These 7 players will define the 2026 fantasy baseball season

Although every player matters, some have greater potential than others to swing the fantasy baseball standings in one direction or another. Here are the players who are most likely to make an enormous impact on leagues this season. Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season Ronald Acuña Jr.

, OF, Atlanta Braves The range of outcomes for Acuña is massive. He could be the biggest first-round bust if he plays in fewer than 100 games for a third straight season. Or, he could combine his tremendous plate skills (.

935 OPS in 2025) with a renewed base-running aggressiveness to challenge Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani for fantasy supremacy. The Braves addition of first base coach Antoan Richardson, who is credited with keying the Mets’ base- stealing aggressiveness last year , is another reason to believe that Acuña is on the cusp of a memorable bounce-back season. Bobby Witt Jr.

, SS, Kansas City Royals This is the year that Witt puts it all together and wins an AL MVP award. The 25-year-old was amazing at the dish in 2024 (. 977 OPS), which allowed him to finish second on every voter’s ballot.