MLB News
The Braves host the Guardians in a battle of the two MLB teams who have yet to lose a series. For game 1, Bryce Elder starts for Atlanta and Slade Cecconi starts for the Guardians. Today’s game starts at 7:15 PM ET in Atlanta and broadcast on BravesVision.
Join us and discuss today’s game in the comments below!
Texas Rangers lineup for April 10, 2026 against the Los Angeles Dodgers: starting pitchers are Kumar Rocker for the Rangers and Tyler Glasnow for the Dodgers.
Texas begins a ten game road trip tonight at Chavez Ravine. Interestingly, Joc sits and McCutchen starts against a righty.
The lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Langford — LF
Seager — SS
Burger — 1B
McCutchen — DH
Carter — CF
Jansen — C
Smith — 2B
Jung — 3B
9:10 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are +190 underdogs.
Francisco Lindor – SS
Bo Bichette – DH
Jared Young – 1B
Luis Robert – CF
Brett Baty – RF
Marcus Semien – 2B
Ronny Mauricio – 3B
Francisco Alvarez – C
Carson Benge – LF
SP: Clay Holmes – RHP
Lawrence Butler – RF
Nick Kurtz – 1B
Shea Langeliers – C
Tyler Soderstrom – LF
Jacob Wilson – SS
Jeff McNeil – 2B
Max Muncy – 3B
Carlos Cortes – DH
Denzel Clarke – CF
SP: J.T. Ginn – RHP
First pitch: 7:10 PM EDT
TV: PIX11
Radio: Audacy Mets Radio WHSQ 880AM, Audacy App, 92.3 HD2
Sign up for a user account and get:
Talk about a bummer ending for Blue Jays fans in last year’s World Series; losing a late lead in Game 7, then losing the game in extra innings (the same happened in Game 3). In the offseason, the Jays picked up Dylan Cease, Taylor Rogers’s brother, and today’s starter, Patrick Corbin. Corbin’s a low-90s junkballer who’s a fan of politicians that cheat at golf, plus he’s lefthanded and breathing, which means he’ll probably give Twins hitters fits. (Or, maybe not, if Zach’s got this squad measured correctly.)
The 36-year-old Corbin (old by baseball years, but in life years, I’d trade with him) was called up after the Jays got pummeled by L.A. on Tuesday, and they’re currently below .500. I’d expect them to do better soon; still, a depressing start after last year’s depressing finish. Jays fans have always been some of the nicest, politest visitors to Target Field, so I wish them the best after this weekend.
If you’re not aware, a few years back the Jays did a major renovation project to the Skydome (corporate name, Rogers Centre, but always Skydome to me). The refit was planned to cost C$ 300, and came in 33% more costly, as refits always do. A huge undertaking was re-angling the lower-level seats with better sightlines. You can see photos of the old layout and new layout and the refit construction at this site, which loves fawning over the beneficence of baseball owners. While some of the other renovations created more family-friendly seating (yay!) and a lot of new exclusive special luxury sections (barf!).
But, one thing that doesn’t make me barf: this was all paid for by private investment. Not a single taxpayer dollar was spent.
If Rogers Communications wants to spend their own money (and that of investment partners) putting in more luxury boxes and such, that’s their business. If you want to buy a car dealership and paint every car on the lot in swirling 1960s psychedelic colors, that’s your business. Customers will like it or not. Caveat emptor, or whatever the reverse is.
Alas, naturally team president Mark Shapiro has said that in 10 years or so, the team *might* need a brand-new stadium, which generally means “I’m gonna threaten to move to Punxsutawney if they offer me three billion taxpayer dollars,” but we’ll see what happens then. Or you will, or neither of us if we’re both dead.
In the meantime, let’s celebrate what the Skydome is really best known for; hotel-in-the outfield exhibitionism. From the Toronto Sun in 2014:
I love how the two mustached dudes are like, “we are so luxury with our expensive hotel, look at us,” and absolutely nobody is looking at THEM.
I tend to think of intentionally leaving the shades open on personal moments as a Manhattan thing (many Manhattan residents have binoculars near their window for this reason), but hey, Toronto can be open for wackiness, too.
Since Jays fans are generally so nice when visiting Target Field, how about some Twins fans going to the Skydome Marriott and giving the locals a show?
On Thursday, as I type this, there’s a room with a baseball view available Saturday for only C$ 1776 (or $1285 US), with comfy chairs you can move right over to the window:
C’mon, people. Take a trip and let your freaky side out! You know you WANT to. I would, but my TwinkieTown company credit card’s been frozen (lawsuits are pending). So it’s up to you!
And if you’re not into that sort of thing, at least enjoy one of my favorite team songs:
Mets rookie Carson Benge made headlines on Opening Day, homering to pick up his first career hit, which may have raised the immediate expectations around the 23-year-old a bit too high, too fast.
Since going 1-for-3 against the Pittsburgh Pirates with that home run, Benge is just 3-for-34 at the plate without another extra-base hit. Overall, Benge is hitting .108 over 11 games this season, causing some to question if he's actually ready to play in the majors.
Even with president of baseball operations David Stearns and the team backing Benge, it was asked by a reporter on Friday if there comes a point where the Mets should send Benge down to Triple-A to help improve his confidence at the plate. Stearns didn't bat an eye and said that's not something up for discussion, believing he will continue to adjust and improve as the season continues.
"We're not discussing that at all," Stearns said. "I think our view is Carson's going to figure this out. He's a good player and we're happy to have him on the team."
When asked what he's thought of Benge so far and what he needs to show to remain in the big leagues, Stearns expressed full confidence in the young outfielder.
"I think we've seen a really good athlete," Stearns said Friday ahead of the team's game vs. the Athletics. "I think we've seen, at times, some really good at-bats, and at times, maybe getting a little bit jumpy. Probably trying to do too much, maybe subconsciously trying to do too much. This is a really good athlete, it's a good baseball player. You can go through stretches at the big leagues and tie yourself in knots a little bit, and part of being in the big leagues is figuring how to get yourself out of it.
