Every week, we will update fantasy baseball managers with all the MLB news they may have missed as we make our way through spring training and get closer to Opening Day.
Bad news for Hunter Greene
We wrote last week that we were holding our breath regarding budding ace Hunter Greene, who had been shut down from throwing due to elbow stiffness.
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Well, the worst has come to pass, as Greene is expected to miss three months due to bone chips in that elbow. Greene is going from a consensus top-20 starter in fantasy drafts to likely not being drafted at all when it’s all said and done.
With Greene out of commission, the spotlight in Cincinnati now goes to Andrew Abbott, a polarizing player in his own right (is he a sleeper or a trap?) and Chase Burns, a young breakout candidate. Abbott (179 ADP) has been named the Reds’ Opening Day starter, while Burns (123 ADP) is your classic high-ceiling, what-is-his-floor option.
Cade Cavalli named Nats’ Opening Day starter
Cade Cavalli isn’t being drafted in Yahoo leagues, but that could change. The Nationals have announced him as the Opening Day starter for the team, no doubt influenced by Cavalli’s pristine play through spring training thus far. Cavalli has yet to allow a run in nine innings (three starts) with nine strikeouts.
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2025 was a tough year for Cavalli. He made his return from Tommy John surgery after missing nearly two seasons with increased velocity, but his command was off, as is common with pitchers returning from the treatment. But let’s not forget, Cavalli was a former top prospect for Washington, so the pedigree is there to help solidify the potential.
You could do worse for a last-round pick or an early-season pickup.
Matt McLain comeback season?
Remember Matt McLain? Once a top prospect of the Reds’ organization, McClain had a raucous rookie season in 2023, slashing .290/.357/.507 with a .864 OPS, 16 home runs and 14 stolen bases in JUST 89 games. Fantasy baseball managers were undoubtedly salivating to draft him in 2024, only for McLain to miss the entire season with shoulder and oblique injuries. McLain returned to play 147 games in 2025, but the season results were not what we expected.
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Now, McLain is still just 25 years old, so it’s probably not fair to say he needs to “bounce back,” but if we as fantasy managers are anything, it’s that we’re quick to avoid players after they burn us. Yet, McLain, who’s currently being drafted 193rd overall, might be your classic post-hype sleeper in 2026 — especially if spring training results hold any weight.
McLain has been on a tear in exhibition play, hitting .545 with four home runs and a 1.751 OPS. That’s the kind of stuff we have to pay attention to as we seek out late-round sleepers. A 20-20 season with a .280 average isn’t out of the cards for a healthy McLain.
Vinnie Pasquantino makes WBC history
Team Italy created a massive shockwave when they defeated the awe-inspiring United States squad, and then they demolished Team Mexico (which ironically helped USA make it to the quarterfinals of the WBC), thanks in large part to the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino.
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Pasquantino made World Baseball Classic history in that game, hitting three home runs as part of a 9-1 shellacking of Mexico. Coincidentally, this was the first time Pasquantino had an effect in the lineup; he hadn’t collected a single hit before the outing. And that’s kind of a microcosm of Pasquantino’s career to date. We know he’s capable of elite power (he hit 32 home runs last season); he’s also capable of completely disappearing at the plate. But Pasquantino has now helped Italy reach the semifinals of the tournament.
And, with the Royals moving in their walls across the board, Kauffman Stadium is expected to be much more hitter-friendly in 2026. That means that powerful young Royals hitters like Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone — along with stalwarts Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Pérez — could end up being draft values.
Luis Arráez has a claim to MVP of entire WBC
Full disclosure: I’ve always had a soft spot for players like Luis Arráez. Sure, he’s not gonna hit towering 450-foot home runs and slugging percentage will look more like an OBP mark, but he is the definition of a professional hitter. He makes contact, he’s clutch and he doesn’t strike out. In fact, Arráez has walked more than he’s struck out in four seasons throughout his career; he’s never struck out more than 48 times in a season. Your favorite superstar probably strikes out 48 times in a month in today’s MLB (exaggeration, but you get what I mean).
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Arráez has also been a hero for Team Venezuela this WBC. In 19 at-bats, Arráez is slashing .368/.409/.895 with a 1.304 OPS. That slugging percentage — .895 — is particularly eye-opening. Arráez is known for having little power; he’s never hit more than 10 home runs in a season. He’s hit two in five WBC games, along with 4 doubles.
Now, maybe it’s just the excitement and pride of representing his country. Maybe it’s just the nature of the tournament, with a relatively small sample size of games. But man, imagine if Arráez suddenly became a 20-homer type of guy; a 20-10 guy with a super-high batting average. He’s still just 28 years old, too.
I say all this to say, I will once again be drafting Arráez (193 ADP) higher than market dictates this season.
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Everyone’s top first-round fade gets hurt
Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez has been a fantasy superstar for some time now. An elite option at a thin position, JRam has been a top-12 pick in fantasy drafts the past few years. In 2026, however, he sticks out in the first round as a player to avoid. Not because he’s done anything to earn ill will, but because the Guardians lineup around him is so weak, JRam’s potential is capped.
And now, he’s suffered a spring training injury.
Ramírez was removed from Cleveland’s exhibition game on Sunday with left shoulder inflammation after jamming it while running the bases. Guardians’ manager Stephen Vogt called the injury a “day-to-day” one, but if fantasy managers needed yet another reason to fade Ramírez’s seventh-overall ADP, this is it. Definitely a situation to monitor as we get closer to Opening Day.
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