Spring Training Stock Update

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  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on March 17, 2026 2:20 am by Anthony Kates | Published: March 17, 2026

    If season, Spring Training and, when it happens, the World Baseball Classic, has an affect on fantasy baseball drafts. Sometimes this is due to injury – like Spencer Schwellenbach, Corbin Carroll, Francisco Lindor and Jeremy Pena; and other times, it’s due to performance, both good and bad.

    Now that we are roughly a week away from Opening Day, it’s a good time to check and see which players have seen their fantasy stock rise and which have seen it drop.

    I have combed through the ADP data from the past two weeks and compared it to the ADP data from the first two weeks of February to find the players who have seen the most rise and fall in that time.

    stock up

    Konnor Griffin – PIT – SS – ADP 194 >>>> ADP 136

    The hype surrounding Griffin this spring reached a fever pitch on Sunday, when he hit his fourth home run of the spring, sending fantasy managers and Pirates fans clamoring for the Pirates Opening Day lineup in hopes of seeing his name penciled in. There is no word yet on whether or not he will start the year in the big leagues, but that is not stopping fantasy managers. Though everyone who is drafting him is doing so under the assumption he will start the season in the lineup, there is still a decent sized chance he will start the year in the minors. The four home runs are obviously great, but he has struck out nine times, walked none and has a .212 batting average (albeit with a .150 BABIP). His swinging strike rate is nearly 16%, his HR/FB is a wholly unsustainable 57.1% and his contact rate is below 70%.

    That being said, he is their best option at shortstop RIGHT NOW and the Pirates should want him to get as many big league at-bats as soon as possible. He is an otherworldly talent and their most hyped hitting prospect since Andrew McCutchen who would be the odds-on betting favorite for National League Rookie of the Year from Day 1.

    Bryan Abreu – HOU – RP – ADP 222 >>>> 187

    This is what happens when an elite middle reliever gets the opportunity to step into the closer’s role for an undisclosed amount of time. Josh Hader will start the season on the injured list with biceps inflammation.

    Abreu has been one of the best relievers in best over the past four seasons, with the fourth best strikeout rate among relievers with at least 200 innings, the tied-for fourth most fWAR and fourth best ERA. He limits home runs, minimizes base runners and strikes out a ton of batters and has thrown the second most innings among relievers over those four years.

    If Hader misses any kind of extended time or Abreu holds the position even after Hader comes back, this price will look like robbery. The Astros closer position is a top-five position in fantasy.

    Kevin McGonigle – DET – 2B – ADP 315 >>>> ADP 238

    McGonigle, like Griffin, has yet to see a plate appearance above Double-A, but has been great this spring. Though he has not displayed the same kind of power, he has four extra-base hits (two doubles, one triple, one home run), has walked more than he has struck out (8:6 BB:K) and has amassed a 154 wRC+.

    This has led to further speculation that McGonigle could start the year in the big leagues at shortstop for the Tigers, benching Javier Baez. Unlike Griffin, though, there are less “negatives” to consider starting him in the minor leagues. He has a very low swinging strike rate (6.7%), he elevates the ball well (43.4% fly ball rate), he’s made a ton of contact (80.8%) and he rarely chases the ball (20.3%). The knocks are only that he has just 206 plate appearances above High-A, he’s not polished defensively and Baez would be a bench player/platoon that makes nearly $24 million.

    That being said, the pluses outweigh the minuses and he would make them a better team immediately.


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    March 17, 2026, 2:18 am