"I've been encouraged over the last couple games he's played. I think we've seen some better at-bats. We've seen a couple really nice plays made against him, which also seems to happen when you're going through stretches like this, balls seem to find gloves. Our feeling toward the player, our evaluation of the player hasn't changed at all based on the last few weeks."
Stearns went on to say that Benge has shown his athleticism in the outfield and on the basepaths, going 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts. The team is OK being "patient" with his development early in the season and believes his versatility will help them win games.
"Yeah, we're going to be patient," Stearns said. "Carson's a part of this team, we believe he's going to help us win games this year.
"The nice thing about Carson and what he brings to the team is that he can contribute in a variety of different ways, so it's not all on his bat. He's a good defender, he's a good baserunner and I think that allows someone to be able to work through things at the plate a little bit when they're contributing to wins in other ways."
In addition to the Mets' confidence in Benge, sending him down to the minors at this time would make it hard for them to construct a starting outfield with Juan Soto sidelined. Benge showed his hitting capabilities in spring training with a .366 batting average and will look to build more momentum after singling in Wednesday's loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks to snap his 0-for-24 streak.
After a successful start to the road-trip in New York, taking two of three, it’s on to Philadelphia for the D-backs. We’ve lost the series here each of the past two seasons – last time, it took an 11-9 victory in ten innings for Arizona to avoid the sweep. That game gave Jalen Beeks his one and only save as a Diamondback. [I note, he has tossed six scoreless innings for the Rangers since signing there] Of course, we will always have those stunning wins in Games 6+7 of the 2023 NLCS. In Game 7, the D-backs bullpen pitched five innings of no-hit baseball after Joe Mantiply allowed a lead-off double, to lock down the pennant. So, yeah: this ballpark has some good memories.
Michael Soroka’s second start was nowhere near as dominant as his Diamondbacks debut. He had a K:BB of 3:3, rather than 10:1. But it still got the job done. Five innings of one-run ball, from your #5 starter is definitely something you’ll take any day. I doubt his minuscule ERA will remain that way forever, but enjoy it while it lasts. Still no Corbin Carroll in the line-up, but according to Jody Jackson, “Corbin Carroll says he feels a lot better today and all indications are that he will be back soon.” No imaging or further tests are scheduled. Good to hear: the line-up could certainly use the power.
Because the last time a Diamondbacks’ hitter left the yard? That would be in the third inning of last Friday’s game against Atlanta, when Jordan Lawlar went deep. They have had 218 at-bats since then, without a home-run. If they don’t hit one tonight, it’ll be the first time they have gone seven games without once since September 2014. The franchise record is eight, from July 2002. Also of note, this is the only occasion where the D-backs have gone longer than four games without a homer and had a winning record over that time. They are 4-2 during the current streak, and have averaged better than four runs per game, which is… not terrible.
Sign up for a user account and get:
Shōta Imanaga was absolutely magnificent Friday at Wrigley Field.
He allowed just one baserunner, a two-out walk in the second inning. (More on that later.) He struck out nine.
Imanaga had to be removed after six innings, having thrown 100 pitches. No one quibbles with that. He was the first Cubs pitcher to throw 100 pitches this year. In fact, out of 376 games started in 2026 before Friday, just 26 pitchers (6.9 percent) had thrown 100 or more pitches, with the most being 109 by Robbie Ray of the Giants this past Tuesday.
Caleb Thielbar, who’s been so good out of the pen since the beginning of last year, wasn’t today. A leadoff single by Ryan O’Hearn in the seventh spoiled any thought of a combined no-hitter and then Bryan Reynolds’ homer gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead that they did not give up, and that was the final score on a chilly Friday at Wrigley Field, a 2-0 Cubs loss.
This is largely because the Cubs had baserunners all over the place but could not do anything with them. Runners in the first and second came to naught because Alex Bregman (first) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (second) hit into inning-ending double playes. The Cubs had two on with one out in the third — nothing doing. They loaded the bases with two out in the fourth, but Moisés Ballesteros flied to left. They loaded the bases again with two out in the sixth, and Matt Shaw, batting for Ballesteros, struck out.
There was one last potential rally for the Cubs in the eighth. Again, they had a runner in scoring position with two out, but Shaw flied to right.
If you are counting — and helpfully, that boxscore link does that for you — that’s 0-for-8 for the Cubs with RISP and 11 men left on base. They had six hits and drew six walks and, well, teams should score more than zero runs with all those baserunners. Just to give you an idea how rare it is to not score at all with that many runners, here’s BCB’s JohnW53:
The Cubs had been shut out in only five previous games since 1901 with at least six hits and at least seven walks, their totals today. This was the first by 2-0.
The previous five:
April 10, 1979: lost at St. Louis, 7-0 (seven hits, seven walks)
May 19, 1985: lost at Atlanta, 3-0 (seven hits, eight walks)
May 17, 1991: lost at Philadelphia, 1-0, in 16 innings (10 hits, nine walks)
May 7, 2008: lost at Cincinnati, 9-0 (six hits, seven walks)
Aug. 22, 2011: lost at home to the Braves, 3-0
So let’s at least give props to Imanaga for an outstanding outing. He struck out nine [VIDEO].
Here’s more on Shōta’s start [VIDEO].
And still more from John:
Shōta Imanaga’s start was just the fifth by a Cub since 1901 in which he gave up no hits, threw at least 6.0 innings and did not complete a nine-inning no-hitter. Imanaga also was the last to do it, going 7.0 vs. the Pirates at Wrigley Field on Sept. 4, 2024.
The three others:
King Cole, on July 31, 1910, in a seven-inning game at St. Louis
Zach Davies, on June 24, 2021, with 6.0 at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers
Ben Brown, on May 28, 2024, with 7.0 at Milwaukee
There was some good Cubs defense. After Reynolds’ homer, Marcell Ozuna hit a ball to right-center that PCA ran down [VIDEO].
