Greetings, friends. We’re back for another baseball season. More importantly, we have a fun new series this year!

Welcome to the Daily Opener.

Every morning, I’ll be with you to recap the previous day of baseball and talk about what stood out to me. We’ll find fun stats. We’ll lament some injuries. We’ll take a peek at the day ahead. And we’ll have a few laughs.

Have questions or just want to talk baseball? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.

Top Stories

I’m old enough to remember when complete games and shutouts were regularly included in fantasy baseball scoring. I had a 10×10 league that included BOTH at one point. Now, complete games and shutouts are much rarer, and they don’t have much of a place in the fantasy baseball world. But they’re still valuable, and Walker Buehler tossed the first complete game and complete shutout of 2022 last night, allowing just 3 H and 0 BB while striking out 10 in a win over the Diamondbacks.

Way back in October 2021, we did a too-early mock draft on Leading Off, and I took Buehler as the first pitcher off the board. There were gasps. Eyebrows were raised. But Buehler could be the most valuable pitcher in fantasy by the end of the season. He’s a great pitcher on what should once again be one of the best teams in baseball, and he doesn’t have some of the same concerns as Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, or even Max Scherzer. I lived in the secondary market for starting pitchers this draft season, but Buehler was my guy if I was paying up for one of the top arms.

Taylor Ward batted leadoff and took Shane Bieber deep twice last night. It sounds like he could get a longer look in that leadoff spot, boosting his potential value in fantasy. He is rostered in just 16% of leagues on Yahoo and 6% of leagues on ESPN.

Is this the year we finally see Brandon Nimmo‘s ceiling? Through 14 games, he is batting .292 with 10 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, and 0 SB. His Statcast page is filled with a ton of red. Last night, he put the Mets in the lead for good with a two-run shot in the ninth inning. Nimmo has the talent, but injuries have been an issue throughout his career. He is only rostered in 31% of Yahoo leagues and 44% of ESPN leagues and is definitely someone who needs to be rostered even in standard formats right now.

Fun!

Softest-hit triples tracked by Statcast (since 2015):

49.4 mph — Bryan Reynolds, THURSDAY
55.2 mph — Jake Lamb, 7/18/17
57.4 mph — Mike Trout, TONIGHT https://t.co/emqaRuRVHQ

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 26, 2022

Studs and Duds

Here are some of the best and worst performances from yesterday.

Studs (Pitchers)

• Walker Buehler – 9 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 K in shutout win over DBacks
• Corbin Burnes – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K in ND vs. Giants
• Michael Lorenzen – 6 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K (2-1, 2.93 ERA) in win over Guardians
• Framber Valdez – 6 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K in ND vs. Rangers
• Max Scherzer – 7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 K in ND vs. Cardinals
• Miles Mikolas – 7 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K in ND vs. Mets
• Nathan Eovaldi – 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K in ND vs. Blue Jays
• Jose Berrios – 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K in ND vs. Red Sox

Studs (Hitters)

• Taylor Ward – 2-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, took Shane Bieber deep twice Monday
• Will Smith – 2-for-4, 1 HR (up to 2 HR)
• Yordan Alvarez – 1-for-4 with a HR (up to 4 HR)
• Kyle Tucker – 3-for-4, RBI, SB (up to 2 SB)
• Brandon Nimmo – 1-for-5, two-run HR in 9th (up to 3 HR)
• Bo Bichette – 1-for-4 with a Grand Slam (up to 2 HR)
• Randal Grichuk – 1-for-3, 1 HR
  • Through 11 games: .375 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB
• Lourdes Gurriel – 2-for-4, 1 HR, 1 2B
• Connor Joe – 1-for-4, 1 HR
• Rhys Hoskins – 3-for-5, 2 R
• Bryce Harper – 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Joc Pederson – 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB (up to 6 HR)

Duds (Pitchers)

• Giovanny Gallegos – 0.1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, BS, L vs. Mets

Duds (Hitters)

• Starling Marte – 0-for-5, 2 K
• Brandon Crawford – 0-for-4, 3 K
• Shohei Ohtani – 0-for-4, 2 K
• Dylan Carlson – 0-for-4, 2 K
  • Batting just .203 with 0 HR through 14 games
• Ketel Marte – 0-for-4, 1 K
  • Batting just .156 with 0 HR through 17 games…
  • 2021 K%: 16.0%
  • 2022 K% through 17 games: 26.8%

From the News Desk

We have an incredible news desk at FantasyPros. Seriously, they crush it. If you don’t already, you should sync your teams with My Playbook and check out the Fantasy News and Scores app for updates about your players.

• Eddie Rosario to undergo eye procedure and will miss 8-12 weeks
• Jacob deGrom cleared to begin rehab on shoulder
• Giovanny Gallegos allows four runs, blows save Monday night

Dingers

Here is every player who hit a home run yesterday:

Taylor Ward (x2)
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Luis Gonzalez
Will Smith
Bryce Harper
Joc Pederson
Bo Bichette
Randal Grichuk
Brandon Nimmo
Yordan Alvarez
Matt Chapman
Connor Joe
Willy Adames

Swipes

Here is every player who stole a base yesterday:

Kyle Tucker
Mookie Betts
Yuli Gurriel

Arm Barn Report

Here is every player who recorded a save yesterday:

Camilo Doval
Edwin Diaz
Raisel Iglesias

Check out all of our weekly fantasy baseball content

Today’s Starting Lineup

• No ESPN+ games today, but we do have a primetime Mets vs. Cardinals matchup on TBS featuring Chris Bassitt vs. Jordan Hicks.
• No early games today, but we do have a full slate starting at 6:35 p.m. ET.

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Mike Maher is an editor and content manager at FantasyPros and BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive, follow him on Twitter @MikeMaher, and visit his Philadelphia Eagles blog, The Birds Blitz.