Opening Day Overreactions: Chase DeLauter among rookie standouts who performed admirably

A loaded rookie class offers real intrigue for 2026

The best laid plans, right? 

Okay, so you drafted Paul Skenes in the first round and then added Logan Webb in the fifth to really lock down the high-end side of your pitching staff. It's a smart move! They're aces who can handle a big workload and carry your pitching staff, so you don't have to rely on as many questionable options. There's no way it can go wrong. 

Right?

It's going to be fine. Take a deep breath. Relax.

Yes, your two aces just put up a combined 17.47 ERA across their first two starts. They put you in a hole. You might not win your H2H matchup this week, and your ERA for a Roto league will look pretty unseemly for a while. 

But it's important to remember that this is the first day (day-plus, but who's counting?) of a roughly 180-day season. A first-inning stinker from Skenes doesn't actually matter more in March than in July. You've got plenty of time to dig out of the hole you're in. 

Hopefully, you don't need me to tell you this, but if you do: Calm down. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Relax. Some of you may not need to hear that. Some of you desperately need to hear it. Either way, just remember that the worst thing you can do is overreact to early-season results. 

Don't believe me? Remember when Marcell Ozuna hit .283/.437/.478 last March/April and was one of the five best hitters in baseball? Remember Oneil Cruz hitting eight homers, stealing 12 bases, and generally looking like he was going to be a second-rounder? What about Mackenzie Gore's 3.51 ERA and 12.95 K/9? Or Tylor Megill and Shane Smith being in the top 15 in baseball in ERA at the end of April? Or Mackenzie Gore's MLB-leading 59 strikeouts?

Of course you don't! The first month of the season matters, but it doesn't matter any more than any other month of the season. And the first weekend of the season definitely doesn't matter more than any other weekend. Don't overreact.

Was there anything worth reacting to on Opening Day? Of course there was! There's something to react to every single day that baseball is played. But that's not the same as saying you should be changing your opinion on any player or team right now. It's just to say: Stuff happens, and stuff matters. It's just up to us to figure out what stuff matters and what doesn't.

That's what we're trying to do today. It's just the first day of many, but let's kick it off: 

Opening Day Overreactions

Let's take a look at some of the biggest storylines from Opening Day and whether it's worth overreacting to them: 

It's the Year of the Rookies! 

Believe it. 

This is a pretty exciting group of top prospects making their debuts to open this season, and they mostly got off to very good starts Thursday. Carson Benge got it started off going 1 for 3 with a couple of walks and his first MLB homer, and Kevin McGonigle followed it up shortly after with an even better showing, going 4 for 5 with two doubles and two RBI. And the most impressive thing McGonigle did might have been showing off the wheels on his infield single – though the most noteworthy might be that he started at third base, putting him 20% of the way to gaining eligibility at arguably the weakest position in CBS Fantasy leagues. We love to see that.

JJ Wetherholt followed that up with his first MLB homer while starting at second base, giving him the first of five appearances he needs to gain eligibility there – something we expect him to do by roughly the fifth game of the season. And then Chase DeLauter made his presence felt with a first-inning homer off Logan Gilbert, followed by another bomb later in the day. And the most noteworthy thing for DeLauter and Wetherholt might have been where they found themselves in the lineup, as Wetherholt hit leadoff in his MLB debut, while DeLauter was batting second for the Guardians. 

And let's not forget White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami, who showed off the plus power with his first MLB homer, giving us three players who homered in their MLB debut on Thursday (DeLauter's regular-season debut was Thursday, but he did technically appear in a couple of postseason games last season). This could be a hugely impactful rookie class long before Konnor Griffin forces his way to the majors. 

(Oh yeah, and Nolan McLean, Samuel Basallo, Trey Yesavage, Bubba Chandler, and Connelly Early are all still rookies, and Colt Emerson, Bryce Eldridge, Payton Tolle, and Jonah Tong are still awaiting their promotion. This rookie class is stacked.)

Chase DeLauter deserves even more love!

Believe it. 

I know I grouped him in with the other rookie debuts, but I really want to highlight DeLauter a bit more here, because I really think he might be a star. He's put up close to a .900 career OPS in the minors despite missing a ton of time with injuries, and he had a huge spring with impressive exit velocities and contact rates, a rare combination. And then he comes out on Opening Day going 3 for 5 with a couple of homers, the latter of which was hit 111.1 mph and traveled 422 feet. DeLauter is only 64% rostered, and he's a super-talented hitter with a lineup spot sandwiched between Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez, so I'd say go add him anywhere. His track record suggests there is significant injury risk (and I would guess the Guardians are going to be careful with him and limit his playing time throughout the season), but when all it costs is some FAB or waiver-wire positioning, the risk is nonexistent in my eyes. 

Oneil Cruz is going to be a disaster! 

Eh … I kind of believe it. 

