Roto Riteup: April 1, 2026

This was not an April Fool’s Day prank:

CB Bucknor strikes again, this time saying the runner did not touch first base. He very clearly did pic.twitter.com/zn6k9RtLXl

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 1, 2026

On the Agenda: 

1. Closer Chaos
2. Quick Hits
3. Various News and Notes
4. Streaming Pitchers

Closer Chaos

Mark Leiter Jr. threw a scoreless ninth inning to register his first save of the season.

The A’s haven’t named an official closer which makes it sound like this could be a committee, but Leiter getting the first one is a good sign that he will at worst play a role if not be the man in the ninth.

Riley O’Brien threw a perfect inning versus the Mets to register his first save of the season.

Well, this is frustrating. Ryan Stanek got the first save this season for the Cardinals and many people ran to the wire to grab him and now Stanek comes in seventh and O’Brien gets the ninth after Jojo Romero pitched the eighth. This may be a matter of matchups or just a straight committee, but O’Brien has a ton of upside if he can just hold the role.

Quick Hits
Cody Ponce 폰세 was placed on the IL with a knee sprain. This is a serious injury and he is expected to miss a larger portion of the season. He is droppable in all formats.

Colt Emerson signed an eight year deal with the Mariners. He hit 16 home runs and stole 14 bases with a .285/.383/.458 in 600 plate appearances between three levels of the minors last season. The top prospect could now be fast tracked to the Majors with this deal on the books and is worth stashing in a lot of formats.

Zach Eflin left Tuesday’s start with elbow discomfort.

This sounds very bad and is often a precursor to Tommy John surgery. Consider him day-to-day for now, but expect the worst.

Chase DeLauter left Tuesday’s game after fouling a pitch off his foot.

X-rays were negative so the fantasy world can exhale a bit. DeLauter has really struggled with injuries, but this shouldn’t be a long term issue. Consider him day-to-day at this time.

Various News and Notes
Andrew Painter threw 5.1 innings allowing one run on four hits and a walk while striking out eight in the victory over the Nationals on Tuesday.

Painter was fantastic throwing his slider for a 67% whiff rate and mixing five different pitches well. Painter was once the best pitching prospect in baseball before needing Tommy John surgery and he looks like he is back to being the type of talent that should be rostered in all formats.

Jake Bauers went 2-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base in the victory over the Brewers on Tuesday.

Bauers is in line for a lot of playing time with Andrew Vaughn out with a broken hamate bone. He has started the season hot as well, hitting two homers and stealing two bases in just 19 plate appearances. He is worth a pickup in most formats. 

Jose Fernandez went 3-for-4 with two home runs in the victory over the Tigers on Tuesday. 

JOSE FERNANDEZ'S SECOND HOMER IN HIS MLB DEBUT 🤯

The @Dbacks have taken the lead with a six-run inning! pic.twitter.com/53J5pZmAWR

— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2026

Well, that’s a way to start off your MLB career. Fernandez is not really a big prospect but he is coming off of a fantastic season in AA where he hit .272/.321/.454 with 17 home runs and 12 stolen bases. He is in line for a decent amount of playing time, but he profiles more like an accumulator so he will need to make decent contact to rack up enough stats to be useful in fantasy. 

Streaming Pitchers (Under 50% in Yahoo)

Pitcher for Today: None

There are some high risk options available, but none I feel great about. 

Other Options: Noah Cameron vs MIN, Shane Smith at MIA, Luis Severino at ATL

Pitcher for Tomorrow: David Peterson at SF

Peterson pitched well in his first start of the season and gets a Giants team that struggled mightily versus left handed pitching last season. 

Other Options: Taj Bradley at KC

For those of you that would like to see how these picks play out, I have a doc I put together to track the stats from my recommended pitchers. It does not include the “Other Options.”