🗞️
Top Stories
MLBTradeRumors · Rotowire · MLB.comAtlanta placed Ronald Acuña Jr. on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain after Saturday's MRI confirmed the diagnosis. He pulled up grabbing his hamstring on a routine groundout in the 2nd inning. Jose Azocar was selected to fill the roster spot, and Spencer Strider was reinstated from the IL in the same set of moves to take Sunday's start at Coors.
Fantasy take: This is a brutal blow to fantasy lineups. Hold Acuña on IL — hamstring strains in star OFs typically run 3-4 weeks, but the team is being cautious so a faster return is possible. The Braves outfield gets thinner: Drake Baldwin moves up the lineup and is now a must-start C in 12+ team formats. Don't waste FAAB on Azocar — his role is short-term defensive replacement, not a fantasy add.
Strider gets his first action of 2026 today against Colorado after a final rehab outing of 5 IP, 7 K, 17 swings-and-misses, fastball averaging 95.2 mph. Career numbers vs. Rockies are strong (2-0, 0.50 ERA over 18 IP), though his only Coors start in 2022 was a no-decision. Atlanta has gone six-man with his return; Carlos Carrasco was DFA'd to clear the spot.
Fantasy take: Set him for next start, not this one. Coors at altitude is the worst possible debut venue and Strider is on a strict pitch count. If you're holding him, eat whatever line he posts today — top-10 SP value rest of season starts next time out. Don't overreact if a leaguemate panic-sells; this is the buy window if you can find one.
Detroit placed Will Vest (right lateral forearm inflammation) on the 15-day IL — his last appearance was April 26 and tests showed no structural damage. In the same window, Kenley Jansen is day-to-day with right groin/lower abdomen discomfort but is expected to avoid the IL. Ricky Vanasco was selected from Triple-A Toledo; Yoniel Curet was DFA'd.
Fantasy take: The Tigers' 9th inning is the messiest in baseball right now. Jansen is the saves source when healthy, but his last two outings ended in walk-offs. Keep him rostered if you have him — but Detroit's win total means stash a backup like Tommy Kahnle or Mark Leiter Jr. as protection. Vest owners can drop in 10-team mixed; he's not coming back to the closer role even when he returns.
Bellinger went 4-for-4 with 2 HR, 4 RBI, 1 SB, and 3 R in New York's 9-4 win over Baltimore — the Yankees' 12th win in 14 games. Both homers came on sliders (one off Bradish, one off Akin), making it his 21st career multi-HR game and second of the season. His OPS jumped from .755 to .855.
Fantasy take: Bellinger has been the quietest 30-HR pace bat in fantasy — Aaron Judge sucks the oxygen out of the room. He's now a top-15 OF with locked-in everyday at-bats, multi-HR power, and steals upside. If you can buy him from a frustrated owner who saw the .755 OPS earlier this week, do it before this nine-day surge fully reprices him.
On Randy Johnson's number-retirement night at T-Mobile Park, Hancock fired 7 IP of 1-run ball with 14 K (career high, MLB single-game high in 2026) and 0 BB against the Royals — but Seattle lost 3-2 in 10 innings on a Maikel Garcia sac fly. Hancock's previous career K high was 9.
Fantasy take: Hancock has been a sneaky add since spring, and this is the kind of outing that should push him over 50% rostered by Tuesday. The 0-walk, 14-K line shows he's commanding the slider better than ever — he's an SP3 in 12-team mixed leagues going forward. Add now before Monday's waiver claims process.
📈
Waiver Wire Targets
FantasyPros · Rotoballer · Pitcher ListWho's Hot This Week
OF/DH · Athletics · ~27% owned
14% Barrel Rate
Quality of Contact
5.7% K-Rate
99th Percentile
Pitcher List has Cortes as the top hitter add for the second straight day — the contact metrics keep validating the hot streak. He's the A's #3 hitter vs. RHP and the matchup slate this week leans heavily right-handed. Add in 12+ team leagues; the days of treating him as a platoon flier are over.
SP · Milwaukee Brewers · ~28% owned
Starts Today vs WSH
Opportunity
1.02 AAA ERA
Triple-A Dominance
Locked Through Woodruff IL
Role
Henderson is up to make today's start at Washington — his first since Woodruff hit the 15-day IL. Triple-A line was 1.02 ERA / 26:9 K:BB; the MLB sample is 3-0, 2.30 across 27.1 IP. Faces a Nats lineup ranked bottom-10 in offense vs. RHP. Add in all 12+ team leagues; stream confidently today.
SP · Boston Red Sox · ~44% owned
Sonny Gray IL'd
Role Locked
Pitcher List flagged Tolle as the priority pitcher add at 44%. The 36% K-rate through his first two MLB starts is elite, and with Sonny Gray on the IL, his rotation spot is locked for at least 4-5 turns. The velocity dip we flagged in his second start has corrected. Add now in all 12+ team formats.
