Best MLB Right Fielders 2026: Top 10 Rankings and Analysis Before Opening Day

Story by

Story by
Best MLB Right Fielders 2026: Top 10 Rankings and Analysis Before Opening Day

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Sat, Feb 28, 2026 ·

9 min read

About Our Ads

Who is the best right fielder in baseball? Our positional rankings series ahead of the 2026 Major League Baseball season continues in the corner outfield. Today, we're looking at the 10 best MLB right fielders entering the 2026 season.

Let's dive into our list of the best right fielders in MLB right now. Of note, we're classifying Roman Anthony , Wyatt Langford , James Wood and Juan Soto as left fielders. As a result, there's some different names ranked near the bottom of our top-10 list.

1. Aaron Judge , New York Yankees

Best MLB Right Fielders 2026 — Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Aaron Judge is the best right fielder in MLB. The resume for the New York Yankees outfielder entering his age-34 season is worthy of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Since making his MLB debut in 2016, he's earned seven All-Star selections, five Silver Slugger Awards, been named to the All-MLB First Team four times and he's won AL MVP three times. For good measure, he also holds the American League's single-season home run record (62). Judge has led MLB in bWAR in three of the last four seasons and he's the only player in MLB with a 1.000-plus OPS from 2022-24. Additionally, in that four-season span, he ranks second in batting average (.311) and walk rate (18 percent) with the most home runs (210) and RBI (464). Judge's 35.9 bWAR in the last four years is even better than the best four-year stretch of Hank Aaron's career (35.2).

Related: Best MLB Rotations 2026

2. Corbin Carroll , Arizona Diamondbacks

Only 25 years old, Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll already boasts quite an impressive trophy case. In his first full MLB season, he earned an All-Star selection, made the All-MLB First Team and earned 2023 NL Rookie of the Year honors after putting up an .868 OPS with 116 runs scored, 54 steals, 30 doubles, 25 home runs, 10 triples and a 5.3 bWAR. Following a sluggish first half in 2024, he put up a .918 OPS with 17 steals, 17 home runs and 8 triples in the second half. That success carried over into this past season, as evidenced by career highs in RBI (84), doubles (32), OPS (.883) and home runs (31) with a league-high 17 triples and his third consecutive season with 30-plus steals. Carroll also ranked eighth among right fielders in Defensive Runs Saved (seven) and his 10 Outs Above Average ranked in the 96th percentile. We might see Carroll struggle early in 2026 as he recovers from hamate surgery, but he's already proven to be one of the best right fielders in MLB.

3. Ronald Acuña Jr , Atlanta Braves

A pair of ACL surgeries have deprived us of seeing the best version of Ronald Acuña Jr. In 2023, he led the league in total bases (383), hits (217), runs scored (149), steals (73) and OPS (1.012), winning NL MVP with 41 home runs, 106 RBI and a .337 batting average. In the two seasons since, the Atlanta Braves right fielder has just 25 home runs and 25 steals with an .857 OPS and a .275 batting average across 530 at-bats. September offered a glimpse into what he can do when fully healthy—.946 OPS and 6 home runs in 85 ABs—which we certainly hope is a sign of things to come in 2026. Truly, the only thing holding Acuña Jr. back from being viewed as the second-best right fielder in baseball is the fact that he's bad defensively. As long as he can play a full season, though, all we care about is the return to MVP-caliber production.

4. Fernando Tatís Jr , San Diego Padres

Since moving to right field full-time ahead of the 2023 season, Fernando Tatís Jr. leads the position in Defensive Runs Saved (44). He's now a two-time Gold Glove Award winner at the position, only adding to the outstanding value he provides for the San Diego Padres . He hasn't been good enough as a hitter in recent years, with his OPS (.965 to .803) and batting average (.292 to .266) dipping considerably compared to his first three seasons. However, he made real strides with his approach at the plate with a double-digit walk rate (12.9 percent) for the first time since 2021 and he posted a career-low in his strikeout rate (18.7 percent). He's still outstanding defensively and an All-Star caliber hitter, but his .768 OPS in the final 126 games last season suggest that Tatís Jr's MVP-level production isn't returning.

5. Kyle Tucker , Los Angeles Dodgers

The rich got richer this offseason, which can be applied to both Kyle Tucker and the Los Angeles Dodgers . What's remarkable is that last season represented Tucker's worst year production-wise since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. He played through injury, appearing in 136 games and putting up an .841 OPS with 73 RBI, 25 steals, 22 home runs and a .266 batting average. How good is Tucker when healthy? From 2021–24, he ranked third in fWAR (18.3), RBI (349) and home runs (108) among qualified outfielders. With the talent surrounding him in Los Angeles , Tucker could put up 5 fWAR this year with an .880-plus OPS. There's even a chance he's a top-five NL MVP candidate by September.

