The Miami Marlins announced on Thursday that they have reinstated right-handed reliever Pete Fairbanks from the paternity list and have optioned right-hander Ryan Gusto to Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding move. Fairbanks has been away from the team since Monday for the birth of his child, but he's back now and should immediately return to closing duties for the Fish. With Fairbanks away this week, Anthony Bender picked up a save on Sunday, and Michael Petersen notched a save on Wednesday. Fairbanks has allowed three earned runs on four hits (one homer) while walking one and striking out six in his first four innings in 2026 in his first season in South Beach, but he also has two saves in his four appearances. Fantasy managers will want to lock him back into their starting lineups now that he's off the paternity list. If Fairbanks stays healthy, he's a candidate to reach 30 saves for the first time in his career.

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Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is off to a slow start to the season by his lofty standards from the last few seasons. After hitting 20+ homers in each of his first four seasons with a career .357 wOBA, Witt has no homers and just a .298 wOBA in his first 12 games this season. He's hitting a decent .273 but only has one extra-base hit. When he has reached base, he's been very aggressive and is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. His power shortage is concerning, although his hard-hit rate is actually up to 60%, and his average exit velocity is up to 95.2 miles per hour. He's hitting the ball well, but so far, he's not getting the results we've come to expect from the superstar over the last few seasons. If you invested an early pick or a big auction number in Witt, wait for him to come around if possible. He makes a good buy-low candidate if his manager in your league is ready to hit the panic button early in the season.

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New York Mets outfielder Carson Benge homered on Opening Day but has had a hard time since then. In his first 11 games of the season, Benge is only 4-for-37 (.108) with three singles to go with that home run. He has contributed four stolen bases, but he has also struck out 12 times for a 28.6% K%. He hasn't had a barrel since that Opening Day dinger, and his hard-hit rate is only 44%. Benge still has speed and plenty of long-term potential, so if you can hold him in deep leagues, I still like his potential to turn things around later in the year. However, in shallow leagues with plenty of strong pickups available on the waiver wire, it may be time to move on from Benge and look to pick him back up later if he gets going.

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Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood has connected on four homers in his first dozen games this season, and he's hitting the ball well despite a .216 batting average. He has cut down on his strikeout rate a bit from last season and has an improved .294 ISO and .370 wOBA. Wood has a 54.5% hard-hit rate and an impressive 21.2% barrel rate so far this year, and his low batting average seems to be mostly bad BABIP luck (.241). Wood has 11 runs scored and 10 RBI in his first 12 games and should continue to be at the heart of the Nationals' run production. The hulking 23-year-old still has room for improvement and continues to deliver strong power and run production numbers. He continues to be a top outfield option in all fantasy formats.

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Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is coming off back-to-back seasons with 20+ homers and 30+ stolen bases, and he is well on his way to another big season of both power and speed. Through 12 games, he has three homers and three stolen bases, which puts him on pace for over 40 homers and 40 stolen bases. While he may not quite reach those numbers, he remains an elite option at shortstop with those big contributions, even though his .234 batting average leaves lots of room for improvement. His hard-hit rate is up this season, though, so his low average seems mostly due to bad BABIP luck. If his average rises, he'll have even more chances to run and rack up more stolen bases as the season goes on. If he stays healthy, De La Cruz seems on track for another huge season.

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Colorado Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle has gotten off to a very slow start to the 2026 season. The 27-year-old righty is hitting just .139 (5-for-36) through his first 12 games with no home runs, one double, and 15 strikeouts. His 38.5% K% is up over ten percentage points from last season, and his hard-hit rate has slipped to 42.9% with a 0.0% barrel rate. Doyle does have two stolen bases, but he is not putting the ball in play enough to take full advantage of his speed. With his home games at Coors Field, Doyle will always have the potential to go on a hot streak and be fantasy relevant for a stretch. Still, given his current struggles, he's definitely droppable for now in shallow leagues where waiver-wire options are starting the season in much better form.

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Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson has gotten off to a fast start to the season, with four homers in his first 12 games. Henderson is hitting .245 (12-for-49) with three doubles, four homers, six walks, and a stolen base for a .394 wOBA and .306 ISO. Last year, his ISO was just .165 in 154 games with a .339 wOBA. The 24-year-old is clearly healthy and settled into the middle of the Orioles lineup and will continue to be one of the top shortstops in fantasy baseball. Henderson's hard-hit rate is actually a little lower than last year in the early going this season, but his barrel rate is up, which is resulting in the increased power production. Continue to start him in all formats.

