Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (back) will head to the injured list to start the season, said manager Rob Thomson. Taijuan Walker will fill in as the fifth starter in the meantime. Suarez has recently dealt with back stiffness, and while it doesn't seem to be a serious injury, it will hold him off of the Opening Day roster. He enjoyed a breakout 2024 campaign, posting a 3.46 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 145 strikeouts in 150 innings. He did a great job at limiting hard contact, allowing a 5.1% barrel rate (88th percentile) and 53.2% ground ball rate (90th percentile). He should be a useful fantasy option for the back end of rotations following his return from the injured list.

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan has an inflamed nerve in his left triceps, says manager Kevin Cash. He will still begin the year on the IL, but shouldn't miss significant time. This is great news for the lefty and for fantasy managers, who feared the worst after he left his most recent Spring Training start with the injury. After missing all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, he will be looking to get back to his 2022 form, when he finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting. He posted a 2.54 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with 194 strikeouts in 166 innings during that year and followed it up with a 3.29 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 2023 before suffering his elbow injury. He is one of the most exciting arms when healthy, and should be one of the highest-priority IL stashes to begin the season

Boston Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell has officially made the team's Opening Day roster, according to Chris Cotillo. He will likely begin the season playing every day at second base, with Alex Bregman at third and Rafael Devers shifting to DH. He didn't have the most promising spring, batting just .174 and striking out at a 30.4% clip. However, he did connect with his first home run on Saturday and is coming off of a dominant 2024 season in the minors where he slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 home runs and 24 stolen bases. He is one of the best prospects in baseball and plays the weakest position in fantasy, making him a must-add in any league where he isn't already rostered.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong has won the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation, according to Jon Heyman. While he wasn't viewed as the favorite coming into camp, it was impossible to ignore his performance this spring. He allowed only one earned run, six hits, and no walks in 12 innings while striking out 18. The strikeout upside didn't come as a surprise as he had an excellent 27.9% strikeout rate last season in 16 starts for the big-league club. His biggest issue was his control, with a 13.7% walk rate that ranked in the 1st percentile. He has seemingly fixed that problem in the small sample this spring, making him a high-upside arm if he can carry it over into the regular season.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver will begin the season in the rotation, according to Justin Toscano. Smith-Shawver out-performed Ian Anderson this spring, who was recently traded to the Angels. He has struck out 20 batters while walking five in 16 innings this spring and is looking to translate the success he has seen as a prospect into production at the major league level. He encountered some road bumps last season, but he posted a 2.76 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with a 31.3% strikeout rate in the minors in 2023. Still only 22 years old, Smith-Shawver possesses long-term upside, but may only spend a brief time in the rotation to begin the year with Spencer Strider set to be ready at some point in April.