Fantasy Baseball Week 2: Hot Starts, Cold Starts & Who to Add Now

Apr 3, 2026

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The Fantasy Six Pack Hour, presented by FanDuel is here for Week 2 of the 2026 MLB season, bringing you early breakouts and busts. AJ Applegarth and Corey Pieper separate real signals from noise, revealing which hot starts to trust (Yordan Alvarez, Shea Langeliers, Kevin Gausman), which cold starts to buy low on (Bo Bichette, Julio Rodriguez), and the waiver wire adds winning leagues right now.

The guys break down players into three tiers: genuinely great starts with sustainable metrics, fine starts quietly building toward breakouts, and bad starts where the underlying stats reveal panic or opportunity. From Yordan's monster power surge and Sandy Alcantara's return-to-form to Griffin Jax's early struggles and whether to sell high on Liam Hicks, AJ and Corey give you the in-season edge separating winners from losers.

Off to great starts (buy or hold):

Yordan Alvarez: Elite power surge - is this his 50-HR breakout season?
Shea Langeliers: Early-season pop behind the plate - real or mirage?
Liam Hicks: Sleeper catcher lighting up - sell high or ride it?
Kevin Gausman: Vintage ace form returning - time to trade for him?
Sandy Alcantara: Post-injury dominance - can you trust it?
Joey Wiemer: Deep league power/speed flyer paying off early

Off to fine starts (under-the-radar targets):

Brice Turang: Quietly building value - sneaky waiver add?
Drake Baldwin: Rookie catcher intrigue - dynasty stash or redraft play?
Nico Hoerner: Contact machine heating up - buy low window closing
Chris Sánchez: Ace-level stuff through two starts - Cy Young dark horse?
Cam Schlittler: Who? And why he matters in 15-teamers

Off to bad starts (panic, patience, or pounce?):

Josh Naylor: Early slump - hold or fade?
Brent Rooker: Cold bat after hot spring - buy low or avoid?
Marcell Ozuna: Veteran struggling - is this the decline?
Bo Bichette: Ice-cold start - best buy-low target in baseball?
Julio Rodriguez: Slow April strikes again - when does he heat up?
Marcus Semien: Aging or just variance? Trade window open
Griffin Jax: Blown saves piling up - drop or hold in saves leagues?
Nathan Eovaldi: Early struggles - streaming option or avoid?

Whether you're chasing a playoff spot or protecting your lead, these Week 2 moves give you the edge. AJ and Corey cut through the noise with stats, context, and actionable advice for redraft, dynasty, and DFS formats.

Rankings and cheat sheets at fantasysixpack.net/plans (Code: F6PPODS saves 15%)

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