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Check out all episodes of Baseball Bar-B-Cast and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv
The Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks meet in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. The Knicks won Game 1 113-102 with Jalen Brunson scoring 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns adding 25. The Knicks are favored in Game 2 by 5.5 points with an over/under of 217.5.
Date: Monday, April 20
Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
TV Channels: NBC, Peacock
Live Stream:NBA League Pass | Follow on Yahoo Sports
Spread: New York Knicks -5.5
Moneyline: New York Knicks -235 (67.0%) / Atlanta Hawks +190 (33.0%)
Over/Under: 217.5
Game 1:Knicks 113, Hawks 102
Game 2: Mon., April 20, at New York (8 p.m., NBC)
Game 3: Thu., April 23, at Atlanta (7 p.m., Prime)
Game 4: Sat., April 25, at Atlanta (6 p.m., NBC)
*Game 5: Tue., April 28,at New York (TBD)
*Game 6: Thu., April 30, at Atlanta (TBD)
*Game 7: Sat., May 2, at New York (TBD)
*if necessary
The Brooklyn Nets have signed head coach Jordi Fernández and his coaching staff to multi-year contract extensions, the franchise announced on Monday.
The Nets have gone 46-118 through Fernández’s first two seasons as head coach, coming off a 20-62 campaign in the 2025-26 season that ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference. That finish puts the Nets in line for a top-seven pick in this year’s NBA Draft, at worst, tied with the Washington Wizards (17-65) and Indiana Pacers (19-63) for the top chance at the No. 1 overall pick at 14% odds.
OUR COACH 🫡
The Brooklyn Nets have signed Head Coach Jordi Fernández and his entire coaching staff to multi-year contract extensions. pic.twitter.com/nyJiUsZM6d
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 20, 2026
Now, Fernández and his staff will be given the opportunity to bring the rebuild full circle.
“Jordi is a tremendous leader who, along with his coaching staff, put his stamp on this franchise from the moment he arrived in Brooklyn,” Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement.
“Over his first two seasons, Jordi has built a strong foundation rooted in player development, a competitive spirit and honest communication, all of which have been embraced throughout our roster,” he added.
Marks referencing player development is notable with the Nets having the youngest team in the NBA. No player on the current roster is older than 29 years old. Two of the top players in Brooklyn’s rotation — Noah Clowney, 21, and Egor Dёmin, 19 — are under 25.
The Nets also have 13 first-round picks available to them over the next seven years, along with 19 second-round selections. Nine of those first-rounders can be traded. Brooklyn had five first-round picks in the 2025 draft, topped by Dëmin, who was the No. 8 overall selection.
The Nets hired Fernández back in 2024 after he spent two years as the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings. He spent the six seasons before that as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets.
In addition to his NBA experience, Fernández has also coached internationally, working as an assistant for Spain’s national team and the head coach for Team Canada at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics.
Fernández’s coaching staff includes veterans Steve Hetzel, Juwan Howard and Jay Hernandez among nine assistants.
Every Monday, I audit my rest-of-season fantasy baseball rankings. Use the top 250 however you like: to evaluate your own roster, monitor pickups, consider trades. Below is a list of players moving up and down the rankings, with reasoning attached.
Have a difference of opinion? That’s good. Catch me on social media with your respectful disagreement: X/Twitter and Bluesky.
Yordan Alvarez, OF, Astros: He leads the majors in home runs and BB/K rate, reminding us that there’s no good way to pitch the Houston slugger. If he makes it through even 130 games, he likely smashes his March ADP (low 40s).
Mason Miller, SP, Padres: I can’t remember a closer ever being must-see TV quite like Miller is right now. He’s allowed just two hits and he’s struck out 27 of the 38 batters he’s faced. He’s currently on pace to strike out 199 men, for crying out loud.
I think relief pitchers rarely deserve Cy Young consideration, but Miller — who was also unhittable after joining the Padres last summer — could be a rare exception.
Kevin McGonigle, SS/3B, Tigers: Maybe the category juice will take a while, but a .312/.411/.481 start has quickly pushed McGonigle to the top of Detroit’s batting order. He has more walks than strikeouts and doesn’t seem bothered by left-handed pitching, either. Note that he quickly picked up third-base eligibility for Yahoo leagues as well. The big extension was a win-win for both player and organization.
