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Fantasy Baseball 2026 May Rankings: Rest of Season Outlook

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Fantasy Baseball 2026 May Rankings: Rest of Season Outlook

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ryan Hallam | Last updated May 6, 2026 1:48 PM ET

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Another month is in the books in the fantasy baseball season, and while it seems like a long season, you’ll see a bunch of changes. It is not time to cut bait with some guys we had high hopes for before the season started, but another few weeks and it might be time to make some moves. We still have five months to go in the season, but let’s take a look at the rest of season rankings as we enter the month of May.

Catcher

Cal Raleigh has picked it up some, but he does drop out of the top spot based on a couple of other guys just ripping it up. We have several guys on this list that weren’t even on the April list, which makes this already tough position, even tougher.

#	Player	Team
1	Shea Langeliers	Athletics
2	Drake Baldwin	Atlanta Braves
3	Cal Raleigh	Seattle Mariners
4	William Contreras	Milwaukee Brewers
5	Hunter Goodman	Colorado Rockies
6	Salvador Perez	Kansas City Royals
7	Ivan Herrera	St. Louis Cardinals
8	Liam Hicks	Miami Marlins
9	Dillon Dingler	Detroit Tigers
10	Adley Rutschman	Baltimore Orioles
11	Ryan Jeffers	Minnesota Twins
12	Will Smith	Los Angeles Dodgers
13	Samuel Basallo	Baltimore Orioles
14	Carter Jensen	Kansas City Royals
15	Dalton Rushing	Los Angeles Dodgers
16	Moises Ballesteros	Chicago Cubs
17	Francisco Alvarez	New York Mets
18	Yainer Diaz	Houston Astros
19	Alejandro Kirk	Toronto Blue Jays
20	Austin Wells	New York Yankees

First Base

Munetaka Murakami’s explosive start has vaulted him toward fantasy baseball’s top overall first baseman ranking.Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There are big changes at the top here as well, as Murakami is just on another planet right now! And despite being left out of the lineup more than fantasy players (or Yankees fans) would like, you can’t ignore what Ben Rice is doing either. There’s still time for some of these veterans to get it going, but some others have passed them by.

#	Player	Team
1	Munetaka Murakami	Chicago White Sox
2	Matt Olson	Atlanta Braves
3	Ben Rice	New York Yankees
4	Sal Stewart	Cincinnati Reds
5	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	Toronto Blue Jays
6	Pete Alonso	Baltimore Orioles
7	Christian Walker	Houston Astros
8	Nick Kurtz	Athletics
9	Freddie Freeman	Los Angeles Dodgers
10	Rafael Devers	San Francisco Giants
11	Willson Contreras	Boston Red Sox
12	Bryce Harper	Philadelphia Phillies
13	Josh Naylor	Seattle Mariners
14	Jonathan Aranda	Tampa Bay Rays
15	Spencer Torkelson	Detroit Tigers
16	Alec Burleson	St. Louis Cardinals
17	Vinny Pasquantino	Kansas City Royals
18	Dominic Smith	Atlanta Braves
19	Yandy Diaz	Tampa Bay Rays
20	Jake Burger	Texas Rangers

Second Base

Ketel Marte continues delivering stable five-category fantasy baseball production despite growing middle infield volatility.Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Youth has invaded the top 12 at the position, while some veterans like Ozzie Albies and Brandon Lowe are exceeding my expectations. This position hasn’t been as deep as we hoped but there is still some very good talent at the keystone.

#	Player	Team
1	Ketel Marte	Arizona Diamondbacks
2	Ozzie Albies	Atlanta Braves
3	J.J. Wetherholt	St. Louis Cardinals
4	Brandon Lowe	Pittsburgh Pirates
5	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	New York Yankees
6	Jose Altuve	Houston Astros
7	Bryce Turang	Milwaukee Brewers
8	Nico Hoerner	Chicago Cubs
9	Luis Arraez	San Francisco Giants
10	Gleyber Torres	Detroit Tigers
11	Cole Young	Seattle Mariners
12	Jeremiah Jackson	Baltimore Orioles
13	Xavier Edwards	Miami Marlins
14	Luke Keaschall	Minnesota Twins
15	Bryson Stott	Philadelphia Phillies
16	Oswald Peraza	Los Angeles Angels
17	Edouard Julien	Colorado Rockies
18	Jeff McNeil	Athletics
19	Matt McLain	Cincinnati Reds
20	Jonathan India	Kansas City Royals

Third Base

Junior Caminero’s rapid emergence is reshaping fantasy baseball expectations at third base entering May 2026.Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

We had a couple of guys vault up these rankings with a fantastic April, but plenty others are disappointing from what we had hoped. Caminero is really knocking on the door of the top spot here, but I couldn’t kick Ramirez out just yet. You’ll also notice some aging veterans have tumbled down the list some.

