Opening Day 2026 Open Thread For Fantasy Questions

Timothy Jackson

March 25, 2026

Image credit: © Eakin Howard - USA TODAY Sports

Oh no. Baseball kicks off today, and your fantasy team isn’t quite ready yet. Well, don’t worry … today’s we’re opening up the comments and fantasy writer Tim Jackson is here to help. Post your questions … adds, drops, streaming questions, you name it. The BP Fantasy team is here to help.

If you like the ability to get these kinds of questions answered, a reminder that our Super-Premium tier offers The Bat Signal, where a member of our fantasy team will provide a response to your questions, generally within 24 hours—and the best part is only you see the answer, so the information provided back isn’t public.

Start chatting away in the comments … and happy Opening Day!

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Bradley Woodrum

3/25

Looks like my guy Nasim Nunez is poised for everyday playing time for the Nationals. Does he break the all-time stolen base record this year? Or just the single-season record?

Reply to Bradley

Tim Jackson

3/25

He's going to have to legally change his name to Rickey Henderson by the All-Star Break

Mike Gianella

3/25

Now you Nasim Now you Nadon't

Bradley Woodrum

3/25

Oh I love this.

Reply to Bradley

Christopher Schaffner

3/25

When will Colt Emerson be playing for the Mariners? When does Zeby Matthews make it back for the Twins?

Reply to Christopher

Tim Jackson

3/25

Maybe definitely by the All-Star Break? They don't really rush their guys and he's only got 6 games at Triple-A. For reference, Cole Young had nearly 80. Donovan eases a lot of the need to push the younger guys right away.

Zebby, I don't know. Feels like he's gotta iron something out. He's pretty clearly the 6th guy and maybe it just takes an injury (or a rough stretch from Abel, which could still be a distinct possibility)

marmac010

3/25

How stretched out is Max Meyer having not pitched in a spring game for some time? Can we expect a high enough pitch count in first couple of games to have any chance at a W or QS?

Reply to marmac010

Tim Jackson

3/25

Can't speak to it specifically but I'd guess he'd be capable of pushing for a win by maaaybe his second start, probably more likely his third. Quality starts will be shot in the dark all year, but I'm in

Patrick

3/25

How broken is Dylan Crews? Can he be a fantasy asset this season or beyond?

Reply to Patrick

Tim Jackson

3/25

Man I don't know if he's broken at all. He's played parts of two MLB seasons and only has ~450 PA total. We've seen him demonstrate a good eye, get to his upper end exit velos often, and make enough contact. I could see him being a guy again in short order, maybe by midseason, even if it's just "really solid and maybe an all-star some years" instead of "superstar." Feels like he just has to get healthy and settle in

abskippers

3/25

Do any of these SP scream must own in a shallow 5x5? Meyer, Burrows, Weathers, Bello, Abel, Ashcraft

Also it's a start max league, not an IP max. So I'm going to try and stream Wrobleski for the free K's and occasional W. Any other quality followers out there who might fit the strategy?

Reply to abskippers

Tim Jackson

3/25

I'm Aaron Ashby-pilled in this context, dude rocks. Ben Casparius, too, as long as he's in his multi-inning role. I don't think the other guys are must-rosters in a shallow setting, but:

-I'm in on Meyer and Abel in particular
-Bello added a curve and is trying a new changeup grip. He's also been talking to Ranger Suarez about grips, too. Worth monitoring to see if he's good-different out of the gate
-Weathers might have most utility early on
-I don't quite get the Burrows buzz but others have been giving him helium. His fastballs need to be clearly better, for me

Jonathan Tayler

3/25

Best opening weekend stream of this group: Eflin vs TEX, Scherzer vs COL, Sproat vs CHW, Liberatore vs TB, Patrick vs CHW, Meyer vs CHW, Painter vs WSH?

Reply to Jonathan

Tim Jackson

3/25

I'd go Sproat/Liberatore/Patrick/Eflin/Meyer/Scherzer/Painter

Jonathan Tayler

3/25

Oops, that should've been COL not CHW for Meyer, but I'm assuming that doesn't move the needle much. Thanks Tim!

Reply to Jonathan

abskippers

3/25

Also if you might indulge an additional question, I really want Baty and his 2B/3B eligibility to work with, but would have to drop K Carpenter, Barger or Delauter. 12 team mixed 5x5 keeper.

Reply to abskippers

Tim Jackson

3/25

Gotta be DeLauter, I think, just cacuse the others have clear-cut roles and that dude hasn't been able to stay healthy. If you're set on his upside, maybe Barger? He's good but Toronto has lots of options

Jonathan Easter

3/25

hi all! points league with lots of bench spots and IL spots. i went with a zero-SP draft, so my lineup is stacked but pitching is going to be week-to-week.

i now have an open bench spot because Seiya moved to IL. would you pick up Michael Wacha (to be another piece in the week-to-week rotation) or stash Konnor Griffin?