That was a rough Opening Day for Cruz, and it highlighted a big part of why I've been so skeptical of him as a top-100 pick for Fantasy: I'm just not sure he's a good enough defender to remain in the everyday one-up given his other limitations. If he was just a mediocre defender in center field, or if he was just a non-factor against lefties, you could live with him as an everyday player. But for a team with actual playoff hopes, the Pirates may not be able to stomach regular defensive miscues from a guy who is also unable to hit lefties. 

He wrecked Skenes' day with a couple of misplayed balls in center field, which was a bad start for a guy who was a pretty iffy defender when he made the transition out there last season. Typically, we don't care much about defense, but Cruz can't really afford too many limitations in his game at this point, and I think the pressure is on early in the season to make sure he stays in the everyday lineup. He needs to start looking like he belongs quickly, or I do think there is some platoon risk here. 

Mike Trout is so back, baby!

Believe it. 

I'm not saying he won't get hurt again. Given his track record, it's pretty reasonable to expect. But I do think it's also reasonable to expect Trout to be better than he was last season when he's on the field. He's taken several opportunities to tell reporters how much healthier he feels than in 2025, when he was coming off multiple knee surgeries, and he has taken the opportunity to show it, too. In Spring Training, he recorded his first sprint of at least 30 feet per second since before those knee surgeries in 2024, and he came out on Opening Day with a vintage performance, clubbing a homer, stealing a base, and walking three times. There's a lot more swing and miss in Trout's game than when he was at his best, so I don't think we'll ever see a return to truly elite production. But a 30-15 season could be within his grasp if he plays 125-plus games. We haven't seen the last of Trout making an impact. 

James Wood is going to be a bust!

Don't believe it … but don't hold me to it. 

It's just one game.

"It's one game after he struck out 35% of the time this spring."

Yeah, but –

"It's just one game after he struck out 35% of the time this spring, after he struck out 39% of the time in the second half of last season."

Okay, yeah, you're right. It's reasonable to be skeptical about Wood. Worried, even. It's been an awfully long time since we've seen him look like an impact bat, and the depths of his struggles in the second half were the kind of thing you don't often see from truly elite hitters, even when they are as young as Wood is. 

So, no, I'm not saying Wood is going to be a bust because he went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts on Opening Day. But … I was calling him a bust before the season, and so was Scott White, so it's not like I'm not worried. I am! I'm just not any more worried than I was before yesterday's game. 

Thursday Recap

News and Notes

Jackson Chourio has a fractured hand, something we didn't learn about until just before game time Thursday. It's apparently the fallout from the hit-by-pitch he suffered three weeks ago, though the actual injury that landed him on the IL came a few days ago. He's expected to miss 2-4 weeks, and let's just hope it's on the lower end of the range. If you need some outfielders to add, Frank Stampfl and I talked about a bunch on Fantasy Baseball Today Thursday. 

Tanner Bibee left his start Thursday with some shoulder inflammation. Apparently, it was something that bothered him throughout the start but became too much to overcome as he was warming up for the sixth inning. We don't have any more details yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if an IL stint was coming here, just to be safe. The Guardians did have one too many starters this spring, so they could call Taylor Allen up for a few turns to replace Bibee if needed. 

Nico Hoerner and the Cubs are in agreement on a six-year extension. Nice move to lock in a very underrated part of their core. 

Zack Wheeler is scheduled to throw three innings and/or 50 pitches in Saturday's rehab start at Triple-A, which will be our first real sign of where he stands in his return from shoulder surgery. He's healthy, but is the stuff still there? We'll get our first answer to that question Saturday. 

Josh Hader will begin facing hitters by mid-April. He's been out since the spring with a biceps injury and looks like he'll miss most of the first month, with Bryan Abreu filling in as the Astros closer. 

Paul Sewald is likely to get the first save chance for the D-backs

Trey Yesavage's velo was up during a very effective appearance in a minor-league game on Wednesday, according to the team's GM. He'll likely spend a few weeks down to be stretched out, but I expect Yesavage to be useful for Fantasy by the beginning of May. 

Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios will both throw off a mound this week. Both are likely out until at least May. 

Jackson Holliday is set to begin a rehab assignment Friday at Triple-A as he works his way back from hand surgery. I'd expect him to be back within the first couple of weeks. 

Standouts

Garrett Crochet, Red Sox @CIN: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K – I had the mildest of concerns after Crochet's weird spring, but not enough to ever actually move him down my rankings or avoid him in drafts. He was struggling with his fastball this spring and experimented with a splitter, but he said he went back to his old changeup for this one, and his fastball was as dominant as ever. He's fine. 

Logan Gilbert, Mariners vs. CLE: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K – The ERAs a little inflated, sure, but this was vintage Gilbert stuff for the most part, including 12 whiffs on 86 pitches with his wide arsenal. He did showcase a new cutter that he used 18 times, which is an interesting wrinkle – given how dominant Gilbert is as a bat-misser, having a contact suppression weapon to throw out against lefties isn't a bad idea. 

