Eric KarabellApr 9, 2026, 11:02 AM ETCloseEric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of “The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments”.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Each week in MLB is its own story — full of surprises, both positive and negative — and fantasy managers must decide what to believe and what not to believe moving forward. Perhaps we can help. If any of these thoughts come true… don’t be surprised!
Good for Baldwin! This appears to be real. I faded Raleigh in drafts, but I tend to fade all catchers in early rounds of shallow, one-catcher formats (like ESPN’s). I think, at this point, Raleigh, Baldwin and Milwaukee Brewers C William Contreras should be viewed similarly, as borderline top-50 overall selections. Perhaps Baldwin is a lot better than that, though.
Don’t be surprised … if Miami Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara is back to his awesome, prior top-10 pitcher self
After hitting .307 with a .788 OPS in May and .303 with a .849 OPS in June, Smith struggled. He hit just .154 with a .489 OPS after the All-Star break and the Astros claimed they promised little for 2026, with a trip to Triple-A to begin this season possible. Fantasy managers ran away. I kind of ran toward this situation, though, especially after veteran OF Jesus Sanchez was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays as spring training began. That was a sign. The Astros knew Smith would emerge.
Eric KarabellApr 9, 2026, 11:02 AM ETCloseEric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of “The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments”.Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseEric Karabell is a senior writer for fantasy baseball, football and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of FSWA Hall of Fame and author of “The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments”.Follow on X
Don’t be surprised … if Atlanta Braves C Drake Baldwin scores the most points at catcher
Don’t be surprised … if Houston Astros OF Cam Smith is a top-50 fantasy hitter