2026 Dynasty Reload: AL OF

Welcome to Dynasty Reload! For 2026 we've revived this series aimed at keeper and dynasty league managers who are looking to address roster needs over the next 3-5 years. For each column (nine in all) we will examine a position (or, for OF and P, a league-specific position), and note young players and prospects who 1) could be available in your league; and 2) we think have a good shot at earning double-digit R$ sometime between 2026 and 2028. 

Stable, established contributors are more difficult than ever to acquire, be it by trade or off your league's free agent list. This is even more valid for rebuilding teams with little excess talent to barter, and particularly relevant with respect to position players in deeper leagues. Dynasty Reload is here to give some ideas on snatching up players before they become established contributors. 

We'll attempt to identify the best and most MLB-ready of both marginal producers and legit prospects with upside, some with little to no MLB track record. Of course, context always matters—both of your own leagues and each player's spot within their MLB organization. Our profiles will try to capture that in terms of opportunity, risk, health, age, price and productivity timeline. 

Importantly, our filter uses the following criterion:

• Player must be growth-age—27 years old—or younger as of April 1, 2026
• Player must have earned less than $10 in a 5x5 format during any previous MLB season
• Player must have 100+ AB above A+, AFL experience, or 5 years in professional foreign ball

Of course, we aren't able to cover all players with these characteristics, but feel free to drop names or questions in the comments below for additional discussion.

Had we written this column a year ago, Parker Meadows (OF, DET) might have been a no-brainer inclusion, while Addison Barger (OF, TOR) may well have flown under the radar. But with the benefit of seeing how the 2025 season played out, it's Barger who has graduated from the list ($13 earned in 2025), while the injuries that dogged Meadows have us far less interested in him as a dynasty target moving forward.

Meadows was not the only potential breakout not to happen last year. But as you will read, we are more bullish on a couple of players reaching their finally reaching their promise in 2026, while there is an intriguing next wave of prospects cresting in the high minors as well.

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It feels like cheating, but Roman Anthony (OF, BOS) fits all the criteria of this column, except maybe the “available in your league” part. A small caveat is that he is less of a finished product than his .292 BA might suggest. In year one, which ended prematurely due to an oblique injury, he hit too many balls on the ground and was too timid on the base paths to guarantee five-category greatness in 2026. But there was plenty of good, too, including patience beyond his years (13% bb%) and lots of hard contact. For a guy who will not turn 22 until mid-May, the flaws seem like wrinkles that will be ironed out over time.

Anthony’s teammate, Wilyer Abreu (OF, BOS), also slides in under the wire, both in terms of age — 27 on June 24 — and 5x5 earnings. Along with some bumps and bruises that included an oblique strain in the second half last year, his lack of double-digit earnings was a function of a lack of playing time against left-handed pitching. There is reason to hope for some change on that front in 2026 and beyond. For one, Abreu just won his second consecutive Gold Glove in right field, and taking him off the field weakens his team defensively. Secondly, Abreu showed improvement against southpaws last year, posting a near-league-average OPS+ vL. As noted in the Baseball Forecaster, a 30-HR season—or even few of them—is not out of the question.

At just 20 years old, Walker Jenkins (OF, MIN) was challenged a bit in his first exposure to Triple-A pitching (.720 OPS), but his potential is undeniable. In 52 games at AA-Wichita, Jenkins hit 7 HR and stole 11 bases and showed great patience at the plate (14.4% bb%), helping him to a .426 OBP. Such patience had been a hallmark of his professional career prior to his promotion Triple-A, so it would be no surprise to see the selectivity re-emerge in his second tour of the level, which would in turn make imminent the launch of a career that holds the promise of perennial five-category impact.

A foot fracture suffered when he was hit by a pitch interrupted Braden Montgomery’s (OF, CHW) Double-A debut, which had been a bit underwhelming through 34 games (.780 OPS, 1 HR, 3-of-6 SB). But Montgomery made it back onto the field for 12 games in the Arizona Fall League, in which he posted a .366/.527/.634 line with eight extra-base hits and 13 walks. That could serve as a springboard to reach the majors in his age-23 season, with his power output increasing as his body matures.

The AL outfield landscape also features a couple of players whose 2025 performance did a nice job of throwing a bucket of cold water on their season-opening sizzle. Dynasty managers who don’t lose sight of what attracted our interest in the first place may be able to take advantage of a buying opportunity.

The first is Jac Caglianone (OF, KC) who, like Anthony, would benefit from a launch angle adjustment but  should also see better results from a favorable turn of his 17% hit rate. Buried within the lackluster results is an improved barrel rate and 146 xPX in the second half. As analyst Stephen Nickrand noted earlier this fall, all Caglianone may need to do is lower his chase rate to start seeing results that more closely resemble his rampage en route to the majors last spring (20 HR in 66 games).

The reeds may be thinner for Cam Smith (OF, HOU), who burst onto the major league scene after only 32 minor league games only five above High-A but who flopped badly in the second half. General manager Dana Brown recently hinted that Smith might start the 2026 season at Triple-A, which might be best for his long-term development. But encouraged by some of the chatter at First Pitch Arizona, we would still bet on Smith getting things sorted eventually.

Smith’s teammate Zach Cole (OF, HOU) may never hit for a high average (57% ct% in majors, not too far off from his 59% ct% in Double-A and Triple-A), but the power-speed combo is tough to ignore. If your dynasty team is in a situation where it needs to take some “wild swings,” Cole is your man — in more ways than one. Don’t bank on him as a cornerstone, but as lottery tickets go, this one at least has a larger potential payoff than most.

The Orioles may have muddled their outfield picture somewhat by acquiring Taylor Ward (OF, BAL), but there should still be a place for Dylan Beavers (OF, BAL), at least in the long run. Beavers knows how to work a walk almost too well (18% bb%), doesn’t chase, makes quality contact and has above-average speed. Though he perhaps did not do it often as fantasy managers might have liked, Beavers did yank four balls way out to right field. If he develops a knack for doing so a bit more frequently, he could pair 15 HR or so with his 20+ SB potential.  

While Nelson Rada (OF, LAA) may lack Chandler Simpson’s elite contact ability — 76.2% ct% between Double-A and Triple-A in 2025 — he has shown patience beyond his years (12.7 bb%) and also lacks Simpson’s other primary wart: subpar defense. As is their wont, the Angels aggressively promoted Rada, who will not turn 21 until August 24. But he was unfazed, posting a .323 BA and .433 OBP in 42 games at AAA-Salt Lake. His stolen base technique could use some refinement (54-of-72, 75% SB%), but he has already won a Minor League Gold Glove, suggesting the big league version could be in his future. Once he’s deemed ready, he’ll face little resistance to settling in for a long run as the team’s center fielder.

Speaking of aggressive promotions, Max Clark (OF, DET) reached Double-A at age 20, where he displayed strong plate skills (34/29 K/BB in 203 PA) and offered a hint that his power may develop as hoped (7 HR). He also succeeded on all of his seven stolen base attempts. Like Rada, he is more than equipped to handle his defensive duties in center field once they are handed to him. He may not debut as soon as Rada does, but he should be worth waiting for.

The knack with which the injury bug has hunted Chase DeLauter (OF, CLE) borders on the comical. Yet there DeLauter was making his major league debut in last year’s playoffs, demonstrating the esteem in which he continues to be held within the organization. The sample sizes in the minors are small, but DeLauter has paired above-average power with a strong eye (23/22 K/BB in 34 games at AAA-Columbus). Coming off hernia surgery, DeLauter did not even attempt a stolen base in those 34 Triple-A games, but if he has a healthy off-season, his running game could re-emerge in 2026. Even without it, he should be a good building block… if he can stay on the field.

Did someone say “injuries”? Evan Carter (OF, TEX) had a brief reprieve from health woes last June, which gave a glimpse of what could be if he could just stay on the field (.333 BA, 3 HR, 5 SB in 66 AB). The Rangers did bring in Brandon Nimmo (OF, TEX) but parted ways with Adolis Garcia (OF, FA), so at least as of this writing there is at least a strong-side platoon role waiting to be won. To be sure, Carter is not for the faint of heart. But the speed skills are legit, his contact rate has improved year over year, and he may just need a stretch of health for the rest of the package to come together.

 

Missed our cut, but worth watching:

Will Wenceel Perez (OF, DET) ever hit right-handed pitching well enough to lock down an everyday job? It’s hard to say. But if we could slip him onto the end of a bench in a deep dynasty league, we wouldn’t mind learning the answer with him on our roster. The hot stretches, like the first five weeks after the late-starting 2025 season, keep a flicker of hope alive that we might see the power-speed combo on a more consistent basis.

With former No. 2 pick Heston Kjerstad, the health outlook is extremely murky. His 2025 season ended early due to “fatigue,” and his medical history also includes bouts with myocarditis and a concussion. As noted above, the Orioles outfield picture is currently extremely muddled, and as of now Kjerstad is looking starting his age-27 season in Triple-A. He may need a change of scenery — a la former Orioles prospect Mike Yastrzemski (OF, KC) — to finally get out of the starting blocks. But first, he needs health.

Staying in Baltimore, Enrique Bradfield (OF, BAL) is a polarizing prospect who showcased both what scouts like and don’t like about him in the Arizona Fall League. He won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award and registered the league’s top sprint speed, stealing 17 bases in 20 games. While his OBP was a respectable .341, his OPS was low (.652), and there are real questions as to whether he will ever hit enough to become an MLB regular. The eye (15.1% walk rate at AA-Chesapeake) and stolen base ability (36-of-40 SB across three levels in 2025) are legit, though.

Between Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez (OF, MIN), there are more interesting outfielders in Minnesota’s pipeline. But in the meantime, Austin Martin (OF, MIN) could still carve out some space as a useful complementary player for dynasty teams needing a little speed boost. He is tagged in the Baseball Forecaster with “UP: 25 SB,” with the caveat that he will need 400 PA to get there. But that sort of playing time looks like a fair bet in 2026, as Jenkins and Rodriguez likely need more time in the minors.

Circumstances allowed Jhostynxon Garcia (OF, BOS) to make his MLB debut before he was ready, and the man nicknamed “The Password” will need to do a better job decoding and not chasing what pitchers are throwing at him (67.1% ct% in 81 games at AAA-Worcester) to begin to make his mark. Since going 14-for-14 on stolen base attempts in only 24 games at Single-A Salem in 2024, he hasn’t shown much of an inclination to run (9-for-14 in 144 games), either — just another thing he needs to unlock.
 

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