Freddy Peralta, Mets vs. PIT: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 7 K – It's just one start, and he mostly dominated against every hitter not named "Brandon Lowe" in this one, but it would be nice to see Peralta breakout, out of the "five-innings and done" approach he used in Milwaukee. He isn't fully stretched out yet, so it's too early to say that won't happen, of course. 

Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers vs. CHW: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K – 19 swinging strikes with the four-seamer is as ridiculous as it sounds. Maybe even more so – no pitcher in the majors had more than 16 whiffs with their four-seamer in a start last season. The command came and went, and that's probably always going to be an issue for Misiorowski. But he's absurdly hard to hit, and if he keeps the walks in check, the sky is the limit here. 

Nick Pivetta, Padres vs. DET: 3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K – Pivetta didn't look great in the first inning, with all three of his walks coming on the first five batters he faced. Coming off a spring where he dealt with some discomfort in his arm, that's mildly worrisome, but it's going to take more than one poor start to change my tune on Pivetta – though it is worth noting that I did have Pivetta as a bust this offseason, so I have my concerns even before this start. 

Trevor Rogers, Orioles vs. MIN: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K – Rogers' command wasn't quite where it was last season, which would be reason for concern except … seven shutout innings on Opening Day kinda speaks for itself, no? He took advantage of a very beatable matchup, but I'm still viewing Rogers as more or less a must-start pitcher moving forward. 

Matthew Boyd, Cubs vs. WAS: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 7 K – Boyd looked awesome early on with seven strikeouts in the first three innings, then things fell apart on him in the fourth inning. He still had 20 whiffs, so I'm going to give Boyd a mulligan for an ugly line in his first start of the season. 

Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks @LAD: 4 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K – It was the Dodgers, I'm not going to hold that against him. Gallen's velocity was up, and he was through four scoreless before they got to him in the fifth. As Nick Pollack points out here, the upcoming schedule features the Tigers, Mets, and Phillies, so it won't get too much easier for Gallen. But I'm still intrigued by the increased fastball velocity, and I'm willing to hang on to him on my bench to see if he can find something over the next few starts. I still believe there's upside here. 

Andrew Abbott, Reds vs. BOS: 6 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K – The thing about Abbott is that he's boring. That's it, that's why he was always so cheap in drafts. Some people surely don't believe he can keep finding success with his approach as a flyball pitcher in Cincinnati, but he generates so much weak contact that he makes it work for him without big strikeout upside. As long as he's limiting free passes like he did Thursday (and for most of last season), the homers when they come won't hurt as much. Abbott doesn't have a ton of upside, and that's what we're usually looking for in drafts when he was supposed to come off the board. But he has a high floor and is likely to be more useful than a lot of pitchers who were taken ahead of him. 

Jose Soriano, Angels @HOU: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K – Look, the stuff has always been incredible, and Soriano has always been capable of these kinds of starts. The problem has always been the consistency and the control, and you saw the latter crop up as an issue here, even in an otherwise good start. I just don't really have a lot of faith in the command improving enough to change the fundamentals here, but Mike Maddux has a good reputation as a pitching coach, so I'm okay with adding Soriano to see if they can unlock something here. 

Jordan Romano, RP, Angels – With Kirby Yates on the IL, the Angels went with Drew Pomeranz in the eighth inning and Romano in the ninth of their win over the Astros, so I suppose we have to consider Romano the leader for saves here. He might not be good enough to keep the job, but if you entered the season looking to stream closers, he should be your first target. 

Ryne Stanek, RP, Cardinals – Stanek got the first save for the Cardinals, but I have almost no interest in adding him at this point. I think this is going to remain a messy situation, and he walked three on his way to the save. This is a guy with a 5.09 ERA and 1.45 WHIP over the past two seasons, so I just don't have much faith in him taking this job and running with it. 

Jake Burger, 1B, Rangers – Burger played through a wrist injury for much of last season that ultimately required offseason surgery, so maybe that explains why he was so disappointing. He was a legit 30-homer guy in 2023 and 2024, and while the bad stretches were especially ugly – he doesn't walk much, so if Burger isn't hitting for power, he brings very little to the table – but if the power is back (he homered and went 3 for 4 in the opener), he could be useful in Roto leagues. 

Dominic Canzone, OF, Mariners – Two homers for Canzone! He has legit power, too, coming off a season where he posted a 92.3 mph average exit velocity and 11 homers in just 269 plate appearances. The problem is that he's always been a platoon bat, and wasn't even an especially good one before 2025, so I'm not sure how likely it is he ever actually emerges as a consistently useful Fantasy option in 12-team leagues. But anything deeper, I'm willing to use him as a guy who should at least be productive against right-handed pitching.