At the beginning of this recap, I mentioned I’d have more on Imanaga’s walk. That’s because… it shouldn’t have been a walk:
As you can see, pitch 9, which was called ball four, was a strike. The Cubs opted not to use an ABS challenge on this pitch, which I suppose I can understand that early in a scoreless game. On the other hand, if they had… the inning would have been over and it would have saved Imanaga the five pitches he had to then use to strike out Konnor Griffin to actually end the inning.
Only you can’t necessarily assume that, because the sequencing would have been different with Griffin then leading off the third. So who knows? I assume the Cubs brass will discuss this and decide whether, in the future, they might want to challenge a pitch like this.
Anyway, the offense, or lack thereof, is what made this a frustrating game. After Thielbar, Ethan Roberts and Riley Martin set the Pirates down with no further damage, giving the Cubs at least a chance to come back, but they could not. The Pirates appear to be a better team this year than last, so hopefully the Cubs will be better prepared for the rest of this series.
Saturday, Edward Cabrera, who’s been excellent so far this year, will try to help the Cubs even up the series. Braxton Ashcraft goes for Pittsburgh. Game time is again 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
David Peterson has had a disappointing start to his 2026 season.
After making his first All-Star Game a year ago, the Mets southpaw has stumbled out of the game with three subpar starts, including back-to-back outings where he's allowed five earned runs.
But for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, it's still a small sample size and he believes Peterson will right the ship.
"Petey, I’m sure the last two haven’t gone the way he wanted, haven’t gone the way we wanted," Stearns told the media ahead of the team's series opener against the Athletics on Friday. "But we believe in who he is as a pitcher. He's a great competitor, and I think he'll put this past him."
Across his first three starts, Peterson has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) across 14.2 innings pitched. His ERA stands at 6.14 and the Mets are 1-2 in his starts.
Following Peterson's latest loss, there were questions as to whether his place in the rotation should be reconsidered, especially with Sean Manaea pitching effectively in long relief.
Stearns is confident that Manaea will make starts for the Mets in 2026 and doesn't necessarily have to replace someone in the rotation to do it.
"My expectation, just based on my experience of how many starters you need over the course of a major league season, is that Sean’s going to make a bunch of starts for us this year," Stearns said. "He’s very capable of doing that. We’ve seen some progress over the last couple of outings and that’s good to see. I give Sean a lot of credit for understandably being disappointed, but then going down there and helping the team, and he has helped us every time he’s taken the ball down there."
After experiencing decreased velocity in spring, Manaea broke camp in the bullpen. He's made three appearances, allowing three runs across 9.0 innings. While the velocity isn't where it was at his peak, it has improved and Manaea's pitching overall continues to trend in the right direction.
Stearns was asked about the prospect of Kimbrel joining the club this season and if there's a timeline for that to happen.
While Stearns didn't go into details on whether the veteran reliever has any opt-outs, he was happy at what he saw from him in his first rehab assignment.
Pitching for Port St. Lucie, Kimbrel worked a clean inning and struck a batter out.
"Craig threw the ball well yesterday. That was very good to see," Stearns said. "We continue to believe he can help us this year; he wants to help us. We have a stable pen so far. We haven’t made a move, but eventually we will. He’s certainly a candidate when we have an opportunity."
With Manaea giving them length and saving the bullpen twice, the Mets relievers are relatively rested and have been generally effective. But as Stearns said with Manaea, it's a long season and Kimbrel's name is likely to be called upon sooner rather than later.
Jose Franco played the role of long man in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen through the first two weeks of the 2026 season. He’s a starter by trade – and a promising one, at that – but manager Terry Francona needed to lean on him in that role given the banged-up nature of the rest of his pitching staff at the moment.
Franco mopped up Thursday’s 8-1 loss to the Miami Marlins in the series finale in south Florida, throwing 43 pitches to get through 2.0 IP. It was his second multi-inning outing of the week, and the gassed Reds bullpen simply needed another fresh arm. So, it was unsurprising to see Franco optioned back to AAA Louisville on Friday as the team brought up righty Kyle Nicolas to take his spot on the roster.
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed the news on Bluesky.
Nicolas came to the Reds in exchange for Tyler Callihan during spring training, though he was away with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic at the time. So, it took a bit of time for the Reds to fully understand exactly what they had in him, and he began the year with AAA Louisville to get his feet wet within the new organization despite having appeared in 82 games at the big league level across the previous two seasons.
Nicolas allowed an earned run in his first appearance of the season with the Bats back on March 31st but has since fired 3.1 IP of scoreless ball with just a lone hit and a 6/2 K/BB. His high velocity stuff will play just about anywhere in the Cincinnati bullpen, though it would certainly appear now that they’re going to operate without a ‘long man’ until Nick Lodolo returns from his blister issue and someone gets bumped back from the rotation.
Cincinnati begins a weekend series (and 6-game homestand) on Friday night at Great American Ball Park, and they’ll do so with Chase Burns on the mound and the Los Angeles Angels in town. First pitch in that one is set for 6:45 PM ET as the game is being broadcast by Apple TV. Here’s how the Reds are going to line up for the opener:
And yes, it appears they’re going to wear their awful city connect uniforms once again.
The Seattle Mariners honored Hall of Fame outfielder Ichiro Suzuki with a statue outside of T-Mobile Park Friday, April 10, but the unveiling didn't go exactly as planned.
As the cover was pulled off revealing Suzuki's statue, onlookers, including former Mariners greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez, took notice of a bent and broken baseball bat on the bronze sculpture of the Mariners legend in his iconic stance at the plate.
"There was a fastball inside," joked Rick Rizzs, the lead radio voice of the Mariners who presided over Friday's ceremony, "but he still got a base hit! ... "What a remarkable piece of art."
Those in attendance found humor in the awkward situation, and the statue was fixed within the hour.
Suzuki played 28 years of professional baseball, including 19 season in Major League Baseball. He began his MLB career in 2001 with the Mariners and played there until 2012. In that span, he absolutely dominated. He was a spectacle to see. He was named AL Rookie of the Year and MVP in 2001. He also won Silver Slugger Award, AL batting champion and was AL stolen base leader.
