While you were busy following college basketball, the World Baseball Classic, the NBA, the NHL, golf, NASCAR, UFC, and everything else going on in the sports world, Spring Training was taking place. With the start of the MLB season this week, I figured I’d take some time to go through all 30 teams to update some key injuries, roster decisions, and throw in a fantasy baseball/prop betting tidbit.

Our 2026 MLB Betting Guide is still available for $19.99 or you can simply become a VSiN Pro Subscriber and get it as part of your subscription. We’ll have daily content from Zachary Cohen (props), Greg Peterson (sides/totals; his daily lines), and yours truly for the MLB season, so we’ll have plenty of coverage for those looking for baseball best bets.

For now, let’s look at what has taken place in the Grapefruit League and the Cactus League as teams get ready for the 162-game grind.

AL EAST

Baltimore Orioles

For the most part, it was a quiet spring for the O’s. Gunnar Henderson probably went back to camp with a WBC-sized chip on his shoulder and I’m guessing he’s as motivated for the start of the season as anybody after not playing nearly enough for Team USA thanks to manager Mark DeRosa’s incompetence.

Injuries: The two main ones for Baltimore are Jordan Westburg and Andrew Kittredge. Jackson Holliday is working his way back from a broken hamate bone, but Westburg has a partially torn UCL and there is no timeline for his return. Westburg has accumulated 5.6 fWAR and has posted wRC+ marks of 124 and 115 over the last two seasons. He’s a solid player and a notable loss if Coby Mayo can’t make contact.

With Kittredge, the Orioles are missing one of their two big bullpen signings from the offseason. Ryan Helsley didn’t allow a run over six appearances, but Kittredge made just one appearance and has been trying to rehab a shoulder injury. He’ll start the season on a rehab assignment in Triple-A.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Chris Bassitt’s velocity was lacking in camp and so was his control, with nine strikeouts and eight walks in 14.1 innings of work. He wasn’t signed until mid-February, so I’d be cautious with him early.

Boston Red Sox

The biggest story for the Red Sox is that they don’t have a place for Kristian Campbell on the MLB roster. Campbell hasn’t exactly represented himself well, as he had 46 PA in camp with a .220/.304/.341 slash and a 23.9% K% with just a 4.3% BB%. That comes on the heels of batting .223/.319/.345 with an 86 wRC+ in 263 MLB PA last season. This is the first season of Campbell’s eight-year, $60 million contract.

Injuries: For the most part, it was all quiet on the injury front for the Red Sox, which is very good with Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck working their way back from major injuries. There isn’t really a position for Triston Casas right now, as he’s coming back from a significant knee injury, but that situation will work itself out before he’s ready to return later in the spring.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Caleb Durbin had a massive spring for the Red Sox, slashing .357/.449/.524 over 49 PA with as many walks as strikeouts. He slashed .256/.334/.387 for the Brewers last season and was named Boston’s starting 3B. With a huge park factor upgrade, three 30+ SB seasons in the minors, and a lot of very good hitters ahead of him to create RBI chances, he might be a really good late pick if that’s a position where you’ve missed out on the first two tiers of third basemen.

New York Yankees

With four days off from their Opening Day on March 25 through April 6, the Yankees are just going to roll with a four-man rotation at the outset. Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt remain sidelined and Luis Gil gave up six homers in 19 IP over the spring. Those four SP are Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers.

Injuries: Outside of Giancarlo Stanton not being able to open a bag of chips and the three aforementioned pitchers, the injury seas were pretty calm for the Yankees. They did opt to keep non-roster invite Randal Grichuk as some insurance against LHP in the event of Stanton’s availability coming into question.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Speed demon Jose Caballero only hit .185 in the spring over 30 PA, but did significantly cut down his K%. It was only 23 batted ball events, but Caballero had 10 hard-hit balls and three Barrels. He had 68 hard-hit balls and 13 Barrels in 222 batted ball events last season. Even a few more hits here and there become really valuable with a guy who has 119 stolen bases in just 369 MLB games, including 49 last season.

Tampa Bay Rays

Those who know ball already knew the name Junior Caminero, but his impressive power display in the WBC may very well have turned him into a household name. He slugged 45 homers last season. DraftKings is offering a “First to 10 Home Runs” prop and Caminero is +1500. It should be noted that the Rays play a lot of potential cold-weather games early, with road trips to St. Louis, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Pittsburgh, plus they’re back at Tropicana Field where the ball doesn’t carry very well.

