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We've made it to the end, and I've saved the best for last. The Right Fielders. what was once a 'joke' of a position, has turned into some of the best players in the league, and for many teams a top 3 player on the team. Now this list is naturally going to ruffle some feathers, as there are 5 generational talents at the position. Don't worry, they are all in the top 5, but how I have them ordered may upset some people. I just want you to keep in mind, last season George Springer finished as a top 3 right fielder in the game, so anything is possible. I think it's only right to start the list off with a sure-fire hall of famer.
10. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
On the surface, this may seem like an honarary pick to make the top 10, just sort of a 'Hey! Mike Trout is still here!' But I'm genuinely looking at 2026 as a potentially very solid season from Trout. He is coming off the worst season of his career, a .798 OPS (which is insane that that's his worst) and some of the peripherals have fallen a little bit. But, not all of them. Mike Trout still does two things just as well as anybody in the league: Hit the ball hard, and walk. His barrel rates are still intact, and he still doesn't chase pitches. He is still Mike Trout, and I think people just swept him under the rug because there is a new clear best hitter in the league, but the fall shouldn't be from the top all the way to the bottom. He is still the best hitter in the league in terms of LA sweet-spot %, which is worth something. Now, stolen bases have sort of been removed from his game, but a move from center to right could inspire him to swipe a little more bags than he has the last few seasons, and the position change could help his sharper decline with the glove. I still think that Trout is a well above average player in this league, and still commands some respect. I still think we are yet to see his last All-Star appearance.
9. Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs
Suzuki is an interesting pick, considering that many would see him as a DH. Well according to fangraphs, he is listed as their starting RF, so he makes the list. Suzuki still has the really strong power numbers he's had his whole career, but just last season, he started to really pull more flyballs. This allowed him to have a career high in home runs in 2025, and I think he can build on that as a hitter who has elite barrel rates and exit velos. His baserunning and glove are slightly below average to average, but I think his bat makes up for it. There's not a whole lot to say about Suzuki, he is a very solid player.
8. Kyle Tucker, Los Angeles Dodgers
Perhaps this is harsh, but I think Tucker will slightly regress, or I don't value him as much for 2026. Don't get me wrong, I won't be shocked if his counting stats are higher on the Dodgers, but as far as career outlook, I think his ceiling is a bit lower than we originally thought. I'm not going to say that his 2025 was bad, because by no metric was it. .841 OPS with a 20-20 season is certainly a good season, but ask a Cubs fan if they enjoyed the Kyle Tucker experience, and the answer may shock you. The first half of the season, he was an elite player with a 147 OPS+, but the second half he regressed to a 107 OPS+. Still above average, but a concerning dip. Sure, the Cubs as a whole had some slight regression in the second half, but 40% worse is 40% worse. Another thing is his under the hood power numbers have regressed ever so slightly the past few seasons. When it comes to barrel rate, exit velo, hard hit rate, and bat speed, he is average at best. He also was below average with his glove, registering a -2 OAA. This isn't to slander him, it's to suggest that what we saw last season with the Cubs, I would expect more of the same, his counting numbers could go up, or his power could continue to regress. He just happens to play a position where having an .840 OPS will get you ranked 8th at that said position.
7. Roman Anthony, Boston Red Sox
It should be on everyone's radar that Roman Anthony can/will breakout in 2026. Everything lines up for him to do so: former top prospect, an .859 OPS in his first 300 plate appearances, and an elite set of skills. Now he didn't have many plate appearances, but the ones he did have, he took full advantage of. Elite hard-hit rates, xwOBA, exit velo's, and barrel rates. Safe to say the kid hits the ball very hard, and very well. What isn't as common in young guys is the plate discipline. Now, in terms of strikeouts, it wasn't great, striking out 27% of the time, but he also walked 13% of the time, and only chased pitches outside of the zone 20% of the time. If you believe in sabermetrics and analytics, alarm bells should be ringing in your head that Roman Anthony will breakout.