His 2001 season was no fluke. Suzuki was an All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner in each of his first 10 seasons. He amassed a record 262 hits in 2004, a mark that still stands.
He finished his career with 3,089 hits in 9,934 at-bats for a .311 batting average; needless to say, his bat on the field rarely malfunctioned. Suzuki hit 117 career home runs, drove in 780 runs with a .757 OPS. He had 509 career stolen bases.
Suzuki's No. 51 was retired by Mariners on August 9, 2025. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame a month earlier.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Seattle Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki statue includes broken baseball bat
Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:
For the Diamondbacks:
Let’s talk about it.
The Mets have received good news on Jorge Polanco.
The veteran infielder underwent an MRI on Thursday which revealed that there is no structural damage with his Achilles and he is dealing with bursitis, manager Carlos Mendoza said.
Polanco remains day-to-day, but is not expected to require a stint on the IL.
"It was good for all of us that mentally, now we know what we're dealing with," Mendoza said. "We know that there is nothing with the tendon and the area there, and now with the medication and the treatment that he's getting we'll make some adjustments and we'll go from there."
The team expects that the medication will help Polanco's Achilles heel, but they want to make sure he isn't putting too much pressure on the area for the time-being.
Hitting and running both feel fine, but they will continue to limit him defensively as he recovers.
Polanco took some swings when he came in ahead of Friday's series opener against the Athletics, and Mendoza expects that he should be available as a player off the bench.
The 32-year-old has just eight hits through 40 at-bats so far this season.
To this point, David Stearns says Soto is progressing as the team would expect.
"He's moving around indoors," the president of baseball ops said. "The key at this point is let's make sure he doesn't get de-conditioned and let's keep him going so that when the calf is fully ready, we don't have this lengthy ramp up.
"I don't have a specific, on this day he's going to start running, on this day he's going to hit on the field -- we don't have that yet, but we're optimistic this is not going to be a particularly long-term absence right now."
Soto, of course, also hit and played catch earlier this week.
When the Mets placed him on the IL on Monday (retroactive to Saturday), they noted that a typical return to play for this type of injury is two-to-three weeks.
Tommy Pham officially kicked off his return to the Mets on Thursday in Low-A.
The veteran went 1-for-3 with a single in his first at-bat, and he scored a run in the suspended game.
Mendoza doesn't have an exact number of plate appearances Pham will need before potentially becoming an option in the majors, but he doesn't think that he's too far off.
Pham will take the next step to Triple-A Syracuse soon, and then they'll go from there.
The 33-year-old rejoined the Mets on a minor league deal on Opening Day, and he'll look to provide another veteran presence and outfield depth at the big-league level.
He remained a steady option for the Pirates last season, finishing with 28 XBH's and a .700 OPS.
Hello and welcome to the third installment of our weekly two-start pitcher article for the 2026 MLB season.
I will be here every Friday to highlight some of the best two-start pitcher options in fantasy baseball leagues for the upcoming week providing my insights and recommendations on which options should be started or benched.
While it’s only the third week of the season, it doesn’t make it any less important than any other week along the way, they all count equally. Historically though, we have done a bit better streaming somewhat sketchier options at the beginning of the season, as bats are usually slightly behind pitchers to start the season, leading to more low scoring games. The cold weather in many cities around the league doesn’t hurt either. I’d much rather take my chances rolling out an extra start or two now than in the dog days of summer.
Now that we’ve seen each of these pitchers a couple of times (for the most part) we should have a better feel for how they’re going to perform for the upcoming week, rather than blindly trusting what we saw from them during the spring.
This is a living document, so we'll update the options below as the weekend moves along.
⚾️ Baseball is back! MLB returns to NBC and Peacock in 2026! In addition to becoming the exclusive home of Sunday Night Baseball, NBC Sports will broadcast MLB Sunday Leadoff, “Opening Day” and Labor Day primetime games, the first round of the MLB Draft, the entire Wild Card round of the postseason, and much more.
Before we get into it, we'll start with a couple of notes on situations that may be unresolved or teams that may not have a two-start pitcher lined up for the upcoming week:
The expectation is that Ryne Nelson will make two starts next week (at Orioles, vs. Blue Jays), but that’s far from a guarantee at this point. Merrill Kelly (back) made his final tuneup in an extended spring training game on Thursday and is expected to be cleared to join the Diamondbacks’ rotation next week. When and where he’ll slot in is anyone’s guess. Brandon Pfaadt has struggled the most in the club’s current rotation, but they’ve always jerked Nelson around and it’s possible he could be the one shifted back to the bullpen for the time being. It’s also possible that he slots in without replacing anyone and the Diamondbacks go with a six-man rotation for a turn or two to see how things shake out. If that’s the case, no one would double next week. We’ll keep an eye on the situation through the weekend and update here if anything changes.
It looks like two pitchers from the Astros should make two starts next week given the fact that they play seven games, but there are a couple of things still up in the air. Cristian Javier is tentatively scheduled to start on Tuesday, and he’d line up for two starts (vs. Rockies, vs. Cardinals) in excellent matchups if these were normal circumstances. They aren’t though. Javier was pulled from his last start due to a shoulder issue and it’s unclear whether or not he’ll be able to make his next start. There have also been rumblings of the Astros going to a six-man rotation, so even if Javier is healthy enough to pitch on Tuesday, it’s possible that he winds up getting bumped from his two-start week if both AJ Blubaugh and Spencer Arrighetti join the rotation. If Javier misses and the Astros stick with a five-man rotation, whoever takes his place on Tuesday would be an excellent streaming option. We’ll keep checking in on this one throughout the weekend and update if anything changes.
With the Dodgers moving to a six-man rotation, and only six games on the schedule for next week, no one in their rotation lines up for two starts next week. It’s possible that Justin Wrobleski, who goes on Monday against the Mets, could also wind up pitching on Sunday if anyone else gets scratched or pushed back. It’s also possible that Yoshinobu Yamamoto could work on Tuesday on regular rest and Wrobleski could be skipped this time through. There’s really nothing actionable here though, as Yamamoto is a start in all leagues regardless and Wrobleski is nothing more than a potential streaming option, though he would gain more appeal if he were to somehow pitch twice.
