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You wake up in a cold sweat, as a horrifying realization comes to mind: It's Draft Day, and you haven't done any research.     

It might just be a nightmare, but maybe it's your reality. We've all got busy lives, and maybe the Fantasy season is sneaking up on you. Hey, it happens, and that's what the Fantasy Baseball Today team is here to help you out with. We've spent the past six months getting our rankings ready for Draft Day, and we've done plenty of research on the way there. And today's newsletter is all about sharing that with you. 

This is the second biggest draft weekend of the year, and as such, it's time to give you everything we've got. That means links to absolutely everything you need to know before you draft, whether that draft is in seven hours or you're taking it right up until Opening Day. There's still time, even if the clock is now ticking.     

Before we get to that, though, here's a rundown of the latest news and notes you need to know about from the past few days before you draft: 

  • The latest on Corbin Carroll, Francisco Lindor, and Jackson Holliday's recoveries from hamate bone surgery
    • Carroll actually played in a spring game Wednesday, serving as the designated hitter just over a month after he had surgery to remove the hamate bone in his right hand. He will use a different bat handle for the time being, but already had a batted ball of 113.6 mph in his first game, so the raw pop is still there. He acknowledged he'll be playing through some pain, and I worry that could limit him early on. But if he's been cleared by doctors and will have a week-plus of spring action to get ready, I think you have to more or less draft him as if the injury is in the past. That means right around the 1-2 turn, if not earlier, if you are feeling really adventurous. 
    • Lindor has been playing in minor-league games this week and continues to insist he'll be ready for Opening Day. At this point, that timeline seems realistic, so who am I to doubt him? 
    • Holliday is seemingly less certain that he'll be ready for Opening Day despite having the surgery around the same time as Lindor and Carroll. He's also significantly cheaper and has seen his price impacted by his injury even more, so he remains a viable choice around 175 in many drafts. 
  • Hunter Greene has elbow surgery to clean up loose bodies from his right elbow. He'll be out until July at the earliest, and any setback would put him out until the second half, so you'll have to figure out if your league circumstances will allow you to stash him. He went 351st in our NFBC Online Championship draft Thursday, but that's a league without IL spots, so he might be worth taking earlier in other leagues. 
  • Spencer Schwellenbach is on a similar timetable to Greene, but it's harder to buy into him coming back in the second half and making an impact when he broke down last season and couldn't even get through a few weeks of Spring Training before needing surgery. I won't take him until Greene is off the board, at least. 
  • Blake Snell probably won't debut until May. He threw a bullpen session Thursday, and manager Dave Roberts acknowledged he's basically at the start of his spring progression, which will likely include six weeks of ramp-up. Snell has been held back after he finished last season with shoulder soreness, but as far as we know, he is healthy right now. He's gotta fall out of the top 150 before I'll look his way.  
  • Josh Hader will open the season on the IL. He's coming back from biceps tendinitis, and while he threw his first bullpen session Tuesday, he only hit 87 mph. He has a long ramp-up ahead of him, so expect Bryan Abreu to close for the Astros for April, at least. Even getting five saves out of him early on would be enough to make him worth a top-175, especially given the risk of setbacks for Hader that could make Abreu a top-12 closer for a long time. 
  • Nick Pivetta is dealing with arm fatigue. It doesn't sound like a terribly serious issue -- in fact, there's a chance it's just a delay of a few days, and we'll forget about all of this come April. But it's enough to drop Pivetta down a few rounds. I won't take him until after the 100th pick. 
  • Jeremy Pena suffered a fractured finger tip and is without a timetable to return. That might mean Opening Day is a possibility, but my guess is it'll be longer than that. That should give Isaac Paredes a chance to play every day, with Carlos Correa sliding over to shortstop at least to start the season. 
  • Konnor Griffin is challenging for an Opening Day job, as is Kevin McGonigle. Both have been pretty productive so far this spring, but McGonigle has probably been a bit better overall. At this point, I'd put it at a coin flip for each to make the roster, but unfortunately, that's just a guess; the Pirates and Tigers are playing their cards close to the vest. 
  • But JJ Wetherholt still looks all but certain to crack the Opening Day lineup as the Cardinals starting second baseman. He isn't quite on Griffin or McGonigle's level as a prospect, but he's a top-20 guy in his own right and has looked in total control this spring, walking eight times to four strikeouts in 10 games. He has 20-20 upside. 
  • Zack Wheeler hasn't faced live hitters yet as he works his way back from Thoracic Outlet surgery, but he will throw live batting practice this weekend. We haven't really seen any sign of where Wheeler's stuff is yet, but that hasn't stopped drafters from targeting him around 120. I can't get on board with that price, but I'll admit there's some FOMO there with Wheeler likely looking at an April return at this point. 
