2026 Fantasy Baseball NFBC NL Auction Review: Building Around Ronald Acuna Jr.

The high-stakes draft season has arrived, and my first auction is in the books. I headed to last night’s NL-only league with a skeleton plan. The goal was to buy OF Ronald Acuna and SP Paul Skenes, with each player expected to go for over $40. I penciled in two cheaper closing options (Ryan Walker and Matt Svanson), while leaving the rest of my starting pitching at the mercy of the auction flow.

Fantasy Baseball Auction Targets & Strategy

On the hitting side, I had a target of C Agustin Ramirez, 1B Matt Olson, OF Heliot Ramos, OF Jordan Walker, OF Mickey Moniak, and CO Spencer Steer. This group of players had a target range of about $95. I wanted to go cheap at third base with Matt Shaw (he went $5 in the NL auction in LABR). My coin toss at second base was between Matt McLain ($15) and Ozzie Albies ($14).

My initial plan was to spend $170 on hitting and $90 in pitching.

When the lights went on OF/P Shohei Ohtani was the first player on the board. I bid $48 (wait, what about Acuna?). Defending Champ Jason Gill went over the top for $49 to land his franchise player. Paul Skenes was an early call-up, and I put up a fight…$41, $43, $45, and $47, but Alan Holmes was snowed in somewhere in Canada, and he stuck to his plan – Skenes went for $48.

Building Around Ronald Acuna Jr.

Juan Soto ($40) came out before Ronald Acuna, giving me an idea of his price point. I was able to secure him for $41, helped by depth of the top tier outfield inventory.

Jackson Chourio ($37)
Fernando Tatis ($36)
Kyle Tucker ($36)
Corbin Carroll ($35)

Three other outfielders/DHs went for $30 or more – Pete Crow-Armstrong ($32), Kyle Schwarber ($31), and James Wood ($30).

Pivoting From Paul Skenes & Fading Elite Closers

Fantasy Baseball Stud: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirate — United States pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Dominican Republic during a semifinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

After losing Skenes, my thought was to drop down to Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Mr. Holmes also had lust for Cristopher Sanchez ($35), giving him an elite ace foundation ($83). After Chris Sale ($29) came off the board, I thought I was fortunate to secure Yamamoto for $31,

I freelanced down the Konnor Griffin ($14), aided by losing Skenes. On my first call, I threw out Ryan Walker, and promptly bought him for market value ($13 – same as LABR). A couple of rounds later, I also called up Matt Svanson ($7), costing him two extra dollars, but well below the top closers.

Edwin Diaz ($30)
Mason Miller ($29)
Jhoan Duran ($25)
Devin Williams ($24)

Loading Up On Some Atlanta Braves

With none of the top 12 second basemen called out, I decided that I was out of position on Matt McLain based on my buys and his hot spring. I threw Ozzie Albies on the mat with a target of $14. Unfortunately, I had to overpay ($18) while knowing I wanted to stay in the midrange at the position. Later in the auction, I bid $20 on Matt McLain, knowing a team in a good position with money left would go the extra dollar. Dave Smith picked him up for $21.

Matt Olson was the first of the big three first basemen to be called out, and he landed on my target number ($30) and on my team. Freddie Freeman ($29), Bryce Harper ($29), and Rafael Devers ($28) were around the same price.

I tried to make a run at Matt Shaw (my call out), but Mike Duggan wasn’t having any part of that. I was willing to pay over my listed price…$8, $10, $12, and $14. After my last bid, I was out if he went to $15, and Duggan teed him up one more time. I decided to pivot to Noelvi Marte ($16), who was only two sticks behind Alex Bregman ($18).

Adding Some Marlins To The Mix

I watched three catchers come off the board – William Contreras ($23), Hunter Goodman ($22), and Drake Baldwin ($21), almost in a row. Despite aggressive early spend, I couldn’t get away from Agustin Ramirez ($21).

After rostering Sandy Alcantara ($16), I had $54 for $13 players. I need to buy at least three players in the $10 range, plus finish the backend of my pitching staff, while hoping to get enough at-bats at the backend.

Fantasy Baseball Auction Hitter Results

2026 NFBC NL Auction Hitting Results — NFBC

Here’s how I filled out my roster:

C2 – Jonah Heim ($1)

MI – Xaiver Bogaerts ($11) – I wanted JJ Wetherholt ($16), but there was too much interest. I settled for at-bats.

CO – Nolan Arenado ($4) – Veteran player who should get plenty of at-bats.

OF2 – Daylen Lile ($11) – I have him as a value/breakout player.

OF3 – Mickey Moniak ($10)

OF4 – Mick Castellanos ($4) – Another veteran player who should play enough to support his cost.

OF5 – Jordan Walker ($2) – I had him as an $11 target with breakout upside. He was called out late, and I felt I stole him in this format. Only one other game manager could have bid higher, but he had eyes on other positions.

UT – Tommy Edman ($3) – He should prove to be a value when Edman returns. He also gives me some middle-infield coverage if Konnor Griffin stays in the minors for too long.

This team was at extreme risk at the backend of my starting rotation. I thought I added the right arms with upside for minimal cost.

Fantasy Baseball Auction Pitcher Results

2026 NFBC NL Auction Pitching Results — NFBC

SP3 – Rhett Lowder ($2)

SP4 – Robby Snelling ($2)

SP5 – Kyle Harrison ($2)

SP6 – River Ryan ($1)

RP3 – Tony Santillan ($1)

In the reserve round, I scooped SP JR Ritchie, OF Esteury Ruiz, Richard Fitts, 1B Endy Rodriguez, 1B Andres Chaparro, and RP Zack Agnos.

My biggest weakness may be innings pitched, but I’m at the mercy of many young arms to help early in their careers.

Other Notables:

Elly De La Cruz ($39)
Trea Turner ($32)
Eury Perez ($24)
Nolan McLean ($22)
Spencer Strider ($18)
Chase Burns ($18)
Andrew Painter ($5)
Jordan Lawlar ($14)
Dylan Crews ($11)