The following is Scott Pianowski’s take on a recent series of predictions made by the Yahoo Sports MLB team for the 2026 MLB season — and of course, some fantasy baseball takes along the way. You can check out that story here; think of this as a natural companion piece to that set of predictions.

Which teams will make the playoffs in 2026? Who will win the World Series?

— AL Playoff Teams: The AL East was the only division to get three different nominees for the title. The AL Central was a 4-2 verdict for the Tigers over the Royals; no one even had the Guardians (who stole the division last year) making the playoffs. The Mariners were a clean sweep in the AL West, after coming one game from their first World Series.

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Two other pundits had Kansas City with a Wild Card spot, which means 4-of-6 writers put them in the playoffs. It’s a fun time to be Royals-invested for fantasy, with the fences coming in (and down) and staff ace Cole Ragans presumably healthy. I tried to draft Vinnie Pasquantino everywhere I could (though I’ve been mostly left with FOMO). 

Half the poll put the Mariners in the World Series, while the other half picked an AL East team. Seattle remains the safest place to grab fantasy pitchers, with a roomy park and a plus defense. I like Brendan Donovan as a late rover pick, too.

— NL Playoff Teams: The divisional picks were pretty clean — a 50-50 split between the Mets and Phillies, a 50-50 split between the Brewers and Cubs, and all six pundits picking the heavily-favored Dodgers. Later in the poll, we learned the Dodgers will win 99.7 games this year, and Shohei Ohtani will conk 47.5 home runs.

Do not question these staff predictions — they are very scientific. 

— World Series: Like in the AL, the NL Central teams didn’t get any World Series love. The Dodgers take another pennant according to half the panel, with the other votes going to the Mets (two picks) and Phillies (one pick).

Opinions were split on the Braves and Padres. Two writers have the Braves going to the playoffs, while another pundit named them as the team most likely to disappoint. It’s even more polarizing in San Diego — two votes put them in the playoffs, but three other voters called for them to be the most surprising playoff miss.

The top award-winner predictions feature plenty of fantasy talent

— MVP Picks: The writers were happy to play the hits here. Shohei Ohtani got five votes, Aaron Judge received four votes, Bobby Witt Jr. had two votes and Juan Soto grabbed one vote. This mirrors fantasy baseball perfectly, as Ohtani/Judge form the 1/2 debate in most leagues, usually followed by Witt and Soto in some order. The Fab Four lives.

— MVP Sleepers: These are fun names to peruse, because anyone who checks this box is probably a major target for fantasy. Roman Anthony (Yahoo ADP: 45.9) scored two votes, while Julio Rodríguez, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Chourio and Yordan Alvarez picked up one each. I didn’t pick Chourio but it’s close to my heart — I think the Brewers are the smartest organization in baseball, and I want to backline them whenever I can.

— Cy Young Picks: Once again the hits were played, with plenty of nods for Tarik Skubal (four votes) and Paul Skenes (four votes) to duplicate their 2025 wins. They’re both first-round fantasy picks for obvious reasons. Garrett Crochet (another first-round pick) scored the two votes that Skubal didn’t get; Cristopher Sánchez and World Series hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto are on Skenes’s tail in the NL.

The Dodgers often handle their pitchers carefully with respect to workload, but maybe Yamamoto is an exception to that rule. He worked 173.2 innings last year, well ahead of teammates Clayton Kershaw (112.2) and Dustin May (104). Tyler Glasgow (90.1) and Blake Snell (61.1) are tricky risk-reward picks for fantasy managers to consider.

— Cy Young Sleepers: Jacob Misiorowski leads the way with two votes; I didn’t pick him, but again, I’m ordering off the Milwaukee menu. MacKenzie Gore is a fun pick, moving to a pitcher park and a Texas team that should support him better than Washington did.

— Rookies of the Year: Kevin McGonigle (three votes) and Nolan McLean (three votes) hold the yellow jerseys. McGonigle has shown power, speed, and patience all spring, and McLean almost feels like a cheating pick, since he excelled in eight starts last year. (Note, I was happy to cheat, though it was hard to pass over JJ Wetherholt and top prospect Konnor Griffin.)

Last-minute fantasy drafts? Make sure to get some of these guys

— Comeback Players of the Year: I struggled with the AL pick, considering Gerrit Cole and Adley Rutschman before finally settling on Yordan Alvarez. I didn’t want to play the waiting game on Cole, and Rutschman is starting to give me some anxious Matt Wieters vibes. Pitchers on the mend carried the NL vote: Zack Wheeler scored three picks, and Sandy Alcantara, Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele all earned one. Imanaga and Steele will enjoy working in front of an excellent Chicago defense.

