Chris Towers, Scott White, and Frank Stampfl make their bold predictions, award picks, and team forecasts for the 2026 season
By Chris Towers Mar 26, 2026 at 10:35 am ET • 15 min read 
2026 Predictions
One thing I want to point out here at the top: These are bold predictions. They're supposed to be a little out there. Bold predictions are about us going just a little out on a limb (sometimes a lot more than just a little).
We're planting a flag here.
Not on the things we think are most likely to happen, because that's what we spent the past few months writing about and debating endlessly. No, this last batch of takes, these bold predictions are where we go beyond what we think is most likely to happen, to try to predict storylines that, if they do come true, will have an outsized impact on the 2026 season.
We've got three bold predictions from each of the Fantasy Baseball Today hosts for the Fantasy season, plus one general MLB bold call, plus our award picks, division winners, and World Series picks.
Yeah, we're gonna get some of this wrong. That's part of the fun.
Chris Towers' 2026 Predictions
Three Fantasy Bold Predictions
Ronald Acuna and Elly De La Cruz both go 40-40
Acuna has, of course, already done this once – and then some in his 41-homer, 73-steal 2023 that still stands as one of the best Fantasy seasons we've ever seen. I don't think a return to 70 steals is at all likely, but Acuna did just spend the entire offseason reminding us he can still be an elite base stealer despite taking just nine in 95 games after his return from a torn ACL last season, as he had 13 steals (on 15 attempts) in just 30 games between Spring Training, the World Baseball Classic, and the Venezuelan Winter League. He's been telling us all offseason what he's planning to do to opposing batteries. Did you listen?
As for Elly, the steals aren't the bold part of this – he had 67 two years ago and got to 37 in 2025 despite playing for much of the season through a serious quad injury. The problem is he's never hit more than 25 homers in an MLB season, thanks to a mixture of poor contact rates and unoptimized contact profiles. But he showed real growth as a contact hitter last season and was on a 30-plus homer pace before that quad injury, too. He needs to take further steps – getting better against lefties would help, and pulling the ball in the air more consistently would help him take advantage of his elite raw power – but I believe what we saw before the injury last year was a real leap. Both De La Cruz and Acuna could challenge for the No. 1 Player in Fantasy title.
Yordan Alvarez is a top-five outfielder in Fantasy
Yeah, outfielder. Alvarez is DH/Util-only to open the season, but with the Astros' infield crunch, they've already resorted to playing Alvarez in the outfield to try to get their best bats in the lineup. Given Alvarez's injury history, there is obviously some extra risk here with him playing in the field more regularly. But there's no question that gaining outfield eligibility would help his Fantasy outlook, and I think he's got a pretty good chance of doing it fairly early in the season.
And I think we might be at the point where Alvarez is a little underappreciated as a hitter. He was a disappointment even when healthy in 2025, but that was almost entirely because he struggled in April and didn't get enough time to fix his numbers after getting hurt. But since his debut in 2019, only two players (Aaron Judge and Juan Soto) have a higher wOBA than Alvarez's .402 mark. He's seventh with a .297 batting average in that span, and Judge is the only player ahead of him on that list with a higher ISO than Alvarez's .276 mark; that also ranks sixth among all hitters since 2019. With his combination of contact skills and elite power, Alvarez is one of maybe three or four hitters in the entire league with the potential to hit .300 and hit 50 homers.
It's just a question of health.
A little note here: I originally had "Luis Arraez is more valuable than Jacob Wilson for Fantasy" here, but my FBT co-hosts told me it wasn't bold enough, so I pivoted. They're probably right, despite the ~80-pick gap in their ADPs this spring.
