Fantasy baseball breakouts of 2026
Jordan Walker was the biggest fantasy baseball breakout of 2026, climbing from 677 to 12 in 5x5 value, with Cal Quantrill and Eduardo Rodriguez next. Each player's 2026 is measured against his own 2025, both valued against that season's draftable pool, because no free preseason draft position source can be republished. The last column is where he ranks for 2027.
| Player | Lines | 5x5 rank, 2025 to 2026 | 2027 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
Jordan Walker OFSTL | 2026: 29 HR, 97 R, 102 RBI, 22 SB, .2692025: 6 HR, 40 R, 41 RBI, 10 SB, .215 | 677 to 12 | #49 |
Cal Quantrill SPTEX | 2026: 9-5, 2.86 ERA, 81 K2025: 4-12, 6.04 ERA, 85 K | 767 to 136 | #490 |
| 2026: 16-7, 2.89 ERA, 143 K2025: 9-9, 5.02 ERA, 143 K | 708 to 79 | #237 | |
Miguel Vargas 3BCWS | 2026: 33 HR, 106 R, 93 RBI, 22 SB, .2502025: 16 HR, 80 R, 60 RBI, 6 SB, .234 | 268 to 14 | #79 |
Dylan Cease SPTOR | 2026: 11-6, 2.40 ERA, 239 K2025: 8-12, 4.55 ERA, 215 K | 394 to 28 | #65 |
Pete Crow-Armstrong OFCHC | 2026: 45 HR, 119 R, 107 RBI, 41 SB, .2802025: 31 HR, 91 R, 95 RBI, 35 SB, .247 | 23 to 1 | #1 |
Nolan Arenado 3BAZ | 2026: 30 HR, 80 R, 86 RBI, 4 SB, .2552025: 12 HR, 48 R, 52 RBI, 3 SB, .237 | 539 to 64 | #207 |
Mason Montgomery SPPIT | 2026: 18 SV, 2.88 ERA, 105 K2025: 1-3, 5.67 ERA, 63 K | 642 to 95 | #246 |
| 2026: 16 HR, 72 R, 83 RBI, 6 SB, .3112025: 9 HR, 44 R, 40 RBI, 2 SB, .285 | 515 to 62 | #64 | |
Liam Hicks CTB | 2026: 18 HR, 66 R, 82 RBI, 3 SB, .2842025: 6 HR, 37 R, 45 RBI, 2 SB, .247 | 651 to 106 | #132 |
Ben Rice 1BNYY | 2026: 41 HR, 105 R, 97 RBI, 3 SB, .2642025: 26 HR, 74 R, 65 RBI, 3 SB, .255 | 153 to 16 | #60 |
Jackson Merrill OFSD | 2026: 26 HR, 86 R, 87 RBI, 27 SB, .2542025: 16 HR, 59 R, 67 RBI, 1 SB, .264 | 262 to 33 | #19 |
Nick Gonzales 3BPIT | 2026: 6 HR, 72 R, 61 RBI, 7 SB, .3032025: 5 HR, 39 R, 30 RBI, 0 SB, .260 | 696 to 151 | #253 |
Brayan Rocchio SSCLE | 2026: 15 HR, 66 R, 73 RBI, 20 SB, .2532025: 5 HR, 34 R, 44 RBI, 8 SB, .233 | 664 to 132 | #348 |
Mauricio Dubón OFATL | 2026: 12 HR, 66 R, 73 RBI, 10 SB, .2762025: 7 HR, 43 R, 33 RBI, 3 SB, .241 | 675 to 142 | #231 |
Otto Lopez SSMIA | 2026: 11 HR, 94 R, 71 RBI, 34 SB, .3052025: 15 HR, 66 R, 77 RBI, 15 SB, .246 | 162 to 20 | #75 |
Louis Varland RPTOR | 2026: 35 SV, 1.27 ERA, 97 K2025: 4-3, 2.97 ERA, 75 K | 276 to 41 | #167 |
Sean Burke SPCWS | 2026: 11-7, 3.34 ERA, 185 K2025: 4-11, 4.22 ERA, 133 K | 612 to 112 | #170 |
Chase Meidroth 2BCWS | 2026: 16 HR, 90 R, 63 RBI, 4 SB, .2762025: 5 HR, 54 R, 23 RBI, 14 SB, .253 | 580 to 103 | #188 |
