The Cut List - Time to Let Go? Who To Consider Dropping for Fantasy Baseball (Week 4)

April 19, 2026

The fantasy baseball Cut List for Week 4 of 2026. Jamie analyzes potential fantasy baseball busts, overvalued players, and injured players to consider dropping.

Welcome back to The Cut List as we head into Week 4 of the 2026 season. For those who are not familiar, this is our weekly article looking at players whom fantasy managers might be considering cutting from their teams and struggling players who need a closer look.

We'll look at players who are worth monitoring for replacing and someone on the hot seat who should be held on to... for now. Experienced Cut List readers will know I'm a strong advocate for not making knee-jerk reactions. A bad week or two shouldn't be a reason to push the panic button and dump someone, especially this early in the season.

If there's ever someone you want me to take a look at, drop their name in the Reddit comments, the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms, or reach out to me on X (@Baseball_Jimbo). Maybe you'll see them included next week. All stats and rostered rates (taken from Yahoo!) reflect when this piece was written.

Pitchers

Jesus Luzardo - SP, Philadelphia Phillies - 96% rostered

Luzardo was highly touted in the offseason, going as a top-20 starting pitcher in drafts. He has not delivered results close to the hype. After four starts, Luzardo has a 1-3 W-L record, 7.94 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, and 30 Ks (22 2/3 innings).

However, I would not be dropping Luzardo any time soon. Fantasy managers will point to last season, when Luzardo gave up 12 runs, then eight more runs in his next outing at the end of May and the start of June. We later found out (unsurprisingly) that the cause was Luzardo tipping pitches.

This year, we're just looking at some bad luck in a small sample. Luzardo has a 1.97 xFIP and 2.48 SIERA. His .417 BABIP is the highest among 81 qualified pitchers, while Luzardo's 41.7% LOB% is the lowest. Those numbers simply won't continue for long.

Verdict: Luzardo is not someone I'm considering dropping. If anything, he'd be my number one "buy-low" target. His next start is against the Cubs, who just lit Luzardo up. I get benching him next week. But after that, he draws the Giants, Marlins, and Rockies (at home) as things stand.

Nick Pivetta - SP, San Diego Padres - 93% rostered

After a career year in 2025, Pivetta was hoping for a repeat. Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen. Pivetta left last Sunday's game with "elbow tightness" after retiring all nine Rockies hitters he faced.

Fans and fantasy managers feared the worst, but at least it seems like Pivetta avoided the need for Tommy John Surgery (TJS). He was diagnosed with a flexor strain, and it looks like surgery will not be required. However, it may be a considerable time until we see Pivetta on the mound again.

Craig Stammen clarifies that it's a flexor strain for Nick Pivetta. The Padres believe rehab is the best course of action. Probably goes without saying but it'll be "weeks and maybe months," before Pivetta is back.

— AJ Cassavell (@AJCassavell) April 15, 2026

It's a vague timeline, as we might expect. We don't know the severity of the injury, but the fact that months out was mentioned as a possibility suggests it's on the more severe side. Even if surgery is not on the horizon, there's no guarantee we even see Pivetta again this year.

Verdict: It's too early to rule out Pivetta from pitching again in 2026. He may even top 100 innings. We just don't know. For now, put Pivetta on the IL (injured list). As the weeks roll on, if you can't continue burning a roster spot or IL space on Pivetta, and we're no clearer on a return date, he can be dropped.

Trevor Megill - RP, Milwaukee Brewers - 82% rostered

Megill entered the season as the expected main closer in Milwaukee. However, Abner Uribe was lurking to take over the role, especially with Megill expected to be traded at some point this season. Uribe might not need to wait long to take on the closer role, as Megill has struggled to start 2026.

Megill leads the team with four saves. He also has two losses, one blown save, and a 10.29 ERA. After failing to record an out last Friday, which resulted in four runs being scored in a tie game, Megill then gave up three earned runs and blew the save on Tuesday.

It probably came as no surprise that Megill wasn't tasked with getting the next save on Thursday. Instead, he pitched the eighth inning with the Brewers leading by a run. He retired all three batters he faced, two via strikeouts. Angel Zerpa then came in to get the save.

That was Zerpa's second save of the season. Thursday wasn't matchup-based, as Zerpa (a left-handed pitcher) only faced one lefty hitter. And although he picked up the save, Zerpa's 5.73 ERA is also a concern.

Just 24 hours later, Megill got his fourth save of 2026. Zerpa gave up the tying run in the eighth inning, registering his second blown save. Uribe kept the scores tied with a scoreless ninth inning (despite walking two batters). And Megill closed out the game after the Brewers scored three runs in the top of the tenth.

Uribe hasn't dominated himself. He picked up his second save yesterday with Megill and Zerpa both unavailable. It was Uribe's second save this week and lowered his ERA to 4.00. Not great, but still the best of the Brewers' late-innings trio.

