Who is the best center fielder in MLB right now? As the 2026 Major League Baseball season approaches, we’re ranking the 10 best players at each position. As we look at the best MLB center fielders in 2026, defense remains the top priority, as evidenced by some of the top names. However, there are some quality hitters who make up for their defensive shortcomings in center.
Let’s take a look at our ranking of 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 age 25, he had 45 RBI, 18 home runs, 14 doubles and a .900 OPS in the second half of last season to earn All-MLB First Team honors. A history of slow starts in the first half, which has kept him from becoming a superstar — a .721 OPS in 2023, a .690 OPS in ’24 and a .731 OPS in ’25 — hurt his season-long numbers. As far as his fielding goes, he finished sixth among starting center fielders in defensive runs saved (nine) last year and was 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 over 500 plate appearances. He remained relatively healthy and had his second consecutive campaign with an OPS over .850, while setting career highs in hits (129), triples (seven), home runs (35) and RBI (83). He led his teammates in OPS and tied the best wRC+ (128). He’s no longer the defender he used to be in center field, but a lot of that has to do with playing smart to preserve his health, and he still finished with an average of 3 outs (81st percentile). Staying healthy at age 32 is obviously not possible, but Buxton has demonstrated that he is still capable of playing at an All-Star level.
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3. Pete Crowe-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
At his peak in 2025, Pete Crowe-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, .272/.309/.559 triple-slash line, 27 home runs and 29 steals. Over the final two months of the season, Crowe-Armstrong had a .533 OPS with a .188/.237/.295 line; He was the worst hitter in MLB during that period. The metrics (43rd percentile average exit velocity, 42nd percentile hard-hit rate and 2nd percentile chase rate) suggest the first half’s numbers probably aren’t coming back. Still, he’s good enough defensively to win a Platinum Glove Award, and he’s one of the most dominant MLB players on the basepaths. Add in his pop, which 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 a 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 the final two months of his campaign (.888 OPS, 26 RBI and 9 home runs in 147 AB) added up to 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 probably exceeds Pete Crowe-Armstrong offensively.
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5. Sedan Rafaela, Boston Red Sox
Defensively, Sedan Rafaela is the best center fielder in MLB. He led the field in defensive runs saved (20) last season, with a multiple DRS value as the ninth-best center fielder by a margin of Pete Crowe-Armstrong (15). That’s why he won the Fielding Bible Award. The .249 batting average and .295 OBP are certainly not good compared to his peers, but he still had 34 doubles and had the fifth-best slugging percentage (.457). He can also be hot at the plate – .861 OPS from June to July – so there’s a possibility he could be even better. Even though Rafaela remains inconsistent and very 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 the best season of his career. 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 over 200 plate appearances. He is also unreliable defensively, ranking in the 95th percentile for Outs Above Average (nine). He could be even better in center field next season now that it has been more than a year since he had right rotator cuff surgery. He’s not higher in our center field rankings because we don’t see a world where a hitter with a .217/.289/.398 slash line and .686 OPS over the last two seasons achieves what we saw in a much smaller sample size.
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7. Andy Paige, Los Angeles Dodgers
Andy Paige made the second-year jump, with the Los Angeles Dodgers needing help in center field last season. Although he did not walk much, he raised his batting average by nearly 30 points (.248 to .272) while hitting 27 home runs and 86 RBI. Most of that production – a .795 OPS, 19 home runs and 64 RBI – came before August. Perhaps Page is closer to the hitter who had a .293 OBP and .728 OPS over the past two months, but 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
Trent Grisham falls a bit lower in our center fielder rankings due to the weight we are placing on defense. After all, he had the fourth-worst defensive runs saved (-11) among starting center fielders in 2025. He brought no value on the basepaths, placing in the 8th percentile for baserunning run value (-3). With all that said, he was fifth among outfielders in home runs (33) and 12th in OPS (.807), while his walk rate (14.1 percent) was fourth. He really seemed to find a home with the New York Yankees, and the adjustment helped him have a career-best season. Still, his career statistics suggest that regression is inevitable, and he’ll likely finish around a .750 OPS with poor 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 quickly a rising star can fade away in baseball. In his first two seasons, he had batting averages of .828 OPS and .295 OPS and was worth 8.6 bWAR. Now compare that to the last two seasons, with a 5.4 bWAR, .255 batting average and .697 OPS. He’ll only be 25 this season, and perhaps his last 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 that, with above-average defense (six defensive runs saved) and over 20 steals, he will again be a top-five center fielder.
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10. TJ Friedel, Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds outfielder TJ Friedel is definitely one of the most underrated players in MLB. He hasn’t replicated the power of his breakout 2023 campaign, when he hit 18 home runs and a career-best .819 OPS, but he remains a high-level contributor. In 2025, he set new highs in games played (152), hits (151) and walks (81), posting a career-best .364 OBP. Among center fielders with over 500 plate appearances over the past two seasons, he ranks 10th in batting average (.250), ninth in OPS (.729), eighth in wRC+ (104) and seventh in runs scored (115).
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