I continue my fantasy baseball rookie report this week. Some rookies are starting to figure out MLB and are heating up. It’s a long season, and every rookie goes through ups and downs, but it’s how they recover that will determine the success they can deliver. Rookies have tons of value in fantasy baseball, both short-term and long-term. In my breakdown, see what rookies are hot, heating up, or are cold.
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MLB Rookie Report April 20
Rookie Hitters Continuing to Be Hot
Sal Stewart – 1B, Cincinnati Reds
2026 Stats – 94 PA, .278/.383/.595, 7 HR, 15 R, 19 RBI, 4 SB
Sal Stewart continues to hit. The Reds have found themselves a future star in MLB. This week, he has added three home runs, five runs, eight RBIs, and a stolen base, although six of those RBIs came in his two-homer game on April 15 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Stewart’s stellar start to the season has put him as the clear favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
Kevin McGonigle – SS/3B, Detroit Tigers
2026 Stats – 90 PA, .312/.411/.481, 1 HR, 15 R, 9 RBI, 1 SB
The Tigers’ third baseman has displayed consistent contact skills in the majors, but he has yet to find his power stroke. Last year, he hit 19 home runs over 397 minor-league plate appearances. Although he hasn’t shown his power in the pros, McGonigle has been able to get on base at the top of the Tigers’ lineup.
He has a 14.4 walk percentage while only striking out 12.2 percent of the time. He and Chase DeLauter are even atop the AL Rookie of the Year race. It will be a fun race to watch throughout the season.
Moises Ballesteros – C, Chicago Cubs
2026 Stats – 46 PA, .381/.413/.619,. 3 HR, 7 R, 10 RBI, 0 SB
Ballesteros came alive last week against the Phillies and Mets. He went 6-for-10 with a homer, scored two runs, and drove in four runs. He’s been getting pinch-hit for late in games when a left-handed pitcher is on the mound. Ballesteros has only two plate appearances against a southpaw so far this season.
Jose Fernandez – SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 Stats – 56 PA, .304/.304/.446, 2 HR, 10 R, 9 RBI, 1 SB
Rookies Who Were Hot but Cooling Off
Chase DeLauter – OF, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 80 PA, .232/.325/522, 5 HR, 11 R, 12 RBI, 0 SB
The other favorite for the AL Rookie of the Year Award had a rough week, going 1-for-22 with two runs. He hasn’t homered since April 3, so DeLauter has hit a dry spell. However, he has the skills to bounce out of the funk.
TJ Rumfield – 1B, Colorado Rockies
2026 Stats – 83 PA, .253/.313/.373, 2 HR, 6 R, 10 RBI, 0 SB
Justin Crawford – OF, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 61 PA, .273/.344/.382, 0 HR, 7 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB
Rookie Batters Who May Be Heating Up
Konnor Griffin – SS, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 62 PA, .218/.290/.291, 0 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI, 4 SB
The talented 19-year-old may be starting to get things figured out in the majors. He’s a player who can produce across the board, but he has yet to hit a home run. This past week, he produced four runs and four RBIs, while also stealing three bases. If Griffin is starting to warm up, if you have him on your fantasy baseball team, then congratulations, as he has the skills to light up the stat sheet.
Munetaka Murakami – 1B, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 92 PA, .211/.380/.549, 8 HR, 16 R, 16 RBI, 0 SB
Don’t let the terrible batting average fool you. Murakami is extremely fantasy relevant this season in other categories. This week, he hit four home runs, drove in nine runs, and scored six times.
JJ Wetherholt – 2B/3B/SS, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 97 PA, .237/.381/.368, 3 HR, 17 R, 11 RBI, 4 SB
Kazuma Okamoto – 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
2026 Stats – 84 PA, .224/.298/.368, 3 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI
Carter Jensen – C, Kansas City Royals
2026 Stats – 66 PA, .237/.303/.508, 5 HR, 8 R, 12 RBI, 0 SB
Rookie Batters Who Are Cold
Sam Antonacci – 2B, Chicago White Sox
2026 Stats – 19 PA, .067/.263/.067, 0 HR, 1 R, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Antonacci’s MLB debut hasn’t gone to plan. He got a hit in his first at-bat, but has been 0-for-14 since. In his two Minor League seasons, he showed great contact skills and exceptional plate discipline. He may not contribute much power, but he can get on base and had 48 stolen bases last season. The White Sox aren’t planning to be contenders this season, so they have the luxury to give Antonacci plate appearances to let him figure out why he’s starting slow.
Owen Caissie – OF, Miami Marlins
2026 Stats – 68 PA, .246/.294/.426, 2 HR, 7 R, 13 RBI, 1 SB
Caissie has cooled off in April, going 8-for-50 (0.160) so far in the month. He hasn’t homered since April 3, and he has only had one RBI and hasn’t scored a run since April 9.
Samuel Basallo – C, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 64 PA, .140/.234/.298, 3 HR, 6 R, 4 RBI, 0 HR, 0 SB
Carson Benge – OF, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 70 PA, .143/.229/.206, 1 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, 5 SB
Alex Freeland – 2B, 3B, SS – Los Angeles Dodgers
2026 Stats – 61 PA, .218/.267/.309, 1 HR, 6 R, 5 RBI, 0 SB
Nathan Church – OF, St. Louis Cardinals
2026 Stats – 53 PA, .208/.264/.292, 1 HR, 8 R, 6 RBI, 2 SB
Nick Yorke – 2B/3B, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 63 PA, .245/.349/.302, 0 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Dylan Beavers – OF, Baltimore Orioles
2026 Stats – 60 PA, .212/.300/.288, 1 HR, 8 R, 6 RBI, 1 SB
Brice Matthews – 2B/OF, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 31 PA, .107/.194/.250, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Juan Brito – 2B, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 37 PA, .176/.243/.235, 0 HR, 4 R, 1 RBI, 0 SB
Rookie Pitchers
Nolan McLean – SP, New York Mets
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 1-1, 2.28 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 28 SO, 8 BB
Parker Messick – SP, Cleveland Guardians
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 3-0, 1.05 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 25 SO, 7 BB
Andrew Painter – SP, Philadelphia Phillies
2026 Stats – 2 GS (1 relief), 1-0, 3.77 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 16 SO, 3 BB
Rhett Lowder – Cincinnati Reds
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 2-1, 3.52 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 15 SO, 7 BB
Bubba Chandler – SP, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 1-1, 3.15 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 17 SO, 13 BB
Connelly Early – SP, Boston Red Sox
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 1-0, 2.29 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 20 SO, 10 BB,
Tatsuya Imai – SP, Houston Astros
2026 Stats – 3 GS, 1-0, 7.27 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, 13 SO, 11 BB
Brandon Sproat – SP, Milwaukee Brewers
2026 Stats – 2 GS (2 relief), 0-1, 6.88 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 16 SO, 11 BB
Foster Griffin – SP, Washington Nationals
2026 Stats – 4 GS, 2-0, 3.05 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 19 SO, 7 BB
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