Verdict: It feels like Friday was more indicative of what Milwaukee would like to do in the latter stages of close games. Zerpa and Uribe setting up for Megill seems like the preferred option. At the very least, Uribe is establishing himself as the long-term closer in Milwaukee. For Megill's fantasy managers, he's still a hold while he's picking up saves.

Andrew Abbott - SP, Cincinnati Reds - 72% rostered

If you drafted Abbott expecting another sub-3.00 ERA, you were always going to be disappointed. Even still, no one would expect an ERA north of 5.50. Abbott's ERA in 2025 was lucky, as we can see from his numbers below. His 2026 numbers are somewhat unlucky.

Abbott's strikeout rate has dropped while his walk rate has increased. They should even out a bit more over the coming weeks, as we're still looking at a small sample. His ERA is likely to start coming down, too. Especially as Abbott is set to end April with a home start against the Rockies.

Abbott didn't make his fantasy managers feel any better in yesterday's start. For the second time in seven days, he failed to get through five innings. And for the fourth consecutive start, Abbott walked multiple batters.

Verdict: Abbott's ERA is inflated due to last weekend's shellacking at the hands of the Angels. He did little to right the ship yesterday. I don't trust Abbott enough not to experience more of those sorts of starts moving forward. But they won't be too common. Abbott is still only rosterable in deeper leagues.

Hitters

Jose Caballero - 2B/3B/SS/OF, New York Yankees - 60% rostered

Caballero's inclusion should serve as a reminder that a player can still turn their numbers around quickly at this early stage of the season. While Caballero's .232/.284/.333 slash line is uninspiring, it's a lot better than his .167/.216/.208 slash line entering Monday.

In the four-game series with the Angels, Caballero tallied five hits, with two doubles and a home run. He also had four RBI, three runs, and three steals. That form has carried into the weekend series with the Royals. Caballero has gone 2-for-6 with three runs and a stolen base in the two games so far.

It's the steals that led fantasy managers to draft Caballero. And he's not let them down in that regard, with his nine stolen bases tying for second most in baseball. That is all you drafted him for, and that's all you should expect.

The problem will arise when Anthony Volpe returns to the Yankees after he concludes his rehab assignment. That will likely be by mid-May. From that moment onwards, Caballero will revert to being a bench option with pinch running as his best source of fantasy production.

Verdict: Caballero was drafted for steals. Everything else is gravy. He's not going to provide much help elsewhere, especially as a utility infielder when everyone is healthy. Caballero is worth holding while he's playing every day. There may come a time soon when that changes, so plan ahead.

Jac Caglianone - OF, Kansas City Royals - 55% rostered

If we just look at Caglianone's slash line, he's been solid. Caglianone is hitting .270/.343/.365 (19 games). If we look at his Statcast Profile, you will further believe the notion that Caglianone is having a solid season. The problem has been that he's offered nothing by way of counting stats.

Maybe not nothing. But one RBI and six runs from someone with a .270 batting average doesn't seem right. And for someone with such power potential, the lack of home runs is a disappointment. There's no way someone with such high levels of quality contact won't start clearing the fences soon.

His teammates haven't helped Caglianone. No team has scored fewer runs than the Royals this year (71). After making their ballpark more hitter-friendly, Kansas City's lineup has failed to take advantage in the early goings.

Verdict: It's only a matter of time before Caglianone hits his first home run of 2026. And when he does, pitchers need to watch out. Caglianone is worth holding on to. If his homers do come in bunches, like we suspect they will, Caglianone is going to be one of the most popular pick-ups this year. 

Heliot Ramos - San Francisco Giants - 47% rostered

Only five teams have scored fewer runs than the Giants (75). Thankfully for their fans and Ramos' fantasy managers, things have been picking up of late. San Francisco has scored 17 runs in their last two games, with Ramos being a big factor in that.

Before the series with the Nationals, Ramos was hitting .231/.265/.262 with no homers, seven RBI, five runs, and no steals. In the last two games, Ramos has gone 4-for-9 with two homers and a double. He's driven in six runs and crossed home plate himself three times.

Just like that, Ramos is now hitting .257/.304/.378. Granted, the Nationals pitching is... not good. But if that's what it took to get Ramos hitting, no one is going to complain. A word of warning, though, that this weekend shouldn't be used to mask the issues Ramos has shown in the early going.

Ramos also has a 31.6% K% and 6.6% BB%. Both are worse than his career numbers. Ramos didn't look like a hitter about to break out of a slump. This series might just be a launching pad for improved results. It might also be the only productive series he has in April.

Verdict: Ramos was in that 40th to 60th outfielder range in drafts, where you'd take him depending on need. As such, he isn't someone you need to cling to in shallower leagues. It's still worth giving him a bit more time to see if his bat has woken up. Just don't expect a lengthy period of form.