  • Gerrit Cole has reached 98 mph across multiple live BP sessions and could pitch in a Spring Training game sometime next week. His timeline is still expected to be slower than Wheeler's, but if he avoids setbacks, I do think there's a chance we see him in the majors in the first quarter of the season. We'll probably see a full 30-day rehab assignment from Cole, so his timetable could become clear once the season starts. 
  • Kyle Teel will miss most of April with a hamstring injury. He suffered the injury during a World Baseball Classic game with Team Italy and will be out 4-6 weeks. That gives Edgar Quero a little more early-season playing time, making him an even better late-round target in two-catcher leagues. Teel is still worth drafting in leagues with IL spots, at least. 
  • Ivan Herrera has been dealing with inflammation in his knee, but is expected to play in some spring games this week. The knee injury could limit him to early-season DH responsibilities, which is frustrating for a guy who is Util/DH-only at most Fantasy sites. But he could also see time at catcher, the outfield, or first base at points, so I hope he still has a path to gaining eligibility somewhere -- though I do think Herrera is worth drafting even if you can only slot him at DH for a while. 
  • Jordan Westburg has a torn ligament in his throwing elbow, which means Coby Mayo has his best (and maybe last) chance to carve out an everyday role. Westburg had PRP injections in his elbow and will be out until at least May, though likely quite a bit longer. Mayo, for his part, has hit .500 with just one strikeout in 28 plate appearances this spring, albeit with just one homer and no walks to date. Still, we'd rather see him hitting than not, so put him on your late-round sleeper list. 
  • Lawrence Butler is being worked in slowly after offseason knee surgery. He has been taking live BP and playing on back fields in sim games, but hasn't gotten into an official Cactus League game after having surgery on his right knee (he also had a PRP injection in his left knee). Butler should play in his first spring game next week and might still be ready for Opening Day. He's a viable post-hype sleeper, but his price is often still inside the top 150, and I'd prefer a bit more of a discount. 
  • Mike Trout set a goal of hitting 30 feet per second on a sprint this spring, and he's accomplished it at least once already in spring action. That's the fastest sprint speed he has registered since April of 2024, before he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee that wrecked that season. It's a sign that Trout might be in better shape than in 2025, when he played in 130 games but hit just .232/.359/.439. I quite like the idea of buying a healthy Trout with an ADP around 180, personally. 
  • Bryce Miller is dealing with an oblique injury. Which is better than the elbow injury that wrecked his 2025, but still looks like it'll keep him off the field for much of April after he suffered a setback in recent days while trying to throw. I like him as a late-round stash, still. 
  • Edwin Uceta will begin the season on the IL with a shoulder injury. At this point, it doesn't sound like he'll miss too much time, but given the uncertainty of his role, it probably isn't worth drafting him in most leagues. Griffin Jax is most likely to lead the team in saves, but Garrett Cleavinger, Bryan Baker, and Hunter Bigge are some other names who could factor into what figures to be a closer-by-committee situation. 
  • Quinn Priester and Logan Henderson are both dealing with injuries. Henderson is dealing with elbow soreness, but he did throw a bullpen session Thursday and could still be ready for Opening Day, though he's obviously running out of time. Priester will open the season on the IL, but has at least avoided surgery so far while dealing with a wrist injury that is "in that [thoracic outlet syndrome] family," as manager Pat Murphy put it. The team will try to avoid having Priester undergo surgery, but I'm mostly taking him off my draft list given the injury. There are just too many ways for this to go wrong. 
  • Shane Bieber remains without a timetable as he continues to be slow-played due to lingering soreness in his forearm. He dealt with fatigue after last year's playoffs and hasn't thrown off a mound yet this spring, so we're probably looking at a May return at the earliest, and it feels like there are still plenty of ways for things to go wrong before we get there. I would only draft him late in a league with IL spots. 
  • Matt McLain is having a ridiculous spring. He tweaked his batting stance and is using a quarter-inch longer bat, and so far it has had a huge impact -- he has five homers and is hitting .607 in his first 10 spring games. The hot spring is nice to see from a guy who was mostly a disaster in 2025, but ... it's also still just spring, so let's not go overreacting or anything. Of course, he went 148th in our draft Thursday, so I guess it might be too late for that after he was being drafted outside of the top 200 for most of the spring. But it is entirely possible we're seeing a delayed breakout after McLain played coming off shoulder surgery last season. 
  • Mick Abel is emerging as a real late-round sleeper. Initially viewed as something of a long shot to make the Twins, Abel has 13 strikeouts to zero walks in his first 10 innings this spring and has to have an inside track. The former first-rounder and top prospect put up a 2.20 ERA and 10.4 K/9 at Triple-A but largely floundered in his first taste of the majors. He went 283rd in our draft Thursday, which seems well worth the risk. 

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