Key Spring Training News for Fantasy Baseball Drafts: Hot/Cold Players, Injury Concerns

March 24, 2026

Dan's fantasy baseball sleepers, breakouts, busts based on key Spring Training news and trends. He identifies fantasy baseball risers, fallers for 2026 drafts.

Spring training is winding down, and the first game that actually counts is tomorrow as the Giants and Yankees open up the regular season!

How much do we read into spring training results? The old joke is that if a player that you're high on has a good spring, then the results matter. If they have a bad spring, then they don't!

We are all in search of confirmation bias; there's no doubt about it. But whether or not you think spring stats matter at all, they do influence ADP, and you have to take that into account if your draft has yet to take place. Let's take a quick look at which players have performed well, struggled, or suffered injuries in spring ball and try to make sense of all of it! All stats are current through Sunday, March 22.

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Fantasy Baseball Injury Concerns

Here's a pretty comprehensive list of relevant players who are set to start the season on the IL with relatively short-term injuries, so no 60-day IL guys here.

Hitters

• Kyle Stowers
• Lars Nootbaar
• Jordan Westburg
• Gavin Lux
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
• Anthony Volpe
• Tommy Edman
• Seiya Suzuki
• Jackson Holliday
• Tyler Freeman
• Kyle Teel

Stowers (hamstring) and Suzuki (knee) are the most relevant players (for fantasy purposes) to start the year on the IL. Stowers could miss up to a month with a hamstring issue that hobbled him throughout camp, while Suzuki's absence may be shorter.

Westburg's outlook isn't great, as the most recent update said that a return in the next month seemed unrealistic. Coby Mayo should have a lengthy audition at third base for Baltimore. Meanwhile, Jackson Holliday (hand) is getting closer to a return, but is going to need to ramp up at Triple-A before he can join the Orioles, likely sometime in mid-April.

Pitchers

• Spencer Strider
• Grayson Rodriguez
• Merrill Kelly
• Blake Snell
• Joe Musgrove
• Trey Yesavage
• Bryce Miller
• Quinn Priester
• Justin Steele
• Josh Hader
• Jason Adam
• Hunter Gaddis

Those who are investing in a Spencer Strider bounce-back got dealt a gut punch when the Braves announced he'd be starting the season on the IL with an oblique issue. Hopefully, it doesn't cost him more than just a few starts.

Grayson Rodriguez is looking for a new life in L.A., but will have to wait to make his Angels debut as he's dealing with "dead arm." That's certainly the last thing you want to hear about a pitcher who's working his way back from a major arm injury.

We've known that Musgrove (elbow), Snell (elbow), and Yesavage (shoulder) would open up on the IL for a while now. The Bryce Miller situation is an interesting one, as he had flashed some signs of a return to form in spring training before getting shut down with pain in his elbow. His stint on the IL may not be long, but the fact that he's pitching with bone spurs and putting off surgery doesn't bode well for his long-term outlook.

Sent Down To The Minors

Hitters

• Konnor Griffin
• Jasson Dominguez
• Dylan Crews
• Colt Emerson
• Hyeseong Kim
• Zack Gelof
• JJ Bleday
• Jhostynxon Garcia
• Kristian Campbell

The demotion that rocked the fantasy baseball world was the Pirates sending down Griffin to start the year at Triple-A. He flashed some impressive power, but also struck out a lot, and Pittsburgh decided he needed some more work. There's no guarantee that he's back up early in the season, so he was a very risky pick in drafts. Right now, you have to hold and hope for the best.

Washington's decision to send Dylan Crews down caught everyone off guard. Crews was being taken in the middle rounds and is still widely regarded as a promising five-tool player. Like the Griffin situation, you should probably hold and hope for a May call-up.

Jasson Dominguez can't seem to crack the Yankees roster, even while he had an excellent spring with three home runs and a .333 average. He's rostered in just 12% of Yahoo leagues and can probably be left on the waiver wire for now.

