2026 Fantasy Baseball Busts – Corner Infield

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  • By SportsEthos Staff

    Last Updated on January 21, 2026 6:38 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: January 21, 2026

    With the amount of power and production available to managers through the draft from the corner infield spot, it is imperative that managers know who to avoid.

    Getting picks wrong at the CI spot could cost managers too many homers and RBI to let them make it up in other categories.

    Our contributors are sounding the ‘bust’ alarm on numerous picks in the draft that we would think twice about before drafting at their current ADP.

    NOTE: ADP comes from NFBC Draft Champion leagues.

    GET OUR SLEEPERS HERE

    Larry Vannozzi

    Noelvi Marte – ADP – 139.53/MI23

    Marte had a 135 ADP as of January 16. That 134 buys you a guy who served a PED suspension and has a short and erratic track record.

    I’ll admit that he set career highs in many categories last year and dramatically lowered his strikeout rate. However, injuries limited him to just 90 games and that’s the most in his three-year career.

    He outperformed his expected stats, rarely walked (bottom 5% in MLB) and most of his Statcast numbers are well below average. Other players going around 134 include Teoscar Hernandez (rebound year?), budding power hitter Kyle Stowers, Jo Adell (finally reaching his potential) and a proven SP (Pablo Lopez). Those all seems like much better deal at this ADP.

    Christian Walker – ADP – 190.86/MI28

    Walker’s ADP (188 on January 16) is his worst in recent memory but I feel that isn’t nearly enough of a discount.

    He finished at No. 152 last year as many of his metrics worsened. This isn’t a one-year trend, either, because many of his surface as well as deeper stats have worsened for three years (some a little; some a lot). His walk rate, strikeout rate, batting average, on-base percentage and contract rate were all at their worst levels since he became a regular starter back in 2019. Air in the Christian Walker balloon is coming out fast and he’s a likely bust even at this year’s discounted ADP.

    Jeff Clowers

    Pete Alonso  – ADP – 27.09/MI6

    Maybe I’m still just gun-shy from the Orioles’ last big foray into the first base free agent market and how poorly that went (Chris Davis, for those wondering) but even though Alonso is coming off a strong offensive output of an .871 OPS and 38 home runs., I’m nervous that the adjustment to a new organization and a new set of opposing pitchers in the AL will make it likely that he faces a bit of a slow start to kick off the year – and at this ADP level, those little quibbles can make a significant difference when it comes to the ROI on draft day value.

    On the plus side, the recent shift in the outfield dimensions at Camden Yards will benefit Alonso a fair bit. Between 2022-2024, Statcast suggests that he would have hit 18 fewer home runs in Baltimore than his actual total for the season, but in 2025 that flipped to predicting 45 long balls when he only tallied 38 in actuality.

    Freddie Freeman – ADP – 67.84/MI12

    This may be the take I’m most wrong about by season’s end but I’m going to pull a classic Bill Belichick here and accept the fact that I’d rather be a year early in cutting bait than a year late.

    Now entering his age-36 season, we’re well-past the point where aging should have taken a chip out of his abilities but he’s remained remarkably consistent the past couple years.

    So why am I assuming this year will be any different?

    A couple small factors.

    First, strikeout rate. His 20.4% rate in 2025 was almost five full points higher than the year prior and the highest he’s posted since all the way back in 2016. That’s backed by a sharp increase in swinging-strike rate as well, with a 4.6% rise from 2024.

    In particular, Freeman’s preternatural ability to make solid contact on pitches outside the zone has plummeted – in 2024 his O-Contact% was 71.3 percent; in 2025 that dropped all the way to 56.6 percent. A 42 point drop from his SLG to his xSLG underlines that there’s some cracks forming in the armor of a perennial All-Star option and at this stage of the draft, nitpicks can make the difference.

    Nathan Baker

    Junior Caminero – ADP – 14.32/MI2

    I hate to have to attach the word “bust” to Junior Caminero who is a fantastic young player, but the risk attached to his late first/early 2nd around ADP is too great to accept.

    His breakout 2025 was eye-opening, as the young slugger posted a .846 OPS while smashing 45 home runs, good for third in the American League behind Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh. His peripherals were just as impressive, exhibiting some of the best raw power metrics in baseball across the board, and significantly improving on his chase and strikeout rates from the year prior.

    Caminero did greatly benefit from playing his home games at George Steinbrenner Field, with shares the same dimensions as Yankee stadium in a more humid climate, enough so that he outperformed his expected home run total by six.

    Now back at the Trop, the worse visual hitting conditions with the more expansive dimensions makes it fair to doubt his ability to repeat that 45 home run performance in 2026, especially ahead of safer options like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Francisco Lindor.

    Josh Naylor – ADP – 71.02/MI13


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    January 21, 2026, 6:38 pm