Nolan McLean, SP, Mets: New York is in a tailspin but McLean isn’t at fault, with a tidy 2.28 ERA and a league-best 0.761 WHIP. McLean sits in the mid-90s and is getting positive results with four different pitches; good luck against this guy.
Dillon Dingler, C, Tigers: His contact profile is excellent and his hard-hit sliders are gloriously pinned to the right, the good side. Dingler also marks his territory with Gold Glove defense. He’ll stay in the middle of Detroit’s lineup all year, and probably make his All-Star debut in July.
Dalton Rushing, C, Dodgers: He’s the Isaiah Likely of MLB, a ready-to-explode talent who’s blocked by other stars: in this case, catcher Will Smith and the incomparable Shohei Ohtani. I’ve seen some shrewd managers stash Rushing in deeper leagues, noting his five homers and absurd .455/.478/1.227 slash in 22 at-bats. It’s also possible Rushing could be a trade candidate if the Dodgers come into other needs. I’m curious to see more.
Garrett Crochet, SP, Red Sox: He’s had one great start, one good one and three bad ones. It doesn’t have to mean the sky is falling, but Crochet deserves a ding from his lofty spring draft slot. We need to remember he only has one elite season in the bank, and Fenway Park is never an easy place to pitch.
Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies: Since the beginning of the 2023 season, he’s carried a 4.38 ERA and a 1.213 WHIP. Never forget our game is about numbers, not names. Nola’s Cy Young contention days are likely done for good.
Roki Sasaki, SP, Dodgers: I’m not sure how much longer the Dodgers can roll out Sasaki, who’s been roughed up by the Rockies, Rangers and Nationals in his last three turns. I suspect we’ll see him in a non-leverage relief role soon enough, which will make him irrelevant for fantasy leagues. Perhaps all of this feels obvious, but he’s still somehow rostered in about a third of Yahoo leagues.
Spencer Arrighetti, SP, Astros: He dominated the visiting Rockies as expected, and the 10-strikeout rule made him a mandatory add in several leagues. We’ll learn a lot more this week, up against the Guardians and Yankees. Boston comes calling after that. Plausible upside is at play here, but Arrighetti doesn’t offer any floor yet.
Ceddanne Rafaela, 2B/OF, Red Sox: The steals haven’t popped, though he has been caught twice. But it’s encouraging that he’s chasing less and walking a little more — still below code in both of those columns, but on the improve. I still see a player who could be at least neutral in batting average while flirting with 15-20 homers and 15-20 steals.
Last week, we talked about how Pirates’ hitters were going to face juicy matchups. Brandon Lowe (2 HR, .346 BA), Spencer Horwitz (2 HR, .333 BA), Oneil Cruz (1 HR, .200) and Konnor Griffin (3 SB, .308) were the top performers, among others, in Week 4. There won’t always be hits like these, but it’s nice when they do hit, especially when poor-pitching teams align with offensive surges.
We’ll examine the notable schedule notes in the week ahead, including the teams with seven games and some with only five. Then we’ll discuss some shallow- and medium-sized leagues, plus deep league waiver wire hitters to consider.
The toughest pitcher matchups heading into Week 5 include the Rangers, Dodgers, Mariners, Padres, Phillies, Yankees, Cubs, Brewers, Rays, Tigers, Guardians and Blue Jays. Kumar Rocker projects to have a two-start week for the Rangers, but his profile is volatile, so the Yankees and Tigers could take advantage in Week 5.
Like Rocker, the Dodgers have a risky starting pitcher in Justin Wrobleski projected for a two-start week, pitching in Colorado and against the Cubs. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have Patrick Corbin and Eric Lauer pitching earlier in the week against the Angels; there might be some offensive explosions there.
Furthermore, starting pitchers for Detroit and Tampa Bay have been more hitter-friendly from a K-BB% standpoint in 2026. The Rays play all six games at home, and their home park tends to be more pitcher-friendly, even with Jesse Scholtens, Steven Matz and Nick Martinez being wildcards. However, the Tigers’ starting rotation has several skilled players (Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez), so we could see those numbers regress. It’s helpful to see the team-level pitcher skills and who projects to pitch for them.
It’s easy to examine the weakest pitcher matchups and see why they make sense as we head into Week 5. Besides José Soriano, Reid Detmers and Noah Schultz (potentially), the Angels and White Sox pitchers can be favorable for opposing hitters. Pitchers for the Red Sox and Twins feel like the Tigers, where it’s a mixed bag of solid pitchers and volatile ones.