#	Player	Team
1	Jose Ramirez	Cleveland Guardians
2	Junior Caminero	Tampa Bay Rays
3	Max Muncy	Los Angeles Dodgers
4	Manny Machado	San Diego Padres
5	Kazuma Okamoto	Toronto Blue Jays
6	Isaac Paredes	Houston Astros
7	Austin Riley	Atlanta Braves
8	Josh Jung	Texas Rangers
9	Eugenio Suarez	Cincinnati Reds
10	Alex Bregman	Chicago Cubs
11	Matt Chapman	San Francisco Giants
12	Brendan Donovan	Seattle Mariners
13	Maikel Garcia	Kansas City Royals
14	Miguel Vargas	Chicago White Sox
15	Nolan Gorman	St. Louis Cardinals
16	Bo Bichette	New York Mets
17	Nolan Arenado	Arizona Diamondbacks
18	Royce Lewis	Minnesota Twins
19	Matt Shaw	Chicago Cubs
20	Alec Bohm	Philadelphia Phillies

Shortstop

Elly De La Cruz has reclaimed elite fantasy baseball value following a dominant offensive April performance.Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bobby Witt Jr. does fall out of the top spot with his disappointing start and Elly De La Cruz ripping it up. Konnor Griffin is now in the Majors and is making a nice name for himself early, while Colson Montgomery probably made the largest leap. Outside of the top 10 we see a lot of guys having decent seasons but nothing that is making you win your league as of now.

#	Player	Team
1	Elly De La Cruz	Cincinnati Reds
2	Bobby Witt Jr.	Kansas City Royals
3	Francisco Lindor	New York Mets
4	Gunnar Henderson	Baltimore Orioles
5	Corey Seager	Texas Rangers
6	C.J. Abrams	Washington Nationals
7	Zach Neto	Los Angeles Angels
8	Colson Montgomery	Chicago White Sox
9	Konnor Griffin	Pittsburgh Pirates
10	Kevin McGonigle	Detroit Tigers
11	Trea Turner	Philadelphia Phillies
12	Dansby Swanson	Chicago Cubs
13	Mookie Betts	Los Angeles Dodgers
14	Jacob Wilson	Athletics
15	Xander Bogaerts	San Diego Padres
16	Willy Adames	San Francisco Giants
17	Jose Caballero	New York Yankees
18	Trevor Story	Boston Red Sox
19	Otto Lopez	Miami Marlins
20	Jeremy Pena	Houston Astros

Outfield

Yordan Alvarez is reestablishing himself among fantasy baseball’s most impactful offensive outfield contributors this season.© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Judge woke up last month, while Yordan Alvarez is showing us what he can do when he is healthy. Fernando Tatis Jr . is still scuffling, while some injuries have caused shifts in the rankings. Are Jordan Walker, Chase DeLauter, and Mickey Moniak for real? Can Mike Trout really stay healthy? Will Pete Crow-Armstrong, Jackson Merrill, and Brent Rooker get it together?

#	Player	Team
1	Aaron Judge	New York Yankees
2	Yordan Alvarez	Houston Astros
3	Kyle Schwarber	Philadelphia Phillies
4	Juan Soto	New York Mets
5	James Wood	Washington Nationals
6	Corbin Carroll	Arizona Diamondbacks
7	Kyle Tucker	Chicago Cubs
8	Julio Rodriguez	Seattle Mariners
9	Ronald Acuna Jr.	Atlanta Braves
10	Oneil Cruz	Pittsburgh Pirates
11	Fernando Tatis Jr.	San Diego Padres
12	Byron Buxton	Minnesota Twins
13	Riley Greene	Detroit Tigers
14	Cody Bellinger	New York Yankees
15	Ian Happ	Chicago Cubs
16	Jordan Walker	St. Louis Cardinals
17	Jackson Chourio	Milwaukee Brewers
18	Michael Harris II	Atlanta Braves
19	Mike Trout	Los Angeles Angels
20	Andy Pages	Los Angeles Dodgers
21	Seiya Suzuki	Chicago Cubs
22	Teoscar Hernandez	Los Angeles Dodgers
23	Mickey Moniak	Colorado Rockies
24	Chase DeLauter	Cleveland Guardians
25	Ramon Laureano	San Diego Padres
26	Angel Martinez	Cleveland Guardians
27	Jarren Duran	Boston Red Sox
28	Wyatt Langford	Texas Rangers
29	Pete Crow-Armstrong	Chicago Cubs
30	Brent Rooker	Athletics
31	Jackson Merrill	San Diego Padres
32	Luis Robert Jr.	New York Mets
33	Jorge Soler	Los Angeles Angels
34	Chandler Simpson	Tampa Bay Rays
35	Brandon Nimmo	Texas Rangers
36	Luke Raley	Seattle Mariners
37	Wilyer Abreu	Boston Red Sox
38	Ryan O’Hearn	Pittsburgh Pirates
39	Jo Adell	Los Angeles Angels
40	Jac Caglianone	Kansas City Royals

