Last week brought some standout performances from MLB rookies that we aren’t used to seeing at the top of my fantasy baseball rookie report series. TJ Rumfield used the two biggest hitter ballparks to his advantage, but more on that shortly. In my rookie report, I break down which rookies had a hot, mild, or cold week. Find where your favorites fell in the list.
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Updated Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report
Rookie Batters Who Had a Hot Week
TJ Rumfield – 1B, Colorado Rockies
2026 Stats – 277 PA, .280/.361/.465, 9 HR, 31 R, 34 RBI, 0 SB
We only thought Coors Field was the lone catalyst for seeing flyballs soaring out of ball fields more than a typical ballpark. Enter stage left, Las Vegas Ballpark. The Rockies scored 36 runs in their three-game series visiting the Athletics, including 23 runs in Sunday’s game alone, setting a single-game franchise record. In this series, Rumfield went 6-for-13 (.461), scored four runs, homered once, and had three RBIs.
During the rest of the week, the Rockies’ rookie provided another home run, two runs, and two RBIs. Hitting is fun when your week consists of a series at Coors Field and a series in Las Vegas. Rumfield used these fields to his advantage, starting a five-game hitting streak, with four multi-hit games included. Is he heating up, or was he the beneficiary of two of the best hitter-friendly ballfields?
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B/1B, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 287 PA, .235/.314/.447, 15 HR, 34 R, 42 RBI, 0 SB
Kazuma Okamoto won’t blow you away with his contact skills, but the power is still going strong. Last week, he went 5-for-21 (.238), but hit two homers, drove in five runs, and scored twice. He’s been the lone power source for the Blue Jays all season, with the next closest home run total on the team being seven from Ernie Clement, Jesus Sanchez, and Brandon Valenzuela. If the Blue Jays are buyers at the trade deadline, then you’d think a power bat will be a top target.
Colt Emerson – SS, Seattle Mariners
2026 Stats – 84 PA, .237/.310/.566, 6 HR, 12 R, 14 RBI, 0 SB
Colt Emerson followed Okamoto’s path to a hot week, regardless of poor contact production, by displaying his power swing. He went 3-for-14 (.214), hit two homers, scored three runs, and had four RBIs.
Emerson had struck out at least once in 14 straight games, while drawing only two walks before Sunday’s game. So, the plate discipline needs some improvement. The shortstop has three multi-hit games in his first 23 MLB games, so more production is needed before calling him a must-add fantasy baseball pickup, but he is currently hitting ninth in a strong-side platoon.
Carter Jensen – C, Kansas City Royals
2026 Stats – 246 PA, .220/.289/.390, 8 HR, 30 R, 35 RBI, 0 SB
Carter Jensen’s batting average has been hanging around .220 since early May. Even his current seven-game hit streak hasn’t been enough to boost his average. That is because the catcher had only one multi-hit game during his streak. However, Jensen did add four runs and four RBIs last week. Besides his contact, his production has been pretty consistent all season, which is welcome at a typically weak catcher position in fantasy baseball.
JJ Wetherholt – 2B/3B/SS, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 295 PA, .255/.359/.402, 10 HR, 45 R, 31 RBI, 7 SB
The Cardinals have found their leadoff hitter for the foreseeable future. Wetherholt exploded with an 8-for-23 (.347) week at the plate, with five runs, a home run, and six RBIs. A stolen base or two would have led to the ultimate fantasy baseball week, but Wetherholt hasn’t swiped a bag in June. He’s benefiting from having Ivan Herrera and Alec Burleson’s strong seasons and hitting behind him.
Brice Matthews- 2B/OF, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 178 PA, .220/.271/.372, 6 HR, 18 R, 18 RBI, 2 SB
Brice Matthews has struggled all season at the bottom of the Astros’ lineup when he plays. He only had one hit through the first week of June, but he flipped that script last week. He went 6-for-13 (.461) with three runs, two homers, and knocked in four. Matthews has already had a hot week this season, but quickly returned to struggling. Don’t expect this production to continue.
Rookies Who Had a Mild Week
Chase DeLauter – OF, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 270 PA, .263/.337/.408, 7 HR, 24 R, 34 RBI, 2 SB
Chase DeLauter is on a six-game hitting streak. However, he had only two games with more than one hit. He scored a run and drove in one, as well, last week, but he hasn’t homered since May 17.
The home run drought is due to his ranking in the 28th percentile for barrel rate (5.9%) and 46th in hard-hit percentage (40.5%). The lack of getting solid wood on the ball is hurting DeLauter’s power production. He just can’t be played in smaller fantasy baseball leagues until he turns things around.
