It’s mid-April, the time when we start forming solid opinions about players for the new season. The sample sizes are still small, but they’re no longer just a handful of games. We have weeks’ worth of game data to pore over now, meaning we can start making more informed decisions about which players we add and drop.
A big part of those roster move decisions, especially in deeper fantasy baseball leagues, is playing time. It’s sure fun to pick up a player on a heater at the plate, but if he’s only playing every other day, his fantasy value takes a massive hit. Let’s take a look at who is seeing more and less of the field now that we’re a few weeks into the 2026 season.
Jose Fernandez has started seven of eight games at first base or designated hitter since Carlos Santana was placed on the IL, and he’s looked great at the plate, hitting .318 with two home runs and a stolen base.
With Jordan Lawlar injured, Tim Tawa has emerged as the Dbacks’ primary left fielder. He’s started six of the last eight, but that might not last long if he can’t raise his .094/.189/.125 slash line.
Adrian Del Castillo has been starting every other day, either behind the plate or at DH, since he was called up two weeks ago. While you’d like to see more playing time, his bat is good enough to justify being rostered in two-catcher leagues
Lawrence Butler has moved up from sixth in the lineup to first when the team is facing a right-handed starting pitcher. Those extra plate appearances and run opportunities certainly boost his fantasy stock, although he’s still out of the lineup against lefties.
It’s not surprising, but it’s good to see Samuel Basallo taking over the starting catcher job while Adley Rutschman is on the shelf with an ankle injury. Basallo has started four of five behind the plate since Rutschman went down.
Offseason acquisition Caleb Durbin has been promoted in the lineup. He opened the season hitting fifth through seventh, but has moved up to hit second in his last five starts despite a very poor start to the season. From a fantasy perspective, the move should be a vote of confidence that the Red Sox view Durbin as a big part of their plans this season, so outside of very shallow formats, I’d hold onto the struggling third baseman despite the .127/.226/.164 slash line.
We discussed Seiya Suzuki’s impending return in last week’s article, and our suspicions were confirmed. With Suzuki back, Matt Shaw is the one losing out on playing time. The second-year utility man has only started three of the six games since Suzuki’s return.
The White Sox called up prospect Sam Antonacci to make his MLB debut on Wednesday. He started at second base, but could also see time at third and in left field. Antonacci made a name for himself during this year’s World Baseball Classic with a good performance for Team Italy during their Cinderella run to the tournament’s semi-finals. He was slashing .313/.500/.479 with two home runs, and five steals in 14 Triple-A games before his promotion.
Amidst early-season struggles and a lack of playing time, Noelvi Marte was sent down. Rece Hinds replaced him on the MLB roster and has started both games in right field since joining the team. You may remember Hinds from his home run binge when he hit five bombs in six games during his MLB debut in 2024. Hinds still has big-time power and may be worth a look if your team is struggling in that department, but we have yet to see an extended streak of success against the game’s best pitching, so tempering expectations would be wise.
Angel Martínez was the trendy waiver wire pick-up over the weekend, given his .314/.375/.510 slash line, two home runs, and four stolen bases. He started and hit near the top of the order against all lefties that the Guardians have faced, but he’s only started eight of 14 games against righties. His recent strong performance came during a stretch in which Cleveland faced a left-handed starting pitcher in six of eight games. That’s certainly a rare thing to happen, and I’m a tad concerned he won’t crack the lineup often enough versus righties to warrant his current fantasy roster rates. This is worth monitoring moving forward if you’ve recently picked up Martínez.
After the Guardians demoted Gabriel Arias last week, they called up Juan Brito, and he’s started seven of eight games at second base.
Troy Johnston appeared to be a lineup regular, garnering nearly every day starts at either first base, right field, or DH, but he’s now been on the bench for three of the Rockies’ last five games. With Johnston hitting well (.298/.340/.489), this is likely just a maintenance thing, but keep tabs on his playing time if you’re rostering him in an NL-only league.
A painful collision in the outfield sent Parker Meadows to the IL with a fractured arm and concussion. He’s expected to miss multiple months. Wenceel Pérez was called up to fill Meadows’ roster spot and has started three of five games since. Across 383 plate appearances in 2025, Pérez hit .244 with 13 home runs and eight stolen bases, making him a worthy pickup in 15-team and deeper leagues.
The Astros are dealing with more than their fair share of injuries right now. On the position player side, they once again will be without Jeremy Peña for a stretch. Isaac Paredes will get to keep his consistent playing time until Peña works his way back.
Jake Meyers was also placed on the IL. Taylor Trammell was called up to fill the roster spot but has cracked the starting lineup in just three out of six games, sharing center field duties with Joey Loperfido and Brice Matthews.
Jonathan India has been on the bench for three out of the last five games, with Michael Massey getting the starts at second base in his stead. Massey has started five of nine games overall since returning from the IL on April 6.
Vaughn Grissom was activated from IL and made his season debut over the weekend. He’s going to start against lefties at either first or second base. He has yet to start with a right-hander on the mound, so he’s currently only rosterable in the deepest of AL-only leagues, or if the Angels have a nice stretch of opposing lefties on the schedule.
Royce Lewis unsurprisingly found his way back to the IL over the weekend. Since he went down, the Twins have used Tristan Gray (versus righties) and Ryan Kreidler (versus lefties) in a third base platoon.
Tommy Pham signed a minor league deal with the Mets on Opening Day and joined the MLB roster at the start of this week. He’ll likely see plenty of at-bats against lefties, both in the starting lineup and coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter. His usage against righties will determine whether he has mixed-league appeal in fantasy.
Despite his league-leading 241 wRC+, Ben Rice still isn’t getting opportunities to face lefties. The Yankees have faced five lefty starting pitchers, and Rice has only been in the starting lineup against one of them. With the ghost of Paul Goldschmidt still managing a .200/.368/.533 slash line, Rice’s unfortunate platoon situation will likely continue.
Nick Yorke has emerged as the Pirates’ everyday third baseman. He’s started eight of the last 10 games, and has hit well to the tune of .275/.388/.350. There’s not a lot of power in Yorke’s profile, but his solid hit tool, good speed, and multi-positional eligibility make for a good under-the-radar fantasy asset if your team can survive the low power output.
Here’s a head-scratcher: Fernando Tatis Jr. has started two of his last three games at second base. I won’t pretend to know why the Padres are moving one of the game’s premier defenders off of a position he’s excelled at, but if the keystone appearances continue and he gains eligibility at second base in fantasy, that’d make an already incredible player even more tantalizing.
Drew Gilbert is back up with the big league club and might see some regular playing time in center field with both Harrison Bader and Jared Oliva on the IL. Gilbert played for the new Giants’ skipper, Tony Vitello, during his time leading the baseball program at the University of Tennessee, so it’ll be interesting to see how often Vitello pencils Gilbert into his big-league lineup.
Jonny DeLuca started four of the last six games after only starting four of the first 11. He’s hitting .265/.286/.412 on the season. This looks more a factor of Jake Fraley not starting against left-handed pitchers than DeLuca earning additional playing time, but DeLuca has enough power and speed to go 10/20 if given enough plate appearances.
Former top prospect Evan Carter has slowly moved up the lineup versus righties, going from eighth to sixth to second. Despite only batting .208, Carter is running a .345 OBP and has gone deep twice in his last five games, earning himself a better lineup slot.
The Blue Jays acquired Lenyn Sosa in a trade with the White Sox on Monday, and he made his first start for his new club on Wednesday. He could get a decent run of playing time at second base and DH while George Springer is on the IL with a fractured toe. His IL-stint is not expected to be long.