Injuries: Edwin Uceta and November trade acquisition Steven Wilson have both been sidelined. The game is highly specialized nowadays no matter what, so starting pitcher usage in April isn’t that much different than the rest of the season, but those are two noteworthy losses for the Rays at a time of the season when relievers are arguably more important than usual.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Remember the name Ben Williamson. The former Mariners prospect struggled in 295 PA with Seattle last season, but gets a fresh start with Tampa Bay now. Williamson was an above average hitter at every level in the minors and slashed .333/.417/.500 over 48 PA in the spring. He’s likely to end up with multi-position eligibility. Injuries to Taylor Walls and Gavin Lux have opened up a lot more PA for him early in the season, as he was likely to be a platoon guy on the thin side against LHP before Lux hit the IL with a shoulder impingement.

Toronto Blue Jays

It was not an enjoyable spring for the Blue Jays, who lost Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage to injury. Berrios is supposedly going to pitch through a stress fracture in his elbow, while the team will be very careful with the youngster Yesavage, who played a much bigger part in last season’s AL Pennant run than expected. Bieber, who missed most of 2024 and 2025 recovering from Tommy John, has no timeline for a return.

Injuries: Along with those pitcher notes, Anthony Santander is out until the Trade Deadline or so after having major shoulder surgery. He was limited to 54 games and was very poor at the plate last season and now he’s down again. The Jays have plenty of position player depth, but Santander’s power production is a notable loss.

Fantasy/Betting Note: When the Santander news hit, the Jays moved quickly to get Jesus Sanchez from the Astros and sent Joey Loperfido back their way. Sanchez only slashed .265/.333/.367 in 54 PA in the spring, but he is a guy who has potential 20/20 upside, especially in the AL East and with Rogers Centre as a home park, a huge upgrade from playing in Miami where he spent the first 5.5 seasons of his career. He’s posted a double-digit Barrel% in four of the last five seasons and the other was 9.9%. In really deep leagues or AL-only, he’s not a bad option.

AL CENTRAL

Chicago White Sox

It was partially a numbers game, but Jonathan Cannon getting sent to the minors is a sign of what the White Sox did this offseason. Cannon, who has a career ERA north of 5 in 228 innings of work, had a poor spring and was sent to Triple-A. For a guy that made 38 starts over the last two seasons for Chicago to get sent down is noteworthy, even if his numbers clearly warranted it. Anthony Kay and Erick Fedde will be in the Opening Day rotation.

Injuries: Kyle Teel was having quite a WBC for Team Italy before suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of WBC injuries this time around, but Teel’s a significant one, as he will likely be out all of April and really emerged as a good hitter for the White Sox last season with a .273/.375/.411 slash and a 125 wRC+. As Teel, Colson Montgomery, and others started playing regularly, the White Sox were actually a very competitive team.

Fantasy/Betting Note: By no means am I saying that I would rush to draft Andrew Benintendi, but he increased his Barrel% to a career-best 11% last season. It might’ve been a little fluky, as his Hard Hit% of 36.8% was still below league average, but he was the most extreme he’s ever been with pulling the ball and hitting it in the air. His Pull AIR% was 26.5% last season, up from 21.6%. I feel like there’s a way to leverage that, whether it’s a Dinger Tuesday price at a good number against a fly ball pitcher or something else.

Cleveland Guardians

If Chase DeLauter can stay healthy and Rhys Hoskins is the right-handed power bat that the Guardians have desperately needed since the 1990s, this offense could be quite a bit better just from those two alone. Of course, if my aunt had…well, you know. This is still a position player group lacking panache and the bench objectively stinks, but it doesn’t take much for the offense to improve based on last season’s hideous numbers.

Injuries: The most notable injury by far is the loss of Hunter Gaddis, who only made one appearance in a MLB Spring Training game. Gaddis was a starter coming up to the big leagues and has had 151 appearances in the regular season plus a handful of playoff outings over the last two seasons. At some point, that workload was likely to catch up with him and it seems like it has, as he’s dealing with a forearm injury.

Fantasy/Betting Note: DeLauter’s been putting up some eye-popping contact quality numbers in Goodyear and he’s proven that he can rake if he can stay healthy by hitting the hell out of the ball around IL stints. As a Guardians fan, I’m praying to Jobu that CDL can stay intact.

