Fantasy Baseball Rookie Report: Sal Stewart Reigns Supreme

With a couple of weeks under their belts, we are starting to get a better glimpse of what rookies offer their MLB ballclubs. I continue my rookie report, breaking down the performances from rookies around the big leagues. This week’s edition, I break them down to who is still hot, who had a rough week, who is heating up, and who remains cold to start the season.

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MLB Rookie Report

Rookie Batters Continuing to Be Hot

Sal Stewart – 1B, Cincinnati Reds

2026 Stats – 69 PA, .309/.435/.600, 4 HR, 10 R, 10 RBI, 3 SB

If you’ve followed my rookie content, then you know Sal Stewart was my choice for the top rookie heading into the season. So far, he has made me a man of my word with his fantastic start to the 2026 season.

The Reds rookie’s batting average dipped slightly last week from his .367 average to start the week, but he’s still hitting over .300. Stewart did add two home runs, five runs, six RBIs, and two stolen bases. He’s moved himself into the top spot of the NL Rookie of the Year Award race, due to his hot start and Konnor Griffin’s slow start.

Kevin McGonigle – SS, Detroit Tigers

2026 Stats – 68 PA, .322/.412/.508/, 1 HR, 11 R, 8 RBI, 1 SB

McGonigle has been a hitting machine since entering the league. He has started in 14 games and has gotten a hit in 11 of them. He raised his batting average from .303 at the beginning of last week. He also added six runs, three RBIs, a stolen base, and hit his first home run on Sunday.

The Tigers’ rookie is living up to the massive hype that surrounded him in Spring Training. He was a popular pick before the season for the AL Rookie of the Year Award by expert analysts, and with nearly a neck-and-neck race between McGonigle and Chase DeLauter to begin the season, it’ll be a fun watch throughout the next six months.

Jose Fernandez – SS, Arizona Diamondbacks

2026 Stats – 36 PA, .333/.333/.528, 2 HR, 7 R, 7 RBI, 1 SB

At the start of last week, Fernandez only had nine plate appearances. However, he’s started the last five games, due to Carlos Santana joining Pavin Smith on the injury list. With the extra at-bats, Fernandez continued to be a solid contact hitter, going 8-for-20 at the plate, and tacked on five runs and three RBIs. If he continues to hit this well, the Diamondbacks will have some tough decisions when Smith and Santana return.

Chase DeLauter – OF, Cleveland Guardians

2026 Stats – 58 PA, .300/.379/.680, 5 HR, 9 R, 12 RBI, 0 SB

DeLauter’s power was on display over his first nine games of the season, where he hit five home runs, although he hit four of those in the first three games. He hasn’t homered since April 3, and he struggled with contact last week, going 5-for-22. It wasn’t an ideal performance at the plate, but he did drive in three runs and score twice.

DeLauter has shown contact skills over his minor league career, but his 6’3″, 235 lbs. body frame offers massive power potential that we’ve seen to begin the season. He has the skills, but can he stay healthy all season?

Justin Crawford – OF, Philadelphia Phillies

2026 Stats – 49 PA, .341/.408/.477, 0 HR, 7 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB

TJ Rumfield – 1B, Colorado Rockies

2026 Stats – 58 PA, .308/.362/.481, 2 HR, 6 R, 8 RBI, 0 SB

Hot Rookies Who Had a Down Week

Kazuma Okamoto – 3B, Toronto Blue Jays

2026 Stats – 60 PA, .204/.283/.333, 2 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB

Adjusting to the American style of baseball hasn’t come easy for Okamoto. He entered last week with the exact same homers, runs, and RBIs, which in itself shows the lack of production in a week’s time, but going 3-for-20 at the plate didn’t help his cause. He got a breather Saturday to try and give himself a reset, but he followed that up with a 0-for-4 on Sunday.

Okamoto has something these other rookies don’t:  being 29. The Japanese slugger has already had nearly a full overseas career, so look for him to draw on his experience and figure out how to overcome his slow start.

Owen Caissie – OF, Miami Marlins

2026 Stats – 46 PA, .275/.348/.525, 2 HR, 6 R, 12 RBI, 1 SB

One game made Caissie’s week, going 3-for-4 on Thursday, scoring twice, and driving in three. Otherwise, he was 0-for-9 as he is sitting when the Marlins are facing a left-handed pitcher. The alarming part for Caissie is his 37% strikeout percentage. It’s his second-highest rate over his six professional seasons, only trailing the 40.7% he accumulated in his brief MLB debut last season.

Munetaka Murakami – 1B, Chicago White Sox

2026 Stats – 65 PA, .157/.323/.392, 4 HR, 10 R, 7 RBI, 0 SB

JJ Wetherholt – 2B/3B/SS, St. Louis Cardinals

2026 Stats – 68 PA, .214/.338/.286, 1 HR, 10 R, 5 RBI, 3 SB

Rookie Batters Who May Be Heating Up

Carter Jensen – C, Kansas City Royals

2026 Stats – 46 PA, .238/.283/.548, 4 HR, 6 R, 8 RBI, 0 SB

Moises Ballesteros – C, Chicago Cubs

2026 Stats – 38 PA, .294/.342/.471, 2 HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, 0 SB

Rookie Batters Who Remain Cold

Samuel Basallo – C, Baltimore Orioles

2026 Stats – .46 PA, .150/.261/.300, 2 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB

Carson Benge – OF, New York Mets

2026 Stats – 52 PA, .130/.231/.196, 1 HR, 4 R, 3 RBI, 5 SB

Konnor Griffin – SS, Pittsburgh Pirates

2026 Stats – 34 PA, .138/.235/.177, 0 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB

Alex Freeland – 2B, 3B, SS – Los Angeles Dodgers

2026 Stats – 45 PA, .220/.289/.341, 1 HR, 5 R, 2 RBI, 0 SB

Rookie Pitchers

Nolan McLean – SP, New York Mets

2026 Stats – 3 GS, 1-1, 2.70 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 20 SO, 6 BB

Parker Messick – SP, Cleveland Guardians

2026 Stats – 3 GS, 2-0, 0.51 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 16 SO, 5 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 – 3 GS, 1-1, 3.31 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 11 S0, 6 BB

Bubba Chandler – SP, Pittsburgh Pirates

2026 Stats – 3 GS, 3.86 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 14 SO, 12 BB

Connelly Early – SP, Boston Red Sox

2026 Stats – 3 GS, 0-0, 2.63 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 15 SO, 9 BB

Tatsuya Imai – SP, Houston Astros

2026 Stats – 3 GS, 1-0, 7.27 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, 13 SO, 11 BB

Keep an eye on Imai’s injury status.