Ryan Walker leads the NL in saves
When Walker was being drafted as a top-12 closer last season, I was out on him – he had a fairly limited track record of success in the role and was being backed up by a former All-Star in Camilo Doval. But he's a better pitcher than his 4.11 ERA last season shows, and he enters the season as the unquestioned closer on a playoff-contending team. The Giants probably won't win 90 games, but I don't have much trouble seeing them improving on last season's 81 wins, and there will probably be plenty of save opportunities on a team that won't likely win a ton of blowouts. As a team, the Giants saved 41 games last season, and I think Walker is going to end up being the best value at the position for Fantasy in 2026.
One MLB Bold Prediction
Chase DeLauter is an All-Star and Rookie of the Year
I think it's worth highlighting the absolutely absurd degree of difficulty DeLauter is dealing with as he gets set to open the season with the Guardians. Since being drafted in the first round in 2022, he has played just 138 minor-league games. You can get that number up to 173 if you include a couple of stints in the Arizona Fall League, and it jumps all the way to 207 if you include his final season in college. 207 games over the past four seasons, never playing more than 57 games in any single season, thanks to a litany of injuries.
Despite all that lost development time, and often while playing at less than 100% health, DeLauter is a career .302/.384/.504 hitter in his minor-league career with nearly as many walks (70) as strikeouts (80). This spring, he had six walks to four strikeouts while hitting .459/.535/.838, and he did that while absolutely crushing the ball – he had a 94.2 mph average exit velocity and 65.6% hard-hit rate this spring. It's an unorthodox swing, but despite the injuries, scouts have never really lost their faith in DeLauter's skills.
It might be asking a lot for him to stay healthy. Too much, perhaps. But as a long-time believer in Byron Buxton, I'm used to being hurt by this kind of player. I'm ready for it, and I think the only thing holding DeLauter back from being an absolute superstar hitter is the ability to stay on the field.
Award Picks
American League
- Rookie of the Year: Kevin McGonigle – He's the top prospect in the AL, and he's on the Opening Day roster. His home park isn't going to help elevate him, but McGonigle's advanced approach and ability to handle either position on the left side of the infield with aplomb will play well in the eyes of voters. Being on a likely playoff team doesn't hurt, either.
- Cy Young: Tarik Skubal – Let's make it three in a row. Garrett Crochet would be a perfectly fine choice, and I wouldn't argue with anyone who picks him. But Skubal is at the point where I'm just going to default to him until someone knocks him off his perch.
- MVP: Aaron Judge – Same with Judge, except he's been doing it even longer than Skubal. Fatigue could set in, but it feels like modern award voters are less likely to downgrade players just because they've won the award recently, and there just isn't anyone in the AL on Judge's level right now – for as good as Bobby witt has been the past two seasons, Judge still clears him by 3.0 combined WAR in that span per FanGraphs.com.
National League
- Rookie of the Year: Nolan McLean – Part of me wanted to go with Konnor Griffin here, just to put the Pirates in a position where they'll miss out on Prospect Promotion Incentive rewards twice in a three-year span because they played service time games with the No. 1 prospect in baseball. But McLean is a rare rookie pitcher without real workload limitation concerns, and while I thought he was perhaps a bit overrated in some Fantasy drafts this spring, I do think he'll be a very good MLB pitcher right away.
- Cy Young: Paul Skenes – Yeah, we just don't need to overthink this. Skenes is the defending Cy Young winner, and he was third as a rookie; there's no reason to think he won't throw 200 excellent innings this season.
- MVP: Shohei Ohtani – The only time Ohtani wasn't the unanimous MVP choice for his league in the past five seasons was when Aaron Judge hit 62 homers in 2022. Ohtani has been the unanimous MVP each of his two seasons with the Dodgers despite not being a full-time starter in either season, and now he's entering 2026 healthy and expected to make 25-plus starts. It's just hard to imagine Ohtani staying healthy and not winning his fifth MVP.
Standings predictions
American League
- AL East Winner: Yankees – The bullpen looks shaky, and the lineup isn't as deep as you might like. But they have the best hitter in baseball, a bunch of solid guys around him, and a rotation deep enough that Luis Gil and Ryan Weathers might be relegated to the bullpen by May – with two top-100 pitching prospects waiting at Triple-A to boot.
