Fantasy Baseball 2026 Rankings Redo, Early April Edition

Early season observations at the position

Not ready to close the door on Raleigh yet, despite no home runs and an average well under .200. Some other stalwarts are struggling as well, let’s see where catcher stands.

1. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
2. Shea Langliers, Athletics
3. Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
4. William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
5. Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies
6. Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
7. Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
8. Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros
9. Agustin Ramirez, Miami Marlins
10. Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
11. Ivan Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals
12. Liam Hicks, Miami Marlins
13. Keibert Ruiz, Washington Nationals
14. Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers
15. Sam Basallo, Baltimore Orioles
16. Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks
17. J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies
18. Nick Fuentes, Tampa Bay Rays
19. Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays
20. Carson Kelly, Chicago Cubs

First Base Rankings for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

Why this position has been the roughest so far

I don’t think any position is off to a rougher start than first base. Yandy Diaz is leading the position in RBI, Matt Olson and Vinnie Pasquantino haven’t homered yet, Bryce Harper is hitting .120, and Josh Naylor and Nick Kurtz have one hit each at the time of this writing. These rankings won’t change much from late March as you have to figure guys will get it going and do you trust Ryan O’Hearn?

1. Pete Alonso, Baltimore Orioles
2. Vladimir Guerrero, Toronto Blue Jays
3. Nick Kurtz, Athletics
4. Rafael Devers, San Francisco Giants
5. Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
6. Ben Rice, New York Yankees
7. Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
8. Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
9. Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals
10. Sal Stewart, Cincinnati Reds
11. Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays
12. Spencer Torkelson, Detroit Tigers
13. Alec Burleson, St. Louis Cardinals
14. Josh Naylor, Seattle Mariners
15. Christian Walker, Houston Astros
16. Jake Burger, Texas Rangers
17. T.J. Rumfield, Colorado Rockies
18. Willson Contreras, Boston Red Sox
19. Ryan O’Hearn, Pittsburgh Pirates
20. Nolan Schanuel, Los Angeles Angels

Second Base Rankings for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

A mix of expected and surprise performers

Like others at the position, I am not ready to dump my preseason leader in Ketel Marte or my No. 2 Jazz Chisholm, despite slow starts. Unlike first base we have some guys doing what we hoped and some exceeding early expectations. If this continues these rankings could be quite fluid this season.

1. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
2. Jazz Chisholm, New York Yankees
3. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
4. Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
5. Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
6. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
7. Brandon Lowe, Pittsburgh Pirates
8. Brendan Donovan, Seattle Mariners
9. Luke Keaschall, Minnesota Twins
10. Luis Garcia, Washington Nationals
11. Luis Arraez , San Francisco Giants
12. Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays
13. Cole Young, Seattle Mariners
14. Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals
15. Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins
16. Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers
17. Jonathan India, Kansas City Royals
18. Marcus Semien, New York Mets
19. Matt McLain, Cincinnati Reds
20. Jake Cronenworth, San Diego Padres

Third Base Rankings for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

Disastrous starts for some big names

It has been a disastrous start for Junior Caminero, Manny Machado and Austin Riley who all just have five hits to this point with only two of those being for extra bases combined. Royce Lewis is miraculously still healthy, Munetaka Murakami is off to an amazing start, and Eugenio Suarez who always gets off to slow starts is killing it.

1. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
2. Eugenio Suarez, Cincinnati Reds
3. Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
4. Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
5. Alex Bregman, Chicago Cubs
6. Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
7. Muneta Murakami, Chicago White Sox
8. Maikel Garcia, Kansas City Royals
9. Matt Chapman, San Francisco Giants
10. Issac Paredes, Houston Astros
11. Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins
12. Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers
13. Kazuma Okamoto, Toronto Blue Jays
14. Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
15. Brett Baty, New York Mets
16. Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies
17. Matt Shaw, Chicago Cubs
18. Miguel Vargas, Chicago White Sox
19. Brady House, Washington Nationals
20. Nolan Arenado, Arizona Diamonbacks

Shortstop Rankings for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

Small-sample surprises at the position

Somehow Joey Ortiz has more home runs than Bobby Witt Jr., Trea Turner, Gunnar Henderson, Trevor Story, Mookie Betts, Dansby Swanson and Bo Bichette combined! Similar to first base we almost have to throw this week out for the group of shortstops as very few have really gotten into gear just yet.

1. Bobby Witt Jr, Kansa City Royals
2. Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds
3. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets
4. Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels
5. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers
6. Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
7. Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies
8. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
9. CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals
10. Jacob Wilson, Athletics
11. JJ Wetherholt, St Louis Cardinals
12. Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers
13. Joey Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers
14. Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros
15. Willy Adames, San Francisco Giants
16. Bo Bichette, New York Mets
17. Colson Montgomery, Chicago White Sox
18. Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies
19. Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox
20. Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres

Outfield Rankings for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

When to act quickly on breakouts

It has been slow out of the gate for Judge, but who really thinks that will last all season? Outfield is really one of the positions where you should act quickly if you see someone breaking out as you need a lot of them on your roster. Who do we believe in with the quick starts? Check it out.

