February 24, 2026
After being selected by the Chicago White Sox in the Rule 5 Draft heading into the 2025 season, starting pitcher
Shane Smith emerged as a quality starting pitching option. Across 146 1/3 innings (29 starts), the 25-year-old posted a 7-8 record with a 3.81 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 145 strikeouts. Smith's 23.5% strikeout rate and 14.1% K-BB rate don't jump off the page, and his 4.10 FIP could indicate that he is in line for some regression in 2026. However, Smith posted a much more impressive 29.6% strikeout rate across 94 1/3 Minor League innings in the Milwaukee Brewers system in 2024. He will turn just 26 years old in April, so Smith could still have plenty of room to develop in his second big league campaign. The White Sox once again project to be one of MLB's worst teams, which limits Smith's potential to rack up wins. Still, Chicago will likely give him an extended runway in the starting rotation even if he suffers through some early-season struggles. With an average draft position of pick 268, Smith profiles as starting pitching depth with some upside for fantasy managers in 2026.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
February 24, 2026
Seattle Mariners outfielder
Dominic Canzone broke out in 2025, hitting .300/.358/.481 with 11 home runs, 32 RBI, 30 runs scored, and three stolen bases across 268 plate appearances. The 28-year-old cut his strikeout rate from 28.2% in 2024 to 22% in 2025 while still posting an excellent 14.5% barrel rate. The lefty-swinging Canzone owns a career .756 OPS against right-handed pitching compared to just a .607 OPS against southpaws, so he may be limited to a large-side platoon role in Seattle. Canzone seems likely to see most of his at-bats in 2026 at designated hitter, but he could also get in the mix in right field if Mariners outfielder
Victor Robles struggles or misses time due to injury. Given Canzone's likely playing time ceiling and his lack of speed (five career stolen bases), his fantasy upside is limited. However, Canzone has sleeper potential at his current average draft position of pick 336 if he can lock down a spot in the starting lineup whenever Seattle faces a right-handed starting pitcher.
--Will BradySource: RotoBaller
February 24, 2026
Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect
Konnor Griffin had a monster spring training showing against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in his team's 16-7 victory. Griffin, who will turn 20 years old in late April, is widely considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball. While Pirates manager
Don Kelly recently called it a "tough ask" for Griffin to be ready for the team's Opening Day roster, the young phenom may force his way to the big leagues in 2026. Across 563 plate appearances spread across three Minor League levels in 2025, Griffin slashed .333/.415/.527 with 21 home runs, 94 RBI, 117 runs scored, and 65 stolen bases. He finished the year at Double-A Altoona, where he hit .337/.418/.542 with five home runs, 22 RBI, 20 runs scored, and six stolen bases across 98 plate appearances. Pittsburgh may choose to send Griffin back to the Minors to begin 2026, but he may be worth stashing in redraft formats ahead of his eventual MLB debut.
--Will BradySource: MLB.com
February 24, 2026
Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said that outfielder
Chandler Simpson (hamstring) is tentatively scheduled to make his 2026 Spring Training debut on Friday, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Simpson has been held out of the Rays' first few Spring games due to a tight left hamstring, but it does not appear that he is suffering from a serious injury. It would make sense for Tampa Bay to slow-roll Simpson's recovery from a hamstring ailment at this point in the calendar, as the 25-year-old's main appeal as both a fantasy and real-life player is his speed. Across 441 plate appearances in 2025, Simpson hit .295/.326/.345 with zero home runs, 26 RBI, 53 runs scored, and 44 stolen bases. He struck out in just 9.8% of his plate appearances, but also posted a remarkably poor 0.0% barrel rate. As long as Simpson makes a full recovery and can hold down regular playing time in Tampa Bay, his speed and ability to hit for average give him fantasy appeal. However, his lack of power makes him difficult to build around in rotisserie-scoring formats.
--Will BradySource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
February 24, 2026
The Milwaukee Brewers say that starting pitcher
Brandon Woodruff (lat) is "on track to begin the season in the rotation," per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 33-year-old finished the 2025 season on the Injured List due to right lat strain and said on Monday that his status for Opening Day was "up in the air." However, Rosiak reports that Woodruff is scheduled to throw a live BP session on March 1 before beginning game progression. Woodruff missed the entire 2024 season and the first three-plus months of 2025 while recovering from shoulder surgery. He dominated upon his return until suffering the lat strain, recording a 7-2 record with a 3.20 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts across 64 2/3 innings pitched (12 starts). Woodruff has a chance to be a high-end fantasy starting pitcher in 2026, but he carries a significant health risk at his current average draft position of pick 113.