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Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet was one of the first pitchers off the board in most fantasy baseball drafts, but so far this season, he has looked every bit the ace managers were hoping for. In his three starts, Crochet is 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA, 2.60 FIP, and 22 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings. He started the year with six shutout innings in a win over the Reds, got touched up a bit in Houston, but then settled back in to help the Red Sox beat the Brew Crew on Thursday with 6 1/3 strong innings. He has at least seven strikeouts in each start, and is performing like a top-of-the-rotation arm through his first three starts. He'll face the Twins on Monday in Minnesota and would seem to be lined up for a two-start week next week. He's one of the most reliable starting pitchers available and can continue to anchor your rotation in fantasy baseball.

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Through his first six games of the 2026 season, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge had recorded just three hits in 25 plate appearances while striking out 11 times. While the 33-year-old two-time reigning American League MVP hasn't fully returned to his usual elite form, he's stabilized his early-season stat line by recording seven hits over the first five games of the Yankees' current home stand. Across 48 plate appearances overall this year, Judge is hitting .244/.340/.488 with three home runs, seven RBI, nine runs scored, and one stolen base. As he enters his mid-30's, fantasy managers should be slightly wary of signs of age-related decline for Judge. His 9.1% walk rate is significantly down from the 18.3% walk rate he posted in 2025. Additionally, his 23.1% barrel rate, while still elite, would be his lowest mark since 2021. Still, Judge is showing signs of coming around after a slow start to the year and will likely remain one of the very best hitters in baseball in 2026.

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Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Taj Bradley earned his second win of the season on Tuesday, allowing just one earned run across 6 1/3 innings in his team's 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers. Bradley allowed six hits but did not walk a batter and struck out 10. The 25-year-old former top prospect is off to a strong start to his 2026 campaign, as he's recorded a 1.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 22 strikeouts across his first three starts (16 2/3 innings). Bradley is averaging a career-best 97.7 mph on his fastball and has yet to allow a home run, a major development considering he owns an elevated 1.43 HR/9 across 402 career MLB innings. Raw arm talent has never been Bradley's issue, so the young right-hander could finally be putting it all together in his first full season with the Twins. He profiles as a prime waiver-wire target in most fantasy formats.

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Athletics reliever Joel Kuhnel picked up his first save of 2026 on Wednesday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning with a strikeout in his team's 3-2 win over the New York Yankees. The 31-year-old was just recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday, but he's already made two high-leverage appearances for the A's. Kuhnel spent the entire 2025 season at Triple-A, bouncing from the Philadelphia Phillies organization to the Yankees'. While Kuhnel's save on Wednesday was just the second of his MLB career, he picked up seven minor league saves in 2025. The Athletics do not have an obvious ninth-inning option currently on their roster, with Mark Leiter Jr., Hogan Harris, and Justin Sterner profiling as Kuhnel's stiffest competition for the closer role. For deep-league managers in need of saves, Kuhnel could be a player to monitor on the waiver wire.

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Across his first 17 2/3 innings pitched (three starts) of 2026, Tarik Skubal has recorded a 1-2 record with a 2.55 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts. While Skubal's top-line numbers are still very strong, the two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner hasn't quite found his fully dominant form yet this season. After posting strikeout rates north of 30% in each of the past three seasons, Skubal has struck out just 22.5% of the batters he's faced so far in 2026. Still, Skubal has issued just two walks on the year and is averaging 97.6 mph on his fastball, right in line with where he's been in previous campaigns. The 29-year-old will also get a chance to make his first home start of the year in his next time out against the Miami Marlins on Sunday. Skubal remains an elite starting pitcher option for fantasy managers in 2026.

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Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Zach Eflin (elbow) has undergone successful elbow surgery to repair his right UCL and will miss the remainder of the 2026 season, per Robert Murray of FanSided. Eflin exited early from his first start of the year due to elbow discomfort and was recently transferred to the 60-day injured list. Eflin posted back-to-back seasons with at least 160 innings pitched in 2023 and 2024, but he was limited to just 14 starts in 2025 due to multiple back injuries. After signing a one-year contract with Baltimore this past offseason, the 32-year-old is now looking at a completely lost 2026 campaign. With Eflin sidelined, veteran right-hander Dean Kremer could be the favorite to take over as the Orioles' fifth starter. Across 171 2/3 innings for Baltimore in 2025, Kremer posted an 11-10 record with a 4.19 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 142 strikeouts.

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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler (shoulder) threw 61 pitches over 4 1/3 innings in his rehab start with Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday, allowing three hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out six. The 35-year-old is expected to make one more rehab appearance at Triple-A before rejoining the Phillies, putting him on track to make his 2026 debut at some point in the next couple of weeks. Wheeler is working his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, which ended his 2025 campaign in August. The hard-throwing righty was his usual dominant self before getting hurt, pitching to a 2.71 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with 195 strikeouts and 10 wins across 149 2/3 innings (24 starts). Even coming off a serious injury, Wheeler projects as a high-end fantasy starting pitcher and should immediately be plugged into starting lineups upon his return to the big-league mound.

