In this week’s fantasy baseball rookie report, the rookies were hot or cold, with only a few in the middle. We are already seeing many rookies making significant impacts in the big leagues. Colt Emerson is one of these players, and this is only his second week with the Seattle Mariners. Below is my full rookie report from last week’s games.
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Updated Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report
*All stats are before the games on June 1
Rookie Batters Who Had a Hot Week
Carson Benge – OF, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 217 PA, .253/.318/.359, 4 HR, 28 R, 21 RBI, 9 SB
Benge continues to be one of the best hitters for the Mets. He’s hitting leadoff, which makes him even more valuable. Last week, he went 7-for-23 (.304), scored three runs, knocked in four runs, and hit a homer. There was some talk about dropping Benge if you drafted him because of his slow start through the beginning of May. However, if you held on to him, you are benefiting greatly.
Sal Stewart – 1B, Cincinnati Reds
2026 Stats – 253 PA, .261/.356/.477, 12 HR, 34 R, 37 RBI, 10 SB
Stewart returned to his strong offensive ways two weeks ago and kept it going last week. He went 8-for-23 (.347), scored twice, and drove in three. He didn’t homer or steal a base, but the offensive return is a welcome sight. Stewart now only trails JJ Wetherholt for NL Rookie of the Year odds, with Konnor Griffin going on the IL. I’m glad to see my top rookie pick back hitting the ball hard again.
Sam Antonacci – 2B/3B/OF, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 162 PA, .275/.369/.362, 1 HR, 23 R, 13 RBI, 8 SB
Antonacci is proving to be a valuable weapon at the top of the White Sox lineup. However, he only bats leadoff against right-handed pitchers and hits towards the bottom of the order or is replaced against southpaws. The platoon is due to his batting .125 in 24 ABs against lefties, compared to .307 in 114 ABs against righties.
Last week, he continued to fill the stat sheet, going 8-for-28 (.285) with three runs, three RBIs, and three stolen bases. Antonacci is starting to get more aggressive on the base paths, making the rookie even more appealing to fantasy managers.
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B/1B, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 238 PA, .214/.303/.419, 12 HR, 28 R, 33 RBI, 0 SB
Okamoto continues to hang around the .210 batting average, which is the result of not having a multi-hit game since May 5. However, he got a hit in five of the seven games last week. He also added three runs, two home runs, and six RBIs.
Power is a huge issue for the Blue Jays, with Okamoto having double the amount of the next closest, Jesus Sanchez, and a surprising Andres Gimenez. The lack of power may need to be a priority at the trade deadline.
Colt Emerson – SS, Seattle Mariners
2026 Stats – 47 PA, .244/.340/.512, 2 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB
Emerson just completed his second MLB week by hitting 4-for-20 (.200), scoring three runs, three RBIs, and a home run. He wasn’t a big power hitter in the minors, with 22 home runs over three seasons. Seeing two early MLB seasons is encouraging, though.
It’s still early to see how impactful he can be in the fantasy world, but hitting ninth, in front of the Mariners’ top of the order, will continue to give Emerson the opportunity to produce for fantasy managers.
Samuel Basallo – C, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 177 PA, .283/.345/.516, 9 HR, 23 R, 25 RBI, 0 SB
Yohendrick Pinango – OF, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 90 PA, .294/.333/.447, 3 HR, 7 R, 16 RBI, 0 SB
Kevin McGonigle – SS/3B, Detroit Tigers
2026 Stats – 254 PA, .286/.390/.410, 3 HR, 36 R, 21 RBI, 9 SB
Owen Caissie – OF, Miami Marlins
2026 Stats – 160 PA, .236/.288/.403, 5 HR, 17 R, 29 RBI, 3 SB
Rookies Who Had a Mild Week
JJ Wetherholt – 2B/3B/SS, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 257 PA, .250/.362/.407, 9 HR, 39 R, 25 RBI, 7 SB
Wetherholt helped fantasy managers in the contact department, going 8-for-22 (.363). He also had three runs. The contact skills are a little lower than I expected, given his minor league statistics, but he’s showing it was smart for fantasy managers to grab him late in rounds.
Travis Bazzana – 2B, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 126 PA, .294/.389/.450, 3 HR, 13 R, 11 RBI, 8 SB
Chase DeLauter – OF, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 232 PA, .268/.345/.434, 7 HR, 22 R, 32 RBI, 2 SB
Carter Jensen – C, Kansas City Royals
2026 Stats – 195 PA, .228/.308/.398, 7 HR, 22 R, 26 RBI, 0 SB
Rookie Batters Who Had a Cold Week
Ryan Waldschmidt – OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 Stats – 82 PA, .284/.346/.378, 0 HR, 10 R, 7 RBI, 5 SB
The Diamondbacks’ rookie was all the talk on the fantasy baseball scene last week as a must-add, and for good reason. He was up to a .353 batting average and was showing great ability to steal bases in his first 59 plate appearances to start the week. All rookies occasionally have setbacks as pitchers start to figure them out.
