13 eye-popping player projections for 2026
Before every season, we like to peruse the various player projections for stat lines that stand out.
Let's take a look at some of the most interesting ones for 2026, using the Steamer projections hosted at FanGraphs \-\- one of the chief baseball projection systems.
Obviously, players like Aaron Judge...
Ronald Acuna Jr.
Cal Raleigh
Julio Rodríguez
Munetaka Murakami
Jacob deGrom
Nick Kurtz
Junior Caminero
Tarik Skubal
Garrett Crochet
Gunnar Henderson
Pete Alonso
Spencer Strider
Shane McClanahan
Kyle Tucker
Alex Bregman
Nick Pivetta
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Yordan Alvarez
Kyle Bradish
Mason Miller
Why move to Mets could unlock the best of Bichette
Bo Bichette has a new team, a new position and (likely) a new lineup spot. The question now is whether those changes will bring out an even more valuable version of the two-time All-Star than the one we saw with the Blue Jays.
After seven seasons with Toronto, Bichette signed...
Bo Bichette
1 Statcast fun fact for Phils' 3 Top 100 prospects
MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects list for 2026 was just released last week, and the Phillies have three players on it: shortstop Aidan Miller (No. 23), right-hander Andrew Painter (No. 28) and outfielder Justin Crawford (No. 53).
Miller, Painter and Crawford look ready to make an impact in the big...
Aidan Miller
Andrew Painter
Justin Crawford
Will these absurd small-sample surges carry into 2026?
Baseball is filled with wild performances in tiny samples. Many are just statistical noise, but sometimes a seemingly absurd stretch proves more meaningful than anyone realized.
With that in mind, we pored through the 2025 data to find nine of the most interesting -- and extreme -- small-sample-size success stories...
Roman Anthony
Kyle Bradish
Chase Burns
Carter Jensen
Daylen Lile
Nolan McLean
Colson Montgomery
Emmet Sheehan
Trey Yesavage
10 players who could be 2026 versions of '25's breakout stars
Every year, a new crop of rising stars breaks out.
Last season, we saw it happen with plenty of talented hitters, like Pete Crow-Armstrong, and plenty of up-and-coming pitchers, like Hunter Brown. So who will be next this season?
Let's look back at last year's breakouts to see who could...
Elly De La Cruz
Denzel Clarke
Jac Caglianone
Addison Barger
Roman Anthony
Jacob Misiorowski
Chase Burns
Nolan McLean
Shane Baz
Ryan Weathers
4 keys to a bounceback from this top free-agent starter
Zac Gallen is a workhorse starting pitcher with two top-five Cy Young finishes in the past four years who's still just 30 years old. Sounds like a top-tier free agent.
But instead, he's a polarizing one because of his rocky 2025 season. Gallen still pitched 192 innings and recorded 175...
Zac Gallen
Have the Mets achieved their 'run prevention' goals?
“Run prevention is where we fell short this year,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said during a press conference at the end of the 2025 season. “It’s where we need to get better.”
He doubled down on that sentiment this month, saying competitors had told him that, “your...
Bo Bichette
Jorge Polanco
Luis Robert Jr.
Marcus Semien
The top two remaining FA bats are polar opposites
At the start of the offseason, 15 position players appeared on the top 30 free-agent list crafted by MLB.com's Mark Feinsand. In the wake of a free-agent frenzy that saw Kyle Tucker head to Hollywood, Bo Bichette land in Queens and Cody Bellinger re-up in the Bronx, only two of...
Eugenio Suarez
Luis Arraez
Breaking down MacKenzie Gore's untapped potential
This analysis was originally published on Dec. 18, 2025. The Rangers acquired All-Star left-hander MacKenzie Gore from the Nationals for five prospects. The Mets also traded for Freddy Peralta on Wednesday, acquiring him from the Brewers for two prospects....
MacKenzie Gore
Can Imanaga bounce back in '26? Here's what it would take
On the heels of a strong 2025 season in which the Cubs won 92 games, defeated the Padres in the three-game Wild Card Series and lost in five games in the NLDS against the division-rival Brewers, Chicago has been one of the most active teams this offseason.
Netting Alex Bregman...
Shota Imanaga