Sal Stewart – 1B, Cincinnati Reds
2026 Stats – 305 PA, .247/.344/.445, 13 HR, 36 R, 42 RBI, 10 SB
Henry Bolte – OF, Athletics
2026 Stats – 101 PA, .318/.396/.398, 1 HR, 8 R, 7 RBI, 5 SB
Spencer Jones – OF, New York Yankees
2026 Stats – 48 PA, .233/.313/.326, 1 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI, 1 SB
A.J. Ewing – OF, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 120 PA, .267/.339/.381, 2 HR, 14 R, 9 RBI, 7 SB
Sam Antonacci – 2B/3B/OF, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 208 PA, .278/.379/.381, 2 HR, 32 R, 17 RBI, 9 SB
Owen Caissie – OF, Miami Marlins
2026 Stats – 191 PA, .212/.272/.376, 6 HR, 19 R, 35 RBI, 3 SB
Nathan Church – OF, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 178 PA, .257/.292/.395, 5 HR, 20 R, 18 RBI, 4 SB
Rookie Batters Who Had a Cold Week
Carson Benge – OF, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 268 PA, .257/.321/.388, 7 HR, 37 R, 26 RBI, 10 SB
Carson Benge had a fantastic May that flipped his season around. However, June has not been as friendly. He only had four hits through June 6, but then he erupted with a 5-for-5 outing the next day.
That success didn’t last, with a 4-for-22 (.181) week at the plate last week. Benge also added two runs, but that was where his production ended. The Mets as a whole have been struggling at the plate. So, the Mets’ leadoff hitter isn’t the only lackluster bat, but the Mets need Benge to heat back up.
Kevin McGonigle – SS/3B, Detroit Tigers
2026 Stats – 300 PA, .277/.383/.406, 4 HR, 44 R, 24 RBI, 9 SB
Kevin McGonigle is another bat that cooled off last week. He scored four runs, but only went 2-for-19 (.105) at the plate. He was on a seven-game hit streak before the week began, so I would think the poor showing won’t turn into an extended slump.
Travis Bazzana – 2B, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 174 PA, .252/.345/.404, 4 HR, 16 R, 17 RBI, 11 SB
June has not been friendly to Travis Bazzana. He started the month hitting .294, but a 6-for-42 (.142) month has dropped his average down. He drove in four runs on June 2, but has only driven in two since then. Bazzana is facing the first adversity of his rookie season, so let’s see how he bounces back.
Sterlin Thompson – OF, Colorado Rockies
2026 Stats – 65 PA, .207/.292/.259, 0 HR, 5 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB
Samuel Basallo – C, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 215 PA, .258/.321/.469, 10 HR, 27 R, 29 RBI, 0 SB
Yohendrick Pinango – OF, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 128 PA, .292/.33/.442, 4 HR, 9 R, 18 RBI, 0 SB
Ryan Waldschmidt – OF, Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 Stats – 122 PA, .259/.314/.357, 0 HR, 11 R, 8 RBI, 5 SB
Justin Crawford – OF, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 211 PA, .231/.289/.328, 2 HR, 18 R, 13 RBI, 8 SB
Moises Ballesteros – C, Chicago Cubs
2026 Stats – 171 PA, .235/.304/.392, 6 HR, 15 R, 23 RBI, 1 SB
Alex Freeland – 2B/3B/SS – Los Angeles Dodgers
2026 Stats – 160 PA, .234/.318/.343, 3 HR, 17 R, 16 RBI, 0 SB
Sung-Mun Song – 2B/3B, San Diego Padres
2026 Stats – 48 PA, .190/.292/.214, 0 HR, 5 R, 4 RBI, 4 SB
Rookie Pitchers
Nolan McLean – SP, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 14 GS, 3-4, 4.01 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 88 SO, 31 BB
Parker Messick – SP, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 14 GS, 6-3, 2.68 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 82 SO, 25 BB
Andrew Painter – SP, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 13 GS (1 relief), 1-7, 6.43 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 50 SO, 22 BB
Bubba Chandler – SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 14 GS (1 relief), 2-7, 4.76 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 68 SO, 41 BB
Connelly Early – SP, Boston Red Sox
2026 Stats – 14 GS, 5-4, 3.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 72 SO, 29 BB
Payton Tolle – SP, Boston Red Sox
2026 Stats – 9 GS, 3-3, 2.70 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 54 SO, 14 BB
Brandon Sproat – SP, Milwaukee Brewers
2026 Stats – 13 GS (2 relief), 1-4, 5.70 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 57 SO, 30 BB
Foster Griffin – SP, Washington Nationals
2026 Stats – 14 GS, 7-2, 3.46 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 74 SO, 21 BB
Trey Yesavage – SP, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 9 GS, 3-3, 3.78 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 47 SO, 25 BB
Connor Prielipp – SP, Minnesota Twins
2026 Stats – 10 GS, 2-4, 5.26 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 51 SO, 20 BB
Tatsuya Imai – SP, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 9 GS, 3-3, 6.43 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 37 SO, 24 BB
Gage Jump – SP, Athletics
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 2-1, 3.09 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 19 SO, 6 BB
New Additions to the Rookie Report
Trey Gibson – SP, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 4 GS (1 relief), 1-2, 5.91 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 12 SO, 13 BB
Braden Montgomery – OF, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 20 PA, .263/.300/.526, 1 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB
Cole Carrigg – OF, Colorado Rockies
2026 Stats – 26 PA, .250/.308/.583, 2 HR, 5 R, 4 RBI, 0 SB
Injuries/Demotions
Munetaka Murakami – 1B, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 246 PA, .240/.378/.560, 20 HR, 43 R, 41 RBI, 1 SB
Placed on the 10-day IL with a hamstring injury on May 29
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
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
Jose Fernandez – SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 Stats – 166 PA, .258/.290/.361, 3 HR, 23 R, 15 RBI, 6 SB
Optioned to Triple-A
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