March 28, 2026
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher
Zack Wheeler (shoulder) looked solid on the mound during his first minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday. The right-hander tossed three innings, allowing two hits, one walk, and striking out three batters. The plan was for Wheeler to throw 45 pitches, but he only needed 38 to get through three innings. Now, the next step is for Wheeler to make another rehab start against Triple-A Durham. After that, Wheeler will make a start at Double-A Reading. The 35-year-old is currently working his way back after undergoing surgery in September. The timetable for Wheeler's return isn't clear, but his season debut should be sometime in April. Wheeler should be stashed in all fantasy formats.
--Andy WebbSource: Todd Zolecki
March 28, 2026
Chicago White Sox infielder
Curtis Mead has been traded to the Washington Nationals in exchange for catcher Boston Smith. It didn't take long for the White Sox to find a trade partner after designating Mead for assignment before Opening Day. Mead doesn't offer a ton of upside with the bat, but is a decent depth option. Last season, Mead slashed .233/.299/.321 with three home runs, 19 RBI, and five steals in 90 games between the Tampa Bay Rays and White Sox. The 25-year-old is unlikely to play enough to warrant looking at in fantasy leagues. As for Smith, he was drafted by the Nationals in the sixth round of the 2025 Amateur Draft. The 23-year-old figures to begin his career in the lower levels of the minor league system.
--Andy WebbSource: Mark Zuckerman
March 28, 2026
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher
Michael McGreevy was locked in against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. McGreevy was stellar as he tossed six no-hit innings versus the Rays. The right-hander was pulled out of the game before allowing a hit. Sadly, the Cardinals' bullpen was unable to hold the lead for McGreevy. He finished this outing with six shutout innings, allowing zero hits, walking two batters, while striking out five in the no-decision. The 25-year-old registered a 4.42 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and a 58:20 K/BB ratio across 17 games (16 starts) in 2025. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect McGreevy to continue having this type of success. His velocity has been down all spring and surrendered some hard-hit balls that found gloves on Saturday. There could be some mixed league value, but McGreevy is far from a must-have fantasy option despite a stellar outing.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
March 28, 2026
St. Louis Cardinals infielder
JJ Wetherholt came up clutch for his team during Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Wetherholt blasted his first career home run on Thursday and had more fun in his second career game. It was mostly a quiet game for the rookie infielder until he came up to the plate in extra innings. Wetherholt smacked a single off right-hander
Griffin Jax to score two runs and win the game. He's 3-for-9 with one homer, four RBI, and one stolen base over two games. It has been an exciting beginning to Wetherholt's career and a great start for the Cardinals. The rookie infielder should be rostered in most fantasy formats at the moment.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
March 28, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher
Quinn Priester (wrist) was able to throw a 'pain-free' bullpen session on Saturday. The plan is for Priester to throw one more session before heading to Arizona to face hitters. The right-hander is currently on the 15-day Injured List while he works his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said everything they've seen from Priester is positive right now. It's unclear when Priester will return, but late-April or early-May seems like his current timetable. He's not someone who needs to be rostered in 12-team formats right now. It sounds like the right-hander is making progress, but still has more work to do.