6. George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays
Like I mentioned in the intro, Springer was amazing in 2025. 32 homers, a .959 OPS, and a post-season hero yet again. He was a top 3 right fielder in the game last season, but why am I not projecting him to be one in 2026? Well, the year prior, he had a .674 OPS, with poor under the hood stats. In fact, he hasn't had a season this good since 2019, so it's hard to know if you can trust his 2025 output to carry over to 2026. Obviously he had elite barrel rates and elite peripherals, and they are the kind that don't tend to lie, so it's hard to know. I think naturally at this point in his career, we should expect some sort of regression from the 2025 season, but not all the way back into being a .600 OPS hitter. I think he will find a space between those two and continue to produce in a stacked Blue Jays lineup.
5. Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
And so we've hit the top 5, and somebody has to be ranked last out of these 5, and I have chosen Acuna Jr. Let me make myself clear: He is arguably a top 10 player in the sport, all of these guys in the top 5 are. I think Acuna will have a massively successful 2026. That being said, I will offer an explanation as to why I don't have him as high as the others. My biggest concern for Acuna is injuries. How the ones in the past have effected his play, and my general concern for him to play a full season. I believe that if we get a full season of healthy Acuna, he would be higher, but I worry that we won't. Firstly, he isn't the same guy with the glove. Still a fantastic arm, but in terms of range, and most importantly, OAA, he was worth -11 runs, good for 2nd percentile in the league. Not good. There also seems to still be some hesitancy to swipe bags since his injuries, only having 9 last season, and although I do believe those numbers will go up, I don't know if he will steal that many more bases. As for his bat, it's still amazing. Despite dealing with injuries, he still registered a .935 OPS, and still hits the ball very hard. However, his strikeout and whiff numbers are relatively poor, so I am concerned about that part of his game. Overall, fully believe in Acuna, just someone has to be 5.
4. Juan Soto, New York Mets
I went back and fourth with Soto and Acuna for awhile, but I'm rolling with Soto at 4. Him and Acuna have very simmilar profiles, as elite bats with poor gloves. Soto had a -12 OAA in RF, signaling that a move to DH or first base is likely in his near future. You know Soto is special with the bat. You know that he walks more than anyone in the sport, Hits the ball harder than practically everyone, and had an 100th percentile xwOBA, the most important hitting stat. So why is he below 3 other players? The defense really makes that much of a difference. If he was league average with his glove, then he could've potentially been number 2 on my list, but instead he is arguably the worst defender in the league. I loved his increase in stolen bases, almost registering a 40-40 season in 2025. He's a top 3 hitter in the game, and a bottom 3 defender in the game. I personally will lean towards the more balanced players, but as it went for Acuna, I expect an MVP candidate season out of Soto.
3. Fernando Tatis Jr, San Diego Padres
This may seem like a shock, but Tatis is arguably the most all-around player the sport has to offer. Already with a platinum glove in his inventory, He is still consistently one of the games best defenders, with a 94th percentile in OAA, and a 99th percentile in arm strength. He also registered a career high in stolen bases for 2025 with 32. As for his bat, 2025 was a down year, and he still had a 131 wRC+, near the top of the league. I would expect him to bounce back with the bat, and if he steals 30 bases again and wins another gold glove, then there's no question he is one of the more valuable players in the entire MLB in 2026.
2. Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
This may be one of my more out there rankings, but despite the injury this spring, I'm sticking with it. Corbin Carroll is a very very good baseball player, and I believe that he will have an amazing 2026. I think it's fair to start with the baserunning, considering he is the best baserunner the sport has to offer, and potentially of all time. Notice how I said baserunning, and not stealing bases. Carroll is elite at just taking more bases than he should on hits, or scoring from first on hits, he just simply does it all at a level never seen before. In 2025, he leaned more into his power game, and in doing so hit 30 home runs. His plate discipline numbers were average in 2025, but in years prior they were also elite. I'm projecting he puts it all together, and is able to keep hitting the ball harder, while also having good plate discipline. He is making strides in his game year after year, and I would feel more confident in this pick if he didn't get injured this spring. However, I still believe that the strides he made are still going to be enough for him to be an MVP candidate.
1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
It's Aaron Judge. There should be no conversation, no debate, it's Judge. I could sit here and list off just how good he is under the hood, but you already know he is the best hitter. I could sit here and tell you that he is 100th percentile, meaning best in the game in terms of run value, xwOBA, xSLG, Avg Exit velo, barrel %, and BB %, and 99th percentile in just about everything else. There's no reason to suggest he will regress, and no reason to not have him as the number one right fielder.
2/27/26
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