1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
2. Juan Soto, New York Mets
3. Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
4. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
5. James Wood, Washington Nationals
6. Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs
7. Fernando Tatis, San Diego Padres
8. Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
9. Ronald Acuna, Atlanta Braves
10. Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
11. Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers
12. Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates
13. Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox
14. Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers
15. Luis Robert, New York Mets
16. Brent Rooker, Athletics
17. Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers
18. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
19. Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers
20. Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres
21. George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays
22. Teoscar Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers
23. Chase DeLauter, Cleveland Guardians
24. Taylor Ward, Baltimore Orioles
25. Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees
26. Tyler Soderstrom, Athletics
27. Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox
28. Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves
29. Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
30. Brandon Nimmo, Texas Rangers
31. Owen Caissie, Miami Marlins
32. Luke Railey, Seattle Mariners
33. Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox
34. Jorge Soler, Los Angeles Angels
35. Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs
36. Andrew McCutchen, Texas Rangers
37. Ramon Laureano, San Diego Padres
38. Joey Wiemer, Washington Nationals
39. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
40. Adolis Garcia, Philadelphia Phillies

Starting Pitcher Rankings for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

Why this position is the hardest to rank after one week

This is probably the most difficult position to do after a week. We all know pitchers can have one bad outing. Look at Paul Skenes on Opening Day as he was pulled after less than an inning. But he bounced back nicely. It cost him a spot in the rankings, but there’s no need to panic. Then other guys can be lights out for a day and then be terrible. So these are going to be very fluid for the first couple of months.

1. Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
2. Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox
3. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
4. Max Fried, New York Yankees
5. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
6. Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
7. Hunter Brown, Houston Astros
8. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
9. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
10. Dylan Cease, Toronto Blue Jays
11. Cam Schlitter, New York Yankees
12. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants
13. Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners
14. Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals
15. George Kirby, Seattle Mariners
16. Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins
17. Freddy Peralta, New York Mets
18. Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners
19. Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers
20. Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers
21. Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
22. Eury Perez, Miami Marlins
23. Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
24. Nick Pivetta, San Diego Padres
25. Mike Burrows, Houston Astros
26. Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels
27. Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians
28. Nolan McLean, New York Mets
29. Connelly Early, Boston Red Sox
30. Robby Ray, San Francisco Giants
31. Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds
32. Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins
33. Kodai Senga, New York Mets
34. Andrew Painter, Philadelphia Phillies
35. Zach Eflin, Baltimore Orioles
36. Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers
37. Sonny Gray, Boston Red Sox
38. Michael King, San Diego Padres
39. Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers
40. MacKenzie Gore, Texas Rangers

Relief Pitcher Rankings for 2026 Fantasy Baseball

Early closer situation remains mostly stable

Outside of Carlos Estevez hitting the IL for an “injury,” the closer carousel hasn’t been spinning too much in the first week. We have had a few unexpected saves, but overall for the most part, things have gone according to plan in the bullpens. With that in mind, here are your initial closer rankings.

1. Mason Miller, San Diego Padres
2. Edwin Diaz, Los Angeles Dodgers
3. Jhoan Duran, Philadelphia Phillies
4. Ryan Helsley, Baltimore Orioles
5. David Bednar, New York Yankees
6. Pete Fairbanks, Miami Marlins
7. Lucas Erceg, Kansas City Royals
8. Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox
9. Devin Williams, New York Mets
10. Andres Munoz, Seattle Mariners
11. Cade Smith, Cleveland Guardians
12. Jeff Hoffman, Toronto Blue Jays
13. Trevor Megill, Milwaukee Brewers
14. Paul Sewald, Arizona Diamondbacks
15. Jordan Romano, Los Angeles Angels
16. Tyler Alexander, Texas Rangers
17. Emilo Pagan, Cincinnati Reds
18. Daniel Palencia, Chicago Cubs
19. Bryan Abreu, Houston Astros
20. Ryan Walker, San Francisco Giants

2026 Fantasy Baseball Rankings Questions Answered

How much should I trust the first week of 2026 fantasy baseball rankings?
The first week gives us a small sample that can highlight real trends but is still mostly noise. Analytical rankings like these balance the early results with long-term talent and track record so beginners know which moves make sense and which ones are overreactions.

Why are some big stars missing from the top of the 2026 fantasy baseball rankings after opening week?
Several established players got off to slow starts in the first seven games. These rankings keep most of them high because one week is too short to change our view of proven talent.

Should beginners drop slow-starting players from their 2026 fantasy baseball teams?
In most cases no. Hold the players you drafted confidently unless they are clearly injured or have lost their role. The rankings here show where we still see value once the season settles in.

Who are the biggest movers in the early April 2026 fantasy baseball rankings?
A few rookies and under-the-radar veterans have jumped because of strong opening-week production. At the same time some veteran studs have slipped slightly but remain ranked inside the top tiers because of their proven track records.

When will these 2026 fantasy baseball rankings change again?
We update monthly or sooner if major injuries or role changes occur. The next full redo will come after roughly four weeks when the sample size becomes more reliable.

How do the 2026 fantasy baseball pitcher rankings differ from hitters after one week?
Starting pitchers are especially hard to rank after just one start because a single bad outing can happen to anyone. These rankings take a cautious approach and keep most aces high while watching for consistency.