Bregman vs Suarez 2026 Fantasy Comparison

Alex Bregman’s Season

Bregman had a decent first and only season with the Boston Red Sox, though you could call it rough by his career standards. A quad injury limited him to just 114 G and hurt his counting stats significantly (18 HR, 62 RBI, 64 R), but his contact, discipline, and average figures were still strong (.273 AVG, .356 wOBA, 14.1% K%, 125 wRC+). Simply put, when Bregman was healthy, he was one of the best all-around players at the position.

Eugenio Suárez’s Power Surge

Over in Arizona and later Seattle, Suárez was having himself a career year. The 34-year-old slugger knocked 49 HR over major league walls and drove in a massive 118 RBI, both career highs. He even put his name into Mariners playoff lore with a 2 HR, 5 RBI performance that featured a game-winning grand slam in Game 6 of the ALCS. But with all that power and fly-ball generation came the cost of a scary 29.8% K% and .228 AVG.

2026 Projections Head-to-Head

Power and Home Runs

Bregman should see a boost in homers in a full healthy season with a Wrigley-backed power boost. FGDC projections from FanGraphs expect him to hit a total of 23 HR with 83 RBI.

Suárez is expected to slug more, but not nearly as much as he did in 2025. Given his age and landing spot uncertainty, FanGraphs FGDC expects 32 HR and 92 RBI.

Contact and Average

Contact and getting on base are Bregman’s stronger skills, but Wrigley is more pitcher-friendly for contact. FanGraphs still expects a solid average for him in 2026, but at .250 it would be the second-lowest of his career. With the power/contact tradeoff being somewhat even, Bregman’s projections for runs still see an uptick at 88.

For Suárez, this is his weakness, and age-based decline gets factored in here as well. The FGDC projections expect a further drop down to .222, with his slide in both power and contact leading to a dip in runs to 75.

Key Factors

Team and Park Context

As we alluded to before, Wrigley Field (hitter-friendly for HR, pitcher-friendly for nearly all else) is going to have an interesting effect on Bregman as a hitter. It’s almost the exact opposite of Fenway Park (pitcher-friendly for HR and 3B, hitter-friendly for nearly all else). The tiebreaker for his counting stats will be the Cubs lineup, which was all-around better than the Red Sox in 2025.

Sadly, this is still an unknown for Suárez, since he’s still out on the open market looking for his next contract. If he returns to Seattle, he won’t have to adjust and has a strong lineup around him. But most of his power in 2025 came in Arizona, which is a contributor to why his 2026 projections are lower since Seattle, Boston, and Pittsburgh are all bottom-10 in HR Park Factor for righties.

Risks

Injuries and playing time affected via said injuries will be the biggest concern for Bregman after his quad issues in 2025. This is more of a concern given he’s entering his age-32 season, where regression from that physical decline can affect power and even make him more prone to strikeouts.

That makes things a bit more concerning for Suárez, who is even older at 34. He isn’t quite at the true power age risk of 35 and showed that at 33 hitters can have their best power years, but more often than not players will continue to decline at this age. And from a fantasy perspective, his historically low average is certainly something that will need to be considered and shored up through the rest of your roster as you draft.

Final Recommendation

Time’s up. Who do we draft here?

Overall, that would be Bregman. We have more information on his situation — which is a good one — he’s younger, and he’s a far more balanced hitter. The start of age-based decline, risk of another nagging injury, and limited ceiling are his biggest knocks, and none of them are huge red flags.

However, if in this hypothetical draft we’ve already secured players with strong averages and runs scored and need power and run production (or drafting in an HR-heavy format), Suárez is the pick. Even if he has a down year from 2025, he’ll outslug and drive in more runs than Bregman, with a higher ceiling if he can reconnect with what made him crush so many balls over MLB walls last season. Be sure to keep tabs on where he signs, as that fit or lack thereof will be a big factor in just how his outlook and ADP compare to Bregman when your real draft day arrives.

People Also Ask

Who has the higher fantasy value in 2026: Bregman or Suárez?
Bregman edges out in terms of consistency, while Suárez does so for power.

What is Alex Bregman’s fantasy impact on the Cubs?
Wrigley’s hitter-friendly nature and the stronger Cubs lineup should boost Bregman’s counting stats.

What is Eugenio Suárez’s 2026 outlook after his 49 HR 2025 season?
Suárez’s history of hitting for power has projections slotting him at 30+ HR, which while still strong is a regression from last season.

Who is the best mid-tier third baseman for 2026?
It truly is Bregman and Suárez. These two anchor the debates beyond the top tiers. Which of them is best depends on what your fantasy roster needs.

Bregman vs. Suárez: Who is better based on 2026 projections?
Bregman is expected to perform better for AVG and R, while Suárez projects better in HR and RBI.