In the “be wary of Spring Training stats” department, Angel Martinez slashed .350/.395/.850 with four homers and seven Barrels in just 33 batted ball events. Martinez had 12 Barrels (3.5%) in 345 batted ball events last season. The 24-year-old is attached at the hip of Jose Ramirez and I don’t know what’s real and what’s not, but if there’s a chance that he hits at the top of this order, he’ll score a ton of runs and that’s a prop you might want to look at early in the season.

Detroit Tigers

We all knew that Kevin McGonigle was coming. I’m not sure we thought it would be so soon. With zero plate appearances at Triple-A and only 206 at Double-A, the 37th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft did everything in his power to make the Opening Day roster. He slashed .250/.423/.500 in 52 PA and was given every look imaginable. He walked more than he struck out. He had excellent contact authority numbers. He made really good swing decisions. For a team that I already loved in our MLB Betting Guide, their ceiling looks that much higher now.

Injuries: Reese Olson was announced out in early February, right around the time that the Tigers signed Framber Valdez. The more notable injury to me based on their starting pitching depth is the loss of Troy Melton, who is a tremendously valuable arm for AJ Hinch. After a really good 2024 season, Beau Brieske was objectively terrible last season and is now dealing with a strained groin. Melton could have slid his way into some high-leverage spots, but he’s on the 60-day IL with an elbow injury.

Fantasy/Betting Note: I’m a believer in Dillon Dingler. The catcher position gets really light outside of the top guys and Dingler posted a 9.2% Barrel% with a .425 SLG, but a .475 xSLG. Comerica Park is a tough venue for hitting homers, so that cuts into Dingler’s value a little bit, but the 27-year-old, who has established himself as an elite defensive catcher, has been able to focus more on the offensive side. He’s a pretty aggressive swinger and hasn’t walked at the MLB level, but he did in the minors and his second full MLB season could see a nice offensive uptick.

Kansas City Royals

It was a great spring for the Royals, but most of it took place at the World Baseball Classic, where Maikel Garcia shined and Vinnie Pasquantino and Bobby Witt Jr. got to play in some high-leverage environments. Meanwhile, out in Arizona, everything was business as usual and some key guys playing in the WBC meant more reps for others who are trying to improve or make the ballclub. Most importantly, the Royals are pretty much healthy.

Injuries: I think Stephen Kolek has some upside with the Royals, who have developed quite a pitching factory of late, but we won’t see it early on because he is recovering from a strained oblique. I hate those for pitchers because they stunt the build-up for the season and basically require Spring Training at the minor league level or the ST complex in extended spring. Still, all things considered, Kolek is not a core guy for the Royals, so he’s not a huge loss for now.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Remember, Kauffman Stadium has had a facelift this season and the outfield walls have been pulled in, especially in left field. This is a team that has been drafting and focusing on power and now can put those wheels in motion with the new park dimensions.

Minnesota Twins

It looked like it was going to be a long season for the Twins already, but then staff ace Pablo Lopez went down with a torn UCL. He’s out for the season and that’s a huge blow, not because the Twins were going to contend, but because he would have been an excellent trade chip for a team that really needs to rebuild. All eyes will be on Joe Ryan now, as he’s likely to be traded this summer.

Injuries: Lopez really suffered the only significant injury of the spring for Minnesota. Walker Jenkins may have had a chance to make the ballclub, but he hurt his hamstring and was limited to seven PA in MLB games. He’s only 21 years old, but he’s also only played 166 minor league games over the last two seasons due to injury.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Emmanuel Rodriguez only had 21 MLB PA, but he made the most of them this spring, slashing .421/.476/.842 with two homers and an average exit velocity of 94 mph on 10 batted ball events. He also struck out nine times. He’s not quite there yet, but he’ll debut this season and might be a really good stash in a variety of leagues.

AL WEST

Athletics

Leo De Vries was the story of the spring for the A’s. The top prospect acquired in the Mason Miller deal with the Padres slashed .426/.460/.723 in 50 plate appearances, including a grand slam. He won’t turn 20 until October 11 and was the No. 6 prospect for FanGraphs back in mid-February. Konnor Griffin, Jesus Made, Nolan McLean, Sam Basallo, and Kevin McGonigle are ahead of him. Made is only 18, but the others are on Opening Day rosters or will debut soon. The A’s are building something very special with a move to Las Vegas on the horizon.

Injuries: Zack Gelof, who was limited to just 30 games last season, didn’t make the Opening Day roster. Gelof slashed .267/.337/.504 in 2023 over 300 plate appearances, but has been absolutely terrible with the bat since. Last season’s injuries were a big issue, but he also only played six games with the MLB team prior to getting sent down on March 20 in the Spring.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Record heat out west has been a huge weather story and so we’re likely to see a lot of hitters get off to good starts in Sacramento. I’m not sure I’d draft any A’s pitchers, as they’re going with a closer-by-committee and none of the starting pitchers really stood out in the desert.