Kim was beaten out by Alex Freeland, who hit just .114 this spring, for the second base job while Tommy Edman is out. Meanwhile, another young second baseman, Zack Gelof, got sent down as the Athletics are comfortable with Jeff McNeil manning the position.

Lastly, I have to mention "The Password" Jhostynxon Garcia, who was destroying the baseball all spring, but was a victim of the Pirates' last-minute signing of Marcell Ozuna. There's a logjam in the outfield, first base, and DH right now in Pittsburgh, but if Garcia keeps hitting at Triple-A, he could push this Pirates team (that badly needs offense) into bringing him back up sooner than later.

Pitchers

• Dean Kremer
• Zebby Matthews
• Braxton Garrett
• Payton Tolle
• Jacob Latz
• Logan Henderson
• Robert Gasser

I mentioned Kremer and Matthews in this piece about fifth starters yesterday, but I was wrong about Boston, as they kept Connelly Early and Johan Oviedo both up with the team and sent Payton Tolle down. If you drafted Early, you have to be feeling good about the fact that he'll have a chance to earn that fifth spot in the rotation right out of the gate.

The Rangers surprised us a bit by keeping Kumar Rocker as their fifth starter, sending lefty Jacob Latz down to the minors. Rocker isn't really on my radar as a waiver target, but definitely keep an eye on him early in the season to see if he's made any significant improvements that could help him stick in the rotation.

The Brewers are one of the most interesting rotations to watch. Since Brandon Woodruff will be ready soon, he makes the roster and just gets bumped to the back of the rotation. Quinn Priester's absence opened up another spot in the rotation, which goes to Brandon Sproat for now. Kyle Harrison and Sproat will have to pitch well to fend off Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser, who both have had success early in their careers.

It's a situation to watch closely as it unfolds.

Hot Starts: Hitters

Batting Average Leaders (minimum 40 plate appearances)

The only thing that could slow down Matt McLain this spring was a sickness that kept him out of Monday's game. I hope he didn't use up all his hits this spring - save some for the regular season, dude!

Chase DeLauter officially has my attention and has been a guy I've been targeting late in drafts as a value in the outfield. He's looked the part and should get every opportunity to play every day in Cleveland.

Chase DeLauter smacks his second home run of the game ‼️ pic.twitter.com/9yU6a4CCpT

— MLB (@MLB) March 24, 2026

Leo De Vries won't break camp with the team, but wow, did he look like a potential superstar this spring.

Luisangel Acuna has his backers buzzing, and if he keeps this hot start going into the season, he could end up one of the better hitter values in drafts. The speed is real, but can he maintain the quality of contact?

Home Run Leaders (minimum 40 plate appearances)

Maybe I'm a sucker, but I keep clicking on Langeliers in drafts. His power was on full display last year, and this spring was no different. The Athletics have four hitters on this leaderboard, and remember, folks, they are still playing home games at Sutter Health Park this season!

Shea Langeliers could finish as the C1 in 2026pic.twitter.com/RakMp1Jr0T

— oBAWanKenobi (@wOBAWanKenobi) March 21, 2026

The Austin Riley redemption tour is ready to kick things off. He had a fantastic spring and got my attention when he crushed a bomb off Garrett Crochet the other day. He might be the best value at third base if we see a return to his 2023 form.

I'm not here to "glaze" Wyatt Langford (this is apparently what the kids are saying these days), but, okay, maybe I am. Wyatt Langford looks like an MVP-caliber hitter, and you may have to reach for him in the third round of any remaining drafts at this rate!

Slow Starts: Hitters

James Wood hit just .125 with 19 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances. I wrote him up here as a fade. I just can't really get behind him breaking out any further until he fixes those contact issues.

Jose Altuve (.128) and Trea Turner (.133) have such impressive track records that I think we can easily ignore these results. Another middle infielder who struggled was Willy Adames (.136), who also whiffed 15 times.

Colton Cowser hit .222 but had 18 strikeouts and just three extra base hits (one home run). We saw him run very hot and cold in Baltimore last year, so hopefully he can pick it up when the season begins.