Related: Best MLB Shortstops 2026

6. Wilyer Abreu , Boston Red Sox

Now we're dropping down several tiers with our rankings of the best outfielders in MLB right now. Wilyer Abreu doesn't have an All-Star selection on his resume, largely because of his production at the plate, but his defense carries a lot of weight. He's won the Gold Glove Award in each of the last two seasons, combining for 32 Defensive Runs Saved in right field since 2024. That's thanks to phenomenal range (8 Outs Above Average, 94th percentile) and a cannon of an arm (94.2 mph arm strength, 97th percentile). While defense is his calling card, he's a productive member of the Boston Red Sox lineup as a left-handed hitter. Abreu boasts a .784 OPS with 127 RBI, 50 doubles and 37 home runs over the last two seasons. If not for an awful September (.143 BA and .372 OPS), his career-bests in OPS (.786) and home runs (22) last season might've been even higher. All in all, he's a very good right fielder for Boston and the second-best at his position in the American League.

7. Seiya Suzuki , Chicago Cubs

The knock on Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki is his fielding, hence why he's only played 44 games in right field over the last two seasons after making 132 starts there in 2023. He had an abysmal -5 Defensive Runs Saved in just 414.2 innings this past season, so Chicago will keep him out of right field as much as possible. At the plate, Suzuki boasts a .270 batting average and an .830 OPS with 250 RBI (83.3 per season), 73 home runs (24.3 per season) and 15 triples over the last three seasons. He's a very good middle-of-the-order hitter since coming over from Japan, and last season's 95th percentile barrel rate (16.6 percent) and 94th percentile launch angle sweet spot rate (40.2 percent) suggest he'll remain an excellent hitter for next season and beyond.

Related: Best MLB Lineups 2026

8. Sal Frelick , Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Sal Frelick certainly flies under the radar nationally. A first-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, he made his MLB debut in 2023. He won a Gold Glove Award a year later, recording the fourth-most Defensive Runs Saved (15) among outfielders and ranking in the 90th percentile for Outs Above Average (six). He posted the fifth-most DRS in 2025 among right fielders (nine) and placed in the 93rd percentile for OAA (seven). Critically for Milwaukee, Frelick made real strides at the plate this past year. He raised his batting average from .259 to .288, while setting career bests in home runs (12), steals (19) and OPS (.756) while nearly doubling his RBI total (32 to 65). A .270 hitter who doesn't strike out and could put up double-digit homers and steals with excellent defense in right field, that's a three-win player at a minimum.

Related: Best MLB Catchers 2026

9. Lawrence Butler , Sacramento Athletics

Snagged by the Athletics in the sixth round of the 2018 MLB Draft, it took some time for Lawrence Butler to reach the majors. He initially struggled in his first cup of coffee, managing just a .211/.240/.341 triple-slash line. Butler then broke out in 2024, hitting 22 home runs with 24 doubles and swiping 18 bases, all with a .262 batting average and an .807 OPS. While he played well in the Athletics' minor-league ballpark this past season—12 home runs, .789 OPS and .261 batting average—he struggled on the road with just a .632 OPS and .208 batting average. He might be a .240 hitter moving forward with average fielding, but he could be part of the 20-20 club for the second consecutive season, and the lineup around him gives him a chance at 80 RBI.

10. Cam Smith, Houston Astros

With George Springer at designated hitter and Mike Trout attempting to play in center field heading into the 2026 season, we're going to do a bit of projecting for this 10th spot. San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee and Minnesota Twins outfielder Matt Wallner merited consideration here, but we're rolling with the upside as a hitter and present defensive value that Cam Smith brings to the table.

The Houston Astros right fielder looked fairly promising from April 1 through July 8, recording 39 RBI with 16 doubles, a .292 batting average and a .792 OPS. A .393 batting average on balls in play across 271 at-bats probably had a lot to do with some of that success. He hit a rookie wall after the All-Star Break, posting a .154/.247/.242 triple-slash line with a .489 OPS, a .208 BABIP and a 28.2 percent strikeout rate. With that said, he did finish fourth among right fielders in Defensive Runs Saved (12). Right now, we'll take Smith's physical tools at 23 years old over the alternatives. However, there's a steep drop-off in our rankings of the best right fielders between the ninth and 10th spot, with each a tier below Sal Frelick.

Related: Best MLB Closers 2026

Related Headlines

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: