Preseason Prep - February 27, 2026

Shota Imanaga (SP - CHC) - Last year I was definitely out on Imanaga, as the low swinging strike rate and extremely low GB rate made me think some serious regression was coming. There was definitely some of that, and he has dropped all the way down to SP50 on average so far this spring as expectations have lowered somewhat. He did bring that swinging strike rate up significantly last season (9.7% to 11.9%), and now we see in his first spring start that his velocity is up over 2 mph from last season. The control is still great and the Cub offense should be pretty decent, so my opinion is completely the opposite this season: I think that Imanaga is a rather good value at his current draft position (15th round, SP50). I'm perfectly happy with him as my 4th starter, even if he ends up with a performance somewhat similar to last year (with more K's I'd expect, as long as those velo gains hold).

Chase Burns (SP - CIN) - The helium on Chase Burns will be in full effect after his second spring start on Thursday, which saw him fan 5 in 2 1/3 innings while generating 14 swinging strikes on just 48 pitches. He's just outside of the top 30 SPs by ADP right now as it is, and for me I think there's a bit more risk than I'd like to see at that price. Both the control and the ability to keep the ball down are "merely OK", so you're really banking on the bat-missing to carry the value here. The Cincy offense is probably around average, and that ballpark is a tough sell for any pitcher that allows a decent number of flyballs. I like Burns quite a bit, but it just feels like the cost has gotten a bit high for me given the risk factors involved with a 23 year old with 109 professional IP in total, 55 of which have been above AA.

Carter Jensen (C - KC) - I'm not excited about many players more than Carter Jensen heading into 2026. The 22 year old appears to be ready to break camp as the primary catcher in KC, or at least splitting time between there and DH with veteran Sal Perez. Jensen has average contact ability to go along with good plate discipline, very good power, and good catcher speed (read: average-minus speed). That offense overall is no longer one of the weaker ones in the league as well, which always helps the counting stats. He's going as C17 in the 17th round on average, and I think there's a very real chance that he's a top-10 player at the position this year, making him one of my top targets there.

Nolan McLean (SP - NYM) - Mclean looked great on Thursday against the Astros, going 4 innings and allowing just a single and a walk with 6 strikeouts. He showed velocity that was about 1 1/2 mph above last season's average, and the control, often his weakest point, was very solid. He doesn't quite have the swing and miss stuff that you'd expect from such a highly-rated prospect, but his ability to keep the ball down is about as good as anyone's, and the control is merely below average, not poor. He's being drafted as SP26 right now, which is in round 9 in the same area as Framber, Strider, and Gausman. That might feel like a steep price for a player with a mere 48 major league innings under his belt, but there isn't much to nitpick here: McLean is an excellent pitching prospect and a very solid bet to actually return that 9th round value.

Richard Fitts (SP - STL) - I'm always on the lookout for velocity gainers at this point in the spring, and Richard Fitts was up almost 2 full mph in his Wednesday start against the Mets while allowing 2 infield hits in 2 innings with 1 K and 6 swinging strikes over 37 pitches. This is probably the worst Cardinal team in my memory, possibly competing with Whitey Herzog's last year as manager in 1990, but even with that in mind Fitts isn't assured a rotation spot. With good control and solid bat-missing ability even before this increased velocity, if he can win a rotation slot he could certainly surprise people this year. I feel like Kyle Leahy is better suited in the bullpen with his experience there, so I do think that Fitts has a solid shot at making the club....he's a solid late-draft lottery ticket.

Brendan Donovan (2B/3B - SEA) - Acquired from the Cardinals as part of a 3-team deal earlier this month, it looks like Donovan is going to be the 3B and leadoff man for the Mariners to start 2026. That's a massive upgrade in team offense for Donovan, so even though he has below average power and speed, he's once again become a worthwhile option at MIF. Donovan's solid plate discipline and phenomenal contact ability almost always lead to plus AVG and OBP, and hitting atop that lineup could easily push him up near 100 runs. A very solid high floor player that's currently going in the early 15th round on average.

Tyler Glasnow (SP - LAD) - Glasnow looked dominant on Thursday, picking up a tick on his fastball after a few straight years of decline and showing the kind of control that he offered in 2023-24. He fanned 4 in 2+ innings of work against the White Sox, and with the limitations the Dodgers are working with in every member of their rotation outside of Yamamoto, a healthy Glasnow would be a huge help to them early in the season. His ADP is SP31 right now (round 11), and I definitely prefer him to most of the 10-12 starters right in front of him, as I think the back trouble he had last year really impacted his performance (2025 was his highest xFIP since 2017).

Heliot Ramos (OF - SF) - Ramos singled and homered in his two trips to the plate against the Rockies on Thursday. The 26 year old had a 2025 that was rather similar to 2024 on the surface, but there were some significant gains made in contact rate while the exit velocity remained well above average. It does feel like there could be one more small step forward for the SF right fielder, but even if there isn't he feels like one of the safest OF5 options out there. He's currently going in the late 18th round on average as OF50, and along with Wilyer Abreu profiles for me as one of the highest-floor options in that range.

