The fantasy baseball season officially gets underway when the first pitch is thrown in a regular season game. In 2026, that day arrives on March 25, when the San Francisco Giants host the New York Yankees, the earliest start to an MLB season in history. But the fantasy baseball season unofficially begins well before then, with managers diving into their fantasy baseball draft kit to prepare for their leagues and ultimately selecting a team they hope will compete for a championship.
With MLB projections already live for the 2026 season, it's impossible to start too early. The best fantasy baseball managers start their prep work and research early while paying attention to news and trends to keep their rankings fresh throughout the winter and into the early spring. We'll dive into the important dates you need to know as well as a time table to keep in mind for preparation and drafting so that you can maximize your fantasy baseball experience.
Marking the Calendar: 2026 Opening Day
The Giants and Yankees will open the regular season on March 25, with reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge leading New York against a San Francisco team ushering in a new era under manager Tony Vitello. Judge is a sure-fire first-round pick in any fantasy baseball mock draft.
The game will feature nine players currently with a fantasy baseball ADP inside the top-100–including Judge, second baseman Jazz Chisholm, and starter Max Fried for the Yankees, plus slugger Rafael Devers and ace Logan Webb
The fantasy baseball season officially gets underway when the first pitch is thrown in a regular season game. In 2026, that day arrives on March 25, when the San Francisco Giants host the New York Yankees, the earliest start to an MLB season in history. But the fantasy baseball season unofficially begins well before then, with managers diving into their fantasy baseball draft kit to prepare for their leagues and ultimately selecting a team they hope will compete for a championship.
With MLB projections already live for the 2026 season, it's impossible to start too early. The best fantasy baseball managers start their prep work and research early while paying attention to news and trends to keep their rankings fresh throughout the winter and into the early spring. We'll dive into the important dates you need to know as well as a time table to keep in mind for preparation and drafting so that you can maximize your fantasy baseball experience.
Marking the Calendar: 2026 Opening Day
The Giants and Yankees will open the regular season on March 25, with reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge leading New York against a San Francisco team ushering in a new era under manager Tony Vitello. Judge is a sure-fire first-round pick in any fantasy baseball mock draft.
The game will feature nine players currently with a fantasy baseball ADP inside the top-100–including Judge, second baseman Jazz Chisholm, and starter Max Fried for the Yankees, plus slugger Rafael Devers and ace Logan Webb for the Giants.
The following day, 26 other teams begin their seasons. Those 13 matchups include Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers, Phillies vs. Rangers and Guardians vs. Mariners, with the MLB player stats counting for real toward your fantasy baseball matchups.
When to Start Your Fantasy Baseball Draft
While the best fantasy baseball managers do months of research, going as deep as evaluating MLB prospect rankings to find top sleepers, most drafts happen closer to the start of the regular season. The sweep spot is in early- to mid-March. By then, all prominent free agents will have signed, storylines and position battles will be cleared up in spring training, and there will be more current and relevant ADP listings and fantasy baseball auction values to give your league the most up-to-date news and information to draft.
Some deeper leagues or NL-only/AL-only leagues may actually wait until the weekend after the regular season has started to draft. Specific rules may include only drafting players who made final rosters or who begin the year in the National League or American League. It's a typical move for those in keeper leagues who analyze and use fantasy baseball dynasty rankings.
Often, statistics that occurred prior to the draft are included in season-long standings, so you're not really missing anything by waiting until that first weekend to hold your draft, if that's the route your league decides to take.
Early-Bird Leagues: Draft and Hold Formats
Some leagues will go the opposite route and draft early, well before the regular season or even spring training begins. Because there are still unknowns in terms of free agency, injuries and starting lineups/rotations, only the sharpest managers can get by using their own research and fantasy baseball rankings.
These are rare, but can be fun for managers who really want to dive into their own research and roll the dice on some of those unknowns to get lucky on players who become draft-day steals.
The Pre-Season Checklist
Regardless of when draft day takes place, it's never too early to set up your preseason checklist. This includes finding a league (complete with other owners) on the platform of your choice, agreeing on rules, and doing plenty of research on players you want to target based on league settings.
RotoWire's draft kit includes great rankings, sleepers, players to avoid, rookies to keep an eye on and so much more that will give you a leg up on the competition no matter when you decide to start.
The fantasy baseball draft assistant will help on draft day, but there's plenty you can get done in the lead-up to the draft to give yourself the best chance of success this fantasy baseball season.