Someone is going to make two starts for the Rays next week (at White Sox, at Pirates) and will make for a terrific fantasy option, we just aren’t sure which hurler it’ll be yet. The expectation is that Drew Rasmussen will slot back into the rotation on Sunday after missing his last start while landing on the paternity list. In that event, Shane McClanahan would have his start pushed back until Tuesday and he’d wind up with the sweet two-start week. If McClanahan stays on schedule on Sunday, it would be Rasmussen lined up for the strong double. Either way, both hurlers should be started for fantasy purposes next week.
Going Twice…
Note: Probable pitchers as of April 10 and are subject to change.
Garrett Crochet, Red Sox, LHP (at Twins, vs. Tigers)
This feels like an absolutely dream scenario for Crochet this week. Not only is he one of the best pitchers in all of baseball and someone that should be locked into every fantasy lineup for the duration of the season, but these matchups are unbelievable. He starts the week facing the Twins – a team that can’t hit against left-handed pitching – and he finishes with a matchup against the Tigers, a team that can’t hit against anyone right now. He has to be considered the top overall option on the board this week. Enjoy.
Trevor Rogers, Orioles, LHP (vs. Diamondbacks, at Guardians)
While many prognosticators expected regression to the mean after Rogers posted a minuscule 1.81 ERA over 109 2/3 innings across 18 starts in 2025. We’re now three starts into the 2026 season and Rogers has nearly an identical 1.89 ERA to go with a strong 1.05 WHIP and a 14/5 K/BB ratio over 19 innings. He should be locked in as an every week start for fantasy managers, so the fact that he gets two starts next week and they’re both in above average matchups is only an added bonus. Expect strong ratios, double digit strikeouts and a good shot at earning at least one victory .Rogers is one of the top overall plays on the board in a week that’s filled with strong options.
Bryan Woo, Mariners, RHP (at Padres, vs. Rangers)
Woo has been exceptional through his first three starts on the season, compiling a 1.50 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and a 17/4 K/BB ratio over 18 innings. It’s only due to the limited run support that he has received from the slumping Mariners’ offense that he has yet to record a victory. I like his chances of getting off the schneid this week. Like most hurlers in this top section, there’s no reason that he should ever be on the bench for fantasy purposes.
Kevin Gausman, Blue Jays, RHP (at Brewers, at Diamondbacks)
Gausman has been one of the top starting pitchers in all of baseball through his first three starts, posting a 2.06 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and a remarkable 26/2 K/BB ratio over 17 1/3 innings. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, due to poor run support and bullpen meltdowns, he remains winless. That should change this week. Keep Gausman locked and loaded in all fantasy leagues and enjoy another strong week from the 35-year-old right-hander.
Gavin Williams, Guardians, RHP (at Cardinals, vs. Orioles)
Williams has pitched like an ace through his first three starts on the season, posting a 2.04 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 25/14 K/BB ratio through 17 2/3 innings. Walks are always going to be an issue with him, but as long as he’s piling up strikeouts and not allowing hits, he’s going to continue to dominate. The matchups stack up well for him this week as well, going to St. Louis to take on a struggling Cardinals’ offense before battling the Orioles at home to finish the week. He should be an automatic start in all league sizes.
George Kirby, Mariners, RHP (vs. Astros, vs. Rangers)
While he has only logged one victory so far, Kirby has looked like himself through his first three starts on the 2026 season, posting a 3.60 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and a 16/5 K/BB ratio over a league-leading 20 innings. Now he gets two matchups at home against familiar divisional foes who shouldn’t be able to inflict much ratio damage against him. The Mariners’ offense will need to wake up and score some runs for him to rack up wins here, but the ratios and strikeouts should be there for Kirby. He should be started in all leagues.
Kyle Bradish, Orioles, RHP (vs. Diamondbacks, at Guardians)
The expectation on Bradish coming into the season is that as long as he was healthy enough to take the mound, he’d produce elite results like he had in each of the previous three seasons. So far in 2026 though, that has not been the case. Through his first three starts he holds an unsightly 5.27 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and a 17/9 K/BB ratio across 13 ⅔ innings. He picked up his first win his last time out though and looks poised to bring those ratios down this week with a pair of strong matchups on paper. He’s an easy start in all formats.
Framber Valdez, Tigers, LHP (vs. Royals, at Red Sox)
If I had told you before the season that you’d even consider benching Framber Valdez for a two-start week in the third week of the season, you would have told me that I was crazy. It’s unfortunate that he was lit up for six runs in the first inning by the Twins his last time out, but that involved a lot of weak contact and some suspect defense behind him. I’m not going to fault him for that and I’d wager that will be his worst start of the season. Don’t compound the mistake by having him on the bench as he logs 12 innings and helps to correct that ratio damage he inflicted last week.
Cole Ragans, Royals, LHP (at Tigers, at Yankees)
Unfortunately, Ragans was lifted from his last start prematurely after being hit on the thumb by a comebacker, leaving fantasy managers feeling empty and unfulfilled. He has been throwing without issue since though and is optimistic that he’ll be able to take his turn in the rotation as scheduled on Tuesday. If you drafted Cole Ragans, you simply can’t sit him for a two-start week, especially one that includes the hapless Tigers’ offense. I understand that a matchup against the Yankees in New York isn’t ideal, you just need to roll with him and hope for the best.
Ryan Weathers, Yankees, LHP (vs. Angels, vs. Royals)
Weathers has always been an intriguing option for fantasy purposes when he has been healthy, and as long as he keeps taking the ball for the Yankees he deserves consideration. Weathers has punched out 18 batters over 16 innings through his first three starts and has posted a terrific 2.81 ERA despite an elevated 1.38 WHIP. He gets the benefit of taking on two of the lesser offenses in the American League this week and both starts are coming at home. To me, that makes him a must start in all leagues.
