April 17, 2026
San Diego Padres catcher
Freddy Fermin (head) is out once again for Friday's series opener in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels, according to MLB.com.
Luis Campusano will catch for right-hander
Matt Waldron, who is making his 2026 season debut, and hit ninth for the Friars against Angels right-hander
Jose Soriano. Fermin was removed from Wednesday's win over the Seattle Mariners with a head injury after he was hit by a foul tip in his catcher's mask. This will be his second straight missed game, although Fermin is believed to have cleared the league's concussion protocol since he was active off the bench on Thursday in the series finale against the M's. Fantasy managers will want to check back on Saturday to see if Fermin is back in action. Campusano is hitting .310 (9-for-29) with a homer, six RBI, and five runs scored so far this year, but his lineup placement makes him a poor DFS option. He's faced Soriano twice in his career and has one hit with a 1.000 OPS.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 17, 2026
Baltimore Orioles right-handed reliever
Andrew Kittredge (shoulder, personal) is resuming his minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk after going on paternity leave recently, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports. Right-shoulder inflammation was responsible for putting Kittredge on the 15-day injured list before Opening Day, but if he continues to progress on his rehab assignment, he could be reinstated to make his 2026 season debut at the end of April or in early May. In his three rehab outings for Norfolk, the 36-year-old veteran has given up a run on three hits while walking one and striking out five in 2 2/3 innings pitched.
Ryan Helsley has worked out well so far as Baltimore's ninth-inning man, so when Kittredge is ready to return, he'll be in more of a late-inning setup role for the O's. Kittredge has 21 career saves in nine MLB seasons, but he'll be more of an asset in holds leagues when he's back in Baltimore.
--Keith HernandezSource: MASN Sports - Roch Kubatko
April 17, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers left-hander
Kyle Harrison (knee, wrist) is expected to make his next start during the series against the Detroit Tigers, which starts next Tuesday, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Harrison suffered a collision while attempting to cover first base in his last outing on Saturday against the Washington Nationals, so he's a little beat up, but it's nothing serious and won't send him to the 15-day injured list. Pitching prospect
Coleman Crow will make his big-league debut in place of Harrison on Friday against the Miami Marlins. Harrison looked reinvented by the Brew Crew in his first three starts of 2026, posting a 3.07 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 15 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings pitched, but he'll be more risky for fantasy managers coming off his two injuries and in a matchup in Detroit. The Tigers currently rank 12th in the big leagues in team OPS (.711).
--Keith HernandezSource: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Curt Hogg
April 17, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
Jackson Chourio (hand) progressed to taking swings for the first time in his rehab on Friday, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Chourio is recovering slowly from surgery to fix a broken left hamate bone in his hand, but Friday's step is definitely notable as he tries to work his way back for his 2026 season debut. It was a surprise out of nowhere, right before Opening Day late last month that the Brewers announced the 22-year-old Venezuelan was dealing with a broken hamate bone. Chourio is an absolute must-stash in all fantasy baseball formats, with his season debut hopefully coming in early May. He's one of the best young, power/speed threats in fantasy after slashing .272/.317/.463 with a .781 OPS, 42 home runs, 157 RBI, 43 stolen bases, and 168 runs scored in 279 games in his first two major-league seasons.
--Keith HernandezSource: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Curt Hogg
April 17, 2026
St. Louis Cardinals right-hander
Richard Fitts (lat) underwent season-ending surgery to address the right-lat strain that put him on the injured list in the minor leagues recently, president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom told Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Fitts is expected to be fine in the long-term, but he'll obviously miss the rest of this year and can be dropped in any single-year fantasy leagues. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut with the Boston Red Sox in 2024 and went 2-5 with a 3.97 ERA (5.02 FIP) and 1.29 WHIP with 49 strikeouts and 23 walks in 65 2/3 innings in 15 appearances (14 starts) in 2024 and 2025 in Beantown. Depending on how Fitts' rehab goes, there's the potential for him to be delayed early in the 2027 season, too. He came to St. Louis in the trade that sent veteran righty
Sonny Gray to Boston. Fitts, who probably needs to add to his fastball/slider arsenal, is probably a back-end starter for St. Louis down the road, at best.
