News: Mookie Betts, Juan Soto among starters monitoring injuries

Everything that happens in and around MLB has some additional context when viewed from a fantasy baseball perspective. From lineup changes to minor league call-ups to injuries and so much more, the news cycle will constantly affect player values in fantasy baseball.

Our fantasy baseball buzz file, with contributions from our ESPN fantasy writers, aims to provide fantasy managers with the intel they need as news breaks around MLB.

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April 5: Sunday morning's news to know

Saturday featured the first doubleheader of the season, and it took only 24 hours for another after yesterday's Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians interleague affair was postponed until today. The 16-game docket gets started at 1:10 p.m. ET with the opener of the single-admission doubleheader.

• The final game of the day pits the Detroit Tigers against the St. Louis Cardinals in Motown. Justin Verlander was scheduled to start for the Tigers, but he was placed on the 15-day IL yesterday due to left hip inflammation. Keider Montero was recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take the hill in Verlander's stead. Masyn Winn could be back for the Cardinals after missing yesterday's tilt with left hip tightness. Thomas Saggese took his spot at shortstop in the 11-6 loss to the Tigers.
• Sal Frelick is considered day-to-day after he left the nightcap between the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals with an oblique strain. He has been experiencing soreness in the area and is expected to undergo testing to determine the extent of the injury. Brandon Lockridge came in for Frelick and is the likely candidate for the Brewers to lean on if Frelick misses today's finale.
• Brendan Donovan was on the bench for the Seattle Mariners' Saturday 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. He stumbled over first base on Friday night, but imaging came back clean. Even so, the club played it safe with Leo Rivas handling the hot corner. Donovan's status today is unclear.
• Mookie Betts left last night's game with a sore back, with manager Dave Roberts indicating that Betts underwent imaging and is expected to miss at least today's road affair with the . took over at shortstop and is expected to be in today's lineup.

• Be sure to check out the latest fantasy lineup advice as well as the MLB betting tips for Sunday.

April 4: Saturday morning's news to know

• Saturday marks the first day with bonus baseball, as Friday's scheduled contest between the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers was postponed and will be made up today as part of a day-night doubleheader. The 16-game slate kicks off at 1:10 p.m. ET with the St. Louis Cardinals visiting the Detroit Tigers.
• Seattle Mariners' Brendan Donovan exited last night's game in the seventh inning after stumbling over first base while trying to beat out a grounder. Leo Rivas took over at the hot corner, and Donovan's status is still unclear. If he needs to miss time, Rivas could fill in, or the Mariners could turn to top prospect Colt Emerson, who they just signed to an eight-year, $95 million contract extension earlier this week.
• Juan Soto left last night's game in the first inning with a sore calf. The injury occurred as he attempted to go from first to third. His status for tonight's New York Mets road affair with the San Francisco Giants is uncertain.
• The Mets were already down a man with Jorge Polanco missing last night's game due to a sore Achilles. He's been limited to designated hitter, but last night he was unable to play. If Polanco remains out, Mark Vientos and Brett Baty would help fill in.
• The Giants were also playing short-handed after Casey Schmitt was scratched with a tight back. With limited to designated hitter, picked up the start at first base. Schmitt is considered day-to-day.

• Be sure to check out the latest fantasy lineup advice as well as the MLB betting tips for Saturday.

April 3: Forecaster Friday update

By Tristan H. Cockcroft

With most teams having completed two full rotation turns over the season's first week and a half, it's the aces who lead the two-start pitcher list for fantasy's Week 2.

Opening Day starters Sandy Alcantara, Tanner Bibee, Zac Gallen, Freddy Peralta, Kevin Gausman, Logan Gilbert, Nick Pivetta, Joe Ryan, Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal all project for two-start weeks and dominate the weekly pitching rankings.

To see those pitcher rankings, along with all of Week 2's ratings, scheduling quirks and pitcher projections, go right here. For all projections and ratings for the next 10 days, go here for pitchers and here for hitters. These are updated at least daily all season.

