Preseason Prep – February 18, 2026
Alex Bregman, 3B, Cubs
Alex Bregman is getting another venue change in 2026, this time with the Cubs after slashing .273/.360/.462 with 64 runs, 18 home runs, and 62 RBI in 114 games for Boston last season. His plate discipline remains as good as ever, as he posted a 19.8% chase rate (95th percentile), 15.0% whiff rate (92nd), 14.1% strikeout rate (88th), and 10.3% walk rate (73rd). However, the move to Wrigley Field is concerning. Bregman gets his power through his ability to pull the ball in the air, as evidenced by his 24.4% pull air rate last season. While that works great in Houston and Boston, Wrigley is one of the least ideal ballparks for that approach. With deeper corners and winds that can knock down the ball, it’s fair to expect some power regression from the third baseman in 2026. Still, it’s a weak position, so he’s still locked in a top-10 option at the position even if you expect a step back.
Jorge Polanco, 2B, Mets
Jorge Polanco had a career resurgence in 2025, slashing .265/.326/.495 with 64 runs, 26 home runs, 78 RBI, and 6 stolen bases in 138 games for the Mariners. The 32-year-old signed with the Mets this offseason, which gives him the opportunity to hit in a better lineup and a better home ballpark. He doesn’t stand out in any one category of underlying metrics, but is above average in most. While it’s unlikely he turns into a star option at the position again, his current ADP as the 16th second baseman drafted does not line up with the most recent production he’s shown. He finished as the 7th most valuable second baseman in 5×5 roto in 2025, making him a great option if you wait at the position on draft day. If multi-position eligibility is important to you, he’ll also pick up first base eligibility early in the season for New York.
Marcus Semien, 2B, Mets
Marcus Semien continued to regress in 2025, batting .230 with 62 runs, 15 home runs, 62 RBI, and 11 stolen bases in 127 games. He’ll have a chance to rebound with a change of scenery in 2026, after being traded to the Mets in exchange for Brandon Nimmo. While Semien clearly isn’t the 45-homer superstar he was previously in his career, he still has the opportunity to be a useful fantasy player, especially with an ADP around 200. His quality of contact metrics weren’t good, posting a hard-hit rate of just 35%, but he was never a sabermetric standout. Even when he was one of the best hitters in the league, his hard-hit rate only graded out as league average. Don’t expect a return to superstardom, but Semien can still be a great draft day value with 20 HR, 15 SB upside going late in drafts.
Bo Bichette, SS, Mets
Bo Bichette returned to form in 2025 after a dreadful 2024, slashing .311/.357/.483 with 78 runs, 18 home runs, 94 RBI, and 4 steals in 139 games. He signed a 3-year, $126 million contract with the Mets this offseason and is set to be their starting third baseman. He continues to show why he’s one of the best contact hitters in the sport, posting a 98th percentile xBA of .295. While most prolific contact hitters lack power, Bichette also posted a 48.8% hard-hit rate (83rd percentile) and a .473 xSLG (78th percentile). It figures to be another productive season for the 27-year-old, with plenty of RBI opportunities if he hits behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. The incoming third base eligibility makes him even more valuable, as it looks like he’ll begin as a top-8 fantasy option at the position, at worst.
Brandon Nimmo, OF, Rangers
Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Rangers in exchange for Marcus Semien this offseason, and he’ll look to continue his recent trend of solid production at his new home. In 2025, he slashed .262/.324/.436 with 81 runs, 25 home runs, 92 RBI, and 13 stolen bases in 155 games. Nimmo has a track record of being good but not great, with his standout metrics being a hard-hit rate of 50.2% and an average exit velocity of 91.9 mph, which both rank in the 88th percentile. He’ll most likely provide a batting average that won’t hurt you with 20-25 home runs and 10-15 stolen bases, and he should get plenty of chances to rack up counting stats as the expected leadoff hitter for the Rangers.
