Looking Down the Lists and Also What Happened in 2025- Preseason Prep- February 23, 2026
Spring training games have started. Teams are facing each other. It’s still way too early to make any conclusions based on performance in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues.
It’s not too, early, however, to start looking down the rosters for team depth. Everyone knows that Shohei, Aaron Judge, Tarik Skubal, and Paul Skenes are important fantasy assets. What is tough is trying to identify the marginal players who can give you a boost with a late round pick or early season waiver claim or to stay away from. Having an edge at the bottom of your roster can give you a boost. Here are a few players to keep an eye on this spring.
Alexis Diaz– RP- TEX- Diaz is in the mix for the closer role in Texas, where rebuilding the bullpen has become an annual ritual. The first 3 years of Diaz’s career were solid with the Reds, as he worked into the closer role and 75 games, including 37 in 2023. Last year an early hamstring injury had Diaz off to a slow start and his results were bad as he was moved to two other organizations over the course of the season. Diaz only pitched 17.12 MLB IPs and 25.2 in the minors. That puts his 8.15 ERA in the realm of “small sample size.” Diaz saw his fastball velocity drop 2 mph from his rookie season of 2022. He is in the realm of sleeper. The Rangers have an excellent rotation so should be producing save situations. If Diaz’s 2025 was mainly a product of injury, then he could bounce back with some big production. His cost will be marginal to make him a low-risk, high-reward potential.
Henry Davis– C- PIT- Davis set a career high in ABs with 252 last year. His production was not good, though. Davis slashed .167/.234/3278 with 7 homers. His results were worse than his underlying metrics, although still not earth-shattering. Davis has a.213 xBA and .278 SLG. His xwOBA of .293 was 64 points over his actual .229. For .226 his projection is for marginal improvement. Davis is projected to his .217 but with an increase in homers to 12. He is still in the first spot at C on the Pittsburgh depth chart. At age 26 Davis is worth looking at as spring training plays out.
Tyler O-Neill– OF- BAL- O’Neill was plagued by injuries in his first season in Baltimore 2025. This was not an unfamiliar situation for him. His slash line of .199/.292/.392 was disappointing. Much of it can be attributed to bad luck. O’Neill had a .243 xBA and .523 xSLG. His HardHit% was at 39.1%, below his 45.3% career mark and was probably impacted by injury. The Orioles have added more power to their lineup and that could help O’Neill by taking some pressure off. He has hit 30 homers in each of the two years he had more than 450 PAs. If he can stay healthy, his metrics have shown he can outperform 2025 by a significant margin.
Luis Torrens– C- NYM- Torrens is the backup C on the Mets’ depth chart. He still got 261 ABs in 2025. Torrens’ .226/.284/.345 slash line wasn’t eye-catching, but there were signs that he underperformed. Torrens had a .274 xBA, well above his results, and his .454 xSLG was also significantly higher. He is projected to hit 7 homers in 235 ABs right now, but Francisco Alvarez has seen his games played drop from 123 to 100 to 76 over the past 3 seasons and he had offseason thumb surgery. Torrens could be called on to fill in more. Keep a watch on him as the Grapefruit League progresses.
Rhys Hoskins– 1B- CLE- Hoskins signed a minor league deal with the Guardians and is in the mix for 1B with them. Hampered by injuries with Milwaukee in 2025 he still hit 12 homers in 279 ABs. Hoskins still exhibits power, with a 90.2 EV and 46.4% HardHit% last year. He is the lone RH hitter among the Cleveland 1B candidates. Over the past two years he didn’t exhibit significant split differences between LH and RH pitching. Being RH gives him a good chance to stick on the major league roster, and his track record of power gives him an opportunity to challenge for the bulk of playing time.
Tony Santillan– RP- CIN- Last year Santillan was third in MLB for holds with 33. He also had a 2.44 ERA and struck out 75 batters in 73.2 IP. That gave him considerable value in leagues that count holds. He probably won’t reach those heights this season, as he is projected to have a 3.88 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and strike out 70 batters in 71 IP. His xFIP was 4.05, so he overperformed last year.
Andre Pallante– P- STL- Pallante will be counted on to fill a significant role in the Cardinals’ rotation this season. He pitched a career-high 162.2 IP in 2025. Pallante’s ERA of 5.31 was high compared to his 4.16 xFIP. He saw his HR/FB ratio jump from 9.6% in 2024 to 17.2%. Pallante is not a strikeout pitcher. His 6.14 K/9 went down from 6.97. He is still projected to eat innings and throw 157 IP in 2026, but his ERA is still seen as a mediocre 4.30. If you need someone to go out there and get some numbers over pitchers who are injured and producing nothing, he could be a waiver acquisition at some point.