Reply to Jonathan

Tim Jackson

3/25

You need to be super on top of arms, I'd just go Wacha. We don't even have a timeline on Griffin yet and your offense is already stacked

Jonathan Easter

3/25

Great - thank you!

Reply to Jonathan

Mike

3/25

Long first scoring period 3/25 to 4/5 (6x5, standard plus OPS, weekly)

Please help me pick 3:
Sandy, Trevor Rodgers, Schlittler, E Cabrera, Bubba, Nolan McLean

And my utility: Jo Adell or Taylor Ward

Thanks!

Tim Jackson

3/25

McLean/Schlittler/Cabrera(/Sandy/Rogers/Chandler)

Adell over Ward. Take the guy who's familiar with his surroundings; Ward might be adjusting this year, especially out of the gate

Mike

3/25

Thanks!

BuntingJunkies

3/25

Addison Barger is too good to be platooned right? They can’t platoon Barger, Varsho, and Sanchez? On Fangraphs they have Varsho as the winner but what do we think?

Reply to BuntingJunkies

Tim Jackson

3/25

He might be but the Jays have built in the kinds of redundancies to be a good real life team and an annoying one for fantasy. Okamoto makes games at third tougher for Barger, who already didn't play there, and they've got the kind of outfield group to mix and match based not just on pitcher handedness but also probably batter swing path vs. pitcher arm slot. Barger's probably most useful in a daily league where you can do something similar with your bench

bhage2003

3/25

Have been in 3 dynasty leagues for a few years now, 18-20 teams with 20-21 active roster spots, deep benches and 8-10 NA spots.

This year I'm also doing a friend's redraft league of mostly fair weather Dodgers fans (that's a redundant statement, am I right???,,,guys?).

8 teams, 18 active roster spots. Small bench and no NAs.

I feel like I went from my 2nd year of medical school back to 3rd grade, and it's going to be sneaky hard and I'm trying to temper expectations.

Any general advice?

Reply to bhage2003

Tim Jackson

3/25

Smaller leagues are all about star power. Be ready to churn and burn on the wire til you hit. Don't mistake impatience for quickness, though. I wouldn't be making any big moves until the first few weeks pass and you see who settles into what situation, unless you've got new info that can help in very small samples (changes to things like velo, bat speed, mechanics, quality of stuff). Replacement level for arms is going to be especially high, so if someone's not up to snuff you should be able to find a replacement. This works out well for high-risk, high-reward guys like Sale and Glasnow.

William Rutledge

3/25

I have one backup middle infielder slot left to fill in a 6x6 Yahoo! league (with OBP and Total Bases).

Players on the wire include Caleb Durbin, Ernie Clement, Cole Young, Colt Keith, Jeff McNeil, Cronenwerth, and Baty. I’ve got Volpe on the IL til May.

Who’s your guy? Multiple choice acceptable.

Reply to William

Tim Jackson

3/25

I'd go Baty/////Durbin//McNeil/Young/Keith/Clement/Cronenworth

Baty added swing speed after having a bunch last year. It helped him barrel the ball a bunch more and probably gave him confidence to chase less even if he still didn't have the most discerning eye. That said, he was still more discerning, and can handle breaking balls. I think his profile overall is a tick or two above Vientos, and the team seems committed to getting him ~500 PA. He'll probably add first base eligibility at some point, too. I'm not a big believer in any of the others. But Boston seems committed to Durbin for the time being and McNeil has a home park that could help. The rest are just guys for me

Jonathan Tayler

3/25

One more for you Tim: Which of these two would you roster in an OBP roto league? DeLauter, Cowser, Grisham

Reply to Jonathan

Tim Jackson

3/25

I think I'm going DeLauter here, despite the injury risk/guarantee. Grisham's made real gains in damage and pulling it in the air but I don't know if that walk rate sticks

frank

3/25

Thanks for this! My NL-only 5x5 keeper league has very few starting pitchers (few = 5 at $10 value or more, plus Wheeler) available in the auction. My keeper pitchers are mostly injured and not available until end of May or later. What do I do, spend heavily to get an ace-ish pitcher, or shift spending to hitting or a closer, or something else?

Tim Jackson

3/25

If you have that many injured guys I'd want the guy who I can get the most out of all year. Lots of NL rookie arms should come up at some point but they won't be giving you a boost while the other guys are already out. I'd still be going to the cheapest of the ace-ish pitchers and redistribute the other money to whichever categories I can most pad based on the rest of my keepers

Michael Brown

3/25

How would you set up this rotation?