— Home Run Champion:We love home runs in fantasy; as my old friend Gene McCaffrey likes to say, they’re four-category events. All four of our picks (Ohtani, Judge, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso) should be gone by the end of your second round.

— Batting Champion: Throwback contact master Luis Arráez took half the ballot, no big surprise, but the singleton votes all interest me, too. I took Witt, backing up my MVP pick, but I also love the nods to Jacob Wilson (a fun fantasy value at ADP 161.4) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

— Innings Champion: If I knew which star pitchers would stay healthy this year, I’d probably draft all of them above slot for my teams. Logan Webb picked up three votes, Garrett Crochet two. One pundit isn’t worried about Paul Skenes being limited in Pittsburgh.

— ERA Champion: The three first-round aces (Skubal, Skenes, Crochet) were all heard from, but the fantasy values might lie with Bryan Woo and Hunter Brown (my choice). Ever since Brown retooled his pitch mix early in 2024, he’s been dominant.

— Star who Disappoints: Injury concerns could explain the picks of Corbin Carroll and Spencer Strider (my pick; though I named him before the injury news). Chris Sale steps into his age-37 season and has qualified for just one ERA title since 2017. Regression is the big question with Cal Raleigh and Nick Kurtz; both are top 25 picks on Yahoo.

— Veteran who’s still got it: We went around the horn with this question, covering the infield, the outfield, two starters and one reliever. Nolan Arenado and Max Scherzer both land around Pick 190, offering the most bang for buck.

After another long, cold, dark winter, there’s good news: Baseball is back. The Yankees visit the Giants |

Our experts have no clear consensus on who might throw the season’s first no-hitter or make the biggest trade-deadline splash, but fans can expect a landmark walk year from Tarik Skubal, a whole lot of home runs from Shohei Ohtani and maybe even 100 wins for the Dodgers.

As for the star who disappoints, injury concerns could explain the picks of Corbin Carroll and Spencer Strider (my pick, though I named him before the injury news). Chris Sale is entering into his age-37 season and has qualified for just one ERA title since 2017. Regression is the big question with Cal Raleigh and Nick Kurtz; both are top-25 picks on Yahoo.

Then there’s the veteran who’s still got it. Our voters went around the horn with this question, covering the infield, the outfield, two starters and one reliever. Nolan Arenado and Max Scherzer both land around Pick 190, offering the most bang for your buck.

Finally, when it comes to playoff surprises, opinions were split on the Braves and Padres. Two of our experts have the Braves going to the playoffs, while another named them the team most likely to disappoint. Things are even more polarizing in San Diego; two voters put them in the playoffs, but three others called for them to be the most surprising playoff miss.

Going into spring of 2026 with less uncertainty than last season, the San Diego Padres still had some questions that needed answering as well as competition for holes that needed filling.

As opposed to previous seasons, president of baseball operations A.J. Preller was able to sign multiple players that could fill those roles. None of them were over-the-hill players and most had recent success in the big leagues.

There were also some minor league invites that were in camp that needed to show what they were capable of. First baseman Romeo Sanabria started off strong and was leading all prospects in all offensive categories through the first four weeks of camp. He played solid defense at first and made loud contact with his hits. He was sent to minor league camp when it opened in earnest and has had fewer appearances since, while playing more regularly on the back fields.

Best minor league sign

Minor league signee Jase Bowen, who was with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization since being signed out of the 2019 draft, played in Triple-A most of last season but was allowed to leave as a free agent. He signed with the Padres 20 days after his free agency began. Bowen played in 25 games with 54 at-bats this spring. He hit .296/.333/.630 with a .963 OPS. His six doubles, four home runs and 11 RBI with 7-of-8 stolen bases shows off his offensive skills and speed. He is able to play all three outfield spots with a plus-arm.

Best offensive Padre

Catcher Freddie Fermin played in 15 games and had 38 at-bats while hitting .395/.425/.632 with a 1.057 OPS. He had three doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI, even attempting a stolen base but was thrown out. This will be his first season as the primary catcher, and he has shown both good contact skills as well as power this spring.

Best bench bat

Infielders Jose Miranda and Ty France were competing for the same job. With utility player Sung-Mun Song starting the season on the IL, France won the job with the Padres out of spring camp.