Ben Brown SPCHC | 2026: 4-2, 1.85 ERA, 65 K2025: 5-8, 5.92 ERA, 121 K | 683 to 175 | #359 |
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| Player | Lines | 5x5 rank, 2025 to 2026 | 2027 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
Alec Burleson 1BSTL | 2026: 26 HR, 89 R, 116 RBI, 4 SB, .2792025: 18 HR, 54 R, 69 RBI, 5 SB, .290 | 154 to 22 | #73 |
CJ Abrams SSWSH | 2026: 33 HR, 93 R, 106 RBI, 34 SB, .2612025: 19 HR, 92 R, 60 RBI, 31 SB, .257 | 74 to 5 | #26 |
Kody Clemens 2BMIN | 2026: 27 HR, 74 R, 81 RBI, 10 SB, .2392025: 19 HR, 46 R, 52 RBI, 5 SB, .213 | 519 to 94 | #130 |
Taj Bradley SPMIN | 2026: 12-6, 3.73 ERA, 205 K2025: 6-8, 5.05 ERA, 127 K | 616 to 140 | #187 |
Bryan Baker RPTB | 2026: 41 SV, 1.44 ERA, 63 K2025: 4-4, 4.06 ERA, 83 K | 275 to 50 | #88 |
Jacob Latz RPTEX | 2026: 30 SV, 2.13 ERA, 83 K2025: 2-0, 2.84 ERA, 76 K | 343 to 58 | #195 |
Daylen Lile OFWSH | 2026: 22 HR, 81 R, 89 RBI, 15 SB, .2462025: 9 HR, 51 R, 41 RBI, 8 SB, .299 | 355 to 65 | #47 |
Javier Sanoja 3BMIA | 2026: 11 HR, 50 R, 69 RBI, 11 SB, .2952025: 6 HR, 40 R, 38 RBI, 6 SB, .243 | 647 to 185 | #215 |
Alex Bregman 3BCHC | 2026: 28 HR, 92 R, 93 RBI, 3 SB, .2652025: 18 HR, 64 R, 62 RBI, 1 SB, .273 | 214 to 46 | #96 |
Jake Burger 1BTEX | 2026: 28 HR, 71 R, 90 RBI, 4 SB, .2282025: 16 HR, 43 R, 53 RBI, 1 SB, .236 | 527 to 120 | #243 |
Keider Montero SPDET | 2026: 10-9, 3.48 ERA, 107 K2025: 5-3, 4.37 ERA, 72 K | 546 to 131 | #193 |
Brooks Lee 3BMIN | 2026: 24 HR, 72 R, 83 RBI, 8 SB, .2532025: 16 HR, 50 R, 64 RBI, 3 SB, .236 | 428 to 93 | #191 |
Nick Martinez SPTB | 2026: 15-6, 3.10 ERA, 109 K2025: 11-14, 4.45 ERA, 116 K | 362 to 70 | #122 |
Ty France 1BSD | 2026: 21 HR, 59 R, 72 RBI, 1 SB, .2952025: 7 HR, 50 R, 52 RBI, 1 SB, .257 | 525 to 134 | #552 |
Gordon Graceffo RPSTL | 2026: 8-2, 2.67 ERA, 63 K2025: 3-1, 6.28 ERA, 40 K | 607 to 184 | #309 |
Chris Sale SPATL | 2026: 14-9, 2.16 ERA, 200 K2025: 7-5, 2.58 ERA, 165 K | 88 to 13 | #15 |
Josh Bell 1BMIN | 2026: 21 HR, 78 R, 96 RBI, 2 SB, .2552025: 22 HR, 54 R, 63 RBI, 0 SB, .237 | 368 to 81 | #280 |
Isaac Paredes 3BHOU | 2026: 25 HR, 69 R, 94 RBI, 0 SB, .2622025: 20 HR, 53 R, 53 RBI, 0 SB, .254 | 376 to 87 | #169 |
Reid Detmers SPLAA | 2026: 7-8, 3.36 ERA, 211 K2025: 5-3, 3.96 ERA, 80 K | 330 to 74 | #121 |
Sonny Gray SPBOS | 2026: 18-5, 2.72 ERA, 149 K2025: 14-8, 4.28 ERA, 201 K | 167 to 47 | #81 |
The other side: 2026 busts, and the players whose contact quality says their 2026 undersold them, on the 2027 sleepers page.
By the Parlae deskValues updated Oct 14, 2026 at 7:53 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number