March 26, 2026
Minnesota Twins left-handed-hitting outfielder
Matt Wallner is in right field and is batting fifth on Opening Day on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles and left-hander
Trevor Rogers at Camden Yards, according to MLB.com. At least to begin the season, the Twins plan to play Wallner every day, even though he has just a .641 OPS in his career against southpaws. Fantasy managers setting DFS lineups should probably avoid the 28-year-old, who has never faced Rogers. Wallner had a solid spring training showing, batting .333 (16-for-48) with three home runs, four doubles, six RBI, seven runs scored, and a stolen base in 18 Grapefruit League games for the Twins. If Wallner can continue to improve against lefties like he did last season (.790 OPS) and reduce his strikeout rate, there's no reason why he won't continue to play regularly in Minnesota. Last year in a career-high 104 games, he slashed .202/.311/.464 with 22 homers, 40 RBI, 47 runs, and four steals in 392 plate appearances.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 26, 2026
Cincinnati Reds infielder
Sal Stewart is starting at first base and is batting cleanup for the Reds on Opening Day on Thursday against the visiting Boston Red Sox and left-hander
Garrett Crochet, per MLB.com. Stewart has never faced Crochet in his career and will make for a tough sell in DFS lineups against one of the more dominant lefty arms in the game. Long-term, though, the 22-year-old former first-rounder in 2022 is a rising young power bat in fantasy baseball in the heart of what should be a pretty productive lineup. Stewart posted a 1.042 OPS, .327/.450/.592 slash line, three home runs, eight RBI, 11 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 20 Cactus League games for the Reds this spring and has breakout potential in Cincy in his first full MLB season as a regular. In 18 games in his big-league debut in 2025, Stewart went 14-for-55 (.255) with five long balls and eight RBI.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 26, 2026
Baltimore Orioles outfielder
Taylor Ward is starting in left field and will bat in the leadoff spot in his debut with the team on Opening Day on Thursday against the visiting Minnesota Twins and right-hander
Joe Ryan, according to MLB.com. In his career against Ryan, Ward is hitless in six at-bats with an RBI. At least until second baseman
Jackson Holliday returns from his hand injury, the 32-year-old Ward will be Baltimore's preferred option at the top of the lineup in the early going. He'll give the O's plenty of thump from the right side in the outfield in his first year with the club after cracking a career-high 36 homers and driving in 103 in 663 plate appearances over 157 games played in 2025 in his final season with the Los Angeles Angels. He will look to keep things going at the plate after a strong spring showing, batting .281 (9-for-32) with a homer, three RBI, seven runs scored, and two steals in 13 Grapefruit League contests.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 26, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers infielder
David Hamilton is making the start at third base and will bat seventh for the Brewers on Opening Day on Thursday at home against the visiting Chicago White Sox and right-hander
Shane Smith, according to MLB.com. Hamilton will get the nod at the hot corner for Game 1 of 162 over
Luis Rengifo. The 28-year-old is primarily an option in NL-only leagues for his speed on the basepaths. Hamilton has very little power (14 home runs in 204 big-league games). In his three seasons with the BoSox, he hit .222/.283/.359 with a weak .642 OPS, 14 long balls, 47 RBI, 76 runs scored, and 57 stolen bases in 550 plate appearances. Playing time should be easier to come by now that he's in Milwaukee, but still, Hamilton could become more of a utility infielder by season's end if the Brew Crew opt for offense over defense at third base.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 26, 2026
Chicago White Sox outfielder
Luisangel Acuna is starting in center field and is batting ninth on Opening Day on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers and right-hander
Jacob Misiorowski at American Family Field, according to MLB.com. Acuna joined the Pale Hose this offseason and will operate as the club's regular center fielder to begin the 2026 season. The 24-year-old Venezuelan began his career as an infielder before being shifted to the outfield this spring in Chicago. In 95 games with the New York Mets in 2024, he slashed .234/.293/.274 with a .567 OPS, no homers, eight RBI, 30 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases in 193 plate appearances. Acuna, the younger brother of Braves superstar
Ronald Acuna Jr., made some adjustments with his swing mechanics to try to generate more power going forward, but fantasy managers in deeper leagues should only really be counting on his speed on the basepaths.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 26, 2026
New York Mets infielder
Jorge Polanco is starting at first base and batting cleanup for the Mets in Thursday's Opening Day contest against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates and right-hander
Paul Skenes, according to MLB.com. The matchup for DFS purposes against the reigning National League Cy Young winner isn't a great one for DFS for Polanco, but if he hits in the four-hole regularly this year behind
Francisco Lindor,
Juan Soto, and
Bo Bichette, he will have plenty of RBI opportunities as he splits time between first base and designated hitter in his first year in Queens. In his career against Skenes, Polanco has a hit in four at-bats. The 32-year-old Dominican switch-hitter will be looking to carry over his strong spring numbers to the regular season, as he went 9-for-29 (.310) with two home runs, four RBI, and six runs scored in 11 Grapefruit League contests.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 26, 2026
Baltimore Orioles outfield prospect
Dylan Beavers (knee, quadriceps) is out of the team's Opening Day lineup on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins.
