Fantasy Baseball Today: Ten things to watch on Opening Day include Clay Holmes’ new arsenal, and more

There are zero more days until Opening Day. We’re here. All the planning, the ranking, the arguing, and the drafting, it has all been leading to this. 

Of course, it hasn’t really been leading to this. Because this is just the start of it. We’ve got six months of baseball before we know if all that planning, ranking, arguing, and drafting was leading to a championship or just another long, cold, lonely offseason as a loser.

But it all starts today, and while we won’t be able to make any definitive statements about what we were right or wrong about based on one day, there’s still plenty to look out for. So, before we get to our bold predictions and official picks for the 2025 MLB season, here’s a brief list of 10 questions I’ll be looking for answers to on Opening Day and in the first series of the season: 

1. Can Clay Holmes really be an ace? – Spring Training served as a pretty impressive proof of concept, as he allowed just two runs in 19.1 innings, with 23 strikeouts and eight walks. He expanded his arsenal for the transition to the rotation and it looks legit, but we won’t know how he’ll fare facing lineups three times until he does it.
2. Is Mookie Betts okay? – He dealt with a stomach illness and lost 20 pounds over the past few weeks, which is pretty concerning. It sounds like he’s past it and will be in the Opening Day lineup, but will there be any lingering issues here? We’d love to see a few hard-hit balls from Betts early on. 
3. Does Freddy Peralta have a bounceback left in him? – Peralta’s mechanics were a bit off last season, and he had to move to the first base side of the rubber to get the same effect on his fastball to right-handed hitters. He says he has fixed that mechanical issue and there could be some underrated upside here – though I’ll note he did struggle to an 8.56 ERA this spring, though with plenty of strikeouts and solid control.
4. Does Nolan Arenado have anything left in the tank? – It was a small sample size, but Arenado’s bat speed was up this spring as he tries to stave off the decline phase of his career – and convince some contender to trade for him. We’d like to see some hard-hit balls from Arenado early on, too.
5. How much leash do the Marlins give Sandy Alcantara? – Alcantara says he won’t have an innings limit, but does that mean he’s just going to be unleashed from Opening Day? I don’t expect to see 90 pitches from him today, but if he gets through five-plus innings and 80-plus pitches, the Marlins really might just let him go. He could end up being an unexpected value if the Marlins really aren’t going to treat him with kid’s gloves.
6. Is Sonny Gray okay? – Gray dealt with a forearm injury at the end of last season, and we learned recently he had an injection to manage the pain in the flexor tendon in his elbow, which delayed his offseason throwing program. His velocity has been down this spring, and while Gray isn’t worried about it, I think he should be. We’d love to see him shut the doubters up today.
7. Are Cam Smith and Kristian Campbell really ready? Campbell is making his MLB debut after 137 games in the minors, which makes him an old-head when compared to Smith, who played just 32 before forcing his way onto the roster this spring. There’s big-time upside, but both could be totally overwhelmed, too.
8. Is Jackson Holliday more prepared? – You wanna talk overmatched, that was Holliday last April, as he struck out in 18 of 36 trips to the plate before earning a swift demotion back to the minors. He looked a lot better this spring, striking out just 20.4% of the time, and he could be a difference-maker in Fantasy if he’s actually ready this time.
9. Does Sean Burke matter? – Will history repeat itself? Last year, the White Sox drew some chuckles when their Opening Day starter was making his first-ever MLB start, which worked out pretty well for Garrett Crochet. Burke will also be making his very first MLB start today, and there’s big stuff here – along with huge control problems in the minors. He won’t be as dynamic as Crochet, it goes without saying. But could the White Sox surprise us again with a must-add waiver-wire target on Opening Day? I’ll be watching this one, just in case.
10. How do the Reds divvy up playing time? – With Spencer Steer making the roster despite his shoulder injury, there’s a looming log jam here. Steer will probably serve as the DH, with Christian Encarnacion-Strand at first base and Jeimer Candelario at third. And with Austin Hays on the IL, there should be room for Gavin Lux in a corner outfield spot. That might work for a week, but once Hays is back, will there be enough room for all of the Fantasy-relevant bats here?