Rockies 1B battle - I'm not sure anyone has any idea who will be the primary 1B for the Rockies this season, or honestly who will play anywhere in the infield outside of Tovar at SS. We all know the rules though: Rockie offensive starters are automatically under consideration for fantasy purposes, even if you're merely going to run a home/road stream with them (which is advisable in most cases). The 1B "competition" is what I want to focus on here, and the participants would seem to be Miami castoff Troy Johnston, former Yankee farmhand TJ Rumfield, and recent 1st round pick Charlie Condon. Condon probably has the most upside here, as the power potential is significant although there are the expected contact issues. Rumfield is much more of a contact guy, but he's quite good there with below average power and speed. Both of them had big games on Thursday, with Condon going 2-2 with a walk and his 2nd spring HR while Rumfield went 1-1 with a walk and his 3rd HR already. Johnston has been playing much more OF than 1B thus far, and he's also 28 vs the 22 and 25 ages of Condon and Rumfield. Johnston is also a relatively poor contact hitter, but he's by far the fastest of the three and has average to average-plus power. This is a position battle that I'm going to pay close attention to over the next few weeks, as Condon in particular could really be a great value if he's going to play consistently.

Braxton Garrett (SP - MIA) - Continuing the velocity gains theme, Garrett made his long-awaited return from UCL surgery on Thursday, tossing one inning and 23 pitches against the Blue Jays. He allowed a pair of runs on a double after walking the first two batters of the game, but the biggest news for me is that his velocity was up almost 3 mph from where he was in 2024. I'm excited for sure, but my enthusiasm is tempered by the control struggles that are very common for elbow surgery returnees. Garrett has had excellent control during his past three active seasons, but the recovery process takes time. I'm probably going to let others take the risk on him this season and look to jump back in for 2027, but he's practically free right now....slotting him in as a 9th SP if you have deep enough reserves is a solid plan as well.

Josh Bell (1B - MIN) - The 33 year old Bell is definitely flying under the radar this spring, coming in as the 32nd 1B being drafted right now, going rounds after players like Lenyn Sosa and Josh Smith that may not even start. Bell will start, and he'll likely hit pretty high up in the order for an average Twins offense. He's an above average contact hitter with above average plate discipline and above average raw power.....and the speed of a glacier. He's a high floor player that is very likely to give you a better than league average OBP with 20 HR and 70 RBI, and the flyball rates have been creeping up again the past few seasons. He's a solid add in deeper leagues for sure, and there's always the memory of that 2019 season.

Max Scherzer (SP - TOR) - The 41 year old has reportedly signed a 1-year deal to return to Toronto for the 2026 season. Scherzer's velocity ticked back up a bit last season, but it wasn't enough for him to avoid what was by far the worst season of his career (5-5, 5.19 ERA in 85 IP). The control is still decent and he's only regressed to around average in terms of missing bats, but his inability to keep the ball in the ballpark will keep me from having any interest here outside of an occasional streaming start against punchless offenses.

Nasim Nunez (SS/2B - WAS) - The 25 year old Nunez looks like he's going to be the starter at 2B for the Nationals with Luis Garcia moving over to 1B, and as crazy at it might sound for a guy whose highest SLG in the minors was .323, I think he might be an option in deeper leagues. Nunez is a very good contact hitter with excellent plate discipline and very good speed, but he had shown zero power before last season. Last year, however, he hit 6 HRs in just under 300 ABs while posting an average exit velocity that was just a tick below league average. If he's going to be a 10/30 guy with a decent OBP, all of a sudden he's worth a roster spot in some formats, particularly if he's going to hit leadoff as he's been doing so far this spring. He's a complete afterthought in drafts right now, but at a weak position like 2B he has a chance to carry some value, especially since the possibility for improvement still exists at his point on the age curve.

Tatsuya Imai (SP - HOU) - It was a very brief but successful debut for Tatsuya Imai on Thursday, as on 10 pitches he allowed an infield single and then coaxed a popup and a double play grounder against the Mets. He threw strikes and generally looked pretty comfortable out there, posting an average 2-seam fastball velocity of 93.3 mph. Imai is currently SP51 by ADP, which feels about right (he's in the Trevor Rogers, Imanaga, Ranger Suarez group). The key here is if the control improvements that he made last year can stick. If he can walk under 3 men per 9, I think that he can outperform that draft position pretty handily, even with a Houston offense that I think is a little weaker than most projections have them (I've seen them in the 6-8 range for projected runs scored, and personally I don't think they'll finish top 10). He's certainly somebody that I'll be watching closely for the remainder of the spring to try to get a handle on just how much of the past 5-6 years of improvement can translate to MLB.

Darell Hernaiz (SS/2B/3B - ATH) - Kurtz and Wilson are locked in to the Athletic infield, but I'm not sure how 2B and 3B are going to play out just yet. Darell Hernaiz is a guy that I'm hoping can earn one of those spots and be a late-game sleeper in deeper league drafts. He's hit over .300 at his last 5 minor league spots (minimum 100 PAs), he has good plate discipline to add even more potential OBP, and he's shown above average raw pop in the past despite never putting up any HR totals to speak of. He has double-digit SB speed as well, so to me he looks like a potential 10/20 guy with a very helpful AVG and OBP if he can earn the playing time. A 2-3 day with a pair of doubles on Thursday can't hurt his cause; nor would the favorable home environment in Sacramento. Definitely a position battle to watch over the next 4 weeks.