Well I was originally planning on a look at NL OF playing time battles for this week. But with the season about to open (Yay!) those battles have pretty much played out. So instead, let’s look at some playing time winners and losers here, and their outlooks as those final drafts and auctions hit the books and FAAB season starts.
Mets
Carson Benge vs. Mike Tauchman vs. Bretty Baty
Well, barring a last minute surprise, Carson Benge has made the Mets Opening Day roster. And somewhat surprisingly, so would Mike Tauchman unless he hits the IL. Let me clarify that; the surprise is actually that both will make the team. The Mets, for all their spending, have made it a point the last two off seasons to make sure they had a clear lane for a rookie or young player in general to earn their way into regular playing time. Part of the motivation for trading away Brandon Nimmo was to open a path for Benge. They turned RF into a 5-way battle between Benge, Tauchman, MJ Melendez, Baty, and Tyrone Taylor. But realistically, Baty was always going to 1B/DH/Util, and Taylor is a 4th OF at best, so it was Benge vs. two NRI signings.
Well, yada yada yada, it looks like Benge has earned at least strong side platoon run if not even more. And that makes him a very fantasy-relevant OF in deeper leagues as well as any sort of keeper format. He hit 15 homers and swiped 29 bags in 519 PA’s across two levels last year, with a 150 wRC+ overall. Most of that production came at AA and under however, he struggled a bit in AAA with just a 53 wRC+. He thrived in Spring, however, with excellent PA’s as he leads the team in pitches seen per AB while batting .406 with a 165 wRC+. He projects as a 15-15 sort of bat with .245-ish AVG. He’ll bat late in the order to start, but it’s an excellent lineup, so his counting stats should be decent. He had a 294 ADP in NFBC Main Events in the latter half of last week, so he’s typically going in about the 20th round. I’m a Mets homer, but I’m an absolute buyer here! He’s almost certainly your last starting OF, and you want upside in these late picks, and who knows, he could spike to 20-20.
As for Tauchman, he was injured on Saturday, but he made the team as well as the 5th OF in lieu of the Mets keeping a backup SS. When healthy, he has extremely limited appeal, even though he’s a useful actual MLB player. Maybe he gets a couple starts a week, and even then, he’d just strong side platoon and produce solid OBP and occasional pop and not much else.
Baty does not qualify at OF yet, but will likely get eligibility in all formats at some point. You can currently use him at 2B and 3B, and he’s going to get 1B as well. I wouldn’t target him in shallower leagues, but he makes for an excellent deep league play. He has no particular carrying tool, but he’s not bad at anything either. He hit .254 last year with 18 homers and 8 steals in 432 PA’s. He should see the field at least as often this year, if not more. Baty didn’t have much in the way of platoon splits last year (115 wRC+ vs. 94), but if everyone’s healthy, he’ll likely get benched vs. southpaws for Mark Vientos.
Nats
Dylan Crews vs. AAA Demotion
OK, I did not realize Crews was in a roster battle as evidenced by my buying him at auction last week (and then buying him a shade cheaper in another auction). He had an awful Spring, hitting .103 with 11 K’s in 34 PA’s on top of a lousy and injury-shortened 2025, where he hit .208 with a 72 wRC+. But he’s also a top shelf prospect on a team going nowhere, so it’s surprising they decided not to let him work it out at the major league level. Too bad because even in a lousy season, he showed real Fantasy Goodness with 10 homers and 17 steals in just 322 PA’s.
So who stands to benefit? Robert Hassell III would have had the most fantasy appeal and is another once highly regarded prospect who I think a bad team should roll out there. It doesn’t matter what I think, of course. But Hassell didn’t make the squad either. Jacob Young, with a career 78 wRC+ and 1.5% Barrel% will get a regular run in CF it would seem. He’s the definition of an empty steals guy. Andres Chaparro will likely start at 1B/DH most days. He at least has some upside, but only as a really late dart throw for us.
As to what to do with Crews? It’s league dependent. If you have no IL or minor league slots, he might be a tough guy to hold onto. Which is really a shame, as again, he could be a 15-30 sort of bat.
Rockies
Jake McCarthy vs. How Real are Spring Stats?
The Rockies acquired McCarthy from the DBacks, and it looked like a good fit in actual baseball terms. He’s an excellent defensive outfielder and natural CF who could man the spacious left field in Coors. But his offense is often kind of Sus as the kids say. He hit .204 in a part time role in Arizona last season, and he’s maxed out at 8 homers. But he’s shown major flashes at times, especially in Even Years. He hit .283 in 2022 with 23 steals in 99 games, and then .285 in 2024 with 25 steals. And my AI assistant tells me that 2026 qualifies as an Even Year. And this Spring McCarthy has gone on a tear, slashing .354/.396/.479 and super importantly 6 steals in 8 attempts.
I would not get carried away with Spring stats, but for a guy fighting for his role on the roster, it maybe means a lot in terms of playing time. Roster Resource projects McCarthy as the strong side of a platoon and leading off when he plays. Drafters have taken note as he’s up to an ADP of 303 in the last half week of Main Event drafts. I like him as a late pick if you are short on steals, though I have not gotten him yet.
Diamondbacks
Jordan Lawlar vs. Post Hype Sleeper Buzz
The once elite prospect has absolutely lost his shine in recent years between injuries and the DBacks lack of commitment to getting him on the field on a regular basis. But lo and behold, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will miss about half the season, and they traded away McCarthy and now Lawlar projects as their starting CF.
He has flailed in his brief MLB exposure so far with a 34 wRC+ in 108 PA’s split between 2023 and 2025. But he’s still just 23, and he’s absolutely raking in Spring at .318/.434/.614 with 4 homers and a steal in 53 PA’s.
He’s going at an ADP of 248 in the last half week at the Main, which is kind of pricey imho. He’s only eligible at 3B for now, but will pick up OF very quickly as the DBacks should roll him out there every day at least to start. But hey, maybe I’m wrong. Oopsy does “Peak” projections where they give everyone 600 PA’s, and they have Lawlar hitting .247 with 17 homers and 28 steals. So there’s a lot of potential upside here if you believe in this.
“Dylan Crews vs. AAA Demotion”
lol nice
lol, thanks