France finished with 19 games played with 49 at-bats with four doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI. He had a .306/.352/.510 line and .862 OPS. He plays first base, third base and can sub for Jake Cronenworth at second.

Miranda has played in 22 games and had 46 at-bats with four doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and a .304/.385/.522 line with a .907 OPS. He can also play both infield corners and left field but is a natural third baseman. Miranda has options and will start the season with Triple-A El Paso. 

Miranda and Bowen would likely be the first call-ups in case of injury.

Best starting pitcher

While Randy Vasquez has been great and shown tremendous improvement this camp, Walker Buehler has stepped up and shown that he is ready for the rotation and a roster spot.

In four games started and 15 innings pitched, Buehler has a 6.60 ERA and a 2-1 record. He walked five with 16 strikeouts and allowed four home runs. Until his last start, he had allowed no homers and had a 3.09 ERA. With his last appearance, he allowed seven earned runs with those four homers.

With his seven-pitch mix, he has used his 92-94 mph fastball effectively and pitched backward at times. No one knew what to expect from Buehler, who has had Tommy John surgery twice and lost a lot of velocity on his fastball. He seems to finally be healthy and able to pitch in the big leagues.

Vasquez finished with the best ERA of all the starters at 4.91 but the results in spring mean nothing. The need to work on many different aspects of pitching overrules the desire to compete and these numbers are roundly ignored within the organization.

Ironically, the one pitcher not officially named to the rotation has the best strikeout number. Germán Márquez tops the team with 23 Ks while Michael King finishes a distant second with 17 Ks.

Best bullpen pitcher

Lefty Kyle Hart has quietly pitched himself into a valuable place in the Padres organization. Whether he starts with the big-league club or not, Hart has shown how effective he can be in a swing role with the team.

In 14 innings pitched over eight appearances, Hart has a 0.64 ERA with three walks and 15 strikeouts. He came to the Padres in 2025 as a starter after three seasons with the KBO. He has been more effective as a reliever but still has six pitches in his arsenal and can go multiple innings, open a game or be a spot starter. He also has options available and could go to Triple-A so other arms could be called up as a fresh replacement during the season.

Best prospect performance

Sanabria has reportedly worked hard during the offseason to improve his conditioning, but his hitting has been what has stood out this spring. Sanabria played a lot of games to begin Spring Training and was optioned to minor league camp when it opened. He has continued to make spot appearances on the major league side and finished his major league camp appearances with eye-opening numbers.

In 20 games and 24 at-bats, Sanabria had three doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI for a .333/.385/.833 line and 1.218 OPS. His 15 RBI led all players on the Padres. In his last spring game, he hit a grand slam to increase his numbers above Bowen, France and Fermin.

With the spring camp coming to a close and Opening Day just around the corner, final roster decisions are coming soon. The major league roster has to be set the morning of the first game on Thursday. The minor league season begins Friday for Triple-A El Paso.

The NBA is projecting its salary cap for the 2026-27 season at $165 million, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

The number comes in at $1M less than previous projections due to a reduction in local media revenue, according to the report. The number is roughly $10 million more than the $154.7 million salary cap this season.

The NBA has not confirmed the reported numbers for next season.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]

Per the report, the salary floor projects to come in at $149 million, the tax level will be set at $201 million, the first apron will land at $209 million and the second apron will be $222 million. The apron levels are also $1 million each below initial projections, per the report.

By comparison, the salary floor this season is $139.2 million, the first apron is $195.9 million and the second apron is $207.8 million.

Per Spotrac, 29 of the NBA’s 30 teams are above the soft salary cap this season. Only the Brooklyn Nets at $150.5 million come in below it. The Memphis Grizzlies have the second-lowest payroll at $157.1 million.

The Golden State Warriors have the highest payroll, per Spotrac, at $234 million, $205.3 million of which counts toward apron allocations.

The NBA is projecting its salary cap for the 2026-27 season at $165 million, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

The number comes in at $1M less than previous projections due to a reduction in local media revenue, according to the report. The number is roughly $10 million more than the $154.7 million salary cap this season.

The NBA has not confirmed the reported numbers for next season.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2026 MLB season]

Per the report, the salary floor projects to come in at $149 million, the tax level will be set at $201 million, the first apron will land at $209 million and the second apron will be $222 million. The apron levels are also $1 million each below initial projections, per the report.

