2026 NL East Positional Rankings: Right Field
We continue our 2026 National League East positional rankings today with each team’s right fielder.
The division’s right fielders include two superstars, a former All-Star looking for a resurgence, and two former top prospects looking to take a leap. Here is how we ranked them.
No. 5 – Owen Caissie, MIA
Owen Caissie enjoyed a great season for Triple-A Iowa, batting .286/.386/.551 with 22 homers and 28 doubles in 433 plate appearances. The Cubs called him up to the majors over the summer, but he went just 5-for-26 with one home run and 11 strikeouts against one walk. The Cubs shipped him to Miami as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Edward Cabrera to Chicago. Caissie was the Cubs’ top-ranked prospect at the time of the trade, and it would be foolish to write him off because of a 12-game sample in the majors. However, he still needs to prove himself before he gets ranked any higher.
No. 4 – Dylan Crews, WAS
Expectations were sky-high for Dylan Crews entering 2025. The 2023 second-overall draft pick soared through the minor leagues in 2024, reaching the majors by the season’s end. Unfortunately for Crews and the Nationals, his 2025 didn’t go as planned. Crews strained his left oblique in May, forcing him to miss over two months. When he was on the field, he produced an underwhelming .208/.280/.352 slash line with 10 homers and 17 steals over 322 plate appearances. Crews’ .235 xBA, .393 xSLG and .307 xwOBA may not impress a lot of people, but those marks suggest he got rather unlucky at the plate. Crews posted a solid 3 OAA in right field and had strong sprint speed at 29.0 feet per second, providing some value to make up for his disappointing numbers with the bat. Heading into his age-24 season, there are still reasons to believe Crews can right the ship.
No. 3 – Adolis García, PHI
In 2023, Adolis García was on top of the baseball world. He clubbed 39 home runs in the regular season, then smacked eight more long balls and drove in a record-setting 22 runs as the Rangers took home their first World Series in franchise history. 15 of those runs were driven in during Texas’ ALCS victory over the Astros, for which García was named Series MVP. Two years later, though, García found himself getting non-tendered by the Rangers after a second straight disappointing season. He batted just .227/.271/.394 with 19 homers in 547 plate appearances, posting a career-worst 83 wRC+.
There are reasons to believe García can bounce back offensively – his 92.1 mph average exit velocity ranked in the majors’ 89th percentile, and his .427 xSLG was a modest improvement over his 2024 mark. In the field, the former Gold Glover bounced back from a dreadful 2024 to post a respectable plus-1 OAA. García will get most of the playing time in right field for the Phillies, with the team seeking to move on from Nick Castellanos. If nothing else, García provides Philadelphia with an upgrade at the position as he looks to regain some of the value he’s lost over the last two years.
Ronald Acuña Jr. David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
No. 2 – Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL
When Ronald Acuña Jr. returned from his torn ACL, he looked like himself on the field. The 2023 NL MVP batted .290/.417/.518 with 21 homers and a strong 17.2% walk rate in 412 plate appearances. His 161 wRC+ is the second-highest mark of his career, trailing only his 2023 season. There were some issues with his game, though – he posted a dreadful negative-11 OAA in right field, he stole just nine bases, and he dealt with an Achilles injury that landed him back on the injured list in August for a few weeks. His performance tailed off a little bit in the second half of the season, but Acuña still managed to post 3.5 fWAR in just 95 games. It’s very reasonable to expect Acuña to be in the NL MVP conversation in 2026.
No. 1 – Juan Soto, NYM
Despite all the criticism and the Mets’ collapse, Juan Soto had a marvellous first year in Flushing. He batted .263/.396/.525 with a career-high 43 home runs and 38 steals, while setting a franchise record by drawing 127 walks. Soto led the majors in free passes and led the NL in on-base percentage and steals (tied with Oneil Cruz). He finished second in the NL in runs scored and ranked third in home runs, OPS and RBIs. Soto accomplished despite having brutal batted-ball luck, as suggested by his .288 xBA, .429 xwOBA and .608 xSLG.
Soto finished third in NL MVP voting behind Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber. Defense is still a weakness for Soto, as his negative-12 OAA ranked near the bottom among qualified fielders in MLB. However, his bat, along with his newly-found ability to steal bases, makes him the best right fielder in the NL East.
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