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Baltimore Orioles outfielder Taylor Ward is enjoying the start to his first season with his new team in 2026 and added four more hits in a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. Ward went 4-for-5 at the plate with three doubles, two RBI, and a run scored. The 32-year-old right-handed power hitter is still searching for his first home run, while he leads the league with nine doubles. The long balls will likely come, but fantasy managers surely aren't complaining about Ward's .383/.464/.574 start with eight additional RBI. Plenty is expected of Ward in his first year in Baltimore after having his first 30-30 season in 157 games with the Los Angeles Angels in 2025 in his eighth year in the big leagues. Camden Yards won't make it easy on Ward in his attempt to reach 30 homers in a second consecutive season, but he should at least be a strong counting-stat contributor in fantasy while hitting near the top of the O's lineup on a regular basis.

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Cleveland Guardians outfielder Angel Martinez had a big day at the plate in the team's 10-2 blowout win on Wednesday over the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. Hitting in the two-hole while playing left field, Martinez went 4-for-5 with a grand slam and a strikeout. The ball was jumping off of Martinez's bat on Wednesday, and it led to his first runs batted in of the season and his first long ball. The 24-year-old Dominican switch-hitter came into Wednesday's contest against KC with a .208 average (5-for-24) with a double, three runs scored, and a stolen base in 10 games played for the Guards. Most of Martinez's playing time in Cleveland has come against left-handed pitchers, but he looked good against righties on Wednesday, which could earn him some more playing time going forward if he continues to make loud contact. His grand slam came in the eighth inning off right-hander Steven Cruz.

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Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (illness) is feeling better and is starting in right field and batting cleanup for Detroit on Wednesday on the road against the division-rival Minnesota Twins and right-hander Bailey Ober, according to MLB.com. Carpenter didn't start in each of the last two games due to a stomach illness, but he was used as a pinch-hitter on Tuesday. Now that the 28-year-old left-handed hitter is feeling better, he'll attempt to dig himself out of an early-season funk at the plate. The former 19th-round pick in 2019 has gone 6-for-32 (.188) with two home runs, six RBI, and three runs scored while walking five times and striking out 16 times in just 38 plate appearances over 10 games played. Carpenter has plenty of experience against Ober, hitting .267 against him with an .886 OPS, a home run, and three RBI in 15 career at-bats, so perhaps this matchup is just what the doctor ordered for the struggling outfielder.

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After filing an appeal on his seven-game suspension from Major League Baseball, Atlanta Braves right-hander Reynaldo Lopez reached a settlement with the league and will have his suspension reduced to five games, effective immediately, according to Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Lopez threw a pitch up and in to Los Angeles Angels outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler in the fifth inning on Tuesday night, and Soler took exception, charging the mound. Lopez and Soler threw haymakers at each other before the benches cleared to break up the brawl at Angel Stadium. With the reduced suspension, Lopez will not end up missing a start early in the year. He'll take the ball next Tuesday against the division-rival Miami Marlins, where he should be started by fantasy managers. The 32-year-old former reliever was a first-time All-Star in 2024 in his first year in Atlanta in his return to a full-time starting role. Lopez made only one start in 2025 due to shoulder issues, but he's healthy again and is off to a fine start in three outings so far, posting a 1.15 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 13:5 K:BB through three starts.

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Chicago Cubs right-hander Colin Rea will enter the team's starting rotation and make the start on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, according to MLB.com. Rea is going to get a chance to prove he deserves a rotation spot with Matthew Boyd (biceps) and Cade Horton (elbow) on the injured list (Horton is done for the season). The 35-year-old veteran has made two appearances in relief so far in the early going in 2026, allowing three earned runs on eight hits while walking one, striking out eight, and picking up a save in 6 1/3 innings. Rea has a 19.3% strikeout rate in his career and will likely be limited from a pitch-count perspective on Wednesday in his first start of the year, so we wouldn't recommend him as any kind of streamer against the Rays. At best, Rea will probably end up being a matchup-based streamer in deep fantasy leagues for however long he remains in Chicago's starting rotation.

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Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough called it a "possibility" that outfielder Kyle Stowers (hamstring) will play first base this year, possibly as early as his minor-league rehab assignment, according to Kevin Barral of Fish On First. Stowers is approaching a rehab assignment after going through a workout on Wednesday. The left-handed slugger has never appeared at first base as a professional, but it could be a way for the Fish to keep him healthy for the long run. A right-hamstring strain forced Stowers to the 10-day injured list to begin the 2026 season. The 28-year-old former second-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2019 out of Stanford was the Marlins' lone All-Star representative in 2025 after a breakout campaign that saw him hit .288/.368/.544 with a .912 OPS, 25 home runs, 73 RBI, 61 runs scored, and five steals in 117 games played. Durability is a major concern, but Stowers deserves to be stashed in all fantasy leagues as he looks for an encore in 2026.

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