April 4, 2026
Kansas City Royals reliever
Lucas Erceg has converted both save opportunities while posting a 1.13 WHIP and one strikeout across 2 2/3 scoreless innings in 2026. The Royals placed closer
Carlos Estevez (foot) on the 15-day injured list with a foot contusion. Estevez had velocity concerns heading into the year and was lit up for six earned runs in only one appearance this season. With Estevez on the injured list, Erceg has locked down Kansas City's closer role and becomes a must-add off the waiver wire for fantasy managers searching for saves. The 30-year-old was terrific last season, owning a 2.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 48:18 K :BB with two saves and 23 holds over 61 1/3 innings for the Royals last season. Erceg is rostered in 51% of Yahoo Fantasy leagues and is currently third on RotoBaller's Week 2 waiver wire rankings.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
April 4, 2026
Seattle Mariners top shortstop prospect
Colt Emerson (foot) exited Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader at Triple-A Tacoma after fouling a ball off his right foot. He stayed in the game initially, but was replaced in the next half inning. Emerson will go under further evaluation to determine the extent of the injury and is considered day-to-day for now. The 20-year-old signed an eight-year, $95 million extension with the Mariners on Tuesday and is expected to be promoted to the big leagues soon. However, if he misses any significant time, the injury could delay his call-up to the show. Despite Emerson signing a long-term extension,
J.P. Crawford will remain Seattle's starting shortstop for the time being. Fantasy managers should continue to stash Emerson due to his high upside and above-average power.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Daniel Kramer of MLB.com
April 4, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
Sal Frelick (side) exited Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals with left side tightness. He went 1-for-2 with a strikeout before exiting the fourth inning. The 25-year-old went 2-for-5 with a walk, a strikeout, and a run in both games of Saturday's doubleheader. He is considered day-to-day for now and will undergo further testing to determine the severity of his injury. Frelick is off to a slow start, slashing just .192/.344/.346 with a home run and two RBI across eight games.
Brandon Lockridge replaced Frelick on Saturday and would see an increase in playing time with Frelick sidelined. Lockridge is a speculative add in deep leagues after hitting .400 (6-for-15) with a double over five games in 2026.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 4, 2026
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop
Mookie Betts (back) will undergo an MRI on his back on Saturday and is considered day-to-day for now. Betts exited Saturday's game early against the Washington Nationals in the first inning with lower back pain and will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the injury. The 33-year-old walked and scored a run before leaving Saturday's contest. "Betts felt his back tighten up while running the bases in the first inning," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Roberts described Betts' injury as "more moderate than serious," but does not expect Betts to play the next couple of days. He is off to somewhat of a slow start this season, slashing .179/.281/.429 with two home runs, seven RBI, and seven runs over eight games.
Miguel Rojas should see an increase in at-bats with Betts out and is worth using as a streamer in deep leagues for fantasy managers searching for an injury replacement.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Katie Woo of The Athletic
April 4, 2026
New York Mets outfielder
Juan Soto (groin) had an MRI on Saturday, which revealed a minor groin strain. Soto is considered day-to-day, and no decision has been made yet on whether he will be placed on the injured list. "We're going to see how I wake up the next couple of days and take it from there," said Soto. The 27-year-old exited Friday's game against the San Francisco Giants early in the first inning with calf tightness. He was off to a hot start this season, slashing .355/.412/.516 with a home run, five RBI, and three runs over eight games. According to Mets manager
Carlos Mendoza, Soto will be further evaluated on Tuesday when the Mets return to Citi Field; an IL decision is still on the table.
Tyrone Taylor,
Carson Benge, and
Brett Baty should see an uptick in at-bats with Soto sidelined.
--Brad Camara - RotoBallerSource: Mike Puma of the New York Post
April 4, 2026
New York Yankees starting pitcher
Luis Gil is set to make his season debut on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Gil will get the ball for the first time this season on April 10. He opened the season in the minors to get his arm stretched out. The 27-year-old has great strikeout potential, but continues to struggle with his command. The 27-year-old has enough upside to warrant streaming in deeper mixed leagues, but he's not a must-have player right now. Fantasy managers in need of pitching help might want to consider stashing him.
--Andy WebbSource: Bryan Hoch
April 4, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher
Logan Henderson will draw the start during the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals. Henderson was called up as the 27th player for this twin-billing. The 24-year-old posted promising numbers during his time with the Brewers last season. He registered a 1.78 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 33/8 K/BB ratio across five starts. Henderson recorded five strikeouts over three innings of work during his first appearance with Triple-A Nashville this season. He's not expected to pitch deep into this game with
Brandon Sproat following him out of the bullpen. Henderson has good long-term upside, but isn't an ideal streaming option for Saturday's slate.
--Andy WebbSource: Todd Rosiak
April 4, 2026
San Francisco Giants infielder
Tyler Fitzgerald has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations. Fitzgerald was recently designed for assignment by the Giants, but quickly found a new home in Toronto. The 28-year-old provides solid depth given his defensive versatility. Fitzgerald posted a breakout campaign in 2024 with a .280/.334/.497 slash line with 15 home runs and 17 stolen bases. He struggled to find any consistency with the bat last season, but is worthy of slashing in this low-risk move. He figures to play in Triple-A Buffalo until he's needed on the big league roster.