On the Hot Seat

Michael Busch - 1B, Chicago Cubs - 83% rostered

Busch is the highest drafted hitter yet to hit a home run or steal a base. Other than Jackson Chourio, who hasn't played a game yet. Unlike others, there isn't really anything that suggests Busch is going to break out of his early-season struggles.

He's hitting .174/.275/.203. With a .173 xBA (expected batting average) and .250 xSLG, Busch can't exactly consider himself unlucky. The strange thing is that Busch is showing better plate discipline skills than before, with a career-high 12.5% BB% and a career-low 20.0% K%.  So what's the deal with Busch?

We still have to remember that this is a small sample. But he's hitting far too many ground balls and not enough line drives or fly balls. We can see from his batted ball profile below that things are trending the wrong way this year.

That's not to say Busch can't turn things around. In 2025, his 22.0% LD% ranked 27th among the 145 qualified hitters. Only 25 of those qualified hitters had a lower ground ball rate than Busch. This year, among the 189 qualified hitters, Busch has the 18th highest ground ball rate and 28th lowest line drive rate.

We can't even blame the Cubs' struggles as part of why Busch has offered so little. They are sixth in runs scored (110), and the Cubs' .337 wOBA is fourth highest in the Majors. Busch is solely responsible for the lack of help he's giving fantasy managers right now.

Verdict: As mentioned, it's still too early to panic. But of all the hitters featured this week, Busch is the one I'm most worried about. I still think we could see similar numbers to his 2024 campaign. And I'm not dropping him yet. But I'd start to make contingency plans in case this malaise drags on.

Reader Requests

As always, we're keen to hear who you want us to analyze. If there is anyone you want to include on next week's Cut List, drop their names on the Reddit thread or in the RotoBaller Discord chat rooms. Alternatively, you can reach out to me on X, and we'll endeavor to cover some requests each week.

Austin Riley - 3B, Atlanta Braves - 98% rostered

If you read last week's Cut List, you may recall me mentioning how fantasy managers requesting a player's inclusion can spur their bat into life. It worked last week with Daulton Varsho, and this week, it looks to have worked again.

Riley entered last Sunday with a .212/.328/.250 slash line, no home runs, four RBI, seven runs, and one stolen base. Fast forward to today, and Riley is hitting .250/.326/.413 with three homers, 14 RBI, 12 runs, and two steals.

His first home run of the year on Wednesday may have been from the best pitch to hit anyone will get all year; an 89 MPH fastball right down the middle from a lefty. Riley didn't miss out, and that may have been the catalyst he needed to get his season going.

Riley followed that up with a two-homer performance on Friday against the Phillies. His power stroke certainly looks like it has returned. Riley's struggles over the last two years were largely due to injuries. We could see pre-2024 numbers from Riley if he can stay healthy, especially if this week is anything to go by.

Verdict: We can all understand the frustrations when one of our early-round picks is struggling. Just remember, there was a reason they were early-round picks. Patience is still key for so many in April, and Riley should be a pertinent reminder of that.

Vinnie Pasquantino - 1B, Kansas City Royals - 90% rostered

I could just type "see Austin Riley" and leave it at that. Pasquantino also hadn't homered before this past Thursday, before going deep in back-to-back games. I don't have the same level of confidence in Pasquantino as I do in Riley, but he's someone who should be given more time.

Pasquantino's .165/.244/.278 slash line is still worrisome. As is the Royals offense, which we mentioned with Caglianone's inclusion. They still have enough talent in their lineup to pick up offensively. The fact that Pasquantino's 10 RBI is second most on the team tells us all we need to know.

Verdict: He's still hitting in the heart of the lineup, and Pasquantino has started to justify that in the last few days. I'm not convinced we'll see a repeat of last year. However, Pasquantino is still more than likely going to put up solid numbers and warrant being rostered in fantasy leagues.

Tanner Bibee - SP, Cleveland Guardians - 82% rostered

Bibee should have reassured fantasy managers with Friday's start. It was his best of the year, going six innings for the first time in 2026 and not allowing a run. Despite that, I'm still not fully sold on Bibee moving forward.

His three walks on Friday take his season total to nine. Bibee's 8.4% BB% would be a career-high over a full season. And he's still been getting hit hard. Bibee has a 56.0% HardHit%, which ranks in the third percentile.

On the plus side, Bibee's underlying numbers offer a more positive outlook. He has a 3.73 xFIP and 3.98 SIERA, both better than his 4.81 ERA. Ultimately, Bibee is likely to put up similar numbers to last season.

Verdict: Bibee's latest start should have made his fantasy managers feel more comfortable moving forward. There will be bumps in the road, but by the end of 2026, we can expect Bibee to have a ~4.00 ERA. He's got a high enough floor that warrants rostering in most leagues and formats.

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