- AL Central Winner: Tigers – There aren't many teams that can match up with Skubal and Framber Valdez at the top of the rotation, and the lineup is deep with solid players, if maybe lacking a bit in star power. Yankees fans seem a bit disappointed by how this offseason has gone, but this is a really good team that could fairly easily get to 100 wins.
- AL West Winner: Mariners – With that rotation and a solid lineup of guys who have proven they can overcome T-Mobile Park, this one feels like a fairly easy call.
- Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Orioles, Red Sox– Yeah, the AL East is gonna be a bloodbath. The Blue Jays got even better after their World Series run, and they should be neck and neck with the Yankees, while the Orioles have serious upside if Adley Rutschman bounces back and Samuel Basallo takes the step forward most expect. The Red Sox look like the weakest of the four, but that's mostly a testament to the strength of the other teams, because they have a deep lineup with young upside and a rotation with more than enough arms to get through the season. If any of these four teams wins the division, I wouldn't necessarily be surprised, though I'll also note that with the Rays looking at least competitive (as always), it might be hard for all four of these teams to get enough wins to actually make the playoffs. The math is tough/
National League
- NL East Winner: Mets – The Phillies are getting older, and the Braves have a rotation full of question marks, so I'll default to the … team that missed the playoffs in humiliating fashion last season? Yeah, but the rotation depth is excellent, and the lineup looks deep.
- NL Central Winner: Cubs – The Cubs feel a little short of true contender status, but if Justin Steele returns to form, Cade Horton's breakout was real, and Edward Cabrera stays healthy, they're going to be tough to beat over 162 games.
- NL West Winner: Dodgers – I don't really need to justify this one, right? They could run Roki Sasaki out there as a sub-replacement-level player for 28 starts and probably still win 90 games. Remember: They added Kyle Tucker this offseason! I still have to remind myself of that every few days!
- Wild Cards: Brewers, Phillies, Braves – The Brewers avoid attrition better than any team in baseball, which is why they keep outrunning projections. The Phillies and Braves have high-end talent to match up with any non-Dodgers team, and that should be enough to carry them to the playoffs – though things could pretty easily go wrong in both instances very quickly. I'm especially worried about the Braves' pitching, and spent a long time re-thinking this one.
World Series
- Dodgers over Yankees – I think they're the two best teams in baseball, sue me. My preference would certainly be to see some new blood in the World Series, but the Dodgers are just too darn talented to pick against (even if you should probably take the field over them winning the World Series. Probably.).
Frank Stampfl's 2026 Predictions
Host of Fantasy Baseball Today
Three Fantasy Bold Predictions
- Ben Rice finishes as the top catcher AND first baseman in Fantasy. That's right, better than Cal Raleigh, Nick Kurtz, and Pete Alonso. Rice's .394 expected wOBA last season ranked ninth among qualified hitters and was better than any other qualified catcher or first baseman. If everything clicks, he could hit .280 with 40 home runs this season.
- Sal Stewart outperforms Freddie Freeman. If you listen to Fantasy Baseball Today, you're well aware of my love affair with Stewart by now. He was a pretty complete hitter in the minors, and we saw a lot of that this spring, when he hit .327 with three homers, four steals, and more walks (11) than strikeouts (nine). The second part of this is that I'm expecting Freddie Freeman, at 36 years old, to start slowing down. I still think Freeman can be serviceable, but not the elite player from years past. Let's say Freeman hits .270 with 20 homers and five steals. Solid season, but I think Stewart can beat it.
- Chase Burns throws 150 innings and finishes as a top-12 starting pitcher in Fantasy. Let's go, Reds, I guess! The truth is that the Reds have a lot of young, fun talent right now. What makes this prediction bold is that Burns dealt with a flexor strain last year and has kind of had a weird spring. So, on top of staying healthy, we need him to be awesome when he pitches. I think that's exactly what he'll be. Burns already has one of the best fastball-slider combinations in baseball. Now he just has to throw strikes and stay on the mound. Easy peasy.
