April 17, 2026
Houston Astros starting pitcher
Spencer Arrighetti looked sharp on the mound during his season debut on Wednesday. He tossed six innings, allowing one run, while striking out 10 batters in the win over the Colorado Rockies. The right-hander did allow four walks, which is concerning, but he was excellent outside of that. Given all the injuries in Houston, Arrighetti figures to remain in the starting rotation for the time being. His next start will come against the Cleveland Guardians, so this should be a more challenging lineup. The strikeout upside is what makes Arrighetti an intriguing fantasy asset. He recorded 171 strikeouts across 145 innings during his last full big league season in 2024. The 26-year-old could be a decent option for fantasy managers needing help with pitching or strikeouts.
--Andy WebbSource: Baseball Reference
April 17, 2026
Minnesota Twins third baseman
Royce Lewis (knee) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Saturday at Triple-A St. Paul. The Twins haven't said how long they plan to keep Lewis in the minor leagues. Lewis has been on the Injured List since last Saturday due to a sprained left knee. Barring any setbacks, Lewis should be ready to return when first eligible early next week. This season, Lewis is slashing .222/.378/.444 with two home runs and eight RBI across 12 games. The potential is there for the former-first round pick from 2017. The biggest problem has been keeping Lewis healthy and on the field. Fantasy managers should hold tight with Lewis and hope he'll get back on the field soon.
--Andy WebbSource: Betsy Helfand
April 17, 2026
Miami Marlins third baseman
Graham Pauley (oblique) was forced to make an early exit from Friday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Pauley appeared to have tweaked his oblique while dodging a wild pitch during an at-bat in the seventh inning. He was hitless in two plate appearances before exiting the game. The Marlins will give more information on his status following Friday's contest. Often, oblique issues are something that land players on the Injured List, but we'll wait and see the severity of the injury.
Javier Sanoja is the favorite to see increased playing time at the hot corner, assuming Pauley is forced to miss time.
--Andy WebbSource: Craig Mish
April 17, 2026
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher
Noah Schultz didn't have an ideal beginning to his MLB career. The rookie southpaw allowed four runs (three earned) on three hits, while walking four batters across 4.1 innings of work. The good news is that Schultz struck out four batters and retired five of the last six batters he faced. The 22-year-old figures to get a few turns through the rotation until
Jonathan Cannon (hip) is cleared to return from the Injured List. Fantasy managers who added Schultz should hold onto him and hope for better results his next time on the bump. He's lined up to face the Athletics on Sunday, so we'll see how he does against that young stud lineup. The young southpaw has great strikeout upside, so fantasy managers should just ride the wave with Schultz.
--Andy WebbSource: Baseball Reference
April 17, 2026
Kansas City Royals catcher
Carter Jensen has been picking it up with the bat recently, and fantasy managers are beginning to notice. Jensen had a recent stretch of play where he hit over .300 with three home runs and five RBI in a six-game span. The power numbers have taken a dip since then, but Jensen is still worth looking at for fantasy managers in need of a catcher. The 22-year-old is slashing .222/.259/.463 with four homers, 10 RBI in 18 games this season. He has been filling in as the designated hitter whenever he's not behind the plate. It's never an easy task finding a viable hitter at the catcher position, but Jensen appears to have good upside.
--Andy WebbSource: Baseball Reference
April 17, 2026
Los Angeles Angels outfielder
Jorge Soler is off to a strong start to the season in the power department. Through 18 games, Soler is slashing .231/.342/.508 with five home runs and a league-leading 18 RBI. The All-Star slugger is currently serving a four-game suspension, but will be back in the mix soon. With that being said, now might be the best time to grab Soler before he returns to the field and continues tearing the cover off the ball. The veteran slugger isn't going to hit for average, and he's going to strike out a ton. The 34-year-old has crushed over 200 career homers and is looking like a sneaky add for fantasy managers seeking power right now.
--Andy WebbSource: Baseball Reference
April 17, 2026
Tampa Bay Rays right-handed reliever
Edwin Uceta (shoulder) is having more shoulder issues, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "He's sore in the back of his shoulder," manager Kevin Cash said. As a result, Uceta will be shut down for at least a few days and will head back to Tampa to visit with a doctor. The news comes after his rough outing at Triple-A Durham during his minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday, when he allowed two earned runs on five hits allowed in 1 1/3 innings pitched. The 28-year-old Dominican was getting close to making his 2026 season debut, but that will be pushed back a bit now.
Griffin Jax got the first opportunity to lock down save duties for the Rays to begin the year with Uceta on the 15-day injured list, but he quickly failed and was replaced with
Bryan Baker, who has two saves this week and four total on the year. Uceta is still worth stashing in fantasy baseball leagues as the favorite for saves in Tampa when he's fully healthy.
--Keith HernandezSource: Tampa Bay Times - Marc Topkin
April 17, 2026
Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that right-hander
Kutter Crawford (wrist, forearm) is still sore and will probably have more tests done, according to Chris Henrique of the Boston Sports Journal. Crawford was pulled from his minor-league rehab assignment on Wednesday with a sore wrist/forearm. It's obviously not good news for the starting pitcher, especially after he missed all of last year after having right-wrist surgery. The 30-year-old former 16th-round pick out of Florida Gulf Coast University in 2017 lost a league-high 16 games in his last season with the BoSox in 2024, also posting a 4.36 ERA (4.65 FIP) and 1.12 WHIP with 175 strikeouts and 51 walks in 183 2/3 innings over his 33 starts. Crawford also led the league in home runs allowed (34). Even if Crawford manages to avoid another surgery, his return doesn't look to be close at all. You can continue to ignore him in mixed fantasy leagues.
--Keith HernandezSource: Boston Sports Journal - Chris Henrique
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
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