I noticed that last week was an interesting week while writing up my fantasy baseball rookie report. Some of the players who were hot all through March and April cooled off dramatically. Then there were players who were mild or cold, starting to heat up.
Kazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami are representing Japanese baseball by putting on a long-ball show and showing that their play styles are translating to the American style of baseball. Throughout my report, I’ll highlight the players that are hot, mild, and cold.
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Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report April 27 – May 3
Rookie Batters Who Had a Hot Week
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 138 PA, .236/.319/.472, 9 HR, 18 R, 22 RBI
Kazuma Okamoto started the week out slow, going 2-for-14 with four RBIs, but once the season entered May, the Japanese slugger flipped a switch. He’s gone 5-for-13 with six runs, four home runs, and seven RBIs. Maybe it’s a sign that Okamoto is getting comfortable with the American style of baseball. He’s definitely delivering on the power numbers he displayed in Japan.
Munetaka Murakami – 1B, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 145 PA, .231/.372/.564, 13 HR, 23 R, 26 RBI, 0 SB
Another Japanese slugger, Munetaka Murakami, has been a power machine in his first season in MLB. He’s tied with Aaron Judge for the MLB lead in homers. His slash line this week didn’t move much, but he added two home runs and six RBIs, while scoring three times. There are no signs of Murakami slowing down, so enjoy the hot start if you drafted him.
Konnor Griffin – SS, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 114 PA, .262/.325/.398, 2 HR, 13 R, 16 RBI, 7 SB
Konnor Griffin is heating up. He finally seems to have figured out how big-league pitchers work. Last week, he went 10-for-27, including a four-hit game on Saturday. The 20-year-old added a home run, five runs, and four RBIs. He also added a stolen base. Griffin is a true five-tool player, so stay tuned to see if his power numbers start to rise as Griffin continues to learn the game at the Major League level.
Chase DeLauter – OF, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 130 PA, .304/.392/.554, 6 HR, 15 R, 21 RBI, 0 SB
Chase DeLauter finally hit his first home run since April 3 in Sunday’s loss to the Athletics. Despite the homerless streak, he was still somewhat fantasy-relevant in April, driving in 13 runs, but he only scored seven times.
His batting average had dropped to .219 before his explosion last week, going 13-for-22 with three runs, five RBIs and Sunday’s homer. He’s shown great plate discipline throughout his Minor League career, with pretty even walk and strikeout percentages. He’s brought that skill to the big leagues with 17 walks and 14 strikeouts.
Brice Matthews- 2B/OF, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 77 PA, .221/.289/.412, 3 HR, 7 R, 12 RBI, 2 SB
It had been a rough start to the season for Brice Matthews. He was hitting as low as .136 and providing very little fantasy production. However, he exploded last week, going 9-for-24, while scoring four runs, hitting two homers, driving in seven, and stealing a base. There’s still no reason to rush to the waiver wire for Matthews, but if in deep leagues, keep an eye on whether he continues his hot streak or if this was a fluke week.
JJ Wetherholt – 2B/3B/SS, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 156 PA, .238/.353/.438, 7 HR, 27 R, 16 RBI, 4 SB
JJ Wetherholt was a on-base threat in the Minor Leagues, but saw some power production, hitting 17 home runs over 496 Double- and Triple-A at-bats. He hadn’t shown much of the power stroke in the early part of the season, hitting three in the first 25 games.
He has since hit four in the last nine games. His batting average got up to .256, but a 1-for-13 stretch over the weekend dropped his average back down to where Wetherholt has been hovering around all season long.
TJ Rumfield – 1B, Colorado Rockies
2026 Stats – 140 PA, .268/.329/.425, 4 HR, 12 R, 19 RBI, 0 SB
TJ Rumfield continued to be a consistent contributor, getting on base last week, going 9-for-27, and adding three runs, three RBIs, and a home run to his totals. He has been a nice surprise this season, being a 25-year-old rookie, but playing half your games at Coors Field is a boost to any hitter, where three of Rumfield’s homers have happened.
Rookies Who Had a Mild Week
Kevin McGonigle – SS, Detroit Tigers
2026 Stats – 150 PA, .315/.407/.477, 2 HR, 24 R, 16 RBI, 3 SB
Kevin McGonigle has provided fantasy managers with decent fantasy production. The little bit of power that he displayed in the Minor Leagues has not translated to the big leagues. This past week was a normal fantasy week for the Tigers’ shortstop, going 6-for-24, while scoring twice and driving in four. He also added a stolen base, but that’s only his third on the season.
Moises Ballesteros – C, Chicago Cubs
2026 Stats – 92 PA, .317/.380/.598, 6 HR, 14 R, 18 RBI, 0 SB
Ballesteros had an interesting week batting. He had only three hits in 24 at-bats, but two of those were home runs, and he drove in six runs. His batting average also dropped from .397 to .325. The power numbers are there for fantasy managers, but you can’t trust whether he will bat the entire game, with him being a platoon player. However, he’s on the strong side of the platoon, being a left-handed hitter.