--Andy WebbSource: Adam McCalvy
March 28, 2026
Detroit Tigers infielder
Kevin McGonigle is making his first career start at shortstop on Saturday. The rookie infielder played the first two games of his career at third base. Now, McGonigle will shift over to shortstop and bat sixth versus right-hander
Randy Vasquez on Saturday. McGonigle is 5-for-8 with four RBI and a walk during his first two career games. He's expected to see plenty of time at shortstop, but will also see action at the hot corner with
Javier Baez remaining in the mix. Regardless of where he plays, McGonigle looks like he's going to make a fantasy impact right away.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
March 28, 2026
Seattle Mariners outfielder
Rob Refsnyder is serving as the team's designated hitter and will bat in the leadoff spot on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians and left-hander
Joey Cantillo at T-Mobile Park, according to MLB.com. Refsnyder is known as a lefty killer in his career, and he's the only Mariners player who has faced Cantillo in his career, going 1-for-3 against him. It's Refsnyder's first action of the 2026 season for Seattle after spending the last four years with the Boston Red Sox. The 35-year-old veteran South Korean native is a career .255/.343/.387 hitter with 33 home runs, 154 RBI, and 22 stolen bases in his 10 big-league seasons. Against southpaws, though, Refsnyder has hit .281/.383/.443 with an .826 slash line, and 22 of his 33 career home runs in 791 plate appearances. In comparison, he has just a .633 OPS against right-handers. Similar to what his role was like in Boston, Refsnyder will enter Seattle's lineup as an outfielder or DH against lefties in 2026. With Refsnyder at leadoff, third baseman
Brendan Donovan will move down to the six-hole on Saturday.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 28, 2026
Atlanta Braves catcher
Sean Murphy (hip) is doing all baseball activities and could start a minor-league rehab assignment soon, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Murphy wasn't ready for the start of the 2026 season after having surgery last September to fix a labral tear in his right hip. Because of the severity of his injury, expect the Braves to give Murphy plenty of time on his rehab assignment, especially since they are covered at catcher in the big leagues with both
Drake Baldwin and
Jonah Heim. The 31-year-old veteran and former All-Star made his first All-Star squad in his first year in Atlanta in 2023, slashing .251/.365/.478 with an .844 OPS, 21 home runs, 68 RBI, and 65 runs scored in 108 games played. Since then, Murphy has struggled to stay healthy and has played in 166 games in the last two years, hitting just .197/.293/.384 with 26 homers and 70 RBI. Murphy is no longer Atlanta's primary catcher after Baldwin won National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2025, but he should play pretty regularly between catcher and designated hitter.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Mark Bowman
March 28, 2026
Cleveland Guardians right-handed reliever
Hunter Gaddis (forearm) is starting his minor-league rehab assignment on Saturday with Triple-A Columbus, according to Arthur Kinney of Next Year in Cleveland. Gaddis landed on the 15-day injured list to begin the 2026 season with right-forearm tightness. It's not a serious injury, so Gaddis could be ready to come off the IL when eligible in early April after a couple of rehab outings on the farm. When healthy, the 27-year-old figures to be a high-leverage setup man for Cleveland in front of closer
Cade Smith at the back of the bullpen. The former fifth-round pick in 2019 out of Georgia State had a sharp 1.57 ERA in 2024 and posted a 3.11 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, his first three career saves, a career-high 73 strikeouts, and 21 walks in 66 2/3 relief innings in 2025. Gaddis is a solid source of holds for the Guards when he's healthy.
--Keith HernandezSource: Next Year in Cleveland - Arthur Kinney
March 28, 2026
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that outfielder/designated hitter
Masataka Yoshida will start three of the team's next five games, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. Cora feels comfortable putting Yoshida in left field when they begin a series in Houston against the Astros next week. However, Yoshida is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game in Cincinnati against the Reds and right-hander
Brady Singer. Fantasy managers should expect Yoshida to make his first start of the 2026 season in Sunday's finale in Cincy. With Yoshida getting set to enter the starting nine soon, it will push one of
Roman Anthony,
Jarren Duran,
Wilyer Abreu, or
Ceddanne Rafaela out of the lineup. The 32-year-old Japanese outfielder has seen his fantasy stock fall dramatically in 2026 after he played in just 55 games in 2025 due to a shoulder injury. Yoshida makes plenty of contact at the plate and has a .282 average through three seasons, but the power hasn't been there, and his less-than-stellar defensive work in the outfield leaves him more susceptible than ever to sitting on the bench in Boston.