MacKenzie Gore, Rangers, LHP (at Athletics, at Mariners)
Gore has been an absolute godsend to the Rangers’ rotation so far this season, going 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and a 25/5 K/BB ratio over his first 16 1/3 innings with his new ballclub. A matchup against the A’s in West Sacramento is far from ideal, but it’s not enough to scare me away – especially when he gets to finish the week with a soft landing against the Mariners in Seattle. We have seen Gore have dominant first halves in the past only to falter as the season progresses. For now, fantasy managers should continue to ride the hot hand.
Jeffrey Springs, Athletics, LHP (vs. Rangers, vs. White Sox)
Springs is coming off of an outstanding start against the Yankees in which he carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning. He now boasts a stellar 1.47 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and a 15/6 K/BB ratio across 18 1/3 innings through his first three starts. The only potential downside here is that both starts are at home in the hitter’s haven that is Sutter Health Park. I’d probably still roll with him in all formats this week, just understand that the ratio risk is higher than you’d think given how well Springs has pitched this season.
Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers, RHP (at Athletics, at Mariners)
In one of the biggest surprises of the season so far, we have seen Eovaldi get knocked around in his first three starts to the tune of a 7.98 ERA and 1.84 WHIP over 14 2/3 innings. He still sports a terrific 19/5 K/BB ratio and he has given up a league-leading four home runs, so those numbers are likely to move back towards his norm as the season progresses. This week’s matchups aren’t ideal though, having to battle the Athletics at Sutter Health Park before taking on the Mariners in Seattle to finish it out. It’s hard to sit Eovaldi for a two-start week, especially in deeper leagues, but I do have serious concerns about him doing more ratio damage during that first start in Sacramento. I think you roll with him in 15’s, in 12’s I could really go either way depending on if I wanted to protect ratios or chase volume in wins and strikeouts.
Joey Cantillo, Guardians, LHP (at Cardinals, vs. Orioles)
Like most members of the Guardians’ rotation through the years, Cantillo just continues to find ways to get it done. He has allowed just four runs (2.45 ERA) over 14 2/3 innings through his first three starts while punching out 20 opposing hitters. Expect him to add double digits to that strikeout total across this two-start week with a decent chance at picking up a victory along the way as well. He looks like an easy start in both 15 and 12-team formats and I wouldn’t mind streaming him in smaller leagues as well.
Will Warren, Yankees, RHP (vs. Angels, vs. Royals)
I like what we have seen so far from Warren through his first three starts, posting a 3.07 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 14/5 K/BB ratio across 14 2/3 innings. He should be a favorite to win in at least one of these starts – if not both – and I like his chances of racking up double digit strikeouts over the course of the week. That’s more than enough for me to trust him in leagues of all sizes.
Mike Burrows, Astros, RHP (at Mariners, vs. Cardinals)
Burrows was a popular sleeper candidate heading into the 2026 season but has stumbled out of the gate, posting a 5.63 ERA and 1.75 WHIP over 16 innings while losing two of his first three starts. On paper, this looks like an excellent get right spot, getting to battle a slumping Mariners’ offense on getaway day before taking on the Cardinals at home to finish off the week. I understand that it’s tough to trust pitchers that are struggling, but the strikeouts have been there even through the rough outings for Burrows and the ratio risk is mitigated by the strong matchups. I’d be comfortable starting Burrows in all leagues next week.
Reid Detmers, Angels, LHP (at Yankees, vs. Padres)
So far, Detmers’ return to the Angels’ rotation has actually gone relatively well. He sports a middling 4.60 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 15 2/3 innings in his first three starts while racking up 17 strikeouts. The Yankees have been abysmal against left-handed pitching to start the season, which is enough for me to consider rolling with Detmers in both 15- and 12-team formats. If you’re already at a point where you need to be careful with your ratios, it may not be the right type of risk for you. If you’re looking to pile up strikeouts and take a shot at a victory, I’d be fine rolling with Detmers this coming week.
Sean Burke, White Sox, RHP (vs. Rays, at Athletics)
Burke has pitched surprisingly well through his first three outings (two starts) on the season, posting a 3.60 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 15/3 K/BB ratio across 15 innings of work. I think that he’s worth a look as a streaming option in deeper leagues and if he wasn’t going to Sutter Health Park to finish the week I’d actually have him in a higher tier. I just can’t bring myself to go all-in with the possibility that he gets blown up in that second start at the A’s. I’m still comfortable rolling with him in 15 teamers if I need volume next week but he’s probably a pass for me in 12 teamers.
Bailey Ober, Twins, RHP (vs. Red Sox, vs. Reds)
The only reason that Ober is started anywhere these days has to be due to name recognition. He’s a shell of his former self and has struggled to a 5.27 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a measly 7/4 K/BB ratio across 13 2/3 innings in his first three starts. He gets the benefit of both of these starts coming at home, but that’s not enough to trust the ratio damage that he could inflict against a pair of strong offenses. Best of luck if you want to go that route, I will not be joining you.
Yusei Kikuchi, Angels, LHP (at Yankees, vs. Padres)
Here’s a situation where a stoppable force meets a moveable object. Kikuchi has been awful through his first three starts, registering a 6.75 ERA and 1.77 WHIP over 14 2/3 innings, though he does have a 16/6 K/BB ratio to his credit. Normally, someone going that poorly and taking on the Yankees in New York would be disqualifying for me. These aren’t your father’s Bronx Bombers though – at least not so far this season. Through play on Thursday, the Yankees have the worst OPS in all of baseball against left-handed pitchers at a ghastly .422. That’s not a guarantee that Kikuchi finds success here, but it does make me more likely to gamble and use him in 15-team formats.
Luis Severino, Athletics, RHP (vs. Rangers, vs. White Sox)
There are times this week when Severino will make for a strong streaming option, both in one-start and two-start weeks. Unfortunately, this doesn’t look like one of those weeks. The 32-year-old hurler was an abomination at Sutter Health Park last season, posting a 6.01 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over 82 1/3 innings in his 15 starts. Is it possible that he could sneak through here with a decent line and squeak out a victory. Sure, it’s possible. That’s not the type of ratio risk that I’d prefer to take on at this stage of the season though.