Sam Antonacci – 2B, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 61 PA, .255/.361/.432, 1 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB
It’s been a slow start to Antonacci’s MLB career, but he picked it up last week, going 6-for-21. He’s not a power guy, but it’s surprising that he has yet to steal a base after stealing 48 in High- and Double-A last year. Expect the stolen bases to start pouring in soon, but he’s not a worthy waiver wire pickup until he starts getting more aggressive on the base paths.
Samuel Basallo – C, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 100 PA, .244/.320/.444, 5 HR, 10 R, 10 RBI, 0 SB
Nathan Church – OF, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 104 PA, .247/.279/.433, 5 HR, 13 R, 16 RBI, 3 SB
Justin Crawford – OF, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 107 PA, .268/.336/.371, 0 HR, 8 R, 7 RBI, 3 SB
Rookie Batters Who Had a Cold Week
Sal Stewart – 1B, Cincinnati Reds
2026 Stats – 147 PA, .252/.340/.512, 9 HR, 20 R, 29 RBI, 7 SB
MLB pitchers have finally found a way to consistently get Sal Stewart out. This was the first week Stewart showed he’s human, going 2-for-22 while scoring two runs. Despite being in a 0-for-19 slump, the Reds’ corner infielder still holds a commanding lead for the NL Rookie of the Year race.
Let’s see how the rookie bounces back from his real adversity in his brief MLB career. If you wisely drafted Stewart in your league, he will likely reward you by earning third-base eligibility at some point in the first half of the season.
Carter Jensen – C, Kansas City Royals
2026 Stats – 112 PA, .232/.313/.434, 6 HR, 13 R, 16 RBI, 0 SB
Carter Jensen had been a hot hitter, hitting .288, but he’s had an ice-cold week. He went 1-for-17 at bat and scored a run. Strikeouts were an issue for the DH and backup catcher, with him totaling nine of his 33 strikeouts on the season happening last week.
Jose Fernandez – SS/1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 Stats – 97 PA, .304/.340/.432, 3 HR, 19 R, 12 RBI, 1 SB
Jose Fernandez is still hitting over .300, but a 2-for-16 week has dropped his average down substantially. He’s still trying to find consistent playing time with Ildermaro Vargas and Nolan Arenado playing the corner infield positions and Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop.
Dylan Beavers – OF, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 95 PA, .217/.298/.325, 2 HR, 12 R, 10 RBI, 3 SB
Owen Caissie – OF, Miami Marlins
2026 Stats – 101 PA, .207/.248/.337, 2 HR, 10 R, 15 RBI, 1 SB
Carson Benge – OF, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 106 PA, .186/.255/.278, 2 HR, 11 R, 7 RBI, 6 SB
Alex Freeland – 2B/3B/SS – Los Angeles Dodgers
2026 Stats – 92 PA, .232/.289/.317, 1 HR, 8 R, 6 RBI, 0 SB
Rookie Pitchers
Nolan McLean – SP, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 1-2, 2.97 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 51 SO, 11 BB
Parker Messick – SP, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 3-1, 2.40 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 44 SO, 10 BB
Andrew Painter – SP, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 5 GS (1 relief), 1-3, 5.28 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 28 SO, 9 BB
Rhett Lowder – Cincinnati Reds
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 3-2, 5.09 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 26 SO, 14 BB
Bubba Chandler – SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 5 GS, 1-2, 4.88 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 21 SO, 16 BB
Connelly Early – SP, Boston Red Sox
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 2-2, 3.79 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 31 SO, 17 BB,
Brandon Sproat – SP, Milwaukee Brewers
2026 Stats – 4 GS (2 relief), 0-2, 6.75 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 25 SO, 15 BB
Foster Griffin – SP, Washington Nationals
2026 Stats – 7 GS, 3-1, 2.27 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 33 SO, 14 BB
New Additions to the Rookie Report
Payton Tolle – SP, Boston Red Sox
2026 Stats – 2 GS, 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 15 SO, 5 BB
Trey Yesavage – SP, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 2 GS, 2-1, 0.96 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 9 SO, 3 BB
Connor Prielipp – SP, Minnesota Twins
2026 Stats – 3 GS, 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 15 SO, 5 BB
Noah Schultz- SP, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 2-1, 2.53 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 20 SO, 12 BB
Travis Bazzana – 2B, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 22 PA, .188/.409/.188, 0 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
Yohendrick Pinango – OF, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 14 PA, .462/.500/.462, 0 HR, 0 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Injuries/Demotions
Tatsuya Imai – SP, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 3 GS, 1-0, 7.27 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, 13 SO, 11 BB
Imai was put on the injury list on April 12 due to arm fatigue. He has started a rehab assignment, so a return may be soon.
Nick Yorke – 2B/3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 78 PA, .221/.308/.309, 1 HR, 6 R, 6 RBI, 0 SB
Nick Yorke got demoted to Triple-A with Jared Triolo returning from an injury list stint on May 2.
Juan Brito – 2B, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 56 PA, .176/.250/.255, 0 HR, 7 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Juan Brito got demoted to Triple-A with the promotion of Bazzana on April 28.
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