2026 Fantasy Baseball Year in Review – Middle Infield Surprises

​

  • By Nathan Baker

    Last Updated on October 16, 2026 1:24 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: October 16, 2026

    Four names in the middle infield positions that surprised fantasy owners in 2026, how they got there, and how they may fare in 2027, along with a bonus name coming off of a 30/30 season.

    Otto Lopez – Miami Marlins

    The Marlins entered 2026 with plenty of questions throughout their lineup, one of which included the long-term viability of SS/2B Otto Lopez. Lopez spent most of 2025 at second base with Xavier Edwards at shortstop, before the team swapped the two to accommodate the weaker arm of Edwards. Both provided an intriguing combination of contact and speed, but it was Edwards who displayed more promise in his career, with Lopez struggling to put together consistent results at the plate.

    One year later, and it’s Lopez who is now the star of that infield, playing excellent defense with a career-high 34 steals, and a .305 batting average. He was among the best in baseball for much of the year in average, hitting .334 in the first half before falling off in the second, which might give some fantasy owners pause about his viability going forward, but he’s equipped with all the tools to have another tremendous season in 2027.

    I’m sure he won’t be drafted outside of the top 200 as he generally was last year (214 ADP), but I don’t think it’s crazy to think he might provide one of the better value picks for players coming off of a breakout season. Improvements in quality of contact numbers without an elite line drive rate, but as far as median outcomes go, this is the best version moving forward.

    Luis Garcia Jr. – New York Yankees

    Luis Garcia Jr.’s talent has always been obvious to anyone who’s watched him play, although it took parts of six seasons of inconsistent offensive production and defensive struggles before he finally found his true identity on both sides of the ball.

    His move to first base has seen him become a productive defensive player after being one of the worst second basemen in MLB, and his progressive improvements in bat speed and launch angle are now yielding elite offensive results against right-handed pitching.

    27 home runs and an .865 OPS against righties made Garcia Jr. a platoon machine, and despite some struggles after a deadline trade to the Yankees, he should settle in just fine in 2027 with a full off-season of certainty, and the ability to dream of a full season of short porch home runs.

    In theory, he is rumored to be discussed in trades, as the Yankees do have a logjam at 1B/DH, but the profile should stay the same regardless of who he’s playing for.

    Impressively, he didn’t concern himself with limiting chase in 2026 the way that he often did earlier in his career, letting his free-swinging bat fly to create damage with his bat speed and incredible bat-to-ball skills. His flat swing leaves his bat in the zone for plenty of time even with a fast cut, making it more crucial for him to avoid weak contact outside of the zone, which he did better than ever this year. Much of his value will depend on whether he projects to get second base eligibility in 2027; if he’s on a team where he projects to get significant second base reps, Garcia Jr. could easily be one of the steals of the draft.

    Kody Clemens – Minnesota Twins

    Kody Clemens entered his age-30 season as a career platoon player who never eclipsed 120 games in a season, or hit 20+ home runs in a single campaign. Through sheer performance, he earned enough playing time to blow past both of those previous career highs, registering 583 plate appearances and hitting 27 home runs. Most of the damage came against right-handed pitching, sporting a .789 OPS and 22 home runs, but he held his own against lefties enough to stay in the lineup, which was a huge asset to his fantasy value, especially in weekly change leagues.

    He really got hot in June and July, hitting 15 home runs across the two months, and doing enough to keep the Twins lineup afloat throughout some key injuries. Fantasy-wise, he was a total afterthought with an ADP of 405, and he wasn’t even consistently rostered until the middle of June, when he really caught fire. Enough improvements in quality of contact metrics led his underlying numbers to support an improvement in average, but his primary fantasy value in the future is still likely to come from his power.

    Want to get access to the rest of Paul’s article? You’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required

    Click here to join us on Discord!
    And Follow us on Twitter by clicking here
    Join the SportsEthos team by filling out an application by clicking here
    Follow Nathan at @nbakerngb

     

    October 16, 2026, 1:24 pm