April 15, 2026
Baltimore Orioles outfielders
Dylan Beavers,
Colton Cowser, and
Leody Taveras are all out of Wednesday's starting lineup against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks with left-hander
Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound, according to MLB.com. The O's will go with an outfield from left to right that includes
Weston Wilson in left,
Blaze Alexander in center, and
Johnathan Rodriguez in right. Wilson is the only one of the trio with experience against E-Rod, hitting .250 with a .900 OPS against him in just four career at-bats. To start his first full year in the big leagues, Beavers has gone 10-for-43 (.233) with a homer, five RBI, one steal, and seven runs scored in 14 games played. So far in 33 plate appearances in the majors against southpaws, he's hitting .231 (6-for-26) with one of his five home runs. Cowser has been quiet at the plate to begin the 2026 season, as he's hitting .229 (8-for-35) and is still searching for his first home run.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 15, 2026
Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman
Ketel Marte (back) is returning to the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles and right-hander
Kyle Bradish at Camden Yards, serving as the designated hitter and batting leadoff, per MLB.com.
Ildemaro Vargas will play second base and hit sixth for the Snakes. The D-backs scratched Marte from Tuesday's lineup as a precaution due to lower-back tightness, but he's feeling much better and will give it a go on Wednesday. Fantasy managers will want to get Marte back into their starting lineups in all formats. He's only faced Bradish twice in his career and is 2-for-2 with an RBI. The 32-year-old switch-hitting Dominican second baseman comes into Wednesday's game hitting only .212 (14-for-66) on the year, but he also has four home runs, nine RBI, and nine runs scored in his 17 games played.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 15, 2026
The Detroit Tigers announced on Wednesday that they have agreed with infield prospect
Kevin McGonigle on an eight-year contract extension worth $150 million guaranteed. The deal will begin next year and will cover the 2027 through 2034 seasons, which includes McGonigle's final five seasons of club control, plus his first three years of free agency. Contract escalators in the final three seasons of the deal could bring the total value to a maximum of $160 million. The 21-year-old entered this year as the No. 2 overall prospect in all of baseball, behind only Pirates shortstop
Konnor Griffin. He earned Arizona Fall League MVP honors and then made the big-league club out of spring training this year. McGonigle is one of only 10 position players in all of baseball to have a 1.1 bWAR or better, and he enters Wednesday's action with a .311 average (19-for-61) with a .417 on-base percentage and .492 slugging percentage. He has reached base safely in 13 straight starts and in 15 of 16 starts overall. McGonigle is one of only 10 big-leaguers with more walks (11) than strikeouts (eight) in his first 17 games. He's the real deal and is here to stay.
--Keith HernandezSource: Tigers PR
April 15, 2026
Left-hander
Martin Perez cleared waivers on Tuesday, elected free agency, and has now re-signed with the Atlanta Braves on a minor-league deal, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. For now, Perez will most likely head to Triple-A Gwinnett to give the Braves experienced starting pitching depth going forward. The 35-year-old Venezuelan hurler handled himself well in his first three appearances (two starts) with Atlanta before being removed from the 40-man roster, allowing five earned runs on nine hits while walking four and striking out six in 14 1/3 innings pitched. Perez is in his 15th year in the big leagues, so he has plenty of experience, but for fantasy baseball purposes, there's not much upside. It remains to be seen if he'll get another opportunity for an extended stay in the starting rotation in the majors, and his career 16.3% strikeout rate won't attract fantasy managers.
--Keith HernandezSource: New York Post - Jon Heyman
April 15, 2026
Chicago White Sox infield/outfield prospect
Sam Antonacci holds high-end stash upside among hitting prospects. Reports last weekend suggested that the White Sox were set to call up Antonacci to the big leagues, but since this transaction has yet to occur, the team may feel he needs additional development in Triple-A. Entering the season, Antonacci was not on the stash radar in most formats as he sat as the No. 9-ranked prospect in the system on MLB.com. However, he has performed at an elite level at Triple-A and is beginning to tap into his power upside. Through 14 games with Charlotte, Antonacci has gone deep twice, swiped five bags while holding a .313/.500/.479 line. Last summer, Antonacci hit just five home runs in the lower levels while stealing 48 bases over 116 games. If Antonacci can continue this power trajectory, he could hold 10/30 upside once he reaches the South Side. Given Chicago's current lineup, Antonacci is a top hitter prospect to stash in standard category leagues, given his speed potential.