--Andy WebbSource: Toronto Blue Jays
April 4, 2026
Seattle Mariners infielder
Brendan Donovan (leg) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Donovan is being held out of this game after exiting Friday's contest due to leg discomfort. The Mariners haven't given a clear timetable on Donovan's return, but hopefully it'll be a short absence. While he's out,
Luke Raley will take over in the leadoff spot, while
Leo Rivas covers third base against right-hander
Jack Kochanowicz on Saturday. Fantasy managers should check back ahead of first pitch on Sunday for another update on Donovan.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
April 4, 2026
Minnesota Twins outfielder
Byron Buxton (forearm) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. This doesn't come as a shock after Buxton exited early during Friday's game after getting hit by a pitch on the forearm. The X-rays came back negative, but the Twins are going to play it safe with Buxton. Twins' manager Derek Shelton believes that Buxton will be back in the starting lineup within the next few days. On Saturday,
James Outman will patrol center field and bat ninth versus left-hander
Steven Matz. Fantasy managers will need to check back on Sunday for another update on Buxton.
--Andy WebbSource: mlb.com
April 4, 2026
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder
Garrett Mitchell was the team's offense in a 5-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a home run, five RBI, and two strikeouts. Mitchell had a two-run double in the first inning and a three-run homer in the third inning to drive in all of the team's runs. The former UCLA star is off to a fine start in 2026, going 6-for-18 (.333) with a home run, 10 RBI, and three stolen bases. The 27-year-old has always had tantalizing power/speed upside after Milwaukee took him with the 20th overall pick in 2020, but he has never been able to reach his true potential due to injuries. Mitchell made his MLB debut in 2022 but has never played in more than 69 games in his four seasons. If he can stay healthy in 2026, fantasy managers would be sitting pretty. In 146 regular-season games, Mitchell has hit .336/.431/.766 with 13 homers, 45 RBI, and 26 stolen bases in 461 plate appearances.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 4, 2026
The game on Saturday between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field has been postponed due to inclement weather, according to Taylr McGregor of Watch Marquee Sports. Fantasy managers need to remove any players from these two teams if they were in your daily starting lineups. The contest will be made up on Sunday as part of a traditional doubleheader in Cleveland. Left-hander
Shota Imanaga was scheduled to make the start on Saturday versus Cleveland for the Cubbies, and he was going to be opposed by right-hander
Slade Cecconi. Expect both starting pitchers to take their turn in the rotation in one of the two games on Sunday.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 4, 2026
Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop
Mookie Betts (back) left Saturday's game early against the Washington Nationals in the first inning with right lower-back pain, according to the team. Betts walked and scored in the first inning before being replaced on defense in the bottom of the first inning in D.C. It's unclear how serious of an injury this is for Betts, so until we have further details, fantasy managers should consider him to be day-to-day. Expect the Dodgers to send Betts in for tests on his back. Veteran
Miguel Rojas took over for Betts on Saturday at shortstop and would likely see most of the starts at the position for the Blue going forward if it's an injury that keeps Betts out for an extended period of time. The 33-year-old eight-time All-Star and former MVP was off to a slow start offensively going into Saturday's game, hitting .179 (5-for-28) with two home runs and seven RBI in the first seven games of the 2026 season. Hopefully, this is nothing serious for Betts, but even if it's minor, fantasy managers should probably expect him to sit out Sunday's series finale against the Nats.
--Keith HernandezSource: Los Angeles Dodgers
April 4, 2026
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect
Konnor Griffin is starting at the 6 and will hit sixth in his second major-league game on Saturday against the visiting Baltimore Orioles and right-hander
Shane Baz, according to MLB.com. In his MLB debut in Pittsburgh's 5-4 win over Baltimore on Friday, Griffin was batting out of the seventh spot in the lineup, and he went 1-for-3 with a double, RBI, run scored, walk, and a strikeout. The 19-year-old phenom will be bumped up one spot in the batting order in his second career game, and he could quickly be moved to the top third of the order if he plays well in the early going in 2026. The former ninth overall pick in 2024 didn't look like a first-year pro in 2025 in three minor-league stops, hitting a combined .333/.415/.527 with a .941 OPS, 21 home runs, 94 RBI, 117 runs scored, and 65 stolen bases in 122 games played. Griffin can do it all for fantasy managers and needs to be rostered in all formats now that he's in the big leagues to stay.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
April 4, 2026
Athletics first baseman
Nick Kurtz is back in the leadoff spot on Saturday against the visiting Houston Astros and right-hander
Tatsuya Imai, according to MLB.com. It's the fifth time in the team's first seven games that Kurtz has hit leadoff. It's a curious lineup positioning for the left-handed slugger, who is an elite source of power for fantasy managers in his first full major-league season. It will also be interesting to see how long manager Mark Kotsay sticks with Kurtz in the top spot in the batting order if he continues to struggle at the plate early on in 2026. Through his first six games, Kurtz has gone 1-for-21 (.048) with no homers, no RBI, three runs scored, five walks, and 13 strikeouts in 26 plate appearances. Fantasy managers shouldn't be too concerned about Kurtz's slow start just yet. The former Wake Forest star was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2025, when he slashed an impressive .290/.383/.619 with a 1.002 OPS, 36 home runs, and 86 RBI in just 117 games played for the A's.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com
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