Houston Astros

It was never going to be an exciting six weeks for the Astros. There weren’t really any position battles, no prospects beating on the door, and no significant storylines. As it turns out, injuries created some opportunities in the bullpen, but that was really about it. Houston reunited with Joey Loperfido in a deal that sent Jesus Sanchez to the Blue Jays.

Injuries: On the injury front, there was some news. Jeremy Pena broke his ring finger and the rehab and recovery are taking a good bit of time. He only played four Spring Training games with 12 plate appearances and couldn’t play in the WBC. He’ll miss Opening Day and then some, along with Josh Hader, who is dealing with some biceps soreness. Bennett Sousa, who had 44 appearances with a 2.84 ERA and a 2.72 FIP last season, is also out while managing an oblique injury.

Fantasy/Betting Note: It seems like this Hader thing is taking a while. Bryan Abreu is currently in line for save chances, so he’s a must-have in every league. Otherwise, Mike Burrows, who threw the ball very well in the spring, is following Hunter Brown and will start Game 2 of the regular season. I don’t know what to make of that, but he limited hard contact and induced more chases in the small spring sample than he did last season with the Pirates.

Los Angeles Angels

Adam Frazier is going to make the ballclub for his Spring Training performance, even though he’s been a below average hitter for four straight seasons and six of seven. That lone roster decision sums up where the Angels are right now as an organization, heading into a very odd year with a manager and GM attached at the hip with one-year deals. At least they kept around starter Ryan Johnson, a guy who actually has some upside after being drafted in 2024. He’s only thrown 57.1 innings at the minor league level and worked 14 games in relief last season.

Injuries: Johnson is making the ballclub in large part because Grayson Rodriguez is hurt again. The one-time top prospect acquired from the Orioles for Taylor Ward is dealing with general arm soreness and he’ll start the season on the IL. Flamethrower Ben Joyce is working his way back in minor league games, but it’ll be a bit before we see him.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Zach Neto, who missed most of the last month of the season last year, had some violent contact on his 27 batted ball events, posting a 63% Hard Hit% and a 33.3% Barrel%. Neto saw huge spikes in Hard Hit% and Barrel% last season, but only went from 23 HR to 26 HR in about 50 fewer plate appearances. Many are expecting a power bump this season with his newfound contact authority.

Seattle Mariners

The most news coming out of the Mariners organization came from the WBC, where Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh seemed to have a beef. Both players have assured teammates, fans, and the organization that it’s all behind them. But, nothing beats fabricated drama in March! Should be a nothing burger, but there are some something burgers.

Injuries: Bryce Miller, limited to 18 starts and 90.1 innings last season, suffered a strained oblique and only threw 1.1 innings in MLB Spring Training. Obliques can be tricky and if they aren’t managed right can lead to other problems. With Logan Evans out for the season thanks to Tommy John surgery, the depth is a little thin for the reigning AL West champs.

Fantasy/Betting Note: I think runs scored props for Brendan Donovan will be worth following this season. He’s an extreme bat-to-ball guy who slashed .422/.481/.556 over 54 PA in the spring. Hitting ahead of Raleigh, J-Rod, Josh Naylor, and Arozarena as a career .282 hitter with a .361 OBP is going to lead to a lot of chances to touch home plate. Also, the Mariners have done some really good things with their hitters lately. I wouldn’t be shocked if Donovan, who had a career-high 8.8% Barrel% last season, sees a little bit of a power spike.

Texas Rangers

The goal for Skip Schumaker’s first Spring Training at the helm for the Rangers was simply to keep everybody healthy. This is one of the league’s older teams, especially with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi in the starting rotation. But, there are four other 30+ guys in the lineup, plus several in the bullpen. Those are guys that know their bodies and know how to navigate this time of the year, but there is increased injury risk. Fortunately, that didn’t come to the forefront.

Injuries: Virtually nothing here, as the Rangers are just waiting on Cody Bradford and Jordan Montgomery to come back from surgery and subsequent rehab to add some pitching depth. The worst news was actually in the minors, where star prospect Sebastian Walcott had to have Tommy John and he’s going to miss most of his age-20 season.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Several Rangers had monster springs, but maybe none more encouraging than Wyatt Langford, who had 15 RBI in 14 games while slashing .444/.524/.944 with five home runs. The fourth overall pick in 2023 out of Florida drove the ball to all fields in the spring and made some really good swing decisions. It will be tough for him to be a high-average guy with how often he walks, and subsequently strikes out, but if he’s going to attack in early-count situations, the breakout season might be here.