Royce Lewis is healthy! But he also hit just .143 over 47 plate appearances. I wouldn't read too much into those results.

I am a pretty big fan of Colson Montgomery, who hit three home runs this spring. But he also hit just .182 with 20 strikeouts. He's going to be a boom/bust hitter, it seems, based on what he did last year and this spring.

Kyle Manzardo also hit three bombs, but whiffed 20 times. He's yet to prove that he can hit for average at the MLB level, finishing at exactly .234 in each of his first two seasons. His power makes up for it a bit, but you'd love to see him hit .250 or better at some point.

Hot Starts: Pitchers

Spring strikeout leaders (minimum 10 IP)

We shouldn't be surprised by guys like Ragans, Glasnow, Brown, or even Robbie Ray showing up here. And in some ways, this list is a bit skewed towards pitchers who ended up logging more innings than many of their counterparts.

But some guys who have my attention are...

Mick Abel: He won the fifth starter spot and was sitting 98-99 mph on his heater. He needs to keep the walks down and the ball in the yard, but there's some major upside here.

Ryne Nelson:  I was slow to warm up to Nelson based on his lack of secondary stuff, but he tweaked his slider and was getting whiffs on it. The fastball is as good as anyone's due to elite iVB. Don't sleep on him this year.

Will Warren: Still some questions about his command, but Warren's stuff is filthy. How long does he stick in the rotation, though, with Carlos Rodon (elbow) and Gerrit Cole (elbow) returning in May or June?

Matthew Liberatore: The Cardinals' opening day starter, he's a craft lefty who can throw six pitches. He's free late in drafts and absolutely worth giving a shot if you need another starter.

Matthew Liberatore has impressed me this spring.

15 IP
1.80 ERA
0.80 WHIP
3.6% BB
33.9% K
.185 BAA

Could a breakout be in store for St. Louis' opening day starter?pic.twitter.com/rzbFzLkro4

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) March 21, 2026

Spring ERA leaders (minimum 10 IP)

This list is loaded with some solid late-round targets. I've been screaming about Cade Cavalli from the mountaintops (and so have others, he has become an increasingly trendy tout), but Cody Ponce is still a bit sneaky and could be a real workhorse for Toronto this year.

Grant Holmes is not someone I trust entirely, but he was dealing this spring and has a rotation spot locked up for an Atlanta team with half of its pitching staff on the IL. Max Scherzer is worth a look late in drafts, too. Let's just hope he fixed that home run issue to lefties from last season. Mike Burrows is a trendy pick to break out in Houston, and with their track record of fixing former Pirate pitchers (see Morton, Charlie, and Cole, Gerrit), it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Slow Starts: Pitchers

Jameson Taillon posted a 17.5 ERA over 13 innings, allowing 10 home runs. He'll start in the Cubs rotation as their fifth starter, but stay away in fantasy. He's just not missing bats anymore.

Andrew Abbott had an 11.7 ERA over 17 2/3 innings, but also struck out 22 hitters, so it's a mixed bag for the Cincy lefty. The "regression is coming" crowd (myself included) has been warning you about him for years. Is this the year he finally struggles?

What about everyone's favorite breakout, lefty Ryan Weathers? Well, his strikeout stuff looked strong, but he pitched to an 11.6 ERA and really struggled in his last two outings. The Yankees are hoping he can settle in, as they badly need him to help hold down the fort for their veteran pitchers. If you drafted him, just relax, he'll probably be fine. Right?

Michael King truthers, are you worried about his 10.2 ERA this spring? He struck out a batter per inning and should be okay, but it's certainly not the start you were hoping for from him.

A few other guys with high ERAs, who are also highly-rostered players:

• Chad Patrick (11.7 ERA)
• Luis Castillo (10.8 ERA)
• Shane Smith (10.1 ERA)

I wouldn't worry too much about Castillo, though his strikeouts continue to disappear later in his career. Shane Smith is still a guy who I am high on, and we get to see right away on opening day. I'm not a Chad Patrick guy, but his spot in the Milwaukee rotation should be safe for now.

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