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 focusing on injury updates once again, determining whether or not you should buy the dip. 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.

Corbin Carroll (OF – ARI)

NFBC ADP: 17.50 (Min: 15, Max: 20)

Corbin Carroll underwent surgery on a broken hamate bone on February 12th, per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. But he returned to camp the next day, working on throwing drills. Carroll may be ready for Opening Day. The question is whether or not this injury will affect his power, at least in the early part of the season.

Personally, I’m buying the dip. I had Carroll as my 5th overall player before the injury, so I’m happy to pounce in the early to mid-second round. Even if there’s a dip in power, Carroll can steal 50+ bases. That’s the kind of upside that I want to bet on at a reduced cost.

Francisco Lindor (SS – NYM)

NFBC ADP: 25.50 (Min: 24, Max: 27)

Francisco Lindor had surgery on his right hamate bone on February 12th, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Recovery time can take up to six weeks. The Mets are optimistic that Lindor will be able to return for Opening Day. If he misses time, it may only be a week or two.

With that said, unlike Carroll, I’m not buying Lindor at a discount. Not only is there this hamate bone surgery, but Lindor also had elbow surgery in the offseason. Now entering his age-32 season, I’m not willing to pay a late second-rounder or early third-rounder on Lindor.

Jordan Westburg (3B – BAL)

NFBC ADP: 161.00 (Min: 136, Max: 186)

Jordan Westburg is dealing with an oblique injury, which will keep him out of spring training. There’s currently no timetable for his return, but the Orioles don’t seem too worried about this. This is already an injury-prone player, though, so the market has reacted to this latest ailment.

I’m willing to buy the dip on Westburg because you have to love his per-plate-appearance numbers, but you also have to acknowledge that there’s added injury risk here. If you draft Westburg at this new discount, make sure that you have a competent backup ready to roll, especially if it’s a draft-and-hold league.

Jackson Holliday (2B – BAL)

NFBC ADP: 203.50 (Min: 196, Max: 211)

Jackson Holliday had surgery on a broken hamate bone on February 12th. Unlike Carroll and Lindor, who still have a chance at Opening Day, Holliday is expected to start the year on the injured list, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.

Another key difference here is that Holliday has been disappointing so far. There wasn’t already much more than 15-20 home runs in this bat, so if the hamate injury affects his power, that’s bad news. I was in on Holliday earlier in the offseason, but he has to fall quite a bit for me to take the plunge now.