Spencer Torkelson Heating Up, Emerging as a Power Bat to Target on the Waiver Wire: Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson got off to a brutal start to the 2026 season, failing to hit a home run through his first 86 plate appearances of the year. However, the 26-year-old burst out of his early-season power outage in a big way, going deep in five consecutive games from April 22 to April 26. Across 124 plate appearances overall, Torkelson is hitting .233/.363/.437 with five home runs, 12 RBI, and 12 runs scored. While Torkelson's 27.4% strikeout rate limits his batting average upside, his 14.5% barrel rate is indicative of his significant power potential. Torkelson has also walked at a 16.1% clip so far this year, which should help keep his place in the Tigers' lineup secure. For fantasy managers searching for power off the waiver wire, Torkelson is a logical target. - as of Sat, 02 May 2026 14:59:05
Nico Hoerner Out on Saturday Due to Neck Injury: Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner (neck) is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's contest at Wrigley Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to MLB.com. Hoerner was forced from Friday's series opener against Arizona with neck tightness. Fantasy managers should consider Hoerner to be day-to-day for now and check back on Sunday to see if he's good to go for the series finale. Matt Shaw is getting the start at second base on Saturday and will hit eighth against D-backs right-hander Ryne Nelson. Hoerner, a former first-rounder in 2018 out of Stanford, has been great through the first month of the 2026 campaign, slashing .297/.374/.461 with an .835 OPS, four home runs, 26 RBI, seven stolen bases, and 17 runs scored in 32 games across 147 plate appearances as the Cubs' table-setter. It doesn't appear that his injury is serious enough to require an injured-list stint, so hopefully he'll be back in Chicago's starting nine sooner rather than later. - as of Sat, 02 May 2026 12:30:06