--Keith HernandezSource: MassLive.com - Christopher Smith
March 28, 2026
Kansas City Royals first baseman/outfielder
Jac Caglianone sat on the bench in the Opening Day loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday with tough left-hander
Chris Sale on the mound, but he will make his 2026 starting debut on Saturday at Truist Park, according to MLB.com. Caglianone is starting in right field and is batting seventh against Braves right-hander
Reynaldo Lopez. The Royals have said that Cags will start against left-handed pitchers this year, but they wanted to protect him to kick off the season against one of the most dominant southpaws in the game. The 23-year-old left-handed slugger has high-end power potential, but he looked overmatched in his MLB debut last year, hitting .157 (33-for-210) with seven home runs, 18 RBI, 18 walks, and 52 strikeouts in 232 plate appearances. The good news is that he didn't strike out all that much. Caglianone will get a longer runway in 2026 and could be an asset in all fantasy leagues, but he'll need to make more consistent hard contact to get there.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 28, 2026
Houston Astros shortstop
Jeremy Pena is getting the day off on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels at Daikin Park, according to MLB.com. Pena did not start on Opening Day on Thursday due to a fractured finger that he suffered earlier this spring while preparing for the World Baseball Classic, but he made his 2026 season debut in Friday night's loss and went 2-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and a stolen base. Veteran
Carlos Correa will make another start at the 6 on Saturday, with
Isaac Paredes starting at third base against Angels left-hander
Reid Detmers. The 28-year-old Pena's performance on Friday was a good sign that his finger won't affect his production at the plate early in the season. Pena should be back in the starting lineup and at shortstop for the series finale against the Halos on Sunday. Correa has hit .222 with a homer and three RBI in nine career at-bats against Detmers, while Paredes has hit .333 against him with one RBI in six at-bats.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
March 28, 2026
With Texas Rangers right-hander
Jacob deGrom (neck) scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park due to neck stiffness, left-hander
Jacob Latz will make the spot start. The 29-year-old Latz was competing for a spot in Texas' starting rotation in spring training, but he lost out to former first-rounder Kamar Rocker. Latz made 33 appearances for the Rangers in 2025, including eight starts. In a career-high 85 2/3 innings pitched, he had a solid 2.84 ERA (3.72 FIP) and 1.24 WHIP with 76 strikeouts and 37 walks in 33 appearances. In his eight starts, he had a 2.72 ERA with 34 punchouts and 15 walks in 39 2/3 innings pitched. Latz is a decent fallback option for the Rangers for their first spot start of the season, but in DFS, fantasy managers will want to avoid him on the road in a hitter-friendly venue against a strong lineup.
--Keith HernandezSource: The Dallas Morning News - Shawn McFarland
March 28, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers first baseman
Andrew Vaughn (hand) fractured the left hamate bone in his hand on Opening Day on Thursday and will require surgery, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Vaughn is expected to need four to six weeks of recovery. The Brewers placed Vaughn on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. It's a tough break for the former White Sox first baseman, who came to life in Milwaukee after being acquired from Chicago last year. In 64 games with the Brew Crew, he hit .308/.375/.493 with an .869 OPS, nine home runs, 46 RBI, and 26 runs scored in 254 plate appearances. With Vaughn going on the IL, the Brewers recalled catching prospect
Jeferson Quero. Veteran catcher
Gary Sanchez figures to platoon at first base with
Jake Bauers, while Quero gives starting catcher
William Contreras a breather when he needs it behind the plate. In the Opening Day win on Thursday over his former team, the White Sox, Vaughn went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Adam McCalvy
March 28, 2026
Texas Rangers right-hander
Jacob deGrom (neck) said he woke up on Saturday with a stiff neck, which is why he was scratched from his scheduled outing in Philadelphia against the Phillies, according to Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. The Rangers decided not to push it with the oft-injured veteran, and deGrom feels "confident" that he'll make a start on the current road trip. It's good news for the Rangers and for fantasy managers, but it's also another reminder that it's hard to trust the 37-year-old veteran when it comes to durability. On the bright side, it's good news that it's not related to deGrom's arm.
Jacob Latz will make the spot start on Saturday versus the Phillies. As of right now, deGrom is tentatively scheduled to start on Tuesday at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles. He'll be more of a risky fantasy play in that matchup in his first start of the 2026 season if he makes it.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Kennedi Landry
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