The rest of these rotations have one or two productive and skilled starting pitchers, including Jeffrey Springs, Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Mick Abel, Joe Ryan, Eury Pérez, Logan Webb and Landon Roupp. No shade to any pitchers not listed, but more so pointing out that opposing hitters should be able to find success against most of their starting rotations.
Braves (4 at WSH, 3 vs. PHI)
Atlanta faces six of seven right-handed pitchers in Week 5. This benefits Mike Yastrzemski and Dominic Smith. Smith has been on fire with 3 home runs and a .395 batting average (more on him later). Yastrzemski hasn’t been performing well early in 2026, but he has a career 10.1% barrel rate, so there could be some cheap home runs in Week 5.
Red Sox (1 vs. DET, 3 vs. NYY, 3 at BAL)
Boston faces five right-handed pitchers in Week 5. Interestingly, the Red Sox have only faced a couple of left-handed starting pitchers, with Marcelo Mayer sitting against both. Jarren Duran projects as a strong-side platoon option, though he played against one of the lefties early in 2026.
Cubs (4 vs. PHI, 3 at LAD)
It’s probably risky to stream Moisés Ballesteros in a weekly league since the Cubs project to face right-handed pitchers in four out of seven games in Week 5. Ballesteros is the only Cubs’ hitter to sit against all six left-handed starting pitchers early in 2026.
Rockies (1 vs. LAD, 3 vs. SD, 3 at NYM)
The Rockies project to face five out of seven right-handed starting pitchers, including four total games at home in Colorado. It’s a small sample of two games against left-handed starters, but Mickey Moniak sat against both, and Troy Johnston sat in one.
Tigers (1 at BOS, 3 vs. MIL, 3 at CIN)
The Tigers will face five right-handed starting pitchers in Week 5. In the only game when the Tigers faced a left-handed starter, Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter sat.
Dodgers (1 at COL, 3 at SF, 3 vs. CHC)
This looks like a juicy week for Dodgers’ hitters, facing José Quintana in Colorado, Tyler Mahle, Landon Roup and a struggling Logan Webb (5.25 ERA, 3.83 SIERA) in San Francisco. Then the Dodgers face Colin Rea, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga. That’s five right-handed starting pitchers projected against the Dodgers’ hitters. Besides Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland, the Dodgers don’t seem to platoon often early in 2026.
Phillies (4 at CHC, 3 at ATL)
The Phillies face five out of seven right-handed starting pitchers in Week 5, with the only two lefties being Boyd and Imanaga earlier in the week. Philadelphia faced seven left-handed starting pitchers in 2026, and Bryson Stott sat in four of them. Justin Crawford sat in two of the contests against left-handed starting pitchers. Stott and Crawford were the only platoon bats against lefties so far.
Nationals (4 vs. ATL, 3 at CWS)
The Nationals will face a right-handed starting pitcher in four out of seven games in Week 5. Maybe they’re able to take advantage of Reynaldo López, Bryce Elder, Erick Fedde and Sean Burke. Nationals’ hitters have sneakily been the fourth-best in wRC+ (117) behind the Dodgers, Astros and Braves.
Diamondbacks (3 vs. CWS, 2 vs. SD)
The Diamondbacks’ hitters will face four out of five right-handed starting pitchers in Week 5. Arizona faced a left-handed starting pitcher in five games, Alek Thomas sat in four of them. Since Adrian Del Castillo came up in early April, he sat in three of four games against left-handed starting pitchers. However, with Gabriel Moreno hitting the injured list, maybe Del Castillo plays more often.
Padres (3 at COL, 2 at ARI)
Like the Diamondbacks, the Padres’ hitters project to face four out of five right-handed starting pitchers in Week 5. Besides San Diego’s Opening Day game, Gavin Sheets sat in four out of the five games they faced a left-handed starting pitcher. Be cautious when streaming Sheets in Week 5.
With Jackson’s hot start, his rostered percentage exploded over the past week, so we wanted to include him even though he’s at 57%. After debuting briefly in the majors in 2025, Jackson was likely an afterthought with several hitters to fit into Baltimore’s lineup. Life comes at you fast with Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rustchman and Tyler O’Neill injured in April. Jackson has matched his five home runs from 2025 across 183 plate appearances in under 75 plate appearances in 2026. The .341 BABIP fuels his .303 batting average, but he has shown high BABIPs throughout the minors.
