2026 Fantasy Baseball Busts – Middle Infield

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  • By SportsEthos Staff

    Last Updated on January 20, 2026 1:04 pm by Paul Williamson | Published: January 20, 2026

    Shortstop is incredibly deep and filled with so much production.

    Second base is incredibly shallow and if you miss out on the top names, you’ll be searching for adequate value later in your draft.

    This means avoiding the bust picks takes on a greater meaning at the MI spot.

    You cannot miss out on the short stop gravy train and you have to find value at second base in order to compete.

    Let us help you find out who not to draft so you can make the best draft choices.

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    NOTE: ADP comes from NFBC Draft Champion leagues.

    Larry Vannozzi

    CJ Abrams – ADP – 51.90/MI10

    Abrams is a nice young player. He is only 25 years-old yet he’s entering his fifth year in the major leagues. They have been good years, too, as he was ranked close to No. 80 in the FanGraphs Player Rater for each of the past two years.

    However, with a January 16 ADP of 49, he’s more likely to be a bust than a hero. Most of his advanced metrics were quite middling in 2024 and actually regressed a tad in 2025. His walk rate, average exit velocity and expected wOBA were all in MLB’s bottom 33%.

    He will probably be better at some point down the road, but with no signs of imminent improvement, don’t pick him at 49 when you might receive just Top 75 value.

    Jeremy Pena – ADP – 96.89/MI13

    I’m not suggesting that Pena’s 2026 performance will be a bust. Instead, he’s a bust candidate because you can get someone who should provide your team with similar stats much later than Pena’s 95 ADP (January 16).

    Let’s check out THE BAT X’s projection for Pena: 18 HR, 84 Runs, 72 RBI, 18 SB and a .273 average.

    Now let’s check a mystery SS’s projections: 17 HR, 81 Runs, 70 RBI, 18 SB and a .264 average. Those stats are nearly identical in four categories with Pena’s most notable edge being in the volatile batting average category.

    Who is our very similar mystery SS?

    It’s Xander Bogaerts at a whopping 125 picks later (226 ADP on January 16)!!

    Jeff Clowers

    Mookie Betts – ADP – 50.99/MI9

    (CI spoiler alert!)

    I know I wrote about Austin Riley and trusting in a history of high-quality production but the difference here is in the aging curve (with Mookie now staring down his age-33 season) while coming off his worst season since 2017.

    The Betts discourse early in the year revolved around his healthy – but in an unusual way, with the Dodgers shortstop dealing with flu symptoms that caused him to lose somewhere between 20-25lbs. Though it was regarded as a serious issue that did in fact put a dent in his preseason ADP, most fantasy managers were willing to take on some pain in the short-term as he rebounded back to his normal playing weight in hopes of garnering some long-term gain in the back half of the season.

    Unfortunately, the time it took for Mookie to find his footing once more took a lot longer than expected as Betts carried a .244/.315/.381 batting line into the second half of the year. He did manage to start climbing out of the hole he’d dug himself by hitting .279/.342/.442 from that point forward but he added just nine home runs and just a pair of steals.

    He’s still among the elite-of-the-elite in plate discipline, giving him a strong base of skills in OBP formats – which will continue to be incredibly valuable while hitting in a loaded Dodgers lineup – but we could be seeing age finally catch up to a superstar we felt was bound to be ageless.

    Ceddanne Rafaela – ADP – 138.93/MI20

    I’m willing to put up with a power/speed profile that carries downside in average if the player in question plays their games at a position like shortstop or second, where the bar to clear for hitting ability is much lower. With that in mind, Rafaela’s eligibility will make a significant impact on how you should value him.

    In the outfield? No thanks.

    In the real world, a centerfielder like Rafaela is incredibly valuable thanks to his defensive chops but when it comes to fantasy, he’s competing against the likes of Aaron Judge or Kyle Tucker instead of Ketel Marte or Brice Turang.

    Rafaela also relies on bat-to-ball skills to get him on base rather than plate discipline, so there’s a much lower floor here. If he suddenly goes through a volatile cold spell with batted balls, then his value suddenly disappears. It’s also the position the Red Sox have a bit of a logjam of players, with capable outfield starters in Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell so a cold slump to start the year could adversely impact his playing time for the rest of the season.

    So even if he does still carry over his keystone eligibility from 2025 in your league, there’s a chance he could turn into a major bust if he can’t find his way into the lineup.