Matt Johnson
Who is the best center fielder in MLB right now? As the 2026 Major League Baseball season nears, we’re ranking the 10 best players at each position. As we look at the best MLB center fielders in 2026, defense remains a top priority, as evidenced by some of the top names. However, there are a few quality hitters who make up for their defensive shortcomings in center.
Let’s dive into our rankings for the best center fielders in MLB right now.
1. Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
Julio Rodriguez is the best center fielder in baseball. Already a three-time All-Star selection and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner at 25 years old, he put up 45 RBI, 18 home runs, 14 doubles and a .900 OPS in the second half last season to earn All-MLB First Team honors. What’s kept him from becoming a superstar is a history of slow starts in the first half—.721 OPS in 2023, .690 OPS in ’24 and .731 OPS in ’25—impacting his season-long numbers. As for his fielding, he finished sixth among starting center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved (nine) last year and in the 97th percentile for Range (11 OAA) and the 95th percentile for Arm Strength.
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2. Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
The 2025 MLB season was the first time since 2017 that Byron Buxton had 500-plus plate appearances. He stayed relatively healthy and delivered his second consecutive campaign with an .850-plus OPS, while setting career highs in hits (129), triples (seven), home runs (35) and RBI (83). He led his peers in OPS and tied for the best wRC+ (128). He’s not the defender he used to be in center field, but a lot of that has to do with playing smarter to preserve his health, and he still finished with 3 Outs Above Average (81st percentile). Staying healthy obviously isn’t a given at 32 years old, but Buxton has demonstrated that he’s still more than capable of playing at an All-Star level.
Related: Best MLB First Basemen 2026
3. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
At his peak performance in 2025, Pete Crow-Armstrong was one of the best players in baseball. The Chicago Cubs center fielder went into the All-Star Break with the fourth-highest fWAR (4.6), and he entered August with an .868 OPS, a .272/.309/.559 triple-slash line, 27 home runs and 29 steals. In the final two months of the season, Crow-Armstrong had a .533 OPS with a .188/.237/.295 line; he was the worst hitter in MLB over that span. The metrics (43rd percentile average exit velocity, 42nd percentile Hard-Hit rate and 2nd percentile Chase rate) suggest those first-half numbers probably aren’t coming back. Even so, he is good enough defensively to win the Platinum Glove Award, and he’s one of the most impactful MLB players on the basepaths. Add in his pop, that still makes him one of the best center fielders in MLB.
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4. Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill took the baseball world by storm as a rookie in 2024, earning an All-Star selection and the Silver Slugger Award with a .292 batting average, .826 OPS, 90 RBI, 31 doubles, 24 home runs and 16 steals. He spent three stints on the injured list (concussion, hamstring and ankle) in 2025, but his final two months of the campaign (.888 OPS, 26 RBI and 9 home runs in 147 ABs) aligned with his rookie success. Merrill’s defensive ability isn’t elite, but he certainly doesn’t hurt San Diego in that regard, and he brings added value as a base runner. In terms of ceiling, Merrill’s is probably higher than Pete Crow-Armstrong’s offensively.
Related: Best MLB Third Basemen 2026
5. Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox
Defensively, Ceddanne Rafaela is the best center fielder in MLB. He led the position in Defensive Runs Saved (20) last season, with the margin over Pete Crow-Armstrong (15) worth as many DRS as the ninth-best center fielder. It’s why he won the Fielding Bible Award. The .249 batting average and .295 OBP certainly don’t compare well to his peers, but he still put up 34 doubles and had the fifth-best slugging percentage (.457). He also can get hot at the plate—.861 OPS from June through July—so there’s potential he could be even better. Even if Rafaela remains inconsistent and too aggressive with the bat, his fielding makes him one of the best young outfielders in MLB.
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6. Daulton Varsho, Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho is coming off a career-best season at the plate. He only played in 71 games, but he hit 20 home runs with 55 RBI and had an .833 OPS. Varsho had the highest OPS among center fielders with 200-plus plate appearances. He’s also incredible defensively, ranking in the 95th percentile for Outs Above Average (nine). He could be even better in center field next season now that he’s more than a year removed from surgery on his right rotator cuff. He just isn’t higher in our center field rankings because we don’t see a world where a hitter with a .217/.289/.398 slash line and a .686 OPS over the previous two seasons recaptures what we saw in a much smaller sample size.
Related: Best Designated Hitters 2026
7. Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers
Andy Pages made the second-year leap the Los Angeles Dodgers needed to help out in center field this past season. While he didn’t walk more, he raised his batting average by nearly 30 points (.248 to .272) while putting up 27 home runs and 86 RBI. A majority of that production—.795 OPS, 19 home runs and 64 RBI—came before August. Perhaps Pages is closer to the hitter who had a .293 OBP and .728 OPS in the final two months, but the power output and defense (97th percentile Range and 98th percentile Arm Strength) still make him one of the best MLB center fielders in 2026.
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8. Trent Grisham, New York Yankees
Because of the weight we’re putting on defense, Trent Grisham comes in a bit lower in our center fielder rankings. After all, he had the fourth-worst Defensive Runs Saved (-11) among starting center fielders in 2025. He also brought no value on the basepaths, placing in the 8th percentile for Baserunning Run Value (-3). With all that said, he ranked fifth among outfielders in home runs (33) and had the fourth-best walk rate (14.1 percent) while placing 12th in OPS (.807). He truly seemed to find a home with the New York Yankees, and adjustments helped get him to a career-best season. Still, his career numbers suggest regression is inescapable, and he’ll probably finish around a .750 OPS with woeful defense in center.
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9. Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves center fielder Michael Harris II is an example of how fast a rising star can suddenly fade in baseball. Through his first two seasons, he had an .828 OPS and a .295 batting average and was worth 8.6 bWAR. Now compare that to the past two seasons, with 5.4 bWAR, a .255 batting average and a .697 OPS. He’ll only be 25 years old this season, and maybe his final two months last year (11 home runs, 36 RBI, .278 batting average and .775 OPS) are a sign of him getting back on track. If he does, with above-average defense (six Defensive Runs Saved) and 20-plus steals, he’ll be a top-five center fielder again.
Related: MLB Award Predictions 2026, including MVP Winner
10. T.J. Friedl, Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds outfielder T.J. Friedl is certainly one of the most underrated players in MLB. He hasn’t replicated the power from his breakthrough 2023 campaign, when he put up 18 home runs and a career-best .819 OPS, but he remains a high-floor contributor. In 2025, he set new career highs in games played (152), hits (151) and walks (81) while posting a career-best .364 OBP. Among center fielders with 500-plus plate appearances over the last two seasons, he’s 10th in batting average (.250), ninth in OPS (.729), eighth in wRC+ (104) and seventh in runs scored (115).
Read More: MLB Power Rankings 2026, Evaluating all 30 Teams
