It might feel like the 2026 MLB season is still in its early days, but, believe it or not, we’ve already reached the quarter point. Prospect call-ups are in full swing, and we even saw our first notable trade of the year over the weekend.
While it’s easy to keep tabs on roster changes for your favorite MLB team, it can be tricky to track moves across the whole league, even though it’s an integral part of fantasy baseball. Every single lineup or roster change affects the fantasy value of at least one player and makes an impact in each league. Let’s dive into notable moves from the last week affecting players in both deep and shallow fantasy formats.
The Diamondbacks made one of the splashiest position player prospect promotions so far this year by calling up Ryan Waldschmidt. The 23-year-old outfielder ranked as the number 35 prospect on FanGraphs this preseason. Waldschmidt was hitting .289/.400/.477 with three home runs and six stolen bases in Triple-A before his promotion. He’s started four straight games for the big league club, and has a clear pathway to the starting center field job with Arizona designating Alek Thomas for assignment as the corresponding move to Waldschmidt’s promotion. If Waldschmidt is still available in your league, pick him up.
Zack Gelof has taken over as the A’s starting third baseman with Max Muncy on the IL. Muncy is still being held out of all baseball activities, so Gelof has good runway to fantasy value at least in the short term. He’s slashing .258/.310/.455 with three home runs and two steals in 73 plate appearances, and was once a trendy upside play during his first two seasons in 2023 and 2024.
The A’s called up Henry Bolte, who was absolutely destroying Triple-A pitching. Bolte was hitting .348/.418/.658 with 12 homers and 17 stolen bases for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. He’ll likely push the struggling Lawrence Butler out of playing time in center field, but could also send Carlos Cortes to the bench at times as well. We haven’t seen a lineup with Bolte in it yet, so it remains to be seen exactly how manager Mark Kotsay will deploy the young outfielder, but Bolte was certainly called up to play.
With Jacob Wilson injured, it looks like Darell Hernaiz will slide into the starting shortstop role.
The Braves activated Ha-Seong Kim from the IL on Tuesday, and he’ll be the starting shortstop moving forward. Projection systems tab him for about eight homers and 15 steals the rest of the way, making him a worthwhile pickup in deep leagues, especially if you need stolen base help.
Mauricio Dubón has been seeing consistent starts in the outfield recently, so his fantasy stock shouldn’t take too much of a hit with Kim back in the fold, although that will likely change when Ronald Acuña Jr. returns to the lineup.
With Kim back in the lineup, Jorge Mateo is droppable even in NL-only leagues.
Masataka Yoshida has become Boston’s everyday designated hitter and should remain so until Roman Anthony returns from the IL. Yoshida’s hitting fourth or fifth every day, making him an intriguing short-term pickup, particularly in points or OBP leagues. He’s slashing .282/.393/.338 through 84 plate appearances.
Mickey Gasper has made four straight starts at either catcher, first base, or designated hitter. He’s a 30-year-old non-prospect, so you can safely ignore this outside of the deepest of AL-only leagues.
Michael Conforto is having a nice bounce-back campaign in Chicago, slashing .340/.448/.617 with two homers in 58 plate appearances. He’s started four of the last five games for the Cubs, but this team has so many mouths to feed that I’m not confident he’ll be able to maintain that level of playing time.
The White Sox moved rookie Sam Antonacci up to the leadoff role. He’s hit at the top of the order against the last seven righties the team has faced.
With both Everson Pereira and Austin Hays on the IL, Chicago is giving former top prospect Jarred Kelenic another chance to prove himself at the big league level. He’s started eight straight games versus righties. He’s only hitting .231/.333/.231 through his first 10 games, but the White Sox might want to give him an extended look on the off chance he finally figures it out at the game’s highest level.
The Guardians pulled off the first notable trade of the MLB regular season, acquiring Patrick Bailey from the Giants. He’s been with the team for five games, but has only started two of them. That might change in time as Bailey becomes more familiar with the pitching staff, but with his light-hitting bat, outside of AL-only formats, Bailey is safe to avoid in fantasy.
Daniel Schneemann is quietly getting nearly every day playing time despite not having a defensive home. He’s started 25 of the Guardians’ last 30 games while appearing at second base, third base, shortstop, and center field. Despite a career 91 wRC+, he has a strong .272/.357/.447 slash line and is especially worth a look in deep formats where multi-positional eligibility is extra valuable.
Detroit’s IL is perhaps the most crowded in the league. One of the main benefactors of all the open playing time has been Matt Vierling, who has seized a starting role and has hit first or second in eight straight games.
The Astros lost Carlos Correa for the remainder of the season last week. Nick Allen and Braden Shewmake have been splitting starts at shortstop recently, but Jeremy Peña just began a rehab assignment, so he should be back with the big league club soon.
Sebastián Rivero has seized the Angels’ starting catcher role with both Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud on the IL. Rivero is a 27-year-old journeyman catcher who has only posted a wRC+ above 100 in one minor league stop — an eight-game stint in Rookie ball a decade ago.
Mookie Betts returned to the star-studded Dodgers’ lineup on Monday and was immediately plugged back in the two-hole.
Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland were battling for a roster spot once Betts returned, and Kim won the role. He’s slid over to second base in both games since Betts’ activation, while Freeland was demoted to Triple-A.
