Chase DeLauter, OF, Guardians
Plenty of rookies have gotten off to hot starts in 2026, but DeLauter is leading the pack. He launched another home run on Friday night after hitting two on Thursday, giving him three bombs in the first nine regular-season at-bats of his career. Several injuries have delayed his path to the majors, but he has always carried an elite prospect pedigree and is finally getting his chance to prove himself. In 42 games in the minors last season, he slashed .264/.379/.473 with 7 home runs. Even that doesn't truly show how much upside he has, but his 15.8% walk rate and 15.8% strikeout rate show an extremely advanced approach at the plate for the 24-year-old. His plate discipline, combined with great power, could make him one of the biggest breakouts of 2026, and he's locked into playing time as the Guardians' right fielder. He has never played more than 66 games in a season due to his myriad of injuries, but if he stays healthy, the sky is the limit.
Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros
Yordan Alvarez went 1 for 5 with a solo home run on Friday against the Angels. While it will go down as his first homer of the year, he hit another moonshot on opening day on Thursday that hit the roof in Tampa Bay, which robbed him of the round-tripper. It's nice to see Alvarez displaying his pop right away, and it's even nicer to see that he started the game in left field. Alvarez entered the season with Utility only eligibility due to his main role as the designated hitter last season, but we're only two games into the year, and he's already seeing time in the outfield. In leagues where only five games are required to gain eligibility at a new position, he could be outfield eligible in no time. Despite only playing 48 games last season, he still impacted the ball as well as ever when healthy, posting elite marks such as a .549 xSLG, a 52.9% hard-hit rate, and a 42.8% sweet spot rate. He is also a prolific walker, drawing a walk at a 14.1% clip. He could end up being one of the biggest draft day discounts if he stays healthy, as he's a borderline first-round fantasy talent when everything is going right.
Shea Langeliers, C, Athletics
Shea Langeliers enjoyed a great day at the plate on Friday, going 3 for 4 with two solo home runs. This is exactly the type of start we want to see from the slugging catcher, who was one of the best-performing hitters in all of baseball in the second half of last season. He finished 2025 with a .277 batting average and 31 homers, but specifically after the All-Star, he slashed a ridiculous .328/.367/.651 with 19 homers in 57 games. That type of production sustained over a full season would make him the number one catcher in fantasy, and at this point, he's the most likely to dethrone Cal Raleigh eventually. It helps that the A's are still playing in Sacramento, which is a hitter's haven, which should give Langeliers a very high floor. That's not to say he's not good on the road, too, as both of these homers came in Toronto.
Kevin Gausman, SP, Blue Jays
Kevin Gausman was extremely tough to hit on Friday, as he struck out 11 batters over six innings against the A's. He didn't walk a single batter and only gave up one hit, a solo home run to Shea Langeliers. His splitter was especially untouchable, as it garnered a 53% whiff rate and 44% CSW%, which is even crazier considering the fact that he threw it a total of 36 times, which equated to 43% of his pitches. He only threw his slider 7% of the time, meaning he completely dominated the lineup with just his fastball and splitter. The strikeouts are especially nice to see, considering that was the one thing he didn't stand out in in 2025. He posted a 3.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP last season with 189 strikeouts in 193 innings. He has great control, as evidenced by his 6.5% walk rate, which balanced out his less exceptional 24.4% strikeout rate. If he experiences an uptick in punchouts this season, we could see an even more improved version of the veteran.
Chris Sale, SP, Braves
Chris Sale was as solid as ever in his first start of the season, allowing three hits and three walks with six strikeouts over six shutout innings against the Royals. He actually didn't get as many whiffs as usual, with only 9 on 38 swings (23.6%), but that still didn't stop him from striking out a batter per inning and earning the quality start and the win. The 36-year-old is showing no signs of slowing down, after winning the Cy Young award in 2024 and posting a 2.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 125.2 innings in 2025. His 32.4% strikeout rate last year ranked in the 95th percentile, and almost every single underlying metric graded out as elite. It can be risky rostering an older starting pitcher, especially with Sale's injury history, but he's still as good as they come every time he takes the mound. He would be a near lock to finish as a top-5 starting pitcher if he stays healthy all year, and all you have to do now is enjoy seeing him in your lineup every 5 days.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for tools that will help you win your fantasy championship. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