Tyler O'Neill is starting in right field and will hit sixth for the O's against Twins right-hander
Joe Ryan. Beavers isn't quite ready to make his 2026 debut after sitting out of action the last week with tightness in his right knee and quadriceps muscle. He managed to avoid the injured list, though, so he could be back in Baltimore's starting lineup any day now. It won't be a strict platoon in right field this year, but Beavers and O'Neill are expected to share time at the position. The 24-year-old Beavers, who hits from the left side, made his big-league debut last year and went 25-for-110 (.227) with four home runs and 14 RBI in 137 plate appearances and 35 games played. He has 20/20 potential and could force his way into more playing time if he can get past his injury and get off to a hot start at the plate in his first full MLB season.
--Keith HernandezSource: Baltimore Orioles
March 26, 2026
Boston Red Sox infielder
Marcelo Mayer is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's Opening Day contest against the Cincinnati Reds. While manager Alex Cora previously said Mayer made the roster as Boston's starting second baseman, it appears that he won't be getting many at-bats against left-handed pitching. The Red Sox face left-hander
Andrew Abbott on Thursday, and Cora has decided to start right-handed-hitting infielder
Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base over Mayer. It's not the flashiest decision, but it makes sense. Mayer had a rough rookie season at the plate, posting a .416 OPS, a 37% strikeout rate, and 6 wRC+ against left-handed pitching (27 plate appearances). He could come off the bench if the Reds bring in a right-handed reliever, and we expect him to start at second base on Saturday against right-hander
Brady Singer.
--Andersen PickardSource: Chris Cotillo
March 26, 2026
Houston Astros shortstop
Jeremy Pena (finger) is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's Opening Day contest against the Los Angeles Angels. He is reportedly taking live at-bats at the Astros' Triple-A affiliate in Sugar Land on Thursday morning. The 28-year-old is still recovering from a right ring finger fracture that he suffered while working out for the Dominican Republic ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Pena is trending in the right direction, as he was able to log defensive innings during the Astros' exhibition game on Tuesday. However, he's evidently not quite healthy enough to start the club's season opener. Given that the injury wasn't serious enough to warrant placement on the injured list, we'd expect to see Pena in the lineup sooner rather than later. In the meantime,
Carlos Correa will play shortstop while
Isaac Paredes shifts to third base.
--Andersen PickardSource: Matt Kawahara
March 26, 2026
The New York Mets have signed outfielder
Tommy Pham to a minor-league contract, according to Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com. Pham remained a free agent throughout all of spring training, which means he hasn't played in a game since September 28, 2025, with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He'll presumably need to ramp back up before he reports to the Mets' Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, where he'll offer depth and a proven veteran presence. The 38-year-old continued to put the ball in play last season, slashing a modest .245/.330/.370 with an 11.1% walk rate, a 20.9% strikeout rate, and 94 wRC+ across 120 games. He bats right-handed and posted reverse splits in 2025, contributing an OPS of .716 against right-handed pitching and .651 against southpaws. Given his decent numbers at the plate last year, we wouldn't be surprised if Pham is the first player the Mets turn to when an outfielder or right-handed bat gets injured this season.
