Flags Fly Forever Fantasy Baseball

Second base looks pretty barren at the top--only three players being drafted in the top 100!--but turns out to be a deep and diverse pool once you get beyond the first six or seven rounds. We look at players we are variously hot and cold on for 2026, and we talk strategy--particularly the pressure to draft a second baseman who can offer significant speed. 

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

Catcher? Is interesting? For fantasy? Yes, it's true--it is a more interesting and varied position than in recent years, largely because the position has gotten much younger. Mike and Jon discuss whether (and which of) these young backstops are reason for excitement or caution. Also, a mild disagreement on Cal Raleigh, but we both think he's pretty awesome and should continue being awesome. 

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

We are off and running with our 2026 positional previews, starting at first base. We talk about most of the cold corner performers that you are likely to draft this season, and we mostly (but not always!) agree. First base looks different than it did a decade or two ago (a 30-steal guy? really?) but is still one of the deeper positions in the fantasy landscape.

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

We review outfielders from the 2025 season. You think this position is deep? Well, it's ~complicated~.

We refer to Mike's positional retrospective article, which you can find here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/103300/fantasy-retrospective-2025-outfield/

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

We review middle infielders from the 2025 season, looking at the landscape at each position.

We refer to Mike's positional retrospective articles, which you can find here:

Second Basemen: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/102736/fantasy-retrospective-2025-second-base/
Shortstops: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/103050/fantasy-retrospective-2025-shortstop/

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

After a summer sabbatical, Flags is back for the offseason! 

We review catchers, third basemen, and first basemen from the 2025 season, looking at the landscape at each position.

We refer to Mike's positional retrospective articles, which you can find here:

Catchers: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/102493/fantasy-retrospective-2025-catchers/
First Basemen: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/102605/fantasy-retrospective-2025-first-base/
Third Basemen: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/fantasy/article/102900/fantasy-retrospective-2025-third-base/

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

Hello strangers! After a two-month hiatus, Flags is back. I'm sure the anticipation was not nearly at the level of the follow-up to My Bloody Valentine's epochal 1991 release, Loveless, but Jon tortures that analogy anyway.

We do a general check-in of things at the thirdway point of the season, zeroing on the starting pitching leaderboard, as well as discussing the many call-ups and how one might budget FAAB accordingly should you want to add one. 

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

Instead of a granular, detailed look at the starting pitching tiers, we take a 50,000-foot view of the landscape, identifying three large "chunks" of the draft: the early rounds (1-6), the middle rounds (7-18), and the late rounds (19-end). We tackle some strategic questions, based on the latest ADP data from NFBC Main Event drafts (though what we discuss applies broadly to most leagues). 

We discuss how essential it is, now more than ever, to enter your draft or auction with a plan for starting pitching.

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

Mike and Jon talk about two recent drafts they were in: Mike in the LABR Mixed Draft, and Jon in the WERF draft (one of the leagues in the overal EARTH competition). We make some observations about starters, relievers, and drafting speed. 

Then we get to the second half of our outfield preview, containing a lot of flawed but interesting bats. 

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.

We get through the top 2.5 tiers of Mike's outfield rankings, spending a bit of time on the Ronald Acuña Dilemma. Elsewhere, we weigh in on the robust group of promising young outfielders in the five- and four-star tiers (Chourio! Duran! Merrill! Langford! Wood! Butler!), are back in again on Corbin Carroll, hopeful for a J-Rod bounceback, and remain impressed with Yordan Alvarez.

In the top half of the three-star tier, there is considerably more risk, which leads us to sing the praises of "boring" options like Bryan Reynolds and Ian Happ. We are less excited about Pete Crow-Armstrong (though he does come from a pretty impressive high school), and hope that Mike Trout has one more healthy final act in his career, though we are not willing to pay 2025 prices.

Flags Fly Forever is a Baseball Prospectus podcast. For more fantasy baseball information, visit baseballprospectus.com and click on "Fantasy."

You can find Flags Fly Forever on Bluesky (@flagsflyforever.bsky.social). The hosts of Flags Fly Forever are Mike Gianella(@mikegianella.bsky.social) and Jon Hegglund(@jonhegglund.bsky.social). The producer of Flags Fly Forever is Jon Hegglund. 

Special thanks to the awesome and generous Petite League for permission to use their track "Mets" for the intro and break music. Find their sweet lo-fi indie-pop sounds at petiteleague.com.