The Marlins are giving Christopher Morel a solid run of playing time. The 26-year-old DH has started five of the last six games and nine of 13. Morel hasn’t turned the opportunity into production — he’s slashing just .161/.235/.161 — but we’re only two years removed from him hitting 20 homers and stealing eight bases, so there’s still upside here if he can get things going.
Brewers’ fans must be feeling pretty good. The team has activated three hugely important bats for their lineup in recent days — Jackson Chourio, Christian Yelich, and Andrew Vaughn. Those three activations have cascading effects on the roster since Chourio and Yelich are everyday starters, and Vaughn is at the very least on the large side of a platoon.
Jake Bauers is likely to take a big hit from these activations. He’s still started four of the six games since Chourio and Vaughn returned, but he’s sat out against both lefties the team has faced in that stretch. Similarly, Gary Sánchez will see fewer opportunities. He’ll likely be relegated back to his lefty-masher role.
Tyler Black was sent down to Triple-A as the corresponding move for Yelich’s activation.
Matt Wallner is continuing to operate in a diminished role. The Twins’ free-swinging lefty is struggling mightily with a 37.4% strikeout rate and 63 wRC+. He’s taken a seat against the last two right-handers that Minnesota has faced, with Austin Martin starting in his stead.
Carson Benge is hitting well recently with a .379 wOBA in May, and he’s earned a promotion to the leadoff role. He’s hit there in the last two games, against both a righty and a lefty starter.
Speaking of young Mets, the team called up A.J. Ewing to make his debut on Tuesday. He was running a 156 wRC+ in Triple-A this year with 17 steals, and has a chance to get a strong hold on the Mets’ center field gig with Luis Robert Jr. sidelined. He’ll be especially valuable if your fantasy team needs a speed boost.
Mark Vientos has not only established himself as a lineup regular, but he’s moved up the order, too. He’s gone from hitting sixth or seventh to third or fourth. He’s hit higher in the order in eight straight games.
The Yankees called up prospect Spencer Jones last Friday, and he’s started five of six games since his debut. He’s only taken a seat when the team has faced a lefty. He hit 35 home runs across multiple minor league stops last year, but the huge power comes with troubling amounts of swing-and-miss in his profile.
Just a week after making headlines for not being called up to the MLB squad at the end of his rehab assignment, Anthony Volpe is back in the big leagues following José Caballero’s finger injury. Manager Aaron Boone has already indicated that Caballero is expected to retake the starting shortstop job after his return from injury, so don’t go FAAB crazy on Volpe.
Fernando Tatis Jr. eclipsed 10 games at second base on Tuesday, earning eligibility at the keystone on most fantasy platforms.
Sung-Mun Song has started five of seven games since being called up to take Jake Cronenworth’s roster spot while he’s on the IL.
The Patrick Bailey trade opened the door for Jesus Rodriguez to take over as the Giants’ starting catcher. He’s started six of eight games since being called up, including one in right field. Rodriguez has hit the ground running, batting .286 with one home run and one steal, and that’s just a small showcase of both his hit and speed tools. He slashed .307/.393/.403 with seven home runs and 21 steals across 565 minor league plate appearances in 2025. He’s an interesting pickup if you need a catcher.
Harrison Bader returned from the IL and is back to being the team’s regular center fielder, pushing Drew Gilbert to a reserve role.
The Giants called up top prospect Bryce Eldridge, but he hasn’t been getting everyday at-bats, lowering his fantasy value. He’s started five of eight games since making his season debut on May 4th. He’s still an intriguing add if your team needs pop, but be prepared for him to sit out a few days each week.
Manager Tony Vitello has done some lineup shuffling, moving the hot-hitting Casey Schmitt up to the three-hole while sending the struggling Matt Chapman down to the seventh spot in the batting order.
Brendan Donovan was activated from the IL over the weekend and immediately reclaimed his leadoff role against righties. Donovan’s presence at the hot corner has relegated Leo Rivas back to a bench role.
Amidst a big slump at the plate, Cal Raleigh has shifted down the lineup a couple of spots from second to fourth. Last year’s runner-up in the AL MVP race is slashing just .166/.249/.325 with seven home runs.
Victor Scott II is losing his grip on the Cardinals’ starting center field gig. He’s been on the bench for three straight with Nathan Church replacing him in center field and Thomas Saggese and José Fermín getting starts in left field.
Joc Pederson hit leadoff for the Rangers on Tuesday, with Brandon Nimmo sliding down to second. Subsequently, Nimmo sprained his ankle in that game, so if he misses time, Pederson may keep a hold of his promotion in the lineup, at least against right-handed starting pitchers.
Manager John Schneider has been tinkering quite a bit with who to hit second in his lineup. We’ve seen recent appearances in the two-hole by Myles Straw, Yohendrick Piñango, and Daulton Varsho. It’ll likely be Addison Barger’s role when he gets back on the field, though.
José Tena has taken hold of the Nationals’ starting DH role against righties, starting six of the last seven contests. He’s slashing .280/.341/.467 and is worth a look in deep fantasy formats, just make sure the Nats don’t have a lot of opposing lefties on the docket.
