Rookie heroics dominated baseball’s opening weekend, as three players making their major league debuts homered on an Opening Day for the first time in history, and two rookies hit home runs in each of their first three big-league games (they are two of the four in history to do that).
It served a reminder of the immense talent possessed by the group and the importance to ensure that the following first-year players are rostered in your league:
But for all the hoopla surrounding these top-100 preseason prospects, it was a fellow rookie from that list, one who had an 18-game cup of coffee in the majors last September and wasn’t as celebrated despite his comparably solid opening weekend, who is every bit as relevant a pickup in standard leagues. Best yet, he’s the one of this quartet who remains available in more than half of ESPN leagues — a key qualifier for this column.
Sal Stewart, 1B/3B, Cincinnati Reds (44.2% rostered): He’s quite a hitter, having succeeded on that front everywhere he has played, from his .309/.383/.524 hitting line between Double- and Triple-A last season, to his five home runs in his aforementioned 18 games last September, to his .327/.450/.592 spring stat line. Stewart’s Opening Day roster spot appeared in jeopardy following February’s addition of Eugenio Suarez, but the rookie found his way onto the roster as a similar candidate for playing time between first base, third base and designated hitter.
Stewart handled first base in the Reds’ first two games, with Suarez at DH, while Suarez played third base with Stewart at DH in the team’s Sunday series finale against Boston Red Sox left-hander Connelly Early. Consider it a signal that the Reds recognize Stewart’s importance to their offense, even if his long-term defensive position remains unclear due to his deficiencies in that area.
Stewart’s metrics through his first 21 regular-season games are eye-popping: An 18.8% Barrel rate, a number exceeded by only six qualified hitters during the 2025 season; a 56.3% hard-hit rate, which also would’ve placed sixth; and a .442 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA), which would’ve been exceeded by only Aaron Judge (.460).
Two-start pickup
Cody Ponce, SP, Toronto Blue Jays (28.2% rostered)
Ponce is an easy pitcher to forget, after he compiled a 5.86 ERA and 19.6% strikeout rate in two seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020 and 2021, and faced what seemed to be an uphill battle for a spot in a deep Blue Jays rotation entering spring training. Ponce isn’t the same hurler he was during his last stint in the States. His performance this spring was electric, pitching to a 0.66 ERA and demonstrating an increase of more than 2 mph in his average fastball velocity (compared to 2020-21) and the whiff-generating splitter he added to his repertoire while pitching overseas the past three years.
He’s aligned for one of the softest two-start weeks any pitcher could draw in 2026, facing the Colorado Rockies and White Sox, who ranked 29th and 27th in runs per game in the league last season. Ponce, available in nearly three-quarters of ESPN leagues, should be universally added with the chance this could jump-start a breakthrough season.
Deeper-league pickups
Deep (12-team mixed): Jordan Romano, RP, Los Angeles Angels (13.9% rostered)
Closer success stories can be a matter of happenstance (see: Emilio Pagan in 2025), and Romano’s prospects in the role dramatically increased following late-spring injuries to both Robert Stephenson (elbow) and Kirby Yates (knee). Romano finished off each of the Angels’ two weekend victories, retiring six of the seven batters he faced while striking out three, and notching the save on Opening Day. Yates’ absence shouldn’t be lengthy — Stephenson’s, unfortunately, could be season-ending — but Romano’s past experience and above-average skills (95 mph fastball and 36% whiff slider) could earn him long-term status in the role.
Deeper (14-team mixed): Lucas Erceg, RP, Kansas City Royals (9.5%)
Speaking of closer hopefuls, Carlos Estevez‘s Saturday meltdown (6 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 HR while recording only one out) cast the Royals’ closer picture into potential chaos. His spring dip in average fastball velocity had been widely publicized, and a left ankle contusion, suffered when he was hit by a Michael Harris II comebacker in that same game, further clouds his outlook. Royals manager Matt Quatraro said on Sunday that “we’re not averse to putting [Estevez] in a lower-leverage situation,” and on that same day, Erceg notched the save in the team’s 4-1 victory.
Erceg, for those who don’t recall, saved 11 of the Royals’ 27 wins following his 2024 trade deadline acquisition, and his average fastball velocity rebounded nicely this weekend (98.8 mph) after being down for much of the spring. He’s not promised the everyday closer role, but he has both the upside and now the opportunity to warrant a pickup
Deepest (AL- and NL-only leagues): Emerson Hancock, SP, Seattle Mariners (6.0%)
I might be one of the few believers in this right-hander, which is understandable after he posted a 4.81 ERA across his first three big-league seasons, but after an encouraging spring training and his first start of his 2026, he’s looking at least streaming-worthy even in some mixed leagues. Hancock is leaning much more on the sweeper he briefly introduced in 2025, throwing it 26% of the time in his Sunday start after 20% during spring training.
Combining his spring and Sunday, he has now struck out 30 of the 82 batters he has faced (36.6%). This isn’t to say he’s destined for a huge breakthrough — many such early surges smooth out over time — but this is the time of the season when you should be speculatively stashing any pitcher whose success is tied to pitch-repertoire polishing.
