Betting

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters that the team isn’t sure yet if Suzuki will open the year on the bench, or if the team will place the outfielder on the injured list. Suzuki was diagnosed with a PCL sprain in his right knee, and it’s not a surprise that the 31-year-old won’t be healthy enough to be in the lineup. It’d be an upset if Suzuki doesn’t hit the 15-day injured list before the campaign begins.

Contreras hit one of three homers for the Brew Crew on Saturday; all coming off Randy Vásquez. The 28-year-old backstop has homered twice in the Cactus League, and looks ready to yet again be one of the better fantasy backstops in 2026.

Moore opted out of his minor league deal with the Phillies, and rather than risk letting him go, the Phillies will add the versatile 33-year-old to their bench. He’ll likely see time against left-handers while playing multiple positions in 2026.

It comes in a losing effort, but it’s another impressive game from Bazzana. One of the homers was a grand slam, the other a solo shot off Robbie Ray an inning earlier. Bazzana has hit .381/.435/.857 in Arizona; a friendly reminder that this was the first pick of the 2024 MLB Draft. He likely begins the season in the minors, but it’d be an upset if he wasn’t starting at second base by the end of 2026. There’s some fantasy upside here for this season and obviously beyond.

That according to manager Craig Albernaz. Akin is projected to be a big part of the Baltimore bullpen, but a trip to the injured list to open 2026 can’t be ruled out. This also could be precautionary with camp ending soon, but the left-hander’s status should be updated shortly regardless.

The 344-foot shot down the right field line bounced back into play and was initially ruled a double, but replay showed it was over the yellow line. Simpson has one homer in 1,636 professional plate appearances, that being an inside-the-parker in Double-A in 2024. It’s not strictly an exit velocity matter for him — he exceeded 100 mph on seven of his balls in play in the majors last year — but most of his hardest contact comes on grounders. With a .370/.393/.481 line in 30 plate appearances, Simpson has had a nice spring despite missing a little time with a hamstring issue. He’ll almost certainly be the Rays’ primary left fielder against righties, and he’ll be worth playing in fantasy leagues as long as he continues to start most of the time.

Griffin hit just .184 in his Grapefruit League action, but he was able to hit four homers and had some exceptional exit velocities during his time in big-league camp. There’s reports that the two sides are working on a long-term extension, but he’ll almost assuredly begin the season in the minors. Griffin is one of the few prospects in baseball who is worth rostering in redraft leagues even if he is opening the season in Triple- or Double-A.

Riley took Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet deep to lead off the second inning with a mammoth blast that traveled 399 feet and left his bat at 109.6 mph. He also drove in another run with a third-inning double that capped off a three-run outburst for the Braves against Crochet in the frame. He wasn’t done yet, tacking on another two-run double in the fifth, just for good measure. The 28-year-old slugger looks like an obvious rebound candidate for fantasy purposes after being limited by injuries to fewer than 110 games in each of the past two seasons. He’s put together a fantastic spring, batting .405 (15-for-37) with five homers and one steal in 15 games.

Skenes scattered one hit and three walks, requiring 65 pitches (36 strikes) to navigate four shutout frames in his final spring tune-up. The 23-year-old reigning NL Cy Young Award winner kicks off the season on Thursday with a challenging road tilt against the Mets at Citi Field. He’s one of the top three pitchers off the board in the first or second round of every fantasy draft this spring.

The decision to jettison Kremer after a solid showing in spring training and the World Baseball Classic signals that Baltimore will go with Zach Eflin as the final member of a five-man, season-opening rotation. The 30-year-old righty led the Orioles with 171 2/3 innings over 31 appearances (29 starts) last year, which provides some insight into how much the club overhauled their rotation this offseason. He’s unlikely to spend too much time at Triple-A since Baltimore is eventually going to move to a six-man rotation, like most teams in the current era, after a couple weeks to build in extra rest for their starters.