Starting Pitcher

Paul Skenes continues separating himself atop fantasy baseball starting pitcher rankings entering May 2026.Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Massive injuries to Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet have turned the starting pitching rankings upside down. The top aces who have not gotten injured have mostly performed and Cam Schlittler and Jose Soriano continue to dazzle. There are a bunch of good young arms that are doing well and you’ll see have entered the rankings, but there are many changes here.

#	Player	Team
1	Paul Skenes	Pittsburgh Pirates
2	Shohei Ohtani	Los Angeles Dodgers
3	Max Fried	New York Yankees
4	Cristopher Sanchez	Philadelphia Phillies
5	Dylan Cease	Toronto Blue Jays
6	Chris Sale	Atlanta Braves
7	Cam Schlittler	New York Yankees
8	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	Los Angeles Dodgers
9	Hunter Brown	Houston Astros
10	Logan Webb	San Francisco Giants
11	Kevin Gausman	Toronto Blue Jays
12	Logan Gilbert	Seattle Mariners
13	Freddy Peralta	New York Mets
14	George Kirby	Seattle Mariners
15	Jose Soriano	Los Angeles Angels
16	Jacob Misiorowski	Milwaukee Brewers
17	Nolan McLean	New York Mets
18	Chase Burns	Cincinnati Reds
19	Tyler Glasnow	Los Angeles Dodgers
20	Garrett Crochet	Boston Red Sox
21	Will Warren	New York Yankees
22	Jacob deGrom	Texas Rangers
23	Bryan Woo	Seattle Mariners
24	Taj Bradley	Minnesota Twins
25	Gavin Williams	Cleveland Guardians
26	Shota Imanaga	Chicago Cubs
27	Cole Ragans	Kansas City Royals
28	Parker Messick	Cleveland Guardians
29	Ranger Suarez	Boston Red Sox
30	Robbie Ray	San Francisco Giants
31	Michael King	San Diego Padres
32	Eury Perez	Miami Marlins
33	Sandy Alcantara	Miami Marlins
34	Framber Valdez	Detroit Tigers
35	Foster Griffin	Washington Nationals
36	Jesus Luzardo	Philadelphia Phillies
37	Ryan Weathers	New York Yankees
38	Emerson Hancock	Seattle Mariners
39	Joe Ryan	Minnesota Twins
40	MacKenzie Gore	Texas Rangers

Relief Pitcher

Mason Miller remains fantasy baseball’s most dominant relief pitcher despite constant bullpen volatility throughout baseball.David Frerker-Imagn Images

It has been a heck of a start to the year for closers. We have had many injuries already, and then several more that have already been removed from the job. That has opened the door for opportunity for others to take the ball and run with it, and we have watched that too. This feels like it is going to be a crazy year trying to chase saves, so you will see a lot of changes in these rankings since the beginning of April.

#	Player	Team
1	Mason Miller	San Diego Padres
2	Jhoan Duran	Philadelphia Phillies
3	Aroldis Chapman	Boston Red Sox
4	Lucas Erceg	Kansas City Royals
5	David Bednar	New York Yankees
6	Cade Smith	Cleveland Guardians
7	Andres Munoz	Seattle Mariners
8	Ryan Helsley	Baltimore Orioles
9	Devin Williams	New York Mets
10	Riley O’Brien	St. Louis Cardinals
11	Bryan Baker	Tampa Bay Rays
12	Paul Sewald	Arizona Diamondbacks
13	Seranthony Dominguez	Chicago White Sox
14	Kenley Jansen	Detroit Tigers
15	Louis Varland	Toronto Blue Jays
16	Emilio Pagan	Cincinnati Reds
17	Trevor Megill	Milwaukee Brewers
18	Tanner Scott	Los Angeles Dodgers
19	Jacob Latz	Texas Rangers
20	Raisel Iglesias	Atlanta Braves