--Andersen PickardSource: Jorge Castillo
March 26, 2026
Chicago Cubs infielder
Matt Shaw will bat ninth and play right field during Thursday's Opening Day contest against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. Between the minors and majors, Shaw has never played the outfield in a regular-season contest. However, he did spend 50 innings in right field and 14 innings in center field during spring training, indicating that the Cubs were very interested in moving him around defensively. Indeed, they'll get his bat and glove into the lineup for Game 1 of the regular season. He slashed just .226/.295/.394 last year, but he still contributed 13 home runs, 17 steals, and 93 wRC+ across 126 games. Shaw was a rookie in 2025, so we wouldn't be surprised to see him take a step forward offensively in his second season. He'll get his first chance at making that leap on Thursday as the Cubs face Nationals right-hander
Cade Cavalli. Shaw has never faced Cavalli before, but he posted a mere .649 OPS with a 22.0% strikeout rate and 82 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers in 2025.
--Andersen PickardSource: Jacob Zanolla
March 26, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
Jake Bauers will bat fifth and play left field during Thursday's Opening Day contest against the Chicago White Sox. Bauers wasn't projected to start, but he ended up getting into the lineup after starting left fielder
Jackson Chourio (hand) was placed on the injured list just hours before first pitch. With Chourio slated to miss at least two weeks, we expect to see some combination of Bauers and
Christian Yelich patrolling left field for the time being. Bauers gets the first crack at the role, with Yelich remaining in the designated hitter spot for now. The former slashed .235/.353/.399 with a 14.7% walk rate, 27.1% strikeout rate, and career-high 114 wRC+ across 86 games in the majors last year. He hits lefties much better than righties, so we wouldn't be surprised to see him start the first two contests before heading to the bench when the Brewers face White Sox southpaw
Anthony Kay on Sunday.
--Andersen PickardSource: Milwaukee Brewers
March 26, 2026
St. Louis Cardinals rookie infielder
JJ Wetherholt will lead off and play second base in his MLB debut on Opening Day. Wetherholt made the major league roster out of spring training after playing just 47 games at Triple-A last year. He was terrific in the minors in 2025, slashing .306/.421/.510 with 17 home runs, 23 stolen bases, a 14.5% walk rate, a 14.7% strikeout rate, and 154 wRC+. The former first-round pick added 115 wRC+ this spring, walking at a 20.5% clip (albeit over a small sample size). Fantasy managers shouldn't panic if Wetherholt takes a little while to adapt to the environment of Major League Baseball and the higher caliber of pitching. He still projects as a long-term standout at the plate and in the field, offering plenty of fantasy appeal in 2026 and beyond. If he can stick in the leadoff role, he'll provide fantasy managers with frequent trips to the plate and a high potential for runs and stolen bases.
--Andersen PickardSource: MLB.com
March 26, 2026
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher
Matthew Liberatore has streaming appeal in fantasy baseball on Thursday. Liberatore was named the Cardinals' Opening Day starter and will get the ball against the Tampa Bay Rays. Beyond the fact that he's starting Game 1 and had an impressive 1.80 ERA with 11.4 K/9 this spring, the southpaw is a particularly appealing streaming candidate because of his matchup against Tampa Bay. The Rays' lineup projects for the sixth-lowest fWAR in 2026, according to FanGraphs, and it's laden with plenty of lefties, giving Liberatore a potential handedness advantage. Fantasy managers should consider streaming the 26-year-old on Opening Day as he faces off against the team that originally drafted him.
--Andersen PickardSource: RotoBaller
March 26, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers designated hitter
Christian Yelich is expected to handle more appearances in the outfield as the 2026 season gets underway. After the team placed
Jackson Chourio (hand) on the 10-day injured list, manager Pat Murphy said, "[Yelich] wants to play the outfield, and I think he will." This was widely expected as soon as Chourio landed on the IL. After all, Yelich was an everyday outfielder until 2024, when he logged more games at designated hitter following Chourio's debut. Presumably, Yelich will spend more time in left field, penciling
Sal Frelick into right field while
Garrett Mitchell and
Brandon Lockridge platoon in center. We'll have to wait and see whether the increased defensive reps impact Yelich's performance at the plate. He's coming off a solid season in which he slashed .264/.343/.452 with 29 home runs -- his highest home run total since 2019. He also contributed 121 wRC+, ranking above league-average for the 13th year in a row.
--Andersen PickardSource: Jon Morosi
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