Caleb Durbin, 3B, Red Sox
Caleb Durbin was traded to the Red Sox this offseason after slashing .256/.334/.387 with 60 runs, 11 home runs, 53 RBI, and 18 stolen bases in 136 games for the Brewers during his rookie year. His quality of contact and power metrics are extremely limited, as his exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and bat speed all rank in the 6th percentile or worse. However, he makes up for that with great bat-to-ball skills, posting a 98th percentile 9.9% strikeout rate and 96th percentile 13% whiff rate. He doesn’t have the makings of a fantasy superstar, but he’s a nice target late in drafts as an infield option if you need speed. The move to Fenway definitely helps, as the Green Monster will help with the limited power that he does have.
Byron Buxton, OF, Twins
Byron Buxton truthers finally rejoiced in 2025, as he hit .264 with97 runs, 35 home runs, 83 RBI, and 24 stolen bases in 126 games. That stat line is impressive enough over a full season, let alone just the 126 contests that he did play in. It proved what we knew all along, that Buxton is one of the best players in baseball when he is actually on the field. That has been the one and only downside that has suppressed him for his entire career, and that’s especially evident when it seems like 126 games is a best-case scenario for the outfielder. The 32-year-old features extreme speed with a 100th percentile sprint speed and elite power with a 96th percentile hard-hit rate. He truly has the skills to put up a 40 HR, 40 SB season, although it’s not realistic to expect him to play enough games to make that happen. Still, with an ADP around 75th overall, that is a price worth paying for league-winning upside. In deep 15-teamers, it’s understandable to be cautious due to the injuries, but in shallower leagues, the upside is worth taking a chance on at that price.
Bryan Reynolds, OF, Pirates
Bryan Reynolds has been known as one of the most consistent hitters in baseball, posting extremely similar seasons from 2021 to 2024, which usually warranted drafting him within the top 100 picks of fantasy drafts. Over that span, he averaged 25 home runs, 81 RBI, 81 runs, and 9 steals while batting .276. However, that came crashing down in 2025 when he hit just .245 with 68 runs, 16 home runs, 73 RBI, and three steals. That doesn’t tell the full story, though, as his expected stats looked much better. The outfielder posted a .259 xBA and .447 xSLG, and the rest of his underlying metrics didn’t look that far off from his previous results, either. This could be a case of bad luck for a season, especially considering he was back to his normal self in the second half, where he slashed .276/.364/.453. He’s now being drafted outside of the top 40 at the position, making him one of the better values in 2026 drafts.
Trent Grisham, OF, Yankees
Trent Grisham had one of the most surprising breakouts of 2026, slashing .235/.348/.464 with 87 runs, 34 home runs, and 74 RBI in 143 games for the Yankees. He re-signed with them on a qualifying offer for 2026, and figures to once again function as their leadoff hitter on most days. His underlying stats completely backed up the performance, too. His .498 xSLG ranked in the 91st percentile, to go along with a 14.2% barrel rate (89th percentile), 17.3% chase rate (99th percentile), and 14.1% walk rate (96th percentile). With all that in mind, you’d expect there to be a substantial cost for him in drafts, but that’s not the case. He is going outside of the top 200 overall and outside of the top 55 outfielders drafted, which is mind-boggling considering how he just performed last year. Even with some regression, there’s plenty of room to regress and still finish as a top-40 option at the position as the leadoff hitter for one of the best offenses in baseball.
Justin Crawford, OF, Phillies
Justin Crawford is ranked at number 53 on MLB.com’s top prospect list, and he is expected to start the season as the Phillies’ everyday center fielder. Son of former big leaguer Carl Crawford, Justin brings the same dynamic speed as his dad. In 112 games in Triple-A in 2025, he slashed .334/.411/.452 with 88 runs, 7 home runs, 47 RBI, and 46 stolen bases. That marked his third consecutive season of 40+ steals, and he excels at making contact, as evidenced by his 18% strikeout rate. The biggest hurdle in terms of unlocking additional power will be improving on his high groundball rate, but he doesn’t need power to be fantasy relevant when he has game-breaking speed. The 22-year-old will hit at the bottom of the order but will have ample opportunities to score runs with Turner, Schwarber, and Harper ready to drive him in. All in all, Crawford is a great late-round target if you need steals in roto leagues.