NL EAST

Atlanta Braves

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No team had a more tumultuous camp than the Braves. The latest blow came on Opening Day Week when it was announced that Spencer Strider would start the season on the IL with an oblique injury. Already operating without Spencer Schwellenbach, Joey Wentz, and Hurston Waldrep, and with Reynaldo Lopez barely touching 90 mph and Grant Holmes pitching with a damaged UCL, the Braves are running out of viable arms. And, to top it off, Jurickson Profar got himself suspended for the entire season for a second positive PED test, so somebody will have to step up in the outfield. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

Injuries: Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver, Strider, Waldrep, and Wentz would be an okay MLB rotation, but that’s what the Braves have on the IL to open the season. At least Grant Holmes and Didier Fuentes have looked excellent thus far. Based on his Spring Training pitch usage, Chris Sale is going to get back to throwing changeups this season and perhaps pitch to a little more contact.

Fantasy/Betting Note: It appears that Ronald Acuna Jr. will hit leadoff and Drake Baldwin is going to bat second. That really elevates Baldwin’s profile as a fantasy catcher. As it is, he was going to be a good option with a .274/.341/.469 slash in his rookie season, but hitting second with his walk rate and bat-to-ball skills will create a ton of opportunities to find his way into the box score. Baldwin slashed .325/.372/.625 in camp and Sean Murphy is still out for at least a month and a half or more.

Miami Marlins

I still contend that the Marlins will be one of this season’s most exciting teams to follow. Everybody in the projected starting lineup is under 30 and we saw some WBC highlights from Jakob Marsee and Owen Caissie to catch just a glimpse of what this young group is capable of doing as the season goes along. Sadly, the player with the highest ceiling of the group is the one who suffered an injury right before camp was about to break.

Injuries: Kyle Stowers hit 25 homers last season and probably would have had 30 if given some more at bats. Either way, he slashed .288/.368/.544 with a 149 wRC+ in his first full season as a big leaguer in 457 PA. Stowers only played in six games with 17 PA in Spring Training and will miss about a month with a strained hamstring. His injury does create a huge opportunity for Connor Norby, who has hit at every level of the minors and has displayed some impressive power.

Fantasy/Betting Note: If Pete Fairbanks can stay healthy, he has the chance to rack up a lot of saves. The Marlins don’t project as a team that will win by margin a lot this season. Nine different guys wound up with saves last season and five of them had 4+. With Fairbanks, the Marlins have a clear-cut closer and that should probably help. Fairbanks won’t be a top-10 or top-15 closer off the board in all likelihood because of who he plays for and having under a strikeout per inning, but if you’re scrambling for some saves late, he may be out there.

New York Mets

On a team with a projected $360 million year-end 40-man payroll per Cot’s Contracts, it is wild that the biggest story coming out of the spring is that 23-year-old Carson Benge is on the Opening Day roster. The 2024 first-round pick out of Oklahoma State earned it. He batted .366/.435/.439 on the heels of a .281/.385/.472 season in the minors. It will be interesting to see if his .178/.272/.311 slash in 103 PA against Triple-A pitching was an outlier or not, but he’ll start on the 26-man roster and we’ll see what happens from there.

Injuries: Pretty much all of the Mets’ injuries are residual from last season. Guys coming back from Tommy John surgery or some other procedure. Benge may not have made the roster if Mike Tauchman hadn’t gotten hurt jogging back out to the field after an inning break, so that’s something of a noteworthy injury for the 35-year-old, who suffered a torn meniscus. It doesn’t really impact the Mets, but it certainly impacts Tauchman as an older platoon player.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Generally speaking, I imagine that the Mets will be overpriced in the early going. They had some headlines in the lead-up to the season and also got off to that insanely hot start last year, going 19-8 in April and 45-24 in their first 69 games. This will be a good team when all is said and done, but I think you’ll be paying an early premium.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies got a lot of good news during the spring. Zack Wheeler’s rehab is on schedule and he’s already making some minor league rehab appearances. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, among others, went to the WBC and didn’t get hurt, but got the chance to prepare for the season in a high-octane setting. Cristopher Sanchez signed a contract extension. Lots of positives, while there have been mounting negatives for the rival Braves. Andrew Painter was even healthy enough to make the Opening Day roster!