Jackson increased his bat speed by over 1 mph (73.2 mph) with an attempt to pull the ball often (53.1%) in 2026. Unfortunately, Jackson has been hitting the ball on the ground 51% of the time in 2026, though he somehow already hit six barrels. Meanwhile, we’ve seen Jackson’s pulled air rate jump to 24.4% in 2026 compared to 10% (2025). It looks like a concerted effort to hit the ball harder in the air in 2026, so scoop him up to stream in Week 5 if available.
There’s a chance Jackson loses playing time once other players return healthy, but he should still have another productive week or two before then.
From unknown to known, Bogaerts has been sneakily productive early in 2026. Over the past two seasons, Bogaerts tapped into his pull-side power by pulling the ball over 45% of the time, aligning with an 18-20% pulled air rate. He still shows strong plate discipline with an elite 83.4% contact rate and low 7.3% swinging-strike rate. It’s only a five-game week for the Padres, but it should be a productive one since they face three against the Rockies in Colorado and two versus the Diamondbacks, who have one of the worst pitching teams from a skills standpoint.
Chase DeLauter has been rightfully stealing the airtime for the Guardians, but Martinez has been playing more consistently without platoons. Martinez boasts better plate discipline with a career-best 86% contact rate while pulling the ball more with a 24.1% pulled air rate over the past two seasons. Though Martinez’s average bat speed, around 70-71 mph, hasn’t shifted significantly, his fast swing rate (15.2%) increased by 4-5 points, hinting at attempts to swing faster. It’s also worth highlighting Martinez’s 30% stolen base opportunity rate in 2026, up from a career average at 12%. Martinez will be a sneaky source of power and speed.
Talk about a repeated post-hype sleeper in Smith after his years with the Mets. The Braves have been using Smith as a strong-side platoon option at DH. Smith’s .341 BABIP has been fueling his .353 batting average, significantly higher than his career BABIP (.299) and batting average (.252). Thankfully, Smith boasts a strong contact rate (83.5%), over five points above his career average, which supports the expected batting averages.
This might be noisy, but the Braves project to face the Philles, who have been allowing high BABIPs over the past two seasons. Furthermore, we highlighted that the Braves will face six out of seven right-handed starting pitchers in Week 5, making Smith a sneaky deep-league option for batting average and counting stats.
After the White Sox traded Lenyn Sosa and designated Dustin Harris for assignment, they called up Antonacci after bringing up Noah Schultz. On the surface, Antonacci’s minor league track record looks like a light version of Nico Hoerner, with solid batting average and stolen bases. Throughout the minors, Antonacci showed near-elite contact rates at 86-88%, suggesting a strong hit tool to build upon. He projects to play every day as the White Sox will face the Diamondbacks and Nationals, two of the worst pitching teams heading into Week 5. Theoretically, this could be similar to production via teammate Chase Meidroth, but unlike Meidroth, Antonacci provides speed.
The Rockies play four games at home and project to face five out of seven left-handed starting pitchers in Week 5. Moniak has been hitting home runs and remains one of their top strong-slide platoon options. It’s a wild early sample, with Moniak pulling the ball 52.4% of the time and a ridiculously high 61.9% flyball rate in 2026. For context, Moniak’s pull and flyball rates hovered around 45-47% throughout his career.
The pull rates in 2026 aren’t the outlier, but expect his flyballs to regress to his career norm, as there are diminishing returns when hitters hit too many balls in the air.
Moniak continues to flash above-average bat speed (74.0 mph), aligning with his ability to barrel the ball (career 7.5% barrel rate per plate appearance). Interestingly, Moniak’s contact rates have improved from 72-73% in 2024 and 2025 to 78.4% in 2026, compared to a career average of 70%. Typically, hitters hovering near the 70% contact rate profile tend to be quite risky for strikeouts and whiffs. However, Moniak is making slightly more contact while hitting the ball hard. That’s an optimal combination.
Marsh used to be a strong-side platoon option, but he only sat against three left-handed starting pitchers out of the seven the Phillies faced. The Phillies have a full week of seven games, so volume should be in Marsh’s favor. Marsh typically rocked higher BABIPs, with a .320 BABIP in 2026 compared to a .369 career BABIP. He has been pulling the ball more (40.4%) in 2026, five points above his career norm. Most of Marsh’s skills for plate discipline, power and speed look the same to the career averages. That said, Marsh’s additional playing time opens up a path for counting stats, power, speed and batting average into Week 5.