on one of the most surprisingly successful MLB teams, Antonacci currently has a .265 average with 70 runs scored, 8 homers, 40 RBI, and 17 stolen bases. To add a little insult to the injury of overlooking him this past spring, he also now qualifies at second, third, short, and outfield in most leagues. (It’s looking like he’ll be 2B/OF eligible for 2027). For a little context, Antonocci ranks as the 275th most valuable 5×5 player so far, so it’s not like we all passed on a first rounder or anything. But still, it’s pretty jarring to see him check in twenty-six spots ahead of the (recently off the IL) Juan Soto. Will the 23-year-old be a popular sleeper pick next fall even in standard leagues? Or will folks assume he peaked in 2026 and will always be limited in fantasy by his left-handedness?
T.J. Rumfield. Rumfield lands at spot #299 on the 5×5 player rater so far, not too far down from Antonocci (and still just ahead of Soto, for what that’s worth!) Rumfield hasn’t stolen a base this year and obviously will never be a 5-category player. But in 2026 he’s made up for some of that with the value he’s added in average, hitting .291 on the year. He’s also got 14 homers, 57 runs scored, and 64 RBI. He’s also left handed, so while we can’t expect to see him play 162 games a year, he does seem to be the current and near-future plan for the Rockies at first base more often than not. He’s another guy where it’ll be interesting to watch how his value and draft position develop over the offseason… right now he’s feeling like a player with a fairly decent floor but no high ceiling, but that profile most definitely plays in the right deepish leagues.
Ty France. I will note that France only went undrafted in one of my several draft and hold leagues, but the fact that he snuck by all of us pretend managers in even one league is enough to land him on this post. I actually did draft him in one of my other leagues, and as late as he was going, he’s been one of those deep-league game changers this year. He’s also the only established veteran on the list, as anyone with as much MLB experience as he has is usually going to be worth at least a very late flyer. It was hard to imagine he’d end up with regular playing time as the Padres’ first baseman this year given what their depth chart looked like heading in to the season, though. He’s now up to 20 homers and 62 RBI in just 367 at bats, and his likely unsustainable .292 average and .360 OBP are also helping drive his current value. Good health isn’t hurting either, and it’s pretty funny to see him currently sandwiched right in between Ronald Acuña and (my pre-season crush) Tyler Soderstrom on the 5×5 value board. The real question is how much of this value will continue as 2026 winds down and into next season; France is starting to feel like a 2027 deep league trap pick, but time will tell.
Tristan Peters. Another Chicago White Sock, another surprise excellent season of big league hitting. After a four game, hitless cup of coffee with Tampa Bay in 2025, Peters now has 135 games played and 378 at bats for the White Sox. He’s been a model of consistency and productivity throughout, or at least it seems that way to me since I don’t roster him anywhere. He’s got 55 runs scored, 12 homers, 52 RBI, 8 steals, and he’s rocking a .288 average/.344 OBP. He’s already the third lefty of the group, for whatever that’s worth. I’m not sure how hard I’m buying in yet, but the 26 year old Peters will definitely be on my list of guys whose ADP I’ll be curious to see when 2027 drafting gets underway.
A.J. Ewing. The Mets seem to be treating Ewing as their center fielder of the future, and his defense alone this year would apparently justify that. He currently checks in as the 439th ranked fantasy player this year, in a not-super-helpful-outside-of-deep-leagues tier of production that includes guys like Matt McLain, his teammate Marcus Semien, Wyatt Langford, and Dalton Varsho. After a hot start, Ewing has been scuffling at the plate for quite a while now, and his average is down to .232. He’s got 43 runs scored, 7 homers, 28 RBI, but the vast majority of his fantasy value is his speed, as he has 22 stolen bases. It will be interesting to see if he can turn things around to some degree at the plate over these final weeks, since right now he’s looking like a one or two category guy when it comes to future fantasy consideration.
Henry Bolte. We’ll finish up with Bolte, who neatly concludes this exercise by giving us a third AL hitter to go with the three NL guys that make up our six most valuable undrafted hitters of 2026 so far. Fill in your own pun-based joked about lightning, since it really does kinda seem like Bolte dropped out of the sky to give a jolt of energy to fantasy teams lately. Bolte has the fewest at bats of anyone on this list, but after a monster game on Wednesday has compiled enough production to look like a speed-heavy five category threat. He’s now hitting .274 with 41 runs scored, 8 homers, 30 RBI, and 15 steals in 332 at bats. Bolte is only 23, and I suspect we’ll see a fair amount of fantasy discussion about him in the coming months as we all try to figure out if he belongs on our future rosters.
Would you hold onto Matt McLain in a 16 team dynasty format? 30-man active roster with 10 NA and 10 IL spots max. We have to get our roster down to 30 next season, but my question is about this year. I was fortunate to have a bye this week, but need to activate a player. I doubt McLain makes my roster cut next year but what about ROS? Would you cut McLain or find another drop like a middle reliever? He is bench depth for off days only now. Thanks
Hey toolshed! Without knowing exactly how your league works or other options, my advice in a vacuum would be cut him. If it’s one of those situations where literally one or two extra runs or RBI could make a difference then you might lose a reliever instead, but depending on your format I wouldn’t even count on McLain producing positive value given how’s horrible he’s looked for most of the season now.