Injuries: The Phillies are hardly out of the woods with Wheeler, as thoracic outlet depression surgery is a major operation and especially for a pitcher who turns 36 later this year. Outside of Orion Kerkering’s strained hamstring and depressed velocity, the Phillies seem ready for Opening Day. Top prospect Aidan Miller won’t be, but he wasn’t going to make the MLB roster anyway.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Keep an eye on Bryson Stott. He might get relegated to a platoon role, but he would be on the fat side of the platoon against righties. He slashed .265/.339/.420 against RHP and not having to hit lefties would help his fantasy value, even if he plays less often. He’ll also be a late-game pinch-hitting or pinch-running option with 24 steals and 63 over the previous two seasons combined. If you miss out on the top-tier 2B, he’s a strong consolation prize.

Washington Nationals

The Rockies are still the heavy odds-on favorite for the fewest wins, but the Nationals are +750 per DraftKings. It’s hard to look at this roster and see a lot of wins. On the plus side, most everybody is healthy in a transitional year for the franchise, so the important players for the future will at least start the season with the chance to get some very important reps. That’s about the most promising thing I can say about this team.

Injuries: Not really an injury, per se, but maybe a bruised ego for Dylan Crews. The second overall pick in 2023 couldn’t crack the Opening Day roster on this team, which is a bit of a concern for the 24-year-old. He posted a -19 wRC+ with a .166 wOBA in 34 plate appearances and has not hit well with a cup of coffee and then a full pot of coffee at the MLB level. Not all hope is lost and there are still some physical tools there, but this is a pretty big setback for Crews and for the org.

Fantasy/Betting Note: CJ Abrams started 2025 with wRC+ marks of 134, 133, and 141 over the first three months of the season before having an atrocious second half with an 8.2% uptick in K% and a 1.8% downgrade in BB%, not to mention the loss of virtually all of his power. He didn’t swing the bat well in Florida, so we’ll have to see if he can hit the ground running. If it’s any consolation, he didn’t hit very well in last year’s Spring Training either.

NL CENTRAL

Chicago Cubs

Optimism is high for the Cubs this season, as they bring back most of last year’s roster with a few supplemental pieces added to the cause. Obviously we should expect a slow start offensively because of the wind and weather in Chicago, though some parts of the country have been very, very hot and setting record highs, so maybe some of that will blow into the Midwest at some point. Either way, the weather is going to play a massive role early on with how the Cubs are lined and where the games totals are set.

Injuries: The WBC didn’t claim too many victims, but Seiya Suzuki was one of them, as a hard slide into second left him with a sprained knee. He isn’t expected to miss a ton of time, but his absence did give more opportunities to Michael Conforto and Dylan Carlson. Both guys are legitimate Major Leaguers, so Suzuki’s injury shouldn’t be a big deal at all.

Fantasy/Betting Note: What Cade Horton did last season was thoroughly impressive, but he’s been hurt a lot in his career. He had Tommy John in 2021, lost his 2024 season, and threw over 90 innings for the first time ever last season. He’s probably getting taken higher than he should be in his leagues and I’ll be looking to fade him as April rolls along because I could see him having a dead arm period.

Cincinnati Reds

We don’t have to debate the big story of the spring for the Reds. Hunter Greene missing about half of the season or more after having surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow is a headline-grabber. For a team that has to win with pitching because there isn’t a whole lot of offense, this is as big of a deal as it gets. At least top prospect Sal Stewart who slugged five homers in 18 MLB games last season, lit it up in Spring Training with a 173 wRC+ over 54 PA.

Injuries: Along with Greene, the Reds had a new concern pop up, as Nick Lodolo left his last ST tune-up with a blister on his index finger. Lodolo’s had two career IL stints due to blisters on his index finger, so it’s a recurring thing. Brady Singer also had one on his right hand late in Spring Training.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Matt McLain had a monster month in the desert, slashing .529/.571/1.020 over 56 PA with seven homers. McLain had a really nice 2023, but then missed all of 2024 after major shoulder surgery. He struggled to a 77 wRC+ in 2025, but that 2023 season might not be a flash in the pan. He had a 10.8% Barrel% and a 42.4% Hard Hit%. He smoked the ball in Spring Training and might be a really good pick in the later rounds that ends up having upside. The Reds let Gavin Lux walk, so they must feel confident enough in McLain.