--Keith HernandezSource: St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Daniel Guerrero
April 17, 2026
Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said that outfielder
Kyle Stowers (hamstring) will play on his minor-league rehab assignment on Friday night, according to Craig Mish of Sports Grid. The team's medical staff will talk with Stowers after the game to see how he feels, but it sounds like his return could be imminent if all goes well. Stowers, who was Miami's lone All-Star representative in 2025, has yet to play in 2026 due to a right-hamstring strain that he suffered late in spring training in March. The 28-year-old left-handed slugger has just two hits in 15 at-bats with six strikeouts and no walks in his three rehab games to this point, but fantasy managers shouldn't really be concerned with that. When reinstated from the IL, Stowers will operate as the Marlins' starting left fielder. If he's somehow available on your league's waiver wire, scoop him up immediately. Stowers hit .288/.368/.544 with a .912 OPS, 25 home runs, 73 RBI, 61 runs scored, and five stolen bases in 117 games last year in his first full season in the majors.
--Keith HernandezSource: Sports Grid - Craig Mish
April 17, 2026
Baltimore Orioles outfielder
Tyler O'Neill (concussion) will not be activated from the seven-day injured list in the next day or two, according to Jake Rill of MLB.com. Manager Craig Albernaz said that O'Neill still has some boxes to check before he rejoins the major-league roster. O'Neill is still in the league's concussion protocol and will not be ready to come off the IL when he's eligible on Saturday. Hopefully, he can rejoin the team at some point early next week. With both O'Neill and first baseman/designated hitter
Ryan Mountcastle (foot) out with injuries, both
Dylan Beavers and
Leody Taveras have seen more playing time for Baltimore. Beavers, a 24-year-old former first-rounder in 2022 out of Cal, is the better long-term fantasy play over Taveras. Beavers is hitting .233 (10-for-43) with a homer and five RBI in his first 14 games in 2026. When healthy, O'Neill is a lineup regular for Baltimore and has power upside left after clubbing 31 long balls in 2024 with the Boston Red Sox in 113 games.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Jake Rill
April 17, 2026
Colorado Rockies infielder
Willi Castro (hand) remains out for Friday's series opener at Coors Field against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers, per MLB.com.
Edouard Julien will start at second base again and bat leadoff for Colorado versus Dodgers right-hander
Tyler Glasnow. Castro has not played since being pulled from Wednesday's game against the Houston Astros after he was hit by a pitch on his right hand. The good news, though, is that X-rays came back negative, and he's considered day-to-day for now. Castro could be back in the lineup as early as Game 2 of the series in Denver on Saturday. The 28-year-old Puerto Rican switch-hitter could be in danger of losing more playing time to Julien at the keystone for the Rockies after starting the year with a .214/.279/.339 slash line, one home run, eight RBI, four walks, and 24 strikeouts in 621 plate appearances over 16 games played. In his career against Glasnow, Julien is hitting .200 with a .533 OPS in just five at-bats.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 17, 2026
Baltimore Orioles catcher
Adley Rutschman (ankle), who is on the 10-day injured list with left-ankle inflammation, is running and going through drills and said he's feeling "a lot better," according to Jake Rill of MLB.com. Rutschman is pleased with how he's progressing, but he also isn't sure how soon he could be back. He's eligible to return on Tuesday in Kansas City against the Royals. Until Rutschman can return, young catcher
Samuel Basallo will do most of the catching for the O's. Rutschman, a 28-year-old switch-hitting catcher, didn't hit a home run in his first 10 games in 2026 before going on the shelf, but he was batting .294 (10-for-34) at the time of his injury with three stolen bases and three runs scored in 39 plate appearances. He needs to be held onto in all fantasy leagues while he heals up as he looks to bounce back from his worst statistical season in 2025 since he entered the majors in 2022. Young outfielder
Dylan Beavers should continue to see regular at-bats at DH with both Rutschman and
Ryan Mountcastle (foot) injured.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Jake Rill
April 17, 2026
The Houston Astros announced on Friday that they transferred left-handed closer
Josh Hader (biceps) to the 60-day injured list. The move was made to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Peter Lambert, who was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land to make the start on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The move means that Hader now won't be eligible to come off the IL until late May. The dominant 32-year-old southpaw threw his first live batting practice session since being diagnosed with left-biceps tendinitis near the start of spring training, but he still has a ways to go before he'll be ready to come off the IL and return to save duties in Houston. The six-time All-Star has 227 career saves in nine MLB seasons, so he's worth stashing in an IL spot in fantasy leagues until then.
Bryan Abreu was expected to be the favorite for saves early in 2026 with Hader sidelined, but he has really struggled, opening the door for
Bryan King, and most recently,
Enyel De Los Santos.