Last week, Waldschmidt went 3-for-23 (.130), scored a run, and had a 10:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He should still be rostered on fantasy teams, but will need to monitor how the center fielder recovers from his first sign of adversity.
A.J. Ewing – OF, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 74 PA, .238/.333/.317, 1 HR, 8 R, 6 RBI, 4 SB
TJ Rumfield – 1B, Colorado Rockies
2026 Stats – 227 PA, .284/.361/.443, 7 HR, 23 R, 28 RBI, 0 SB
Justin Crawford – OF, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 182 PA, .234/.297/.341, 2 HR, 14 R, 12 RBI, 7 SB
Brice Matthews- 2B/OF, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 155 PA, .204/.260/.331, 4 HR, 14 R, 14 RBI, 2 SB
Moises Ballesteros – C, Chicago Cubs
2026 Stats – 147 PA, .231/.306/.408, 6 HR, 15 R, 20 RBI, 0 SB
Jose Fernandez – SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 Stats – 166 PA, .258/.290/.361, 3 HR, 23 R, 15 RBI, 6 SB
Henry Bolte – OF, Athletics
2026 Stats – 61 PA, .288/.377/.327, 0 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 4 SB
Sung-Mun Song – 2B/3B, San Diego Padres
2026 Stats – 28 PA, .174/.321/.217, 0 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2 SB
Sterlin Thompson – OF, Colorado Rockies
2026 Stats – 31 PA, .148/.258/.185, 0 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Rookie Pitchers
Nolan McLean – SP, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 12 GS, 3-4, 4.21 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 77 SO, 24 BB
Parker Messick – SP, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 12 GS, 6-1, 2.21 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 74 SO, 21 BB
Andrew Painter – SP, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 11 GS (1 relief), 1-6, 5.74 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 43 SO, 17 BB
Bubba Chandler – SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 11 GS, 1-6, 4.85 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 52 SO, 36 BB
Connelly Early – SP, Boston Red Sox
2026 Stats – 11 GS, 5-2, 2.95 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 57 SO, 22 BB
Payton Tolle – SP, Boston Red Sox
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 2-2, 2.61 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 46 SO, 11 BB
Brandon Sproat – SP, Milwaukee Brewers
2026 Stats – 11 GS (2 relief), 1-4, 6.24 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 52 SO, 27 BB
Foster Griffin – SP, Washington Nationals
2026 Stats – 12 GS, 6-2, 3.76 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 65 SO, 21 BB
Trey Yesavage – SP, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 2-2, 2.19 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 39 SO, 17 BB
Connor Prielipp – SP, Minnesota Twins
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 1-3, 5.13 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 35 SO, 15 BB
Tatsuya Imai – SP, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 1-2, 5.52 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 28 SO, 20 BB
Injuries/Demotions
Munetaka Murakami – 1B, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 246 PA, .240/.378/.560, 20 HR, 43 R, 41 RBI, 1 SB
The White Sox slugger was off to a good week last week. He hit a homer in three straight games, scored seven runs, had five RBIs, and stole his first career base. However, on May 29, he suffered a hamstring injury that will hold him out for four to six weeks. This loss is a massive blow for a White Sox team that has been a surprise this season, trailing the Guardians by only one game for the AL Central lead.
Konnor Griffin – SS, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 208 PA, .270/.327/.402, 4 HR, 30 R, 22 RBI, 14 SB
Placed on the 10-day IL with a forearm injury on May 29
Noah Schultz- SP, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 8 GS, 2-3, 5.35 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 33 SO, 22 BB
Placed on the 15-day IL with a knee injury on May 26
Nick Yorke – 2B/3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 78 PA, .221/.308/.309, 1 HR, 6 R, 6 RBI, 0 SB
Optioned to Triple-A
Juan Brito – 2B, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 56 PA, .176/.250/.255, 0 HR, 7 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Optioned to Triple-A
Dylan Beavers – OF, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 119 PA, .243/.331/.369, 2 HR, 16 R, 12 RBI, 3 SB
On 10-Day IL with an oblique injury on May 11
Alex Freeland – 2B/3B/SS – Los Angeles Dodgers
2026 Stats – 112 PA, .235/.309/.337, 2 HR, 11 R, 8 RBI, 0 SB
Optioned to Triple-A
Rhett Lowder – Cincinnati Reds
2026 Stats – 8 GS, 3-3, 5.40 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 27 SO, 18 BB
Placed on the 15-day IL on May 10
Elmer Rodriguez – SP, New York Yankees
2026 Stats – 3 GS, 0-1, 4.15 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 6 SO, 9 BB
Optioned to Triple-A
Spencer Jones – OF, New York Yankees
2026 Stats – 27 PA, .167/.259/.426, 0 HR, 0 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB
Optioned to Triple-A
Nathan Church – OF, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 156 PA, .247/.282/.390, 5 HR, 17 R, 18 RBI, 4 SB
Placed on the 10-day IL on May 21
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