Milwaukee Brewers

When teams like the Brewers go after a player via trade, there’s a reason. It should come as no surprise that Brandon Sproat, the centerpiece of the Freddy Peralta deal with the Mets, and Kyle Harrison, scooped up from Boston in the Caleb Durbin deal, are in the Opening Day rotation. The Brewers are surely hoping that Harrison goes the route of Quinn Priester, also acquired from the Red Sox after being dismissed by two teams.

Injuries: Unfortunately, Priester is on this list with a wrist issue that will force him to miss the first month of the season and possibly more. That’s where Sproat, Harrison, the return of Brandon Woodruff (who didn’t look great in camp), and others help. I was a bit shocked to see Logan Henderson not win a roster spot in the spring, but there are some financial considerations plus reasons to bring him along slowly.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Brice Turang hit leadoff 67 times last season. His next most frequent spot was seventh (25 times). Turang had 388 plate appearances with the bases empty. With Milwaukee projected to bat Jackson Chourio first and Turang second, his fantasy value should increase significantly. Turang slashed .253/.330/.376 with nobody on base. He slashed .339/.401/.521 with men on.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Newcomers Brandon Lowe and Marcell Ozuna didn’t find much success at the plate in Spring Training. We know that the Pirates are going to pitch well and there are a lot of people really high on Braxton Ashcraft this season, let alone Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler. But, it’s still hard to win games 2-1 and 3-2. The Buccos still have to find some consistent offensive production. Spring Training stats are hardly gospel, but Spencer Horwitz was also awful with the stick and the cold weather was probably going to lead to a slow start to begin with.

Injuries: We’re basically just waiting to see how Jared Jones comes back from last season’s elbow surgery. Nobody else of consequence enters the season hurt. Jones is slated for a May return, at least for minor league action. He missed all of last season after throwing 132.2 innings in 2024.

Fantasy/Betting Note: The Pirates are said to be going with a closer-by-committee approach with Dennis Santana and Gregory Soto as guys with experience in the role that pitch with different arms. The right-handed Santana and the left-handed Soto may be deployed based on the matchups, which is not fun for fantasy purposes, but fun for those of us who don’t believe in a defined closer role.

St. Louis Cardinals

JJ Wetherholt has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, as the success of the Cardinals season basically rests on him. With very little else to look forward to in St. Louis, the seventh overall pick in 2024 will be in the spotlight day in and day out. If he looks like a superstar, it should slow down some of the bellyaching from a fan base not accustomed to being in this spot. Otherwise, mostly stopgap starters and trade fodder make up the pitching staff and only a few lineup building blocks remain.

Injuries: Lars Nootbaar and Hunter Dobbins are on the IL from previous injuries. Nobody new hit the injured list, at least on the MLB roster. The injury setback for pitching prospect Tekoah Roby is a bummer, as he had Tommy John surgery last July.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Richard Fitts probably won’t be in the minors long after touching 99 during Spring Training. There are some very replaceable starting pitchers in the rotation and a good start at Triple-A for Fitts will have him in the mix and he’s probably worth thinking about at that point. The Cardinals should still be a good defensive team and Fitts should see a K% increase with the newfound velo.

NL WEST

Arizona Diamondbacks

Sighs of relief all around, as Corbin Carroll’s new axe handle bat seems to have alleviated some of the discomfort in the wrist that zapped his performance last season and even cost him some games. The margin for error in the NL West is non-existent, so Carroll staying healthy is hugely important. The Diamondbacks didn’t really add much beyond a couple of probably washed-up players in Nolan Arenado and Carlos Santana. Frankly, the team is just kind of biding their time until Ryan Waldschmidt and the next round of prospects are ready to go.

Injuries: The reunion with Merrill Kelly hasn’t gone smoothly thus far, as Kelly hurt his back early in Spring Training and only threw 4.1 innings in MLB games. He’ll start the season on the IL alongside Corbin Burnes, who is recovering from Tommy John. At least Brandon Pfaadt looked really good and Eduardo Rodriguez had a terrific outing against Team USA in the WBC Championship Game.

Fantasy/Betting Note: If you like the Diamondbacks on a given day, I’d probably lean more towards 1st 5 wagers. Paul Sewald is expected to close and none of the high-leverage arms look terribly trustworthy to me. With Justin Martinez, AJ Puk, and Andrew Saalfrank all out long-term, this bullpen appears pretty weak.

