Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft, 3.0: Fred Zinkie's full results from his 2 favorite picks to have in 2026

There are two drafts slots that I like this fantasy baseball season, and they have one thing in common — they both involve picking one slot away from a turn. Yes, picks 2 and 11 are my favorite ones in a 12-team league. Let’s map out each of these two spots, which will include some tips on how a smart manager can manipulate the team that is picking on the turn.

Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season Please note that this is a plan for a head-to-head categories league. Pick 2 Strategy Round 1 (2 nd overall): Shohei Ohtani, UTIL, LAD— This is the best slot in the draft, as there is no wrong answer between Aaron Judge and Ohtani. Starting your roster with one of those players provides a massive advantage over the competition.

Round 2 (23 rd overall): Cristopher Sánchez, SP, PHI — If a top hitter falls unexpectedly far, I’ll wait one more round on a starter and allow the manager on the turn to choose their ace. If not, I’ll happily draft Sánchez, whom I prefer over Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Round 3 (26 th overall): Trea Turner, SS, PHI — With a 50-homer player on my roster, it makes sense to grab a balanced contributor who leans slightly toward the stolen bases and batting average categories.

Round 4 (47 th overall): Cole Ragans, SP, KC — You’ll start to notice a trend, as I will draft one hitter and one pitcher on most turns. In this case, Ragans stands out over the remaining hurlers, which makes him my first choice. A healthy Ragans will produce 200 strikeouts and stellar ratios.