Redrafting the First Two Rounds of 2026 Fantasy Baseball One Quarter into the Season

2026 Fantasy Baseball: Redrafting the first two rounds now that the season is a quarter over

Ben Rice and Drake Baldwin have put themselves in the discussion even as catcher-eligible players

By Scott White

May 12, 2026 at 9:25 am ET • 10 min read

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In-season Fantasy Baseball content mostly amounts to who to add, who to drop, and what the latest line score means. As such, the top-end talent that occupies most of our attention during Draft Prep season tends to fall by the wayside.

But things are changing at the top, too -- not as much as you might think, but enough that it's worth revisiting a few times a year. Now that this year is a quarter of the way done (yes, really), I'd say we're due for such a visit.

My preferred way to go about it is to redraft for the first two rounds. Drafting is the backbone of Fantasy Baseball, after all, and that early portion of the draft became so well-worn that everyone can spot the differences in an instant.

I'll admit the process involved more hair-pulling than I expected. There were about 16 players who had to be in, and about 18 others who could be in. That adds up to 34 when I was only looking for 24. I address some of the near misses at the end.

Note that the only consideration here was how a player will perform going forward . The numbers that he's already banked don't count for anything except for the psychological toll that they take on us. I try to resist that, but I am probably more susceptible to it than I'd like to admit.

Note also that this self-redraft was conducted with Rotisserie leagues in mind, though at the end of the article, I do depict how things would change in Head-to-Head points.

Round 1 1

Aaron Judge New York Yankees RF Judge's strikeout rate has crept up a little bit, turning his batting average more ordinary, but even in spite of that, he's been more or less the top hitter in Fantasy so far. If anything, he'll correct up from here. 2

Shohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers DH The gap between Nos. 1 and 2 has widened over the first quarter, though less because of Ohtani's early-season slump than his new tendency to forgo hitting on the days that he pitches. It's happened three of the last four times he's pitched, and if it continues, it'll create a meaningful separation with Judge. 3

Bobby Witt Kansas City Royals SS The home runs have begun to pick up for Witt, with all five coming in his past 14 games, and the underlying data never gave reason for pause. The run and RBI production also needs to pick up for him to measure up to this price tag, but as long as he does his thing at the dish, it will. 4

Jose Ramirez Cleveland Guardians 3B The 33-year-old Ramirez is trending toward a career high in stolen bases for the third straight season, which helps make up for his unexpected shortfalls in batting average and RBI. Everything under the hood looks normal, so in the areas where he's falling short, you can trust regression to do its work. 5

Juan Soto New York Mets LF Soto is now firmly behind Ramirez because he appears to have lost his nerve as a base-stealer without first base coach Antoan Richardson, who's now with the Braves . Whatever disappointment you're feeling otherwise is partly a product of Soto playing 60 percent as much as everyone else because of a calf injury. 6

Yordan Alvarez Houston Astros DH Caution was warranted in drafts after a lost season for the somewhat brittle slugger, but it's not like what Alvarez is doing now is unfamiliar to anyone. His unexpected pickup of outfield eligibility may have earned him another three spots here. 7

Elly De La Cruz Cincinnati Reds SS De La Cruz has mostly sustained his strikeout gains from a year ago while doing a better job putting the ball in the air this year -- two developments that explain why his numbers have come to be what they are. He may even be a little behind his eventual stolen base pace. 8

Ronald Acuna Jr. Atlanta Braves RF We don't need to factor in any additional lost time for injury, seeing as Acuna is expected back from his hamstring strain this weekend. Though he was a little off prior to the injury, his strikeout rate and launch angle are both the best they've been in years, and he's also shown a renewed willingness to run this year. I'm betting this ends up being too low rather than too high. 9

Paul Skenes Pittsburgh Pirates P Skenes gets a boost here simply by virtue of what's happened to Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet , as well as many of the other pitchers who were regarded as aces just a month and a half ago. If you want the best pitcher in Fantasy Baseball, it's now indisputably him. 10

Corbin Carroll Arizona Diamondbacks LF Carroll's exit velocities are down, which may be related to the hamate bone injury he suffered prior to the season, but he's performed respectably in spite of that. The diminished hand strength is the sort of thing that improves over time, and I think his track record is such that you can accept the slightly reduced production now in the hopes of a big payoff later. 11

Kyle Tucker Los Angeles Dodgers RF I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at all concerned about Tucker, given how poorly he finished last season, but his upside in the Dodgers lineup is so incredibly high. Some of his underlying data is a little off, but not to the point of suggesting he's unsalvageable at age 29. Trust in the track record. 12

Junior Caminero Tampa Bay Rays 3B Caminero's expected stats are a little better than last year's, even though actual ones lag behind. There's a sense he's been disappointing early on, but if you project his 11 homers at the quarter-way point over a full season, well, he's right back at the 45 he had last year (close enough, anyway). Round 2 1