Colorado Rockies

There are a lot of recognizable names in the Rockies rotation, but missing bats is going to be an enormous problem for that group, headlined by Kyle Freeland, the most attractive trade candidate of the bunch. Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Ryan Feltner are all going to struggle to hold an ERA under 5.00. The offense looks better and a lot more exciting, though. There will be some expensive totals and team totals with this team this season, both for and against, but they might be worth exploring anyway.

Injuries: What appears to be the end of Kris Bryant’s career is getting sadder by the day, but the Rockies don’t really need to be giving him plate appearances at the expense of younger players anyway. For the most part, the Rockies are okay on the injury front, though the hope is that McCade Brown isn’t dealing with anything serious. His seven MLB starts were disastrous last season, but his minor league rates and ratios are somewhat promising.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Even though Hunter Goodman only batted .200 in the spring, his Hard Hit% of 47.4% and his Barrel% of 13.2% were right in line with last season’s contact quality numbers. He hit 31 homers last season and 14 came in the second half when he cut his K% down by 1.1%. As far as catchers go, you could do a lot worse than him and he actually posted a .515 SLG on the road, so he’s not just a Coors Field merchant.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Not much to report here. Load management will be in play as the season goes along for the Dodgers, who once again have the most absurd depth in the bigs. They even demoted Hyeseong Kim to Triple-A because he had minor league options so that they could keep other players who don’t, including prospect Alex Freeland. Tommy Edman and Kike Hernandez are coming back slowly from their injuries, with Edman probably back in April and Hernandez back in probably June.

Injuries: Along with those updates, Blake Snell won’t start the season with the Dodgers, as he’s targeting a late spring return. It could be quicker, depending on anybody else getting hurt, as LA will just shuffle guys around and try to be as healthy as possible come October. Hard-throwing right-hander Brusdal Graterol is on the way back after missing all of last season, but his velo has been lagging behind.

Fantasy/Betting Note: So many tempting players on the Dodgers roster. My bold prediction in the 2026 MLB Betting Guide was that no Dodgers pitcher would throw over 150 innings this season. I stand by that. That’s not to say you want to shy away from taking Dodgers starters; just be careful of which ones you prioritize.

San Diego Padres

A flurry of February and early March moves from the Padres helped fill out the roster after AJ Preller got his contract extension. The Padres have been more or less up for grabs ever since Peter Seidler died and that ownership uncertainty coupled with Preller on a one-year deal led to a pretty slow offseason. Business picked up right before Spring Training and i n the early part of camp. Nearly all of those guys made the roster, too.

Injuries: Two of them, German Marquez and Walker Buehler, are in the Opening Day rotation because Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove are not. Matt Waldron also had hemorrhoid surgery, which sounds downright miserable. Several relievers are down as well, including southpaw Yuki Matsui and right-hander Jason Adam, who is still recovering from an injury suffered last season. The offense needs to get off to a hot start.

Fantasy/Betting Note: Outside of Nick Pivetta, I don’t think any Padres starter is reliable. Michael King allowed 20 runs on 26 hits in his 17.2 innings, including nine homers, after being limited to 15 starts and 73.1 innings last season. The strikeouts look appealing, but he had a 3.44 ERA with a 4.26 xERA and a 4.42 FIP in 2025. Remember, he was a reliever for the Yankees until the Padres made him a full-time starter.

San Francisco Giants

Well, it’s time to see the Tony Vitello experiment in action. The Giants really went outside the baseball norms to pull Vitello from the University of Tennessee. He hasn’t coached in pro ball at all. He has a solid team and a lot of professionals with long track records. Not a lot of high-ceiling guys, but some pretty projectable players. The one area I’d pay close attention to with Vitello is his bullpen usage. There are a lot of guys in the IL for the Giants and some reliever turnover.

Injuries: Hayden Birdsong and the aforementioned group of relievers are on the IL to begin the season for the Giants. Fortunately, the position player group is intact, though Bryce Eldridge did not make the roster. One guy who did make the roster after a lost 2025 season is former Cubs farmhand Caleb Killian. He was excellent in eight appearances with 11 strikeouts against just two walks and a 59.1% GB%.

Fantasy/Betting Note: I think Tyler Mahle might be healthy again. Mahle’s slider usage was north of 21% in the spring and he induced a lot of ground balls while racking up 13 strikeouts out of 40 batters faced. If that trend continues, it would be the highest SL% for Mahle since 2023 with the Twins and close to his 2021 season with the Reds when he had 210 strikeouts. This is a super-friendly ballpark for him and he’s consistently had above average contact quality metrics. I think he’s a play-on guy early in the season.

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