--Andy SmithSource: MiLB.com
April 15, 2026
Boston Red Sox first baseman
Willson Contreras (back) is not in the starting lineup on Wednesday against the hosting Minnesota Twins at Target Field, according to MLB.com.
Andruw Monasterio is drawing the start at first base and will hit sixth for the BoSox against Twins right-hander
Simeon Woods Richardson. Lower-back tightness forced Contreras to leave Tuesday's 6-0 loss early, and he's now considered day-to-day with the injury. The Red Sox have an off day coming on Thursday, so fantasy managers will want to check back to see if Contreras is feeling good enough to return to action for Friday's series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Hopefully, the Venezuelan's back injury doesn't disrupt his timing at the plate early in the season, as he's so far hitting .298 (17-for-57) with three home runs, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored for Boston. Monasterio will be a deep DFS sleeper play on Wednesday. He's gone 2-for-14 so far with two RBI, and he's never faced Woods Richardson.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 15, 2026
Atlanta Braves right-handed pitching prospect
Didier Fuentes is seeing his value as a stash candidate soar in Week 3 of the fantasy season. The budding ace in the Atlanta system has looked quite sharp with Triple-A and is knocking on the MLB door. Over the last two outings, Fuentes has logged at least six innings of work and has allowed just four runs over 13 total frames while striking out 13 hitters. Fuentes opened the regular season in Atlanta as a reliever but was optioned to Triple-A to further increase his workload. Seeing him quickly increase his pitch count with Triple-A Gwinnett suggests the Braves view him as a potential starting option in the near future. With Atlanta having several starting pitchers on the injured list, such as
Spencer Strider (oblique),
Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow), and
Hurston Waldrep (elbow), Fuentes could return to Atlanta in the coming weeks. His increasing strikeout upside and workload make him an elite pitching prospect to stash in all formats.
--Andy SmithSource: MiLB.com
April 15, 2026
Arizona Diamondbacks outfield prospect
Ryan Waldschmidt remains an elite stash option in all standard leagues in Week 3 of the fantasy baseball season. The 23-year-old nearly broke camp with the MLB roster but was optioned to Triple-A Reno to begin the 2026 campaign. With Reno Waldschmidt, he has looked more than comfortable, which suggests he could be quickly approaching his MLB debut. Through his first 16 games at the top level of the Arizona system, Waldschmidt has held an elite .311/.415/.557 slash line with five doubles, two home runs, and a stolen base. Last summer, the former 31st overall selection made his High-A and Double-A debuts and carried an overall .289/.419/.473 line over 134 games split between the two levels. With
Pavin Smith (elbow) and
Jordan Lawlar (wrist) both on the 60-day IL, Waldschmidt could provide some much-needed depth to this outfield.
--Andy SmithSource: MiLB.com
April 15, 2026
Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitching prospect
River Ryan continues to hold sneaky stash value in Week 3 of the fantasy baseball season. Ryan underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2024 and has been on the shelf ever since. He participated in spring training and was quite effective, logging 9 2/3 innings with a 1.86 ERA and a 12:4 K:BB. However, the Dodgers opted for Ryan to begin the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City to ramp up his workload further. With Triple-A, Ryan has made two starts (logged seven innings) and managed to strike out 10 hitters while allowing four earned runs. Ryan made his MLB debut during the 2024 season and was near-perfect in his first taste, posting an elite 1.33 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 20 1/3 innings. While the Dodger rotation appears to be full,
Roki Sasaki holds a rough 6.23 ERA, and
Emmet Sheehan has struggled to find consistency as well. For now, Ryan is a fine stash option in all 12+team leagues.
--Andy SmithSource: MiLB.com
April 15, 2026
Seattle Mariners infield prospect
Colt Emerson is on the verge of making his MLB debut and remains a top hitting prospect to stash in all fantasy formats. The No. 1-ranked prospect in Seattle was recently added to the 40-man roster and is "as close as they come" to an MLB debut, according to Seattle's president of baseball operations, Jerry Dipoto. The 20-year-old has spent the opening weeks of the regular season with Triple-A Tacoma and has held his own during his first extended look at this level. Through 13 games, Emerson has carried a .265/.321/.408 line with four doubles, a home run, and a stolen base. However, he has struck out at a rather high 31.5% of the time, which could cause some growing pains once he reaches the majors. In 2025, Emerson logged 130 games shared between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A and posted a .285 AVG with 16 home runs and 14 stolen bases. His five-category potential makes him a top stash option in Week 3.