Julio Rodriguez Seattle Mariners CF Rodriguez hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but compared to his first quarter in seasons past, he's been downright Ruthian. The notorious slow starter could easily surge to another 30/30 campaign, and by whatever amount he's lagging in the counting stats, his OPS is almost identical to a year ago. 2

Nick Kurtz Athletics 1B Kurtz may have started out slowly (he did last year, too), but he's quickly rounding into form with even higher-quality contact than a year ago and a Baseball Savant page that's shaded a deep red. He's walking a ton, showing a new aggression on the base paths, and all in all shaping up for a massive final three-quarters of the season. 3

Kyle Schwarber Philadelphia Phillies LF Schwarber has remained one of the majors' most prolific home run hitters, with all the run and RBI production that comes with it. His strikeouts have gone up this season, which has had an adverse effect on his batting average, but if that's all that we're asking to normalize, you can feel pretty secure with him. 4

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Toronto Blue Jays 1B OK, yeah, two home runs through this point in the season is pretty disappointing for Guerrero, but he had just four home runs a quarter of the way through each of the past two seasons. These power droughts are common for him because of the suboptimal angle the ball takes off his bat, but his career-best strikeout rate and 99th percentile xBA should inspire optimism. 5

Matt Olson Atlanta Braves 1B The top hitter in Head-to-Head points leagues pretty much has to make this list, and we've seen Olson sustain numbers this good over a full season before (he set a franchise record with 54 homers in 2023). I think the ebb and flow of the season ultimately puts him closer to Pete Alonso and Bryce Harper than he seems right now, but there isn't a more obvious choice for No. 17. 6

Chris Sale Atlanta Braves SP So far, Sale is looking like he could give Skenes a run for NL Cy Young, and if not for a fractured rib, he likely would have last year as well. The main thing separating the two in these rankings is the 37-year-old's injury history, but the fact he's healthy now is more than you can say for a lot of aces. 7

Drake Baldwin Atlanta Braves C So much about Baldwin's hitting profile as a rookie seemed pretty close to perfect, and that's gotten more of a chance to play out than anyone would have imagined coming into the season. He's started every single game for the Braves, which is almost unheard of for a catcher, and has consistently batted in the top two spots, further distancing himself at the position with his run and RBI totals. 8

Ben Rice New York Yankees 1B Rice is trailing Baldwin in playing time because of some early benchings against left-handers, but that's begun to change now that he's providing the Yankees with yet another 1.100-OPS bat. Clearly, I expect that number to regress some, but this scenario was plausible enough, judging by last year's data set, which is what made Rice such a trendy draft pick. 9

Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego Padres RF Tatis' biggest flaw is exactly the same as Guerrero's (i.e., a suboptimal spray angle), only he doesn't have the superlative contact skills to soften the blow during these down stretches. He has at least continued to steal bases as aggressively as a year ago, and the surprise second eligibility should be enough to keep you invested in a player who we're used to seeing drafted much earlier than this. 10

Gunnar Henderson Baltimore Orioles 3B Henderson's profile has genuinely changed in the early going, possibly as an overcorrection for last year's underwhelming home run total. He's chasing more and has seen his pull-air rate double, which makes me genuinely curious who we're getting moving forward. He's a 24-year-old who was on a hall-of-fame trajectory prior to this year, though, so any rankings adjustments should be slow and measured. 11

Oneil Cruz Pittsburgh Pirates SS After reaching the lowest of lows a year ago, Cruz is looking like he may have achieved his final form, overcoming his struggles against left-handers, making full use of his speed, and finally converting his best-in-class raw power into functional power. It's with some trepidation that I rank him here, given that he's still striking out as much as ever, but at least in Roto, I don't see how you pass up a player with a combined 25 home runs and stolen bases already. 12

Jazz Chisholm New York Yankees 2B Despite all the blue on his Baseball Savant page, Chisholm still seems like he's going to be fine in the long run, with his exit velocity readings being only slightly down and his plate discipline readings being close to normal. You could make the case for a number of other players here, but Chisholm's dual eligibility at second and third base, particularly as a base-stealer, is just so handy in Roto. Why not _______?

James Wood Washington Nationals LF It came down to either Wood or Cruz, who raise many of the same downside concerns, and Cruz won out as the more prolific base-stealer of the two.

Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels CF If I had any assurances of him remaining healthy, I could easily find a spot for Trout, who's already defying the odds by bouncing back from career-worst numbers as completely as he has. Historically, health has been a losing bet with him.

C.J. Abrams Washington Nationals SS Abrams is ahead of his usual pace, sure, but the data set doesn't look so different for him, which has me thinking he'll regress to the mean in due time. He tends to come out of the gate hot, I should note.

Jackson Chourio Milwaukee Brewers CF The odds are still good that Chourio will pe

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/2026-fantasy-baseball-redrafting-the-first-two-rounds/)._