Breakouts: NL Central
2026 fantasy baseball BREAKOUT picks from the five teams in the NL Central
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Pirates
Bubba Chandler
Maybe his lack of proven secondary pitches will hold him back. Maybe I’m too excited about him because I was forced to like the Pirates as a child. I took a psychology class one time, and they told me that none of my problems have anything to do with my own failings; they’re all my parents ’ fault.
It’s just a 461 pitch MLB sample on Chandler, so the brakes must be pumped. But not a lot of guys have a fastball this good. And the early signs about his command at the big league level were elite (34.5% Ball%, 3.2% BB%).
The heater itself gives him a nice floor, so if this changeup proves to be a big league weapon, Chandler could be a near SP1 in the fantasy game this year.
Braxton Ashcraft
I didn’t know for sure if the Pirates would bring Ashcraft into the rotation for 2026; they’ve shipped away Johan Oviedo and Mike Burrows this offseason, which might make Ashcraft their SP4 to start the year.
We haven’t seen much length from him yet, but he was an SP coming up through the minors, and he impressed me with what he did in The Show last year:
I imagine the SwStr% comes down a bit since he’ll be trying to get through 5-6 innings, but I like the combination of whiffs, strikes, and ground balls a whole lot.
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