2026 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers – Corner Infield

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  • By SportsEthos Staff

    Last Updated on January 21, 2026 6:39 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: January 21, 2026

    Corner Infield, as you can expect, is oozing with power hitters from the established veteran to the promising young studs.

    It is critical that managers don’t miss out on the power and run production that is widely available at this position group.

    A misstep here could lead to a manager falling far behind in HR and RBI in category leagues.

    Let us help you determine to who is likely to provide the best value at their current ADPs.

    NOTE: ADP comes from the NFBC Draft Champion leagues.

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    Larry Vannozzi

    Michael Busch – ADP – 108.16/MI19

    Let’s see if I have this right. Busch surprisingly finished at #77 last year but it didn’t look like fluke. His real stats were almost identical to his expected stats and he improved many metrics such as his strikeout, ground ball, fly ball and contact rates in back-to-back years. And now his ADP is 104 (as of January 14)? Snag Busch earlier than that because he has a good chance to be even better in 2026.

    Miguel Vargas – ADP – 283.99/MI48

    Vargas far exceeded expectations last year as he set career highs in all main hitting categories. He also made massive improvements in OPS, wOBA, expected AVG, expected SLG, exit velocity and strikeout rate. He cracked the Top 250 last year and I expect further improvements this year to possibly the Top 200 and easily better than his January 14 ADP of 280.

    Jeff Clowers

    Austin Riley – ADP – 75.89/MI14

    After three straight years in which he eclipsed 32 home runs, Riley has managed just 35 over his last two seasons. That’s in part because he missed 112 games due to injury but the metrics in his time played aren’t particularly standout either.

    Of course, it’s necessary to factor those maladies – which included a broken hand and an oblique injury – into his production at the plate as they’re intrinsically tied together, particularly in the home run department where he’s lagged most.

    It hasn’t helped that the Braves offense as a whole has slumped considerably since their heyday of a few years back, providing Riley less lineup protection and fewer opportunities for counting stats.

    Riley has also been somewhat unlucky at the plate over that two-year stretch as his struggles wouldn’t look quite so daunting if his actual slugging of .445 matched his expected rate of .498 – something that seems reasonable considering he’s posted a hard-hit rate above 50% in each of the past two years, including a career-best 53.4% in 2024. Still only 28-years-old, it would be foolish to write him off this early when he’s proven such a high level of competency in the past.

    Addison Barger – ADP – 197.59/MI32

    I may have generally dismissed other players that balled out in the playoffs when evaluating them for the following year but in Barger’s case, it was simply a continuation of the breakout he showed us during the regular season.

    Over the first half of the season, Barger batted .261 while launching 13 home runs to put his name on the map for fantasy managers. However, he stumbled to a .223 average with just eight home runs in the latter part of the year.

    That’s why the .367/.441/.583 line he put forth in the playoffs gives me confidence in his ability to continue to adjust and allows me to believe in him being an underrated asset. At the start of the offseason, it originally seemed like he may struggle to find a 100% full time role as the Blue Jays had a glut of options at his positions but the departure of Bo Bichette to the Mets has now opened things up that he has become undervalued in the draft.

    Nathan Baker

    Triston Casas – ADP – 360.95/MI62

    Few players in baseball have endured the same level of bad injury fortune as Casas over the past couple of seasons, and true to the old adage, he’s rarely gotten hurt when he’s been cold. His unique combination of monster power and great plate discipline flashes in spurts, which tend to end with a strikeout ridden slump, or an injury.

    With the Red Sox expected to move Jarren Duran to free up their outfield log jam, the DH spot should be Casas’ to win, which is more ideal than having him play at first base, where he struggles defensively and holds a higher risk of injury.

    Leaving a 26 year-old slugger out of 12 player drafts entirely seems shortsighted, and the upside for this pick in the last couple of rounds of any draft is more than worth a shot, especially if he appears healthy in spring training.

    A trade away from Fenway Park also remains a possibility, which would increase his trade value in all but a handful of ballparks, leaving multiple avenues for his stock to skyrocket in a short period of time.

    Jonathan India – ADP – 402.88/MI69


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    January 21, 2026, 5:15 pm