--Andy SmithSource: MiLB.com
April 15, 2026
It was a mixed bag for New York Yankees left-hander
Ryan Weathers in his start in the Bronx on Tuesday against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. Weathers allowed five earned runs on five hits (four homers surrendered) while walking two and striking out 10 in five innings of work. In the top of the first inning, the 26-year-old southpaw gave up back-to-back-to-back home runs to outfielders
Mike Trout,
Jo Adell, and
Jorge Soler. The fourth round-tripper he allowed was to
Oswald Peraza in the fourth inning. It was not exactly the outing that Weathers wanted, and he was hit with his second loss of 2026, but he also had at least seven strikeouts for the third time in his first four starts of the season. The former first-rounder now has a 4.29 ERA and 1.38 WHIP with 28 strikeouts and seven walks in 21 innings pitched in his first year in pinstripes. For his swing-and-miss stuff alone from the left side, Weathers needs to be held in fantasy baseball leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 15, 2026
San Francisco first base prospect
Bryce Eldridge remains an elite stash option in all standard formats in Week 3 of the fantasy campaign. The team's top hitting prospect was in strong contention to break camp with the MLB roster but fell just short. However, since returning to Triple-A Sacramento, Eldridge has been playing at an elite level and is quickly making a strong case to return to San Francisco. Over his last three games, Eldridge has tallied at least two hits in each contest and has even hit the three-hit mark in each of his last two. Since April 1 (six games), the former 16th overall selection has carried an elite .416/.512/.639 line with five doubles and a round-tripper. While he posted a modest .107/.297/.179 line during his brief taste of the majors last summer, his dominant play at Triple-A makes him a prime stash candidate in all standard 12-team leagues.
--Andy SmithSource: MiLB.com
April 15, 2026
Outfielder and leadoff man
Byron Buxton led the Minnesota Twins in their 6-0 shutout win over the visiting Boston Red Sox at Target Field. Buxton finished the game 4-for-5 at the plate with two home runs, four RBI, and a strikeout. Both of Buxton's homers were of the solo variety, with the first coming off starter
Sonny Gray in the third inning. It was the 18th multi-homer game of the 32-year-old's career, and he now has three home runs in the last two days. It's safe to say that the two-time All-Star is heating up in the first month of the season, and he's now slashing .246/.306/.462 with a .767 OPS, three home runs, four RBI, and 15 runs scored in 16 games played. He has yet to steal a base, though, after swiping 24 bags in 126 games a year ago. With Buxton, he should be a nice fantasy contributor when healthy, but staying healthy has been tough for him to do in his 12-year career.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 15, 2026
Colorado Rockies catcher
Hunter Goodman had a big day at the plate on Tuesday in the team's 7-6 loss to the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Goodman went 2-for-5 with two solo home runs, but he also struck out three times. It was Goodman's sixth multi-homer game of his career and his first since July 1 of the 2025 season. It was nice to see the 26-year-old show off his power after an injury scare last week in San Diego when he was hit by a pitch in the hand. Goodman is now hitting .254 (15-for-59) on the year with four home runs, seven RBI, 12 runs scored, a stolen base, five walks, and a league-leading 26 home runs in 17 games played. He also has six hits in his last nine games and is batting .296 with three homers and five RBI during that span. Despite the strikeouts, Goodman proved last year that he has elite power at the catching position by hitting 31 long balls in 144 games for the Rockies in his first full season in the big leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 15, 2026
St. Louis Cardinals rookie second baseman
JJ Wetherholt had a big game for the Cards out of the leadoff spot in the team's 6-5 win on Tuesday at Busch Stadium over the Cleveland Guardians, going 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI, and one strikeout. Both of Wetherholt's home runs on Tuesday's came off southpaws, and it was the first multi-homer game of the 23-year-old's career. The home runs were his first since he went deep on Opening Day in his big-league debut. Wetherholt is now hitting .231/.338/.385 with a .722 OPS, three home runs, eight RBI, 13 runs scored, three stolen bases, 10 walks, and 14 strikeouts in his first 17 major-league games. The No. 7 overall pick back in 2024 doesn't have any obvious weaknesses as a prospect and could access 15-homer power in his first MLB season in 2026 if he stays healthy all year. Wetherholt is rostered in 87% of Yahoo leagues and will continue to have plenty of fantasy value if he's hitting at the top of St. Louis' batting order.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
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