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

• Adam Wainwright remains ageless. I thought he was washed up five years ago when he was 35 and posted an ERA over 5.00. At the very most, he looked like a veteran who might do just enough to hang around and collect a few more paychecks in the league. But he refuses the go away. Last year, he tossed over 200 innings-coming off a pandemic-shorted 2020-for the first time since 2014. That’s Savannah Bananas.
• Seiya Suzuki made his MLB debut and got his first MLB hit off Corbin Burnes. He finished the day 1-for-2 with two walks and run scored in Thursday’s win over the Brewers.
• Yu Darvish threw six no-hit innings on 92 pitches and was pulled from the game. Thanks, I hate it. If Darvish made the call here, I’m fine with it. If it was the team being careful, I hate it. If I were a manager and my pitcher had a no-hitter going, I would never pull him unless he said he couldn’t keep going. I don’t care if he was closing in on 200 pitches. Tim Hill, of course, entered the game in the seventh and immediately gave up two hits. Was it karma that the bullpen imploded and eventually allowed a walk-off home run to Seth Beer…ON NATIONAL BEER DAY?! You be the judge.
• Bobby Witt Jr. has arrived.

Fun!

Joey Votto popped up to the pitcher for the first time in his entire career last night. 15 years. Over 8,125 plate appearances. Zero pop-ups to the pitcher until last night. Amazing. Does the “how can you not be romantic about baseball?” quote work here? Eh, let’s use it anyway.

2021: Corbin Burnes sets MLB record with 58 K before first walk

2022: Corbin Burnes walks the 1st batter he faces

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 7, 2022

Honestly, we’re probably going to use Sarah Langs tweets often in this section. She might be the best baseball-related follow on social media.

Rub Some Dirt On It (Injuries)

In recent years, as fantasy platforms have moved to automated systems that sync with MLB transactions, the days leading up to Opening Day have been frustrating ones for fantasy managers. Every year, there are dozens of players who we know will start the season on the injured list but who are not yet eligible for the IL in fantasy leagues because they aren’t “officially” on the MLB IL yet. This year was no different, and many of those players were not eligible until close to or after first pitch today.

• Pete Alonso left Thursday’s game late after being hit by a pitch, but it sounds like he’s fine:

Pete Alonso was just hit in the shoulder/helmet face guard with a 95-mph fastball. He went down hard but appears no worse for wear. The fact that the ball hit his shoulder first was a very good thing.

Regardless, Alonso is coming out of this game in the ninth. pic.twitter.com/NLcPyiE1vb

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 8, 2022

• Some good news: it sounds like Ke’Bryan Hayes, who left Thursday’s game against the Cardinals, is going to be OK. I don’t love the report that he left the game because he experienced a cramp that went from his thumb to his forearm, but it sounds like he’s fine?

Studs and Duds

Studs (Hitters)

• Paul Goldschmidt – 1-for-1 with four walks, a stolen base, and two runs scored. Four strikeouts is a golden sombrero. Do we have a name for four walks?
• Tyler O’Neill – 2-for-3, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 BB
• Alex Bregman – 2-for-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
• Ian Happ – 3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Studs (Pitchers)

• Framber Valdez – 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 Ks in win over Angels
• Yu Darvish – 6 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, you know what happened…
• Tylor Megill – 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 Ks in win over Nationals
• Tyler Mahle – 5 IP, 0 ER (1 R), 3 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks in win over Braves
• Shohei Ohtani – 4.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 Ks in loss to Astros
• Kyle Hendricks – 5.1 IP, 1 Er, 5 H, 3 BB, 7 Ks in no-decision against Brewers
• Zack Greinke – 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, just 1 K in no-decision against Guardians (my first time writing out that name!)

Duds (Hitters)

• Dansby Swanson – 0-for-4, 4 Ks
• Jo Adell – 0-for-3, 3 Ks
• Adam Duvall – 0-for-3, 3 Ks
• Albert Pujols – 0-for-5
• Anthony Rendon, Frank Schwindel, Salvador Perez, Yadier Molina – all went 0-for-4

Duds (Pitchers)

• Max Fried – 5.2 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks in loss to Reds
• JT Brubaker – 3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 Ks in loss to Cardinals

Dingers

Small slate, but here is every player who homered yesterday:

• Tyler O’Neill
• Austin Riley
• Seth Beer
• Brandon Drury
• Alex Bregman
• Nolan Arenado
• Yordan Alvarez
• Nico Hoerner (who had Hoerner to hit the first home run of the 2022 season?)
• Juan Soto
• Tommy Edman

Swipes

• Paul Goldschmidt
• Myles Straw
• Ha-Seong Kim
• Jace Peterson
• Jose Altuve

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.

Here are some of the most recent fantasy-relevant updates:

• Bradley Zimmer traded to the Blue Jays
• Chris Paddack traded to Twins
• Yoan Moncada (right oblique) placed on 10-day IL
• MacKenzie Gore optioned to Triple-A El Paso
• Jose Ramirez agrees to contract extension with Guardians
• Ke’Bryan Hayes injury considered ‘very minor’
• Mickey Moniak out six weeks with broken right hand

Arm Barn Report

• Tony Santillan earned a save in a 6-3 win over the Braves because why not. Are people going to rush to the waiver wire and empty their FAAB on Santillan as a ninth-inning candidate in Cincinnati? Sure! Why not! (You probably shouldn’t, but this is now a situation worth watching).

Oh my gawd! Is that Tony Santillan's music? (It's not, but he's coming out to pitch the 9th)

— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) April 8, 2022

• Young Spencer Strider pitched in relief for the Atlanta Braves, striking out five while not allowing a hit over two scoreless innings. I have embedded too many tweets already, but here’s a link to Pitching Ninja’s video of Strider throwing GAS.
• Craig Stammen blew the save for the Padres last night, but that doesn’t matter all that much because…
• Taylor Rogers named closer in San Diego

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

Beyond our fantasy baseball content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy baseball draft season.

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.