Going Twice…
Note: Probable pitchers as of April 10 and are subject to change.
Paul Skenes, Pirates, RHP (vs. Nationals, vs. Rays)
After getting unexpectedly lit up on Opening Day, Skenes has locked back in and emerged victorious in each of his next two outings. Now he draws a pair of strong matchups against weak offenses and gets to make both starts in Pittsburgh which increases his likelihood of increasing that win total. There’s never a reason to sit Skenes in any format and you certainly aren’t doing so when he’s scheduled to pitch twice against inferior opponents. He’s one of the top overall plays on the board this week.
Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies, LHP (vs. Cubs, vs. Braves)
One of the best left-handed pitchers in all of baseball has been dominant through his first three starts (as expected) and now lines up for two home starts for the upcoming week. There really shouldn’t be anything for fantasy managers to think about here. Sanchez should be started in every league, every week, regardless of who he’s facing. Enjoy the added production from the extra start this week.
Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers, RHP (vs. Blue Jays, at Marlins)
The 24-year-old fireballer has piled up a remarkable 28 strikeouts through his first 16 1/3 innings on the season, registering a strong 3.31 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in the process. As long as he’s healthy and making his starts, he should be started in all formats every week, regardless of matchups. The two matchups this week are more middling than anything else, certainly no reason to avoid using him. Enjoy double the production. Just note that it’s possible the Brewers work in a sixth starter at some point (Logan Henderson maybe?) in which case you may only get the first start from Misiorowski – though you should be starting him regardless so there’s no change in the recommendation.
Eury Perez, Marlins, RHP (at Braves, vs. Brewers)
We have seen both the good and the bad from Perez through his first three starts. He has looked absolutely electric at times, racking up 18 strikeouts over his 16 innings of work. He has also struggled with his command, issuing nine walks and posting a troublesome 5.06 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. We know that the strikeouts will be there regardless, it’s the ratio risk that brings him down just a hair from being an absolute must start in all formats. For me, I’d bet on the talent shining through and would start him in all leagues despite the pair of difficult matchups.
Grant Holmes, Braves, RHP (vs. Marlins, at Phillies)
This one isn’t quite confirmed yet, as we’re waiting to see what the Braves due regarding the suspension to Reynaldo Lopez. The assumption is that they’ll use Holmes on regular rest on Monday, with Lopez slotting back in on Tuesday when he’s first eligible to return from his five-game ban. If that’s the case, Holmes will go twice and makes for a strong option in all formats. If they instead call up someone from Triple-A (Didier Fuentes?) to start in Lopez’s spot on Monday and keep everyone else on their regular schedule then slot Lopez back in on Thursday, then no one on the Braves will make two starts next week.
Michael King, Padres, RHP (vs. Mariners, at Angels)
So far, so good for King through his first three starts on the 2026 campaign. He sits at 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and a 15/8 K/BB ratio over 16 2/3 innings. Performance has never been the question with the right-hander, it’s his durability. As long as he’s healthy and making his starts, he represents a strong play in all fantasy leagues.
Robbie Ray, Giants, LHP (at Reds, at Nationals)
Through his first three starts on the season, Ray has looked like his vintage Cy Young Award winning form that he displayed in 2021 – registering a stellar 2.08 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and an 18/6 K/BB ratio over 17 1/3 innings. The underlying metrics seem to support his early-season success and there’s zero reason that he should find himself on any benches for fantasy purposes, even when his first start of the week is against the Reds in Cincinnati. He should be locked into all lineups for all starts until he gives us a reason to think otherwise.
Mitch Keller, Pirates, RHP (vs. Nationals, vs. Rays)
Keller has always been a viable streaming option in weeks in which he pitches twice or takes on a lower-level offense. This week he checks both of those boxes, getting to battle the Nationals and the Rays at home. Furthermore, he’s in terrific form at the moment with a minuscule 1.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and an 11/5 K/BB ratio over 18 innings through his first three starts. He’s an easy start in all leagues this week.
Javier Assad, Cubs, RHP (at Phillies, vs. Mets)
With the injuries to Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton, the Cubs now have room for both Assad and Colin Rea to work in their starting rotation. Assad looked sharp in his season debut, firing 5 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball with three strikeouts and a 0.53 WHIP against the Rays. Assad has always been a viable streaming option when he has been healthy, registering a 3.37 ERA over 336 2/3 innings in his big league career. As long as he’s taking the mound he’s worth a look – especially in deeper leagues.
Matthew Liberatore, Cardinals, LHP (vs. Guardians, at Astros)
The Cardinals’ de facto ace has pitched decently through his first three starts on the season, posting a 3.38 ERA, elevated 1.50 WHIP and has has just 10 strikeouts in 16 innings of work. While he has been able to limit the runs against him, wins are always going to be hard to come by with the Cardinals’ offense backing him and strikeouts simply aren’t his game. The matchups are decent enough that he could be worth a look in deeper leagues if looking to add volume, but the overall upside here is muted.
Cade Cavalli, Nationals, RHP (at Pirates, vs. Giants)
The Nationals’ Opening Day starter has held his own through his first three starts, registering a 2.51 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and an 11/9 K/BB ratio over 14 1/3 innings. He isn’t going to win many games pitching for the Nationals and he’s not a major strikeout artist, so if you’re using him you’re just looking to add volume while attempting to minimize ratio risk. That’s fine in deeper leagues if you want to take the gamble, personally I’d be looking in places with more overall upside and appeal.
Brady Singer, Reds, RHP (vs. Giants, at Twins)
In most years we’d be considering Singer as a streaming option for most two-start weeks, but he hasn’t looked like himself through his first three starts of the season – posting a miserable 7.71 ERA, 2.06 WHIP and a 13/3 K/BB ratio over 11 2/3 innings. Could this be the week that he gets back on track? It’s entirely possible. Whether or not you roll the dice though depends on your risk tolerance. The strikeouts should be there regardless and the matchups aren’t terrible, especially since he gets to face Bailey Ober and the Twins in that second start. You may be hard pressed to find better options in 15-teamers, in 12’s I think I’m leaving him on the bench for this one.