One MLB Bold Prediction
- MLB and the MLBPA will agree on a new CBA that includes a salary cap and floor, and we won't miss any games in 2027. This is by far the boldest of all my predictions, and probably just me wish-casting. Also, let me be clear that I'm not pro-owners and anti-players. I just think some things need to change in baseball, specifically when it comes to the haves and have-nots. I'm not exactly sure what the financial structure would look like in this situation, but I think baseball would be in a better place if the teams on the bottom were forced to spend more money.
American League
- AL East Winner: Yankees
- AL Central Winner: Tigers
- AL West Winner: Mariners
- Wild Cards: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles
National League
- NL East Winner: Phillies
- NL Central Winner: Cubs
- NL West Winner: Dodgers
- Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Braves
World Series
- Dodgers over Mariners
Award Picks
American League
- AL Rookie of the Year: Kazuma Okamoto
- AL Cy Young: Tarik Skubal
- AL MVP: Aaron Judge
Award Picks
National League
- NL Rookie of the Year: Sal Stewart
- NL Cy Young: Paul Skenes
- NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani
Scott White's 2026 Predictions
Fantasy Baseball Today co-host, CBS Sports Senior Fantasy Writer
Three Fantasy Bold Predictions
- Bo Bichette has the most RBI for a player with fewer than 20 HR in the last 75 years. Turns out it was pretty common for low-homer hitters to have a truckload of RBI prior to 1950, but since then, Tony Gwynn holds the record with 119. This prediction is a two-parter in that I think Citi Field is bad for Bichette's opposite-field power, but hitting behind Francisco Lindor and especially Juan Soto is great for his RBI chances. Seeing as he's a regular .300 hitter, I trust him to make good on those chances.
- Isaac Paredes plays more than any other Astros infielder. By the latest ADP, everyone is presuming Paredes just won't play, but his pull tendencies work so well at the Astros' home park that, along with his on-base skills, he's probably their second-best hitter. Between reintroducing him to first and second base this spring and sticking Yordan Alvarez in left field more often than expected, the Astros seem like they're willing to get creative in finding Paredes at-bats. Meanwhile, Carlos Correa, Christian Walker, and Jose Altuve are all ancient and/or injury-prone.
- Tyler Glasnow leads the Dodgers in innings pitched. Shohei Ohtani would be a fun choice for this as well, but either way, when you look at the Dodgers' stable of arms, the only one you would trust to take on a bigger workload is Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who could certainly have misfortune befall him as well, particularly after how much the Dodgers leaned on him in the postseason. Not rooting for it by any means, but what a hoot it would be for the perpetually injured Glasnow to be the de facto workhorse of this staff.
One MLB Bold Prediction
This season sets a record for most catchers with 30-plus homers. The record is four, which was initially set in 1996 and was equaled last year. Catcher is so impossibly deep right now that I think we could see a fifth. Let's presume last year's four -- Cal Raleigh, Hunter Goodman,Shea Langeliers, and Salvador Perez -- do it again and cross our fingers on one of Agustin Ramirez, Samuel Basallo, Carter Jensen, Francisco Alvarez, or even Austin Wells joining the fun.
American League
- AL East Winner: Blue Jays
- AL Central Winner: Royals
- AL West Winner: Mariners
- Wild Cards: Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox
National League
- NL East Winner: Phillies
- NL Central Winner: Cubs
- NL West Winner: Dodgers
- Wild Cards: Brewers, Mets, Reds
World Series
- Blue Jays over Phillies
Award Picks
American League
- AL Rookie of the Year: Samuel Basallo
- AL Cy Young: Garrett Crochet
- AL MVP: Aaron Judge
Award Picks
National League
- NL Rookie of the Year: Nolan McLean
- NL Cy Young: Chris Sale
- NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani
