The state of the outfield position heading into 2027: Pete Crow-Armstrong leads a talented but thin field

There were 13 outfield-eligible players worth at least $20 in the FanGraphs Player Rater in 2026, just two fewer than the first base spot. If you remember that you only need to start one first baseman (and potentially a corner infielder and DH) while you might need to start as many as five outfielders at a time, well, you can see why this is problematic.

That's not to say the outfield is somehow a wasteland for Fantasy right now. First base was unusually strong in 2026, but in 2025, there were three times as many $20 players with outfield eligibility as at first base. And it's worth noting that the 13 $20 outfielders in 2026 are actually a few more than 2025's nine.

On the whole, I look at outfield as a position with a decent amount of depth in a three-outfielder, 12-team league. You should be able to draft a full lineup without feeling too bad about your outfield options in that formula.

Once you start getting into five-outfielder leagues, and especially deeper leagues with 15 teams, it starts to feel a lot more thin. That's to be expected, of course, but it's important to keep that in mind…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/