David Peterson, Mets, LHP (at Dodgers, at Cubs)
I’ll admit that this is a tough one for me personally this week. I drafted Peterson on my most important team this year (15-teamer) and am debating whether or not to use this awful two-step or to cut bait with him completely. He has been abysmal through his first three starts with a 6.14 ERA and a cringe-inducing 1.84 WHIP to go along with a 14/6 K/BB ratio over his 14 2/3 innings. Do I expect him to be better than that from here on out? Yes. Do I think he’s worth using this week in a tough road two-step against two of the better offenses in all of baseball? That seems like a stretch. The Dodgers have been predictably crushing left-handers this season to the tune of an .828 OPS. It seems like starting him there would be playing with fire. And if you’re not using him for a two-start week, why are you even rostering him at this stage? I think I’m going to cut bait and avoid it altogether.
Michael Lorenzen, Rockies, RHP (at Astros, vs. Dodgers)
Never Rockies. It will be so much easier on your ratios if you adopt that simply mantra. I understand that most of the Rockies’ rotation has pitched well to start the season. That’s not going to continue. You don’t want to use them, especially on split weeks where they have to play at Coors Field. That’s further entrenched for Lorenzen here with a matchup against the Dodgers at Coors Field over the weekend. There is just no logical reason to go there. Stay away.
Miles Mikolas, Nationals, RHP (at Pirates, vs. Giants)
Despite donning a different jersey this season, Mikolas remains the same uninspiring fantasy option. He holds a depressing 12.41 ERA and 2.35 WHIP over 12 1/3 innings while losing each of his first three starts with the Nationals. He should be nowhere near any fantasy lineups and it’s possible if he gets beaten badly enough by the Pirates to start the week that he could be out of a job before his second start over the weekend.
The A’s announced on Friday afternoon the placement of Designated Hitter Brent Rooker on the 10-day IL with what the team is calling an oblique strain:
It’s a tough blow for the Athletics’ offense. Though he’s scuffled in the early going it seemed that Rook was starting to get his bat on track in recent games. His two-homer performance earlier this week sure indicated that he was on the right track but now he’ll have to work through an injury before he’s ready to come back. This’ll snap his consecutive games streak as well, ending at the fourth-most in franchise history with 214 straight games played. How long he’ll be out has yet to be determined but his absence will be measured in weeks, perhaps even months.
Taking Rook’s spot on the active roster will be Zack Gelof. The second baseman was once considered a franchise cornerstone but has seen his star dim in the past couple of years. This season he’s been getting some work in the outfield as well, hoping to expand his positional flexibility and earn more playing time with the big league squad. He’s now earned that chance after a monster start to the year in Triple-A. In 11 games for the Aviators Gelof is slashing an incredible .366/.519/.732 with four long balls. Even considering the hitter-friendly environment that is the PCL, those are big big numbers. Now A’s fans will have to hope he can continue that hot streak against big league pitching.
How the A’s juggle playing time is yet to be determined. The most straight forward option would be to simply put Gelof in the DH role. Or the team could send Gelof back to his old position at the keystone while giving Jeff McNeil some time in the DH spot. Lawrence Butler could get some more half days going forward as well, which wouldn’t be the worst thing considering his recent injury. We’ll see tonight how Mark Kotsay approaches missing his All-Star DH and the team will be hoping to stay afloat until he’s ready to return.
Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
jmack175 asks:Is there a scenario where McMahon would be released at the deadline if a stronger option presented itself? Or will his remaining year and salary, or Cashman’s narcissism prevent that?
There’s a non-zero chance of it occurring, but I wouldn’t bet on it just off of a couple of bad weeks. The Yankees are highly hesitant to cut bait with anyone they’ve invested into, and it would take a longer prolonged struggle to produce much of anything to get to the point of dumping off McMahon. DJ LeMahieu got to that point only after several seasons of injury-plagued ineffectiveness, and he was also prohibiting Jazz Chisholm Jr. from playing his more natural position. The Yankees acquired McMahon for his defense first, and while he’s had some mishaps in the early going our own John Griffin went over the topic recently to showcase how a couple unlucky breaks can cause some statistical noise before things stabilize over the long run. The bat, of course, has to be better than a .319 OPS, but it wouldn’t take much to jump back to respectable numbers — if even a couple singles find their way through the infield, it’d sure make the bottom of the lineup look a little less dead.
qmerkel asks: Why not just have Domínguez take all at bats from the left side of the plate? The results can’t really be any worse than they currently are from the right.
Because switch-hitting is a skill that they believe Domínguez can develop, and a valuable one at that. The signs were there in spring training that Domínguez has worked hard to improve from the right-handed batter’s box, and he while he hasn’t had many opportunities to display them in the minors yet he’s already gotten on the board with a homer from that side in four at-bats. The bigger concern is his defense, which hasn’t looked promising down on the farm, but the talent has always been there with the bat and I think it can carve a path for Domínguez eventually — and being able to become a more-versatile threat in the lineup will only help.
OLDY MOLDY asks:Do we really know Winquest exists?
We do now! Only because of a roster cut though, unfortunately. Estevão touched on the inevitability of Winquest getting cut for Luis Gil’s callup the other day, and sure enough that was the result of his Rule 5 selection — never getting into a game with the Yankees before getting designated for assignment. Whether another team will pick him up under those same Rule 5 restrictions or he’ll return to the Cardinals remains to be seen, but in the end it wasn’t like rostering Winquest came with much opportunity cost: the team took a flyer on a player that could’ve been helpful if they needed it. Is it a little strange that there were zero scenarios that Aaron Boone ended up utilizing him? Sure, but it’s also not entirely shocking that they didn’t end up using a pitcher that hadn’t been above Double-A in his career. They paid a small pittance to get him into their building and see if they like his stuff, and maybe down the line he becomes a regular member of the bullpen without the requirement of rostering him through a full season. Now that the portion of the year with built-in off days is through, the trial period is over and the extra roster spot becomes too valuable to pass up on, but there were merits to the choice of going with Winquest.