Pitchers and Catchers have officially reported! So have most fielders, the vast majority of whom have intact hamate bones. The season is officially in range, so how about we get cracking with our first OF rankings of 2026!
PSYCHE! Before we jump to Outfield rankings, a reminder to go sign up for one or two of our Razzball Commenter Leagues HERE. They are free 12-team roto leagues where you get to play against all your favorite writers and commenters for prizes! Alright, back to regularly scheduled programming.
I decided to do something radical this year and objectively quantify my rankings. I aggregated 4 projection systems and then did a little math-ing to convert that into auction values. I use these (loosely) during auctions, but I realized they also work as a rankings system, so here we go! I semi-intentionally undervalue steals, so when actually assembling a team, I account for that and buy a few players above my values for stats balance. But anyways, here are my top 30 with my values and their MAV (Median Auction Value) below, on guys I have a bit different from their MAV. And yes, going with MAV instead of AAV, though there is very little difference.
Brent Rooker
$29.62 vs $24 MAV
I don’t go on the X-machine much these days, but I have come across Rooker tweets here and there, and he’s a great follow and comes off as a super interesting and fun guy. Last I checked, though, we don’t count social media engagement in Fantasy, though, who am I to know? It does make him an easy guy to root for, and I’m happy that projections suggest that he’s a shade underpriced.
I’m apparently not the only one, as he went for $28 in the Online Auction I did a couple weeks ago. Needless to say, I agree! He’s playing in the Sutter Health Bandbox in Sacramento and bats in the middle of what looks like a potent lineup. He’s a strong plus in the power and runs stats, a modest positive in batting average, and non-zero in steals. What’s odd is that his price has increased slightly from 2025 drafts despite declining from a .293/.365/.562 39 homer, 11 steal season in 2024 to .262/.335/.479, 30 homers and 6 steals in 2025 despite the big upgrade in home park. He does enter 2026 with OF eligibility vs. UT in 2025, but still….
Out in the wild, I’d rather have Chourio and his superstar 5 category upside even though I show them virtually equal in value. But again, I’m a Rooker buyer at the price.
James Wood
$21.02 vs. $25 MAV
It was a tale of two halves for Wood in 2025. He slashed .278/.381/.534 pre All Star break, with 24 homers, 12 steals, and a 27.6% K%, you can live with that kind of production. But then post ASB his K% exploded to 39% and his slash line cratered to .223/.301/.388, and he popped just 7 homers and swiped a mere 3 bags. He increased his EV from 93.6 to 95.4, but that doesn’t help much when you become a wind turbine.
Wood’s an enormous guy at 6’7”, 234 lbs, so it’s kind of scary in a Fantasy baseball sense to see him turn from a speedy Aaron Judge in the first half to Joey Gallo in the 2nd. He’s still just 23 years old with a huge upside. His projections look very similar to George Springer, but clearly there’s the potential for a great buy here. It just won’t likely be me, as at this price, I really want a better floor.
Teoscar Hernandez
$17.95 vs. $12 MAV
I’m not sure I totally agree with my numbers here, but they suggest he’s a screaming buy at price. He’s 33 with clearly declining skills, albeit batting in the middle of a traveling all star team.
The projection systems peg him to miss about 25 games, which lands pretty close to the 134 he played in last year. And my aggregate has him at 28 homers, 88 RBI’s and a .259 AVG. It felt like he had a disappointing 2025 yet the projections are pretty close to where he landed (25, 89, .247).
Jo Adell
$16.56 vs $12 MAV
Yes, the Angels look headed for an epically bad 2026 season. But they are not without a couple of bright spots like Zach Neto and Adell.
The one-time uber prospect finally put it together in 2025 as he popped 37 homers with 98 homers on a god-awful team. He even bumped his batting average from .207 to .236. And that may understate his improvement, as Statcast gave him an XBA of .260. The power metrics look very real, while the contact-oriented ones…not so much
But hey, his 26.4% is playable with that kind of pop. There are risks here, of course. He does not run any more as he had just 5 steals last year. And his OBP is still kind of lousy at .293. Oh and he has a really bad OF glove for a fast guy. Theoretically, that could cost him PA’s, but in Anaheim no one fields well.
Taylor Ward
$15.18 vs. $9 MAV
Ward had a pretty similar 2025 as his ex-teammate Adell, popping 36 homers but hitting just .228. Unlike Adell, it’s about what he deserved as he had just a .230 XBA.
Ward is 32 now, so there’s not much growth likely, but on the plus side, he has a new home in Baltimore, and he’s expected to lead off ahead of a loaded lineup. He won’t swipe many bags, but he does have good OBP skills as he has a 9.9% career BB%, and that will work ahead of Gunnar Henderson, Pete Alonso, and company. He’s projected for a .243 Avg, which won’t destroy your team, and should come with high 20’s homers and plusses in the counting stats. Count me in.
Tyler Soderstrom
$11.07 vs. $17 MAV
This one really goes against my pre-existing opinions, as I kind of liked what Soderstrom did last year. He hit .276 with 25 homers while pitching in 8 steals, despite getting displaced from his 1B home to Left Field on account of Nick Kurtz exploding onto the scene. He’s a high pedigree prospect in his own right and, like Rooker, gets the benefit of his home park.
Soderstrom is still just 24, but the projections just don’t see much (or any) growth as he’s pegged for a .258 average with 24 homers, 70 runs, and 81 RBI’s. And I’m not sure why. He showed pretty much plus power metrics with about average plate skills.
He figures to play virtually every day as his glove was good in left (+5 OAA), and he does not show major batting splits. Plus he’ll have dual 1B and OF eligibility for Fantasy. I have to disagree with myself on this one and buy him under his MAV but above my number.
Kyle Schwarber is OF eligible in Yahoo. Where would you rank him? Thanks!