San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts is the leading candidate to hit leadoff for the team this season, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee. Bogaerts has been the team's most common leadoff hitter so far in Cactus League play and appears to be the club's top choice to fill the No. 1 role this year, with outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. moving to the third or fourth spot in the batting order. The 33-year-old veteran's plate skills are declining, but a move to the top of the lineup will definitely help him get more plate appearances and perhaps rack up some more counting stats, at least in runs scored. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth is another candidate for manager Craig Stammen to hit leadoff this year. Bogaerts hit 11 homers for the second straight year in 2025 and also had a career-best 20 steals, but he was mostly underwhelming. A move to the leadoff spot will make him slightly more attractive as middle-infield depth with middling power and speed.

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San Diego Padres All-Star outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. is expected to hit either third or fourth in the team's batting order this year, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Tatis primarily hit leadoff for the Friars in 2025, so this is a notable development as he enters his seventh year in the big leagues. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts is expected to move to the leadoff role this season. The 27-year-old Tatis will have more RBI opportunities in the heart of the order, but he'll also have fewer plate appearances and will most likely score fewer runs. Tatis hit .268/.368/.446 with an .814 OPS, 25 home runs, 71 RBI, 111 runs scored, and 32 stolen bases in 691 plate appearances over 155 regular-season games. He's probably not going to return to the 40-homer mark as he did before his PED suspension, but he remains a solid power/speed asset as a top-10 fantasy outfielder, especially if he can continue to show the improved plate discipline he had in 2025.

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Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers (hamstring) took 30 swings and played catch in camp on Sunday, according to Christina De Nicola. Stowers will take some live at-bats in the next few days and will also start a running progression soon as he continues to recover from a mild right-hamstring strain. The 28-year-old left-handed hitter is expected to be back in Grapefruit League action in one to two weeks, and he should be ready for Opening Day at the end of the month, barring a setback. Stowers is a rising fantasy outfielder -- he's ranked at No. 33 at RotoBaller -- after a breakout 2025 campaign in his first full season in Miami. He was the team's lone All-Star representative and finished his fourth MLB season with a .288/.368/.544 slash line, .912 OPS, 25 homers, 73 RBI, 61 runs, and five stolen bases in 457 plate appearances and 117 games. Stowers' batted-ball metrics are promising, but injuries could be an issue.

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Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Cedric Mullins went deep for the first time in spring training on Friday in a Grapefruit League game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Mullins went 2-for-2 with two RBI. He entered Monday's action hitting .250 (2-for-8) with a homer, two RBI, and two runs scored in his first four spring games with Tampa. The 31-year-old left-handed-hitting outfielder is coming off a disappointing 2025 season spent with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets. Mullins hit .216/.299/.391 with a .690 OPS, 17 home runs, 59 RBI, 58 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases in 498 plate appearances over 133 games played. He's probably no longer a threat for 30 homers and 30 stolen bases, but he did have 15 homers and 49 RBI in just 91 games for Baltimore before being traded to New York last year. Mullins isn't going to be a help in batting average, but he can help with counting stats as outfield depth as Tampa's starting center fielder.

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Kansas City Royals first baseman/outfielder Jac Caglianone struggled in his first taste of the big leagues last year, but he came into Monday hitting .400 (6-for-15) with a home run, four RBI, six runs scored, five walks, and three strikeouts in his first six Cactus League games in spring training. His homer last Tuesday was a 460-foot blast that had an exit velocity of 115.2 mph. We all know that Cags has elite power upside from the left side of the plate, although he slashed just .157/.237/.295 with a .532 OPS, seven home runs, 18 RBI, and a 52:18 K: BB in 232 plate appearances over 62 games with the Royals in 2025. Caglianone hit well under .200 against left-handed pitchers. The 23-year-old former first-rounder out of the University of Florida still has tons of projectable upside, but he'll need to improve against lefties and make more contact going into his first full MLB campaign in 2026.

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Houston Astros infielder Isaac Paredes went 1-for-2 with a walk and a solo home run in his Grapefruit League debut on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Paredes missed a huge chunk of last season due to a severe hamstring injury, so the Astros chose to slow-play him in spring training. The 27-year-old is past his hamstring injury now, but playing time is a real concern for him going into the 2026 season if he remains in Houston. Carlos Correa is the team's primary third baseman, and Jose Altuve is moving back to second base on a more permanent basis, leaving Paredes as a man without an everyday position. Paredes' power from the right side of the plate is real, especially in Houston, and he has delivered 90 home runs in the last four seasons for fantasy managers. His homer on Saturday came off Bucs right-hander Bubba Chandler. Unless a trade or injury for the Astros clears up regular playing time for him, Paredes will merely be a depth option for power at a corner-infield spot.

