Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews is starting in center field and is batting eighth in Monday's series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates and right-hander Paul Skenes at PNC Park. After a tough start to the season at the plate, Crews will be back in there on Monday to face his former college teammate at LSU in Skenes. Jacob Young will head to the bench and Alex Call will start in right field and bat leadoff. Infielder Amed Rosario will head to the bench after starting at third base the last two games with CJ Abrams (hip) on the injured list. Paul DeJong will start at the hot corner on Monday and hit seventh. Crews, the second overall pick in 2023 behind Skenes, has gone just 5-for-43 (.116) with no homers, five runs, and three steals in his first 12 games in 2025. Against Skenes, fantasy managers will probably be keeping Crews on their benches.

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester will make another start for the Brewers and is lined up to pitch on Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers and right-hander Jack Flaherty at American Family Field. To keep Priester in the starting rotation for another turn, the Brewers are moving Elvin Rodriguez to the bullpen. The 24-year-old Priester was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox last week and looked good in his debut with Milwaukee last week against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, allowing one earned run on six hits while walking two and striking out fur in five innings pitched. He'll have a bit more of a difficult matchup this time around in Detroit, but Priester is still worth streaming considering in deeper leagues. When both Tobias Myers (oblique) and Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) return from the injured list, Priester might not have a spot left in the rotation, though.

The Athletic's David O'Brien writes that all signs point to outfielder Alex Verdugo joining the Atlanta Braves this week after signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the team on March 20. Verdugo hit a three-run homer at Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday and was pulled two innings later, fueling speculation that he'll join the team for their series opener in Toronto against the Blue Jays on Monday. A team official said that the 28-year-old was scheduled for a light day on Sunday, though, after he played all 14 innings of a doubleheader on Saturday. If he doesn't join the Braves in Toronto, Verdugo will likely be with them against the Minnesota Twins this weekend. After missing most of spring training, Verdugo has hit .182 (4-for-22) with a double, two homers, four RBI and a .700 OPS with Gwinnett. When he joins Atlanta, he could see regular playing time with both Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz struggling.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale has lasted five or fewer innings and allowed three or more earned runs in each of his four starts this year, including 4 2/3 and 4 1/3 innings in his past two. Last year, he had only two starts of less than five innings. Sale has surrendered 15 hits and nine runs (eight earned) in nine innings in his last two starts. "I just hate sucking, and I'm just bad. Simple," Sale said. His average fastball velocity was 96.2 mph in his start on Sunday against the Rays -- up 3 mph from his previous season average. The reigning National League Cy Young has allowed at least three runs in each of his four starts in 2025 after giving up more than two earned runs in only three of 29 starts a year ago. The fact that Sale is healthy has made the poor start more frustrating, but it should also ease the minds of fantasy managers that he'll turn it around sooner than later.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge announced on Monday that he will play for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic and will serve as a captain. "I wanted to be there... I was looking forward to this opportunity again," Judge said. While it might not be what fantasy managers prefer if they draft the 32-year-old slugger next spring, it doesn't affect anything fantasy related this year. The reigning American League MVP did not take part in the last World Baseball Classic while he was preoccupied with his free agency, but he'll now get a chance to represent his country in the WBC next year. Not only did Judge have an outstanding 2024 campaign with 58 homers, 144 RBI, 133 walks and a 1.159 OPS in 158 regular-season games, but he's off to a fantastic start in 2025 with a league-best six homers, 20 RBI, 17 runs, .478 on-base percentage and 1.228 OPS. Judge is a beast.