--Will BradySource: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Todd Rosiak
February 24, 2026
Houston Astros manager Joe Espada said that designated hitter/outfielder
Yordan Alvarez will make his spring training debut "a little bit later" due to normal buildup, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. While it does not seem as though Alvarez's Opening Day availability is in doubt, the 28-year-old's health is always worth monitoring. Alvarez has reached 600 plate appearances just once in seven MLB seasons, and he played in just 48 games in 2025 due to hand and ankle injuries. Alvarez's numbers were also down across the board in 2025, as he hit .273/.367/.430 with six home runs, 27 RBI, and 17 runs scored across 199 plate appearances. However, he owns an elite career slash line of .297/.389/.573 and still posted a 52.9% hard-hit rate in 2025. There's little reason to believe that Alvarez will not still be one of the game's best hitters when healthy in 2026, but fantasy managers may be wise to plan for him to miss some time.
--Will BradySource: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
February 24, 2026
Kansas City Royals closer
Carlos Estevez's velocity was "way down" during his Cactus League debut on Tuesday at 86-89 mph, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Rogers says it's "eyebrow-raising" and "something to monitor," but it's also "exactly what came up last year." Estevez typically starts slow in the spring, and the Royals "really rely on how he says he feels." The 33-year-old was an All-Star for the second time in his career in 2025 in his first season with the Royals, posting a 2.45 ERA (3.67 FIP), 1.06 WHIP, a league- and career-high 42 saves, 54 strikeouts, and 22 walks in 66 innings pitched out of the bullpen. His 89.4% team save share was the highest among all relievers in MLB last year. Regression could be coming -- he had a career-low 20.1% strikeout rate in 2025 -- but he'll be KC's primary closer again, making him at least a low-end No. 1 fantasy closer in his second year with the Royals.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Anne Rogers
February 24, 2026
The Toronto Blue Jays plan to manage right-hander
Trey Yesavage's "workload fluidly throughout the season," according to Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet. Yesavage's rotation turn could be skipped or pushed back at times, depending on his measurables and how he's recovering between outings. The 22-year-old is still roughly a week from pitching in a Grapefruit League game in spring training as the team builds him up deliberately after a considerable workload jump last year. He is throwing a side session on Tuesday in camp, and his next mound work is scheduled to be a live batting practice session. Yesavage threw 139 2/3 innings last year, including the playoffs, after tossing 93 1/3 innings in college in 2024. The former first-rounder had a 3.21 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, and 16 K's in 14 innings over three starts at the tail end of the regular season before throwing another 27 2/3 frames in the playoffs, including a 12-strikeout performance in the World Series. Yesavage is clearly one of the best young arms in the game, but there are control and workload concerns, making him more of a No. 3 starting pitcher target in fantasy drafts.
--Keith HernandezSource: Sportsnet - Arden Zwelling
February 24, 2026
Colorado Rockies first baseman
Blaine Crim (oblique) left Monday's Cactus League game with an oblique strain, according to Thomas Harding of MLB.com. It's unclear how serious Crim's oblique injury is, but it definitely won't help his cause in the competition at first base this spring. The 28-year-old made his major-league debut last year with the Texas Rangers and Rockies and hit a combined .200/.270/.462 with a .732 OPS, five home runs, 12 RBI, and 28 strikeouts in a small sample size of 74 plate appearances over 20 games played. Crim won't be on the fantasy radar in single-year leagues in 2026, but he does have plenty of power, which usually translates nicely at hitter-friendly Coors Field. However, playing time will be his biggest obstacle.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Thomas Harding
February 24, 2026
San Diego Padres right-hander
Matt Waldron (lower body) has been shut down and is labeled as "week-to-week" after undergoing hemorrhoid surgery, manager
Craig Stammen told Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. This setback will now make it much more difficult for Waldron to make the starting rotation out of spring training. The 29-year-old knuckleballer made a career-high 27 appearances (26 starts) for the Padres in 2024, but he made just one start at the major-league level last year and allowed four earned runs on six hits while walking six and striking out three in 4 2/3 innings pitched. Waldron shouldn't be out for too long, but he's unlikely to be in the team's Opening Day starting rotation. Expect him to provide the Friars with starting pitching depth in 2026, but he shouldn't be on the fantasy radar in any redraft leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: The San Diego Union-Tribune - Kevin Acee
February 24, 2026
Pittsburgh Pirates hitting coach
Matt Hague said that outfielder
Oneil Cruz hired a left-handed batting practice coach on the second day of the offseason and worked on hitting lefties all offseason. Cruz reached the 20-homer mark for the second straight year in 2025 and also had a league-high 38 stolen bases, but he hit a career-low .200 (94-for-471) with 174 strikeouts in 544 plate appearances. Against southpaws, he went just 11-for-108 (.102) with one of his 20 home runs and 44 K's in 125 plate appearances. Cruz has elite bat speed and exit velocities when he contacts a baseball, but issues making contact have lowered his fantasy value going into his sixth year in the big leagues. The 27-year-old was the first player in MLB history to hit 20-plus homers and steal 30-plus bases while batting under .230. If Cruz can improve against lefties and find a way to make more consistent contact, he should easily be a top-20 fantasy outfielder. Right now, RotoBaller has him ranked at No. 29.
--Keith HernandezSource: Platinum Key
February 24, 2026
Texas Rangers shortstop prospect
Sebastian Walcott (elbow) had successful UCL surgery last week, an internal-brace procedure performed by Dr. Keith Meister, according to Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News. The Rangers expect a five- to six-month recovery for Walcott. The 19-year-old could miss the entire 2025 season, delaying his development another year. Walcott is ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline after hitting .255/.355/.386 with a .741 OPS, 13 home runs, 59 RBI, 71 runs scored, and 32 stolen bases in 552 plate appearances over 124 games at Double-A Frisco last year. He can obviously be avoided in single-year fantasy leagues, but Walcott is still a firm hold in dynasty/keeper leagues as one of the best position-player prospects in the game. Depending on how his recovery goes, Walcott could make his MLB debut late in the 2027 season.
UPDATE: According to general manager Ross Fenstermaker, Walcott could be ready for game action in August, "if all things go according to plan."--Keith HernandezSource: The Dallas Morning News - Shawn McFarland
February 24, 2026
Toronto Blue Jays left-handed pitching prospect
Ricky Tiedemann (elbow) felt left-elbow soreness after his last side session in spring training, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. An MRI exam came back clean on his left elbow, but the Blue Jays will be cautious and back him off for a week in camp. It's not what you want to hear from a young pitcher who already missed all of the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Once one of the most promising young pitching prospects in baseball, the 23-year-old southpaw could be in danger of missing more time because of elbow issues this year. The Blue Jays could decide to move Tiedemann to a relief role to keep him healthy, but for now, they are hoping he can remain a starter long-term. Given all the time he's missed due to injury, Tiedemann is expected to begin the 2026 season at Triple-A Buffalo if he's healthy.
--Keith HernandezSource: MLB.com - Keegan Matheson
February 24, 2026
Chicago Cubs pitcher
Jameson Taillon can be a nice depth addition late in mixed-league drafts, since his ADP (average draft position) is currently around 300. Taillon had a solid season overall last year, making 23 starts and going 11-7 with a 3.68 ERA. His 4.65 FIP was a little high, but he was able to work around some extra hard contact effectively last year. He is starting his 10th season in the majors and is 34 years old, so he's in a race against time to stay effective. He's proven that he can be effective even without a high strikeout rate, and with the Cubs' solid lineup, he should be a good source of wins as long as he secures one of the starting spots and stays healthy. He isn't a flashy late-round sleeper with a ton of upside, but the solid veteran brings a relatively high floor as a late-round option if you're looking for some stability.
--Zach ThompsonSource: RotoBaller
February 24, 2026
Minnesota Twins outfielder
Matt Wallner brings elite raw power but has been very streaky in his time in the majors. He only hit .202 in his 104 games last season but did set a career-high with 22 home runs. The lefty actually had more success against lefties, but his contact rate was low on both sides of the splits. He did lower his strikeout rate from 36.4% in 2024 to 29.1% in 20205, but it was still extremely high. He arrived in spring training 10 pounds lighter and with an altered batting stance, looking to even out his hot and cold streaks. He said that he is "Just trying to have more of a simple [swing] path as opposed to the highs and lows that come with a big swing." He should get a chance to establish himself as one of the key sluggers in the Twins' thinner lineup coming into the year, so taking a shot on him late in your draft could pay off if he's able to continue to cut down on his strikeout rate and still bring power.
--Zach ThompsonSource: Bobby Nightengale
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