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San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb will start for Team USA against Team Brazil in the opener of the World Baseball Classic on Friday, according to USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale. Webb will be followed in Team USA's starting rotation by the Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal (against Great Britain), Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes (against Mexico), and New York Mets' Nolan McLean (against Italy). Webb, 29, is already 2-0 in Cactus League play after giving up an earned run on two hits while striking out three and hitting one batter in three innings against the San Diego Padres on Sunday. He's expected to be available to throw 60 to 65 pitches in his outing for the USA on Friday. Webb, an All-Star each of the last two years, went 15-11 last year with a 3.22 ERA and 1.24 WHIP. He led the league in games started (34), innings (207), hits allowed (210), strikeouts (224), and batters faced (856).

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Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland (back) is scheduled to make his spring debut in an exhibition game against Team USA on Wednesday. This will be the first appearance of the spring for Freeland, who has been slowed by a lingering back issue. He was able to throw a few bullpen sessions without any issues, so it appears the back injury is behind him. This isn't expected to be a long outing, but Freeland has time to build up his stamina ahead of Opening Day. The southpaw posted a 4.98 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and a 124/38 K/BB ratio across 31 starts with the Rockies last season. Freeland could offer some streaming appeal, but pitching is Coors Field is never a favorable situation for pitchers.

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Detroit Tigers two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal is expected to throw around 55 pitches for Team USA against Team Great Britain in the second game of the World Baseball Classic before returning to Lakeland, Fla., to rejoin the Tigers in camp, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports. Skubal is coming off another heavy workload last year, so he'll only pitch in one game in the WBC before heading back to spring training. The 29-year-old left-hander will be the No. 1 pitcher off the board in fantasy drafts after a second straight dominant year as the Tigers' ace, going 13-6 with a league-best 2.21 ERA and league-best 0.89 WHIP with 241 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 195 1/3 innings over 31 regular-season starts. He picked up where he left off in his first Grapefruit League start against the Twins, in which he allowed two hits over two scoreless innings while striking out four.

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Kansas City Royals outfielder Dairon Blanco has been designated for assignment by the organization on Monday. Blanco gets booted off the roster with the Royals needing to free up a 40-man roster spot with the Starling Marte signing becoming official on Monday. The 32-year-old only played in nine games with the Royals last season, but his speed is something that could make him an attractive option for other organizations. Blanco has stolen 59 bases across 285 plate appearances in parts of four seasons with the Royals. He could draw interest on waivers as possible outfield depth.

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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Jacob deGrom will officially make his spring debut against Team Brazil in an exhibition game on Wednesday. Over the weekend, Rangers manager Skip Schumaker told reporters that deGrom was getting close to making his spring debut. It appears the right-hander is ready to go after a 30-pitch bullpen session last week. The 37-year-old managed to stay healthy last season and posted his first 30-start season since the 2019 campaign. When healthy, deGrom is a top-10 starting pitcher in the league, but his injury history is concerning.

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kyle Hurt isn't being considered for a starting rotation spot, according to Bill Plunkett. Manager Dave Roberts said on Monday that Hurt is competing for a bullpen spot. Hurt came into the league as a starting pitcher, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2024. He has been working as a reliever since then, and that'll probably be his easiest path to making it to the big league roster. The Dodgers already have a handful of pitchers competing for the final two spots in the starting rotation. Hurt only pitched in seven games at Triple-A Oklahoma City last season. The Dodgers will likely want to see more of him as a reliever at the minor league level before promoting him, but we'll see if he can impress them in camp.

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Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Beau Brieske (ribs) was forced to make an early exit from Monday's Grapefruit League contest against the Atlanta Braves. Brieske was pulled after three pitches due to right ribcage tightness. This was his first appearance of the spring after being sidelined due to back spasms earlier in camp. The Tigers will have Brieske undergo further testing, so his timetable to return is unclear at the moment. The right-hander is looking to bounce back after posting an ugly 6.55 ERA across 22 games (one start) with the Tigers last season. He'll likely settle into a middle relief role, assuming he cracks the 26-man roster to begin the season.

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Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto hit an RBI double off the base of the left-field wall in Cactus League action on Monday against the Kansas City Royals and is now hitting .400 with a 1.267 OPS in spring training, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The 25-year-old closed out his 2025 campaign on the injured list with a left-hand strain, but he's completely healthy now and has picked up where he left off. He finished 2025 with a .257/.319/.474 slash line, career-best .793 OPS, career-high 26 home runs, 62 RBI, 82 runs scored, and 26 stolen bases in 554 plate appearances over 128 games played. Neto ranked in the top 10% in xwOBA on contact and was also in the top 15% of the league in barrel rate and xSLG. He's proving to be the real deal, and he could improve even more if he lowers his strikeout rate and increases his walk rate. Over a full season, Neto has 30-30 potential as a clear top-10 fantasy shortstop.

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Los Angeles Angels right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is happy with his slider and curveball in spring training, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. "This is the best those two pitches have ever been. So I've got that going for me. Heater is obviously there. The velocity is there. One big thing for me, and kind of what's been in the past, is working on command," Rodriguez said. The 26-year-old missed all of last year with the Baltimore Orioles due to elbow and lat injuries, but he appears to be fully healthy this spring as he enters his first season with the Angels. In his lone Cactus League outing last week against the San Francisco Giants, G-Rod allowed a run on one hit and three walks while striking out two batters in 1 2/3 innings. His command left a lot to be desired, but the primary takeaway is that Rodriguez is healthy. Durability is a question mark, but Rodriguez has displayed elite upside in the past, making him worth a late-round flier in mixed fantasy leagues.

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Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Gavin Stone (shoulder) had a "setback" with his shoulder and is "paused" from throwing right now in camp, manager Dave Roberts told Jack Harris of The California Post. Roberts said Stone's surgically-repaired shoulder was bothering him after last week's Cactus League start and subsequent bullpen session. Harris adds that it "probably scuttles his chances for Opening Day." It's not good news for the 27-year-old hurler, who had surgery to fix a full capsule tear and partial tears of his labrum and rotator cuff. It caused Stone to miss the entire 2025 season, and he most likely will open on the injured list again in 2026. The former fifth-rounder in 2020 out of Central Arkansas debuted in 2023 (eight appearances) in the big leagues before going 11-5 with a 3.53 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 116:37 K:BB in 25 starts (140 1/3 frames) in 2024. Even if Stone recovers to pitch this year, his fantasy upside will be limited with expected workload restrictions.

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The San Diego Padres agreed to a minor-league deal with free-agent outfielder Alex Verdugo on Sunday, according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Verdugo appeared in only 56 games with the Atlanta Braves last year and was eventually designated for assignment over the summer after hitting just .239/.296/.289 with no homers, 12 RBI, and 21 runs scored in 213 plate appearances. The nine-year veteran is getting a late start in spring training and won't be guaranteed to make the Padres' Opening Day roster. If Verdugo did make the big-league squad out of camp, he'd most likely be a platoon option from the left side of the plate in a corner-outfield spot or at designated hitter. Most likely, Verdugo will offer the Padres some outfield depth at Triple-A El Paso to begin the 2026 regular season. In 149 games with the Yankees in 2024, Verdugo held a .233/.291/.356 slash line with 13 homers and 61 RBI in 621 plate appearances.

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San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove (elbow) will start in the team's exhibition against Team Great Britain on Wednesday, his first appearance in a game since his 2024 Tommy John surgery that October, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Musgrove didn't pitch at all for the Padres in 2025 as the results of his surgery, but he has worked his way all the way back and will be part of SD's Opening Day starting rotation. The 33-year-old is not expected to have any workload restrictions, but it's fair for fantasy managers to wonder how effective he'll be in 2026 in his return. Musgrove was a first-time All-Star back in 2022 with the Friars, when he went 10-7 with a career-best 2.93 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 184:42 K:BB in 181 innings (30 starts), but that was the last time he went over 100 innings in a season. Expecting him to return to that All-Star form in 2026 is a lot to ask, but Musgrove is definitely worth a late-round flier in fantasy drafts as rotation depth.

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The St. Louis Cardinals are holding shortstop Masyn Winn (arm) out of the Grapefruit League lineup on Monday against the Miami Marlins due to right-arm soreness, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Manager Oliver Marmol said that Winn is "fine" and that his soreness is the result of a "heavy" workload on Sunday. The 23-year-old is expected to return to spring training action later this week on Thursday or Friday, but he could also play in an exhibition game on Wednesday against Team Nicaragua. Through four Grapefruit League games, Winn has gone 2-for-8 at the plate with a stolen base. A knee injury that eventually required meniscus surgery last year may have been to blame for his disappointing offensive numbers. He had a .253/.310/.363 slash line .673 OPS, nine homers, 51 RBI, and nine steals in 129 games. Winn could bounce back some with better health, but with middling power and speed, there's limited upside here. He profiles better as a middle-infield option in mixed fantasy leagues.

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Houston Astros designated hitter/outfielder Yordan Alvarez is making his Grapefruit League debut on Monday against the Washington Nationals, serving as the DH and batting second, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Alvarez isn't dealing with an injury, but the Astros chose to slow-play him this spring after he was limited to 48 games in 2025 due to ankle and hand injuries. To keep the 28-year-old left-handed slugger healthy all year, the Astros plan on using him primarily as a DH this year, while occasionally giving him some action in left field. The Cuban slugger made the All-Star team for three straight years from 2022 to 2024 and was annually one of the best all-around hitters in the game before struggling with injuries last year. Alvarez reached the 30-homer mark for four straight seasons from 2021-24, and he could easily bounce back in the power department in 2026 if he stays on the field.

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