--Keith HernandezSource: Houston Astros
April 17, 2026
Boston Red Sox outfielder
Roman Anthony had a disappointing start to the season, slashing .200/.290/.309 with a .272 wOBA and 65 wRC+ over his first 14 games, but there are signs that perhaps he's about to turn it around. The 6-foot-3 slugger is 5-for-10 (.500) over his last three games, including a pair of doubles and more walks (three) than strikeouts (two). Not only that, his average exit velocity (EV) through the first 14 games stood at 90.6 mph, but during this recent three-game hot streak, the left-handed hitter is registering an average EV of 101.7 mph. To put it in perspective, the league's average EV leader,
Nick Kurtz, owns an average EV of 98.3. Hitting .246 with a .330 wOBA overall for the season, Anthony's xBA of .271 and xwOBA of .355 point to brighter days ahead, too, so fantasy managers should remain patient.
--Jarod RuppSource: Baseball Savant
April 17, 2026
Athletics third baseman
Max Muncy has cooled over his last four games, going 1-for-10 (.100) with zero extra-base hits over that stretch. However, that was preceded by an eight-game hit streak in which he went 14-for-34 (.412) with three doubles, a triple, and one home run. This is the type of inconsistency you will see from a player who is striking out at a 38.0 percent clip, yet overall, the former first-round draft pick owns a solid .288/.338/.485 slash line on the year (18 games) with a .365 wOBA and 130 wRC+. The right-handed hitter's batting average may ultimately suffer in the long run, but for managers looking for power, Muncy owns a 97th percentile average exit velocity (95.3 mph) and possesses the highest hard-hit rate in all of baseball (69.2 percent) to go along with a solid 12.8 percent barrel rate, so the extra-base hits should keep on coming. The 23-year-old is eligible at 2B, 3B, and SS on Yahoo!, adding to his fantasy appeal, and can still be had in nearly half of leagues.
--Jarod RuppSource: Baseball Savant
April 17, 2026
Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher
Drew Pomeranz is seeing his fantasy value increase as the Angels figure out how to deploy their bullpen pieces.
Jordan Romano began the season as the Angels closer, but an 8.44 ERA and two blown saves quickly led manager Kurt Suzuki to be noncommittal at best when asked about his closer role.
Kirby Yates (knee) and
Ben Joyce (shoulder) are expected to rejoin the Angels bullpen at some point in the next few weeks, but for now, Pomeranz looks like he could start seeing even higher leverage innings. He's pitched eight innings this season and his five holds put him just two behind the league lead.
Chase Silseth and Pomeranz would likely form a lefty/righty closer committee if the Angels officially remove Romano from the role. Pomeranz is currently rostered in only 4% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues. He can be immediately added in holds leagues, and managers in saves formats should keep an eye on how the Angels use their relievers this weekend against the Padres.
--David A MarcilloSource: RotoBaller.com
April 17, 2026
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher
Mick Abel has strung together two dominant outings after two rough ones to start the season. The right-hander hasn't allowed a run in his last two turns through the rotation, allowing just eight hits and three walks while striking out 16 batters in 13 innings pitched. The former first-round draft pick flashed similar dominance this spring, posting a 2.05 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and an elite 28.0 percent K-BB% in 22 IP, so it hasn't come from totally out of nowhere. Because of the first two starts of the year that didn't go well, the 6-foot-5 hurler's ERA (3.98) and WHIP (1.57) don't look great on the surface, but don't let that fool you, the 24-year-old looks like he could be on his way to a breakout campaign and is still available in almost 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues. He'll get the scuffling Mets next Tuesday at home in his next start.
--Jarod RuppSource: ESPN
April 17, 2026
Tampa Bay Rays closer
Bryan Baker has already doubled his career total in saves with the four games he has locked down this year. Baker came into the season with one save from the 2022 season and three from last season, split between two teams. He has four this year, putting him two behind the league lead and making him the only Tampa Bay reliever with more than two. While
Griffin Jax has been better of late, his rough start to the season took him out of the closer conversation and opened the door for Baker to take over.
Edwin Uceta (shoulder) is working his way back from an injury and may be competition for Baker, but it seems more likely that he will slide into a setup role, keeping Baker in the ninth inning. Baker is currently rostered in just 22% of Yahoo leagues and should be immediately added in most formats. He's posted a 3.68 ERA (2.65 xERA) with seven strikeouts and two walks in 7 1/3 innings.
--David A MarcilloSource: RotoBaller.com
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