Dylan Cease, SP, Padres
Dylan Cease disappointed in 2025, posting a 4.55 ERA and 1.33 WHIP, which were way off from the 3.47 ERA and 1.07 WHIP he put up in 2024. The strange part about his performance is that his underlying metrics between the two seasons look nearly identical. In 2024, he posted a 3.44 xFIP, 3.46 SIERA, .210 xBA, and 29.4% strikeout rate. In 2025, he delivered a 3.56 xFIP, 3.58 SIERA, .216 xBA, and 29.8% strikeout rate. The most likely explanation for such a large discrepancy in actual stats is that he overperformed and got lucky in 2024, and underperformed and got unlucky in 2025. That would leave his true outcome somewhere in the middle, which could still make him a great pick at his current ADP as the 19th-best starting pitcher. It’s also important to note that he went to the Blue Jays this offseason, and maybe that change of scenery could get him back on track to be closer to the 2024 version of himself.
George Kirby, SP, Mariners
George Kirby had a disappointing 2025, posting a 4.21 ERA and 1.19 WHIP after missing the first month and a half due to shoulder inflammation. However, those stats are deeply exaggerated by a handful of bad starts. For instance, he allowed 11 runs in his first two starts back from the injured list, where he could be understandably shaking off some rust. If you remove these starts, suddenly he has a much better 3.68 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. If you remove two other starts where he gave up a combined 14 runs, that brings his ERA down to 2.77 and his WHIP to 0.98. Those are the same ace numbers we are used to seeing from him, and he delivered them in 19 of his 23 starts in the year. The most encouraging sign of all was seeing his strikeout rate rise from 23% to 26.1%, as that was his one weakness, even when he was being drafted as an ace for fantasy. Now with an ADP of SP 17, you can safely draft him as your second starting pitcher, knowing that he has a chance to return to his former top-12 form.
Joe Ryan, SP, Twins
Joe Ryan had a great 2025, throwing a career-high 171 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 194 strikeouts, and 39 walks. There was nothing new or groundbreaking in his skillset that was revealed, as he continued to be the same pitcher he has always been. His groundball rate runs on the low side (36.9%), which leads to more home runs and a higher ERA than you would typically expect from an ace, but his immaculate control and WHIP make up for that. Ryan has a career 1.06 WHIP in his five major league seasons, which is consistency and excellence at a category that is tough to find. The 29-year-old also posted an elite 28.2% strikeout rate, but his total number of strikeouts is usually limited by his lack of true “workhorse” volume. All in all, it makes Ryan a great whip anchor to target, ideally as your second starting pitcher in drafts.
Trey Yesavage, SP, Blue Jays
Trey Yesavage made a huge impression late in 2025, getting called up on September 15 and striking out 16 while allowing five runs over 14 innings in three starts. While that may not look too notable, he took it up another notch in the playoffs, with his most memorable performance being a 12-strikeout gem over seven innings against the Dodgers in the World Series. All in all, in eight starts between the regular season and postseason, he posted a 3.46 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with a 32.2% strikeout rate in 41.2 innings pitched. The strikeout stuff is legit, as he struckout 160 batters in 98 minor league innings in 2025, after being drafted only a year earlier in 2024. He features a unique arm angle that sees him throwing the ball almost completely vertically over his head, which is something that hitters aren’t used to seeing, which makes it tough to adjust to. There is obviously risk in drafting any young pitcher, but Yesavage has the chance to be one of the biggest breakouts of the 2026 season if he can carry his limited sample size success into a full season.
Nolan McLean, SP, Mets
Nolan McLean had an impressive debut, posting a 2.06 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with a 30.3% strikeout rate in eight starts after being called up in 2025. He posted an elite 60.2% groundball rate, but the elite strikeout rate may have been a bit of good luck. He only put up a 27.2% mark in the minors, and it would be very strange to see a three percent increase upon being called up to the majors. He doesn’t have the overpowering stuff that some other top prospects do, so a 24% mark may be a more realistic expectation. That doesn’t mean he can’t still be a great starting pitcher for fantasy, but don’t expect the same upside as someone like Chase Burns or Bubba Chandler.