3B/2B · Chicago White Sox · ~63% owned
1.131 OPS L52 PA
Hot Streak
Multi-Position Eligibility
Roster Flex
Vargas has flipped a nightmarish start into a 1.131 OPS over his last 52 PA with 4 HR in 11 games. The contact quality has stabilized and the role is locked. Top-15 3B going forward in a White Sox lineup that's quietly improved. If somehow available, claim immediately.
SP · New York Yankees · ~79% owned
2.33 ERA / 2.10 FIP
L3 Starts
Warren put up a 9-K outing in Friday's win over Baltimore, his third consecutive quality start. He's a borderline SP2 in 12-team leagues now. If somehow he's still on your shallow waiver, this is the last claim window — Pitcher List is calling him the best 70%+ owned pitcher to buy.
🌱 Stash of the Week
Logan Henderson — SP, Milwaukee Brewers (~28% owned)
Henderson takes Brandon Woodruff's rotation spot today and faces a soft Nationals lineup at Nationals Park. The Triple-A Nashville line is dominant (1.02 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 26:9 K:BB across 17.2 IP) and his MLB body of work matches it (3-0, 2.30, 36 K in 27.1 IP). Even when Woodruff returns from his shoulder inflammation in 2-4 weeks, Henderson has played well enough that he could push out Aaron Civale or one of the Brewers' weaker rotation arms. The opportunity is real, the talent is proven, and today's matchup is favorable. Add in all 12+ team formats; if you can stash him through 2 starts, the rest-of-season SP4/SP5 value is locked in.
Worth Reading
01
Headlines Carlos Cortes (ATH, 27%), Miguel Vargas (CWS, 63%), and Cole Young as priority hitter adds, with Will Warren (NYY, 79%), Payton Tolle (BOS, 44%), and Jacob Latz as the top pitcher targets. The pitching adds skew toward arms with strong Statcast contact suppression.
02
Solow's mid-week deep dive adds Logan Henderson (MIL) and Mike Burrows (HOU) as priority SPs, with Nathaniel Lowe (CIN) as the deep-league hitter target. Useful read for anyone setting Monday FAAB priorities.
📊
OBP Risers
MLB Stats · 14-Day Delta🩹
Injury Report
Rotowire · MLBTradeRumors · Beat ReportersIL-10
NEW: 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain after Saturday's MRI. Pulled up grabbing his leg on a routine groundout in the 2nd inning vs. Colorado. Hamstring strains in OFs typically run 3-4 weeks; the 10-day designation is paperwork. Jose Azocar was selected to take the roster spot.
IL-15
Will Vest — RP, Detroit Tigers
NEW: 15-day IL with right lateral forearm inflammation. Last pitched April 26; tests revealed no structural damage but the soreness persisted. Ricky Vanasco selected from Triple-A; Curet DFA'd. Vest was the team's 2025 closer (23 saves) but lost the role to Jansen this offseason.
DTD
Kenley Jansen — RP (Closer), Detroit Tigers
NEW: Day-to-day with right groin and lower abdomen discomfort. Has made 4 appearances since first reporting it April 15 — first two were saves, last two were walk-off losses. Tigers expect him to avoid the IL but he's unavailable today. With Vest also out, the Tigers' 9th inning is wide open in his absence.
IL-15
Cole Sands — RP, Minnesota Twins
NEW: 15-day IL retroactive to April 29 with right forearm strain. Sands had been part of the Twins' committee with Justin Topa and Kody Funderburk. With Sands out, Topa is the most likely save source for Minnesota — Jhoan Duran is still recovering from his elbow surgery.
IL-10
Will Wilson — 3B, Seattle Mariners
NEW: 10-day IL retroactive to April 30 with a left thumb fracture. Thumb fractures in hitters typically take 4-6 weeks. Jhonny Pereda recalled to take the C/depth spot; Wilson wasn't a fantasy starter, but his absence further stretches Seattle's banged-up infield.
🔍
Scouting Report
MLB Trade RumorsMLB Trade Rumors · by AJ Eustace · May 2
Kazuma Okamoto Is Settling In Nicely For The Blue Jays
Eustace's piece is the perfect early-May validation pass on a high-profile Japanese import. Okamoto's surface line (.228/.313/.430, 7 HR, 107 wRC+ across 128 PA) reads as merely 'okay' — but the underlying split that matters most for projecting forward is what happens against premium velocity. In Japan, that was the bear case: Okamoto was inconsistent against fastballs at 94+ mph.
The 2026 MLB data inverts that narrative completely. Against four-seamers 94 mph and above, Okamoto is hitting .303/.361/.636 — comfortably above the league average of .233/.333/.398. That's the single most fantasy-actionable stat in the column: the velocity-vulnerability concern that suppressed his ADP in March is gone, and the underlying contact quality is starting to push his actual results upward (he's hit .300/.400/.700 with 4 HR over his last 9 games before Saturday's two-HR night).