Harrison Bader– OF- SF- Between the Twins and Phillies last season Bader slashed .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers in 448 ABs. That was a marked improvement over his prior few seasons. Underlying metrics indicate that Bader overperformed. His xBA was .220 and xSLG was .374. While Bader’s homer total is only projected to drop to 16, his AVG is projected to be down to .249. He still has some value due to the power, but he is a late round pickup at best.
Tyler Mahle-P- SF- Mahle had a successful return from injury that season with Texas, posting a 2.18 ERA in 16 starts covering 86.2 IP. That ERA was way lower than his 3.37 FIP and 4.43 xFIP. Going to SF may mitigate some of Mahle’s expected regression. However, his projected ERA is still almost double 2025, at 4.22. He is also well below a K/inning, with 112 strikeouts in 138 IP. Don’t count on Mahle to pick up where he left off last year.
Seranthony Dominguez– RP-CHW- There will be saves available for the White Sox, and Dominguez is projected to get most of them. After being in a setup role for most of 2025 and posting a 3.16 ERA with 79 Ks in 62.2 IP he is looking at a projected 3.29 ERA, 22 saves, and 79 Ks in 63 IP with Chicago. Control is an issue for Dominguez. His BB/9 was 5.17 last year and that plays into his projected 1.31 WHIP. Except for leagues that count holds, a closer for a bad team has more value than a non-closer on a good team.
There are other things going on in camps and it’s important to be aware of them and also to look for while preparing for your draft. Last year’s performance and underlying metrics can be a big part of that.
Brandon Woodruff– P- MIL- Woodruff had a solid return from injury last year, going 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA and 11.55 K/9 in 12 starts. His 1.25 HR/9 was higher than his 1.01 career mark but his xFIP was still 3.24, so there wasn’t much under or over performance. Woodruff is projected for more of the same in 2026 with more time on the mound. His ERA is projected at 3.72 with a 1.15 WHIP and 182 Ks in 167 IPs. Woodruff is being taken a little early on average, with a 10.08 ADP and 12.01 FDP.
Eury Perez– P- MIA- Perez posted a pedestrian 4.25 ERA in 2025, coming back from Tommy John surgery. However, his xERA was 3.24. The key to improvement this season will be keeping the ball in the park. In 2023, before injury, Perez had a 54.8% FB% and last year it was 51.4%. Those seasons were both no more than 95.1 IP and his minor league numbers are better. Perez is projected to post a 3.65 ERA with 180 Ks in 166 IP while winning 12 games. He is still only 22 so is well ahead of his peers and is poised to make a jump in production.
Salvador Perez– C- KC- Perez significantly underperformed his metrics in 2025. His .269 xBA was 33 points above his AVG. His xSLG of .534 was 89 points above his SLG. Perez slugged 30 homers last year. He will captain Team Venezuela in the WBC, so won’t have a full spring with the Royals. Still, this will put him in games of importance. Perez is projected to finish just shy of 30 homers, at 29, and his AVG is expected to increase to .260 and to post 91 RBI. With the Royals bring in the fences a little he will have a good chance to get back to 30 homers. It looks like Perez’s dip last year was more bad luck than age-related decline. He is still being overvalued some with a 9.03 ADP and 15.03 FDP, but he is still a sold choice at C and is continuing to be an ageless wonder.
Devin Williams– RP- NYM- Williams didn’t produce as expected in 2025 in the Bronx. He went 18-for-22 in save opportunities and ended up in a setup role where he notched 15 holds. Williams had a bloated 4.79 ERA. Beneath that, though, his effort was solid. His FIP was 2.68. Williams had a 13.06 K/9 and lowered his BB/9 to 3.63. After moving to Queens and the Mets in the offseason, Williams is projected to bounce back to elite closer production. In 60 IPs he is projected to save 32 games, post a 2.63 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP, and strike out 92 batters. He is being overvalued to a certain extent, with a 7.06 ADP and 10.07 FDP, but is still in line for a big comeback over his performance last year.
Coby Mayo– 3B- BAL- Mayo’s stock rose with Jordan Westburg’s injury. With a partially torn UCL keeping Westburg out until at least the end of April (and possibly more) Mayo will be manning the hot corner for Baltimore. He is projected to hit 19 homers for the Birds in 421 ABs. That can shift depending on how much playing time Mayo actually gets. In 2025 he hit 11 homers in 263 ABs and had a 10.1% Barrel%. At 24 years old Mayo is still developing. He is worth a late round claim to have his power potential.