Fantasy Baseball Watch List: Injury Updates & Outlook (2026)

Every week of Spring Training, we’ve got a lot of important news filtering in. This can inform our fantasy baseball draft decisions and impact average draft position (ADP), so we always want to monitor market changes to see if we can find value.

We’re focusing on four players to watch based on the information we’ve gathered over the last few days.

Fantasy Baseball Watch List

This week, we’re going to discuss market value, looking at average draft position from the National Fantasy Baseball Championship (NFBC) Draft Champions Leagues since February 7th. This format is preferred because it’s the most active draft platform right now.

Joe Ryan (SP – MIN)

NFBC ADP: 70.67 (Min: 60, Max: 110)

Joe Ryan is dealing with lower back tightness. He underwent an MRI, which showed that it was just inflammation, which is good news. The latest update is that Ryan played catch from 90 feet on Tuesday, according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com.

While it’s a good sign that Ryan’s back issue isn’t serious, this has caused a shift in his average draft position. If you feel confident about Ryan’s health, it makes sense to buy the dip here. I’m cool with the move if he falls outside the top-90.

Brandon Woodruff (SP – MIL)

NFBC ADP: 120.00 (Min: 95, Max: 133)

Brandon Woodruff has a lat issue, but he’s on track to begin the season in the rotation. He’s currently scheduled for a live batting practice on Sunday. This latest update is good news because initially, some speculated that Woodruff’s status was “up in the air.”

However, I’m fully fading Woodruff in fantasy baseball. While the surface stats were good last year, the advanced metrics showed signs of decline. With injury concerns, I’m not interested at his current price. It feels inflated.

Konnor Griffin (SS – PIT)

NFBC ADP: 184.20 (Min: 155, Max: 213)

Konnor Griffin is the consensus top prospect in baseball, with some calling him the most hyped since Mike Trout. He homered twice in Spring Training on Tuesday, fueling even more excitement for this power-speed threat.

I’m buying. I think this is a case where a talented young player continues to rise in ADP after a strong spring. I’m betting that Griffin cracks the Pirates’ lineup on Opening Day. Draft Griffin now while the price is still reasonable. This reminds me of Julio Rodriguez with the Mariners a few years back.

Shota Imanaga (SP – CHC)

NFBC ADP: 187.07 (Min: 155, Max: 214)

Shota Imanaga struggled in the second half last year, which has given us a discount on his current average draft position. The latest update shows that Imanaga demonstrated an uptick in velocity in his Spring Training outing.

His average fastball velocity was at 93 MPH, which was a major increase from last year’s 90.8 MPH, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Expect Imanaga’s price to continue to rise, since this is a huge development for his upside.

Shane Bieber (SP – TOR)

NFBC ADP: 255.80 (Min: 165, Max: 319)

Shane Bieber has already begun throwing from 120 feet, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. While he’s still going to begin the season on the injured list, this is an encouraging development.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider stated that Bieber will be throwing bullpen sessions in the next two weeks. There’s a chance that his time on the IL will be a short stay, so I’m buying at this discount.