The 29.7% K-rate is still elevated, but it's offset by a healthy 10.9% walk rate — and the slider/sweeper recognition is what Eustace flags as the next adjustment. Toronto's lineup lost Bichette and Tucker this offseason, so Okamoto's role isn't going anywhere. The 4-year/$60M deal pencils out at the 1.5-2 WAR level he's currently producing; anything above is upside.
.303/.361/.636 vs 94+Beats league average
7 HR (4 in last 9 G)Power surging
10.9% BB / 29.7% KPlate discipline
The VerdictOkamoto is a legitimate top-12 3B target if you can get him at his current 38% ownership before the next news cycle. He's not Murakami, but the velocity adjustment is real and the slugging trend is up. Add aggressively in OBP/points and 12+ team mixed; in roto, he's an SI middle-of-the-order bat with multi-position upside (3B/1B in some formats).
Read the full piece at MLB Trade Rumors →🔥
Bullpen Bulletin
Closer Monkey · Beat ReportersFriday's slate: 5 reliever wins, 9 saves, 4 losses. Big movement: Helsley (BAL) on IL — Rico Garcia leads the committee and could see the next save chance. Erceg (KC) up to 8 saves. Jacob Latz earned save #3 for Texas. Multiple committees still messy: Phillies, A's, Rockies, and now the Tigers post-Vest IL.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|
| Rico Garcia | BAL | 🟡 Watch | Closer Monkey now lists Garcia as the top save candidate in Baltimore with Helsley on the IL. The risk: he's the team's best high-leverage RHP, so Hyde might use him in the 7th-8th vs. Aaron Judge instead of saving him for the 9th. Still the best speculative add of the day in saves-needy formats. |
| Kenley Jansen | DET | 🟡 Watch | Day-to-day with groin/abdomen issues and unavailable for at least the next game. With Vest also IL'd, Tommy Kahnle is the most likely backup save source. Hold Jansen if rostered but add Kahnle as protection. |
| Tyler Phillips | MIA | 🟡 Watch | Still leading the Marlins' committee with Fairbanks out. Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender remain in the mix, but Phillips has the highest-leverage usage. Hold if rostered. |
| Tanner Scott | LAD | 🔴 Committee | Roberts continues to mix Scott with Vesia and Treinen — and continues to use Scott in losing high-leverage spots, which kills his fantasy value. Sell if you can; the talent is real but the role isn't producing. |
| Hunter Gaddis | CLE | 🟡 Watch | Closer Monkey explicitly placed Gaddis 'on watch' after another rough outing — multiple hits and walks. Cade Smith and Erik Sabrowski remain alternative options. Hold but don't trade for him. |
📱
Best in Social
X · YouTube · Instagram · TikTokCody Bellinger went 4-for-4 with 2 HR and 4 RBI in the Yankees' 9-4 rout of the Orioles — both homers came on sliders, his 21st career multi-HR game. Aaron Judge added an RBI single, Ben Rice homered, and the Yankees pushed their record to 12-2 in their last 14.
Bellinger has been the quietest .855-OPS hitter in MLB. The Judge-led lineup buries his news cycle, but the contact quality and lineup spot mean he's a top-15 OF rest of season. If you can buy him this week from a frustrated owner who saw .755 OPS five days ago, do it.
Yankees vs. Orioles full highlights — Bellinger 4-for-4, 2 HR →Emerson Hancock fired 7 IP of 1-run, 14-K, 0-BB ball against the Royals on Randy Johnson's number-retirement night at T-Mobile Park. The 14 strikeouts were a career high and the most by any pitcher in a single game so far in 2026 (previous high: 12). Mariners lost 3-2 in 10 anyway.
If Hancock is still under 50% rostered in your league, this is the moment to jump. The 0-BB / 14-K command shows the slider is fully developed; he's an SP3 in 12+ team mixed leagues from here. Add now before Monday's claim deadline.
Royals vs. Mariners — Hancock career-high 14 K →Chris Sale fired 7 IP of 1-run, 11-K ball as the Braves blew past the Rockies 9-1. Sale is now MLB's wins leader (6-1) and over his last 4 starts has allowed just 3 ER with 33 K and 7 BB across 26 IP. Drake Baldwin homered and drove in 4, including a solo blast off Brennan Bernardino.
Sale at age 36 is once again the best LHP in the league. If you got him at SP3 prices in March, congratulations. The bigger Acuña-adjacent fantasy read: Drake Baldwin gets a real lineup bump in Acuña's absence and is now the best C add in any league he's available.
Braves vs. Rockies — Sale 11 K, Baldwin 4 RBI →Get this in your inbox every day
Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.