The 2026 MLB season kicks off Wednesday night with the New York Yankees facing the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. This Opening Day matchup begins a 12-day fantasy Week 1 for ESPN leagues, running from March 25 through April 5. Twenty-two additional teams will play on Thursday's traditional Opening Day, with the final six teams starting their seasons on Friday.

For fantasy baseball managers, lineup lock times vary by league settings. In ESPN's standard daily transaction leagues, lineups lock at each player's scheduled game start time. Weekly transaction leagues lock players at the scheduled start of their first game of the week. Managers who haven't drafted yet should note that players lock into drafted roster spots, with retroactive stat application for games already played.

The week ahead includes projected starting pitchers for the next 10 days, hitter matchup ratings, lineup lock times, scheduling quirks, starting pitcher ranks, and hitter ratings. These tools help managers make informed decisions during the crucial early season period when every game counts toward weekly scoring.