Fantasy baseball season begins with LABR Mixed draft. Who goes No. 1?

Steve Gardner, USA TODAYMon, February 23, 2026 at 12:07 PM UTC

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Spring training games are underway and players are getting up to speed in preparation for when the real games begin. It’s the same drill fantasy baseball managers go through early in the spring when mock drafts serve as our spring training.

This year, some of the game’s best players will first need to gear up for the World Baseball Classic. Meanwhile, some of the fantasy industry’s best players will jump-start the 2026 draft season with the League of Alternative Baseball Reality (LABR).

The action gets underway on Monday, Feb. 23, with the LABR Mixed league draft. Who will go No.1 overall … and how will the first round shake out? Those are among the many questions fantasy managers want answered.

1 / 0MLB's $200+ million contracts

$765,000,000: Juan Soto, New York Mets (2025-39)

What is LABR?

The League of Alternative Baseball Reality is the original fantasy baseball experts league. LABR began in 1994, when Sports Weekly (then Baseball Weekly) fantasy editor John Hunt recruited 12 industry titans to draft and play in AL- and NL-only auction leagues.

LABR has since expanded to a Mixed league draft (in 2012) and a Mixed auction league (in 2020).

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2026 LABR Mixed draft participants, draft order

Shohei Ohtani is coming off a 2025 season in which he hit 55 homers, scored 146 runs and stole 20 bases. He also posted a 2.87 ERA in 47 innings on the mound. Ohtani is the consensus No. 1 overall pick so far in 2026 fantasy drafts.

Here are the competitors in this year's LABR Mixed draft, with their corresponding draft positions. It's a 15-team, 5x5 Rotisserie league with twice-weekly free-agent pickups throughout the season.

LABR Mixed draft order

Rudy Gamble – Razzball

*Ryan Bloomfield – Baseball HQ

Alan Harrison - TheFantasyFix

Scott Pianowski – Yahoo Sports

Tim McLeod – Prospect 361

Mark Bloom – Dr. Roto

Derek VanRiper – The Athletic

Ray Flowers – Fantasy Guru

Mike Gianella – Baseball Prospectus

Mike Podhorzer – Fangraphs

Jeff Erickson – Rotowire

Zach Steinhorn – Steinhorn's Universe

Fred Zinkie – @FredZinkieMLB

Paul Sporer – The Sleeper & the Bust podcast

Jenny Butler – FTN Fantasy

*-defending champion

How to follow 2026 LABR Mixed draft live

The 2026 LABR Mixed draft will be broadcast live on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Channel 87). and the 29-round draft grid will be live on RTSports.com.

Date: Monday, Feb. 23

Start time: 8 p.m. ET

Live draft grid: https://www.rtsports.com/labr-mixed-draft

Live broadcast, streaming: SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio

2025 champion: Ryan Bloomfield, Baseball HQ

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy baseball 2026 LABR mixed draft order, live grid

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