By comparison, the salary floor this season is $139.2 million, the first apron is $195.9 million and the second apron is $207.8 million.

Per Spotrac, 29 of the NBA’s 30 teams are above the soft salary cap this season. Only the Brooklyn Nets at $150.5 million come in below it. The Memphis Grizzlies have the second-lowest payroll at $157.1 million.

The Golden State Warriors have the highest payroll, per Spotrac, at $234 million, $205.3 million of which counts toward apron allocations.

New York Mets prospect Carson Benge, 23, has made quite the impression this spring. Despite amounting a .583 OPS in just 24 games in Triple-A a season ago, the 2024 draftee has turned his fortune around quickly, earning a spot on the Mets’ 2026 Opening Day roster, per Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.

“He earned it…we are all excited to watch this kid play”

Carlos Mendoza on Carson Benge making the Mets’ Opening Day roster
pic.twitter.com/gMc4PtNF48

— Milb Central (@milb_central) March 23, 2026

Benge enters the 2026 season as the Mets’ No. 2 prospect (No. 16 overall) and the No. 5 overall outfield prospect, per MLB.com. And those numbers reflect just how dominant Benge has been this spring.

Benge slashed .366/.435/.874 across 41 at-bats this spring, including five runs and five RBI. Those numbers also do not include the games he played against international teams as they prepared for the World Baseball Classic. Benge hit his only home run of the spring in a game against Israel on March 4.

How did Benge earn the starting nod?

While Benge’s spring success certainly played a large role, Mike Tauchmann, Benge’s biggest competitor for the starting right field spot, also tore his meniscus over the weekend. Pair that with the fact that MJ Melendez was optioned to Triple-A last week, and the path had been paved.

Despite that, it was clear from the beginning of spring that Benge would have the opportunity to play his way into an Opening Day roster spot. He did exactly that. Manager Carlos Mendoza said, “He earned it. He had a hell of a camp. We are all excited to watch this kid play.”

FANTASY BASEBALL: MLB rookies poised to make major impact in 2026

Benge minor league stats

While 2025 was Benge’s first full professional season, he did spend some of 2024 with Single-A affiliate St. Lucie.

In total, Benge has amassed 131 minor league games, recording a .280/.389/.468 triple-slash in that span with 17 home runs and 25 stolen bases.

When do the Mets open the season?

The Mets will open the season on Thursday, March 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Yes, that means Benge’s first major-league action will be against reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mets prospect Benge to start on Opening Day after hot spring

LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman is batting fifth for the Dodgers on Monday night in the Freeway Series against the Angels, with left-hander Reid Detmers starting on the mound. The last time Freeman was listed lower than fourth in a major league lineup was nearly a decade ago.

April 25, 2016 was the last time Freeman hit this low in the lineup. He batted sixth that night for the Atlanta Braves against the Boston Red Sox, and got two hits, including a double. In four years with the Dodgers, all of Freeman’s starts have come batting second (250 starts), third (331 starts), or fourth (61 starts).

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he might deploy Freeman hitting one spot lower with a left-handed starter on the mound.

“A lot of times when I put together a lineup, I’m trying to make it more difficult for the opposing manager to navigate,” Roberts said.

The Dodgers did a little bit of this late in the 2024 season and postseason, and throughout 2025 as well, with Freeman starting 61 times batting cleanup instead of his usual third, usually with either Teoscar Hernández or Will Smith inserted before Freeman. The idea was that if an opposing manager wants to keep their southpaw starter in the game to face both Shohei Ohtani and Freeman, say, a third time through the order, they’d first have to go through two right-handed batters to do so.

One year ago this week, Roberts called this the “Teoscar tax,” and Hernández that very day came to collect with a three-run home run off Tarik Skubal to beat the Detroit Tigers in the home opener.

Now with Kyle Tucker, the Dodgers have two dynamic left-handers at the top of the order, followed by Mookie Betts. It’s a testament to the incredible depth of the lineup that usually one of Hernández or Max Muncy is batting seventh, and now moving Freeman down a spot means him hitting fifth instead of fourth. That’s the mark of a strong lineup.

Muncy is not starting on Monday against the Angels, with Santiago Espinal at third base.

“Having the ability to sandwich Will between Mookie and Freddie, and having Espinal in the seven spot to potentially have Muncy be able to hit, it just poses threats, and not to have right- or left-handed runs,” Roberts said. “That makes our lineup tougher to navigate.”