2026 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Middle Infield

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  • By SportsEthos Staff

    Last Updated on January 20, 2026 1:06 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: January 20, 2026

    Middle Infield is comprised of one of the deepest positions in fantasy baseball (short stop) and probably the shallowest (second base).

    This makes this position group one that managers have to get right.

    You got to hop on the short stop gravy train. You cannot leave your draft without maximizing a position oozing with elite production.

    You also have to make sure you leave your draft with something at second base. Only one team can draft Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ketel Marte. Managers that may have missed out on those two will need to make sure they hit on one of the later picks.

    So who to trust?

    Let’s dive into out our choices for the top sleepers in the middle infield.

    CHECK OUT THE ‘BUSTS’ HERE

    NOTE: ADP comes from the NFBC Draft Champion leagues.

    Larry Vannozzi

    Jackson Holliday – ADP – 136.80/MI20

    Warning: Do not look at Holliday’s Statcast page because it’s awash in blue (bad) and you would ignore this sleeper. Instead, focus on the fact that this former No. 1 overall draft pick played in his first full MLB season last year and gave us 17 HRs and 17 SBs…as a 21-YEAR-OLD! He also made very nice improvements in his strikeout, contact and isolated power rates… as a 21-YEAR-OLD! The sky’s the limit for this future star so hop aboard this year before you miss the launch!

    Ezequiel Tovar – ADP – 208.41/MI29

    High hopes for Tovar in 2025 evaporated after he played just 95 games due to hip and oblique injuries. Despite these limitations, Tovar managed to slightly improve his walk, strikeout, line drive and contact rates. He is just 24 but already had two very good seasons when healthy (ranked 149 in 2023; 66 in 2024) so he could easily beat his 200 ADP (January 14).

    Jeff Clowers

    Corey Seager – ADP – 100.59/MI14

    Yes, he’s undoubtedly earned his injury-prone label over the course of his career but there’s a reason that Baseball Prospectus has named one of their newest hitting metrics (SEAGER) after him – he has one of the best hitting foundations of any batter in the majors.

    Among primary shortstops since 2022, Seager is tied for the second-most home runs (117) with Willy Adames and is only four behind Lindor in first place, despite playing more than 100 fewer games over the same period.

    His wRC+ of 141 is also tops among shortstops so the only category compared to others at the position is his speed. Your propensity to draft Seager highly will likely be tied to your league format, specifically the amount of teams and injured reserve slots available.

    Luke Keaschall – ADP 140.25/MI21

    Keaschall’s bat-to-ball skills is among the league’s best in that regard even if his reputation in fantasy circles has yet to catch up. That skillset is particularly valuable considering the dearth of quality hitters at the keystone currently.

    Only 22-years-old during his debut last year, Keaschall found his way into 49 games and batted .302/.382/.445 – a line 34 percent better than league average per wRC+ – with four home runs and 14 steals. Based on those numbers, it’s immediately obvious that Keaschall isn’t a slugger archetype, especially considering his MaxEV ranked in only the 45th-percentile.

    Instead, he relies on the aforementioned ability to be borderline elite in making contact and avoiding whiffs. His chase-rate, whiff-rate, and strikeout-rate all rank in the top 20 percent of the league, while his ability to square-up the ball ranks in the top 10 percent. That gives him a very solid foundation to work with and if he begins to grow into additional power as he adjusts further to MLB pitching then he would vault up the rankings incredibly quickly.


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    January 20, 2026, 12:47 pm