• Among Week 2's schedule highlights: First, a rematch of last year's World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, as the teams play a three-game series at Toronto's Rogers Centre from Monday to Wednesday. We're likely to see both Game 7 starters, Max Scherzer for the Blue Jays (projected for Monday) and Shohei Ohtani (Wednesday) for the Dodgers, as well as the winning pitcher from that game, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Tuesday), on the mound during the series. Unfortunately, as the Dodgers are planning to give Ohtani 6-7 days of rest between starts in the season's early weeks -- though without any pitch-count restrictions within each turn -- the right-hander doesn't project to align for his first two-start week of 2026.
• Next, the Tampa Bay Rays return to Tropicana Field for the first time since Sept. 22, 2024, as the team played at George M. Steinbrenner Field while their traditional home was undergoing repairs following the damage it suffered during Hurricane Milton. From 2022 to 2024 (per Statcast), Tropicana Field was ranked as the second-most pitcher friendly venue overall for runs scored and expected wOBA on batted balls, fifth most for hits and 13th most for home runs. Taking 2025 data alone -- which granted doesn't provide a complete park-factor perspective -- Steinbrenner Field ranked as the eighth-best hitting venue overall and for runs scored, fifth for hits, seventh for home runs and 11th in xwOBA on batted balls.
• Ryan Pepiot (hip, 15-day IL) could return to action as soon as the Rays' Monday home opener against the Chicago Cubs, having resumed throwing during the March 28-29 weekend and becoming eligible for activation on that date.

April 3: Friday morning's news to know

• Friday's 15-game slate features 10 matinees and five evening affairs. Action gets underway at 1:05 p.m. ET with the Los Angeles Dodgers visiting the Washington Nationals in one of a dozen home openers on the schedule. Rain is forecast for the Midwest, with the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins being the most likely to be affected.
• Those attending the Pittsburgh Pirates' home opener against the Baltimore Orioles will also witness the debut of top prospect Konnor Griffin, who is set to play shortstop and bat sixth or seventh while Kyle Bradish is on the mound. For more on this story, see Tristan H. Cockcroft's analysis below.
• Jordan Lawlar of the Arizona Diamondbacks hit his first home run of the season in the third inning of last night's 17-2 home loss to the Atlanta Braves. However, he was also hit in the hand by a pitch in the seventh inning. He stayed in the game to run but was replaced in left field for the top of the eighth. His status for tonight's game is unclear.
• Michael Wacha was scheduled to start tonight for the Kansas City Royals when they host the Milwaukee Brewers, but the veteran has been scratched due to illness. Luinder Avila was called up from Triple-A Omaha to take the hill. Avila pitched well out of the bullpen for the Royals last season, fanning 16 over 14 innings while posting a 1.29 ERA and an 0.93 WHIP. Instead of making the club as a reliever, he started the season in the Storm Chasers rotation, where he gave up two runs on four hits over three innings in his first outing.

April 2: Konnor Griffin getting the call

By Tristan H. Cockcroft

Fantasy baseball managers should race to the waiver wire right now and claim the No. 1 prospect in the game, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin.

Griffin, who failed to make the Pirates' Opening Day roster due in large part to his .171 batting average and 28.3% strikeout rate in 16 spring training games (although he did manage to hit four home runs), will nevertheless join the team for its Friday home opener. Apparently, the 19-year-old's hot five-game start for Triple-A Indianapolis was enough to force the team's hand, as he hit .438 with three stolen bases in his brief stint there. Shortstop Jared Triolo's 3-for-20 start (.150 BA) and one error in the field might have also fueled the decision.

It's curious timing, considering Griffin hadn't yet spent enough time in the minors to avoid potentially accruing a full year's big league service time, which would've granted the Pirates an additional year of team control (through 2032, rather than 2031) -- a strategy many teams have employed with prospects over the years. They do, however, remain eligible for a "Prospect Promotion Incentive" draft pick should Griffin win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, having summoned him within the season's first two weeks.

