The 2026 MLB season is almost here and that means you’re likely prepping for your fantasy baseball draft. One of the best ways to prepare is to do as many mock drafts as possible. Of course, sometimes it’s tough to find an accurate representation of your league settings by using the public mock draft lobby.
Not to fear! If you’re a Yahoo Fantasy+ subscriber, you have access to the Instant Mock Draft tool, allowing you to practice your draft in seconds. You can test different strategies, pick from various draft slots and experiment with roster construction as many times as you want, anytime, instantly. Now is a great time to subscribe to Yahoo Fantasy+, so you can use the wealth of tools for your draft prep
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[Yahoo Fantasy+ unlocks premium draft tools, player projections and more]
In this series, we’re going to be using the Instant Mock Draft tool to pick from each of the 12 slots in a 12-team fantasy baseball league. We’re of course beginning our series with the No. 1 overall pick. Who will it be? Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani? Let’s get after it.
Note: We’re using Yahoo’s default points league settings for these mock drafts.
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]
Full Roster
C: Shea Langeliers, Athletics
1B: Alec Burleson, Cardinals
2B: Brice Turang, Brewers
SS: Francisco Lindor, Mets
3B: Noelvi Marte, Reds
OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees
OF: Jackson Merrill, Padres
OF: Luis Robert, Mets
UTIL: Colson Montgomery, White Sox
UTIL: Jacob Wilson, Athletics
SP: Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies
SP: Jacob deGrom, Rangers
RP: David Bednar, Yankees
RP: Raisel Iglesias, Braves
P: Kyle Bradish, Orioles
P: Trevor Rogers, Orioles
P: Shane McClanahan, Rays
P: Ryan Weathers, Yankees
Bench: Dylan Crews, Nationals
Bench: Austin Wells, Yankees
Bench: Jac Caglianone, Royals
Bench: Abner Uribe, Brewers
Bench: Andrew Painter, Phillies
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Roster Analysis
Can’t go wrong at the top: I went with Judge over the Dodgers’ slugger but I don’t really think you can go wrong with either pick with the No. 1 overall choice — it’s that close. I’m a Yankees fan (yeah, yeah, whatever), so that factored in. It’s never bad to have your team’s best player on your fantasy squad, especially when it comes to Judge. I think the Yankees’ star has a slightly higher ceiling and I wonder if L.A. decides to rest Ohtani a bit more late in the season with the playoffs top of mind.
Roster building blocks: We took a balanced approach after my initial pick. Lindor is on track to play on Opening Day despite the hamate bone surgery. To me, he’s in a great offensive environment and you could argue he should be going in the first/early second round. I’ll take that value. I like the idea of having an anchor starting pitcher and Sánchez is in his prime and is on a Phillies squad that should compete for the NL East title again.
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Balancing risk vs. reward: We added another top-end ace in deGrom to pair with Sanchez. The two-time Cy Young winner appears back on track after a resurgent 2025. There’s always injury risk, especially with a pitcher who will turn 38 this season. But I’m fine taking that risk if deGrom ends up in the Cy Young conversation again. Langeliers was a reach but I wanted to make sure I grabbed a catcher in Scott Pianowski’s top tier. The position is pretty thin and Langeliers may be the best-hitting catcher behind Cal Raleigh.
Waiting on closers: Points-league scoring seems to devalue relief pitchers and closers in general, so I felt OK waiting at the position. We grabbed Yankees closer David Bednar, since we can expect him to get plenty of save opportunities so long as he keeps the job. Raisel Iglesias was my other closer add. If the Braves stay healthy and bounce back, he should get plenty of work.
Team building challenges: The corner infield spots caused me a bit of trouble with the positions thinner as the draft went on. The Cardinals could be pretty bad this season but there’s a lot to like about Burleson entering his age-27 season. He really improved last season and could have finished with 20+ HRs and 80+ RBI with an OPS over .800 had he not missed some time.
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Shifting to upside: We took some shots on some sleeper pitchers, including Ryan Weathers, Shane McClanahan and Andrew Painter. Yahoo analyst Corbin Young wrote about Weathers in his top breakout candidates at SP for 2026. Again, the Yankees bias is real for me but Weathers feels like a great low-risk, high-reward type of pick late in drafts. Painter, a once top prospect, should get a chance to showcase his stuff at the next level. He’s still just 22 years old despite logging over 200 minor-league innings.
We wrapped things up with Nationals OF Dylan Crews, who was listed as a potential breakout for analyst Fred Zinkie. Similar to Painter, Crews was among the top prospects in baseball last season but hasn’t put it all together yet. If he’s an everyday player, Crews has 20+ HR upside.
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Takeaways with drafting No. 1: I love drafting from this slot in all fantasy formats (and it isn’t just because you get to pick one of the top players). Having the back-to-back picks at the turn allows you to plan ahead more, not worrying so much about ADP and where you’re selecting. You don’t have to fret as much about other managers sniping picks, which is also a plus.
When you’re able to add Judge (or Ohtani), you can put more of an emphasis on pitching and making some risk-reward picks on offense. Let Judge or Ohtani, plus your second pick, anchor your offense. Then, you can go out and grab your guys, your favorite sleepers, regardless of ADP and ranking.