Abbott
Castillo
Gallen
Gore
Keller
Skenes
Valdez
Kikuchi
Pfaadt
Singer
Wacha

Any you would drop?

Reply to Michael

Michael Brown

3/25

These are my bats:

Whitt
S. Perez
Kurtz
Stott
Suarez
Carroll
Chourio
Nimmo
Harris II
G Henderson
India

Reply to Michael

Tim Jackson

3/25

Not sure what you mean by "set up" here. I wouldn't necessarily drop any of them but I'd be ready to pull the trigger on Pfaadt for someone more intriguing (or at least less of a clear-cut issue, like he has with lefties) on the wire. Keller/Wacha/Singer are all fine enough but I'd be trying to get a guy or two with a higher ceiling. Bats below are solid

Alexander Chako

3/25

There are a lot of top level MILB graduates from last year. The big one, Konnor Griffin, will start out at AAA Indianapolis. He strikes me as an Elly dela Cruz clone [power. speed, athleticism, arm, glove, weakest tool is hit tool]. All his spring HR were on hanging curves, but much of the rest had a bit of swing and miss. While speculation, is it reasonable for him to follow Elly's path [~ 200-250 PA and June call up], and does Super Two still exist in practical terms? Or are we more likely looking at September and preserving prospect status for 2027, especially with lockout looming? Or other? Your thoughts, please

Reply to Alexander

Tim Jackson

3/25

He's definitely up before September, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's only down long enough to get his feet wet. The org's taken its hit with Chandler and Skenes but if he shows he's ready I feel like they might just lean into it. They can't possibly care about a PPI pick enough to push him to a cup of coffee at the end of the year. I think he might hit for a little more average than Elly. Levers aren't as long

Donny Wilkins

3/25

Not 100% fantasy related, but...
shouldn't the Astros re-acquire Korey Lee to replace Vazquez?
Wouldn't you in a two catcher league?

Tim Jackson

3/25

Can't hit, can't play defense, negative career WARP...Vazquez has done both of those things better over his career, they're familiar with him, I think it makes total sense that they'd take a shot with him again

phanatic

3/25

With two bench spots, I often like to stream "ratio eraser" type relievers for starters who have no game. Who would you focus on who is likely available in a 15 team league?

Reply to phanatic

Tim Jackson

3/25

I mentioned Casparius and Ashby above. Ben Brown could be that kind of guy with his sinker this year. I don't think the Phillies sign Keller if they don't think he can maintain what he did last year. Coleman Crow got some praise during Brewers camp this year. I think Payton Tolle could be that guy if they call him up as a reliever, which feels practical given his fastball and how their bullpen could turn. Langrange when he's called up, if they stick him in the 'pen, or whoever the Yankees turbo-charge this year. Gabe Speier is vicious. I'd be tempted to go to a leaderboard and sort by K% or K-BB, and maybe target guys on teams who wouldn't be pushed to into the closer's role.

parkdog7

3/25

I was offered Tatis for Roman Anthony in a dynasty league. I've won the league the last two years. Would you accept?

Reply to parkdog7

Tim Jackson

3/26

No. Tatis is cool but/and we already know his ceiling, and how often he might have trouble getting there. We don't know those things about Anthony but his debut was remarkable and it's worth finding out

patrickmfalco

3/26

Pick two out of these three 3B for 6x6 dynasty (obp, slg, sb, hr, r, rbi): Brady House, Colt Kieth, Brooks Lee….

Reply to patrickmfalco

Tim Jackson

3/26

I'd go Keith and Lee. Keith had good OBPs through the minors and started getting there in the big leagues last year. Lee carries the injury risk but has been more consistent as a professional than House

DrGoose

3/26

NL only minor league keeper draft -- Joshua Baez or Mike Sirota? And Jaxson Wiggins or Seth Hernandez or Snelling?

Reply to DrGoose

Tim Jackson

3/26

Baez if you're looking for more help sooner, but maybe Sirota long-term. As for the arms: I'd go Snelling/Wiggins/Hernandez, but they're all pretty close. Gonna have to ask yourself if you value proximity (Hernandez is furthest away) or which org you trust more between the Cubs and Marlins when it comes to pitching dev. Both have made gains in that space over the last few years, and Miami in particular has changed a lot of personnel in the last year or two and held ground. I'd give the edge to Miami/Snelling, given the jump he made last year and the way he took on 5+ innings pretty much every time out

David Sullivan

3/26

10 team AL-only OBP league. Would you drop Larnach for Luke Raley or Matt Vierling?

Tim Jackson

3/26

No, I don't think I would. Just seems like Larnach's got the better playing time setup (and the better on-base skills, historically)