One might wonder why the Pirates wouldn't have just placed Griffin on their Opening Day roster if they intended to promote him this quickly, and perhaps they simply preferred to have him make his debut in front of their home crowd. The upshot is that he's finally here, and he's ready to contribute.

Griffin's roster rate in ESPN leagues dropped by more than 15% in the 12 days since the Pirates' announcement that he wasn't breaking spring training with the team -- that's a consequence of the delay in his arrival -- and it might increase by at least the same by the time he makes his debut on Friday.

As he's the rare prospect who can make an immediate impact in any fantasy format, no matter how shallow, it would be the right kind of roster-rate spike. After all, Griffin's long-term talent has been compared to the handful of players who debuted before their 20th birthdays (as he will), a group that most notably includes recent and current superstars Bryce Harper, Juan Soto and Mike Trout.

For those wondering whether a 19-year-old (although Griffin will turn 20 on April 24) can make a high-level fantasy impact rather than struggle to adjust to the game's highest competitive environment, the five hitters to debut as teenagers within the first two months of any of the past 40 seasons -- Soto, Harper, Aramis Ramirez, Edgar Renteria and Ken Griffey Jr. -- averaged 112 games played, 14 HR, 49 RBI, 11 SB and 65 runs scored while hitting .277/.350/.441. That supports Griffin's candidacy to be an immediate top-10 fantasy shortstop, while also illustrating the challenge a player of his young age faces in adapting to MLB pitching.

I won't immediately slide Griffin into the top 10 of my positional rankings, only on the basis of his youthfulness, the depth of the current shortstop position, and the below-average hitting environment that is Pittsburgh's PNC Park and the Pirates' offense. He'll fit in around 15th in my updated list, slightly behind fellow rookie (but older and more experienced at higher minor league levels) Kevin McGonigle and slightly ahead of similarly five category-oriented roto player Zach Neto.

That's still makes him an effectively "must add" prospect, especially based upon his certain Rookie of the Year-caliber upside.

April 2: Thursday's morning's news to know

By Todd Zola

• Today's already abbreviated slate lost got even shorter when the decision was made to preemptively postpone the Chicago White Sox's home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays until Friday due to rain in the forecast. As such, the first of today's three games begins at 2:10 p.m. ET with the Kansas City Royals hosting the Minnesota Twins.
• The Twins face their third straight lefty, with the Royals giving the ball to Cole Ragans. In both of the past two games, Austin Martin started in left field and Victor Caratini started at first base, leaving Trevor Larnach and Kody Clemens on the bench. Larnach managed to find his way to the plate just once in those games, while Clemens did not appear at all. Both are risky starts against Ragans.
• Jonathan Loaisiga recorded a save for the Arizona Diamondbacks in last night's 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers. However, before heading to the waiver wire to grab the "latest emerging closer," keep in mind that Paul Sewald had collected saves in the team's previous two games and was likely unavailable. Sewald would probably be manager Torey Lovullo's choice to lock down tonight's home affair with the Atlanta Braves, if needed.
• The New York Mets had right-handed hitters and in the starting lineup for Wednesday's matinee against left-hander . However, as soon as the brought in a right-handed reliever, and came off the bench and logged multiple plate appearances. Tonight, the Mets face southpaw . The Giants have three left-handers in their bullpen, so it's unclear how the Mets will handle the platoon scenarios.

April 1: No joke! Shohei Ohtani might reach 1,000 fantasy points

By Tristan H. Cockcroft

In his regular-season debut on Tuesday, Ohtani threw six shutout innings of one-hit baseball worth 22 fantasy points. Give him 20-25 starts with that level of production and we could be ready to witness something legendary.

Yes, we all know Ohtani is always likely to be in the MVP conversation as a hitter alone ... but if the Dodgers are willing to let Ohtani challenge his career high of 166 innings pitched (2022) -- and I suspect they might be -- his 2025 gains in terms of velocity, control and whiff rate give him a legitimate chance at a 1,000-point (550 hitting, 450 pitching) season.

We might have yet to see Ohtani's MVP-level pitching come to life. Wow!

For more on surprising pitching performances we could see in 2026, see Tristan's full article.