2026 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Outfield

Welcome to a brand new series at RotoWire which features our favorite sleepers by position. Over the next week, we'll share three sleepers and one deep sleeper at every position on the diamond. For the purposes of this series, here's how we're defining "sleeper" and "deep sleeper":

Sleeper: a player being drafted between picks 150 and 350 who could significantly outperform his draft price

Deep Sleeper: a player being drafted after pick 350 who could significantly outperform his draft price

So far, we've covered catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen and shortstops in this series. With the infield complete, we'll move on to looking at sleeper outfielders for your 2026 fantasy baseball drafts.

Note: The average draft position in this article is taken from all Draft Champions leagues which have drafted over the past month.

Best 2026 Outfield Sleepers 

Daylen Lile (ADP 204, OF 48)

Lile quietly put together an impressive rookie season in 2025 slashing .299/.347/.498 with 15 doubles, 11 triples, nine home runs and 41 RBI across 91 games. A full-season repeat of those averages may be ambitious, but the underlying metrics suggest the performance wasn't a fluke as he ranked in the 100th percentile in expected batting average and launch angle sweet spot percentage per Baseball Savant. While Lile's 6.1 percent walk rate leaves room for improvement, his 16.0 percent strikeout rate and 18.9 percent whiff rate both ranked above the 80th percentile suggesting a hitter with advanced bat-to-ball skills.

Speed adds another layer to Lile's profile as he stole eight bases in the Majors last year alongside a 92nd percentile sprint speed while reaching 20-plus steals during each full professional season. With a full year in Washington, the 23-year-old has a realistic path to surpassing 20.

Some natural regression in the rate stats wouldn't be surprising over a larger sample, yet Lile's contact skills, speed and emerging power provide a strong foundation for improved counting stats across a full campaign. Defensive limitations could occasionally push him into the DH spot, though he should remain a fixture in the Nationals' lineup. Dylan Crews has drawn a fair bit of preseason attention as a former top prospect, but Lile already has demonstrated big-league production while Crews carries a .634 OPS through 116 career MLB contests despite often being selected earlier in fantasy drafts.

Wilyer Abreu (ADP 233, OF 57)

Abreu has steadily posted an OPS north of .780 over each of his first three seasons with Boston. In 2025, he slashed .247/.317/.469 with 17 doubles, 22 home runs and 69 RBI from 115 games. Much of that damage came against right-handed pitching as 21 of the homers and 59 of the RBI were during that situation with a career .827 OPS.

Southpaws have been a different story as Abreu only posted a .230/.299/.377 line with one home run and 10 RBI through 68 plate appearances against them last season with a career .589 OPS that explains his frequent platoon usage. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reported the Red Sox plan to give the outfielder more opportunities against left-handed pitching, which could open the door to a larger role this year.

Improvement against lefties would meaningfully boost Abreu's fantasy ceiling, but even modest gains could increase the 26-year-old's at-bats. Boston's crowded outfield featuring Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Roman Anthony provides Alex Cora flexibility, though Abreu's defensive contributions create incentive to keep him in the lineup even if his left-handed struggles persist. Abreu's track record against righties gives him a relatively stable floor and positions him as a positive fantasy asset, even if he remains a platoon bat.

Dylan Beavers (ADP 295, OF 68)

The Orioles have been active this offseason as they look to rebound from a disappointing 2025 and return to the postseason, but one potential source of improvement could come from within in the form of Beavers. The Cal product climbed the ranks as a prospect before making his MLB debut in August, after which he slashed .227/.375/.400 with five doubles, four home runs and 14 RBI over 35 games.

The 24-year-old's standout discipline was on display during that small sample as his 19.1 percent walk rate ranked as the highest among hitters with at least 130 plate appearances. While the surface power numbers don't jump out, several underlying metrics point toward more slugging upside. Beavers does a great job of lifting the ball to the pull side having recorded a 48.6 percent flyball rate and 41.3 percent pull rate, both strong indicators of a power-friendly batted-ball profile. While his speed didn't translate to many steals with Baltimore (two), the outfielder ranked 89th percentile for sprint speed and swiped 23 bags in 94 contests at Triple-A Norfolk before the promotion.

Playing time will be something to monitor as the Orioles acquired Taylor Ward in November to join Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Tyler O'Neill in the outfield mix. O'Neill is a respected veteran, though has regularly battled injuries and posted a .684 OPS in 54 appearances last season. Kjerstad has endured both offensive inconsistency and health issues. Beavers' limited MLB track record may give some fantasy managers pause, though that uncertainty is baked into an ADP near 300 as a potentially strong 2026 value play.

Deep Sleeper

Owen Caissie (ADP 399, OF 101)

Caissie, the No. 93 prospect in RotoWire's Top 400 Prospects list, has a real chance to make an impact this season. After only slashing .192/.222/.346 with one double, one homer and four RBI across 12 games with the Cubs last year and finding himself blocked by a deep MLB outfield, he was traded to the Marlins during January in a deal centered around Edward Cabrera. The move gives the 23-year-old a fresh start and a far clearer path to playing time.

Caissie dominated at Triple-A Iowa producing a .285/.384/.546 line alongside 27 doubles, 22 home runs and 55 RBI through 99 games. His brief MLB stint produced little in the box score, but it only amounted to 27 plate appearances where he still posted a 13.3 percent barrel rate. The lanky left-handed hitter offers a well-rounded offensive profile and has consistently produced in the minors, leaving evaluators undeterred by a quiet cup of coffee in Chicago.

Landing with Miami is a boost to Caissie's immediate fantasy outlook. Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee project as regulars in left and center field, yet right field lacks an entrenched option. Caissie will compete with Heriberto Hernandez, Griffin Conine and Esteury Ruiz for at-bats and could open in a soft platoon role against righties, though the Marlins have every incentive to evaluate their No. 4 prospect extensively. If he secures steady playing time and produces even league-average numbers during his first full MLB campaign, he can return solid value with an ADP outside the top 350 with clear upside tied to his power profile and prospect pedigree.

Who is your top sleeper at shortstop for 2026? Let us know in the comments below.