And just like that, we have a season. We have results. We have highlights and stats and standings and all that good stuff.

We are so back.

To be fair, Opening Day to me is the first day when multiple teams play. That’s Thursday. I can’t wait to bounce around from Tarik Skubal to Hunter Brown, to watch Paul Skenes deal to Juan Soto, to savor Roman Anthony and Elly De La Cruz on the same diamond. But I enjoyed the standalone opener Wednesday night between the Yankees and Giants, even if the Giants didn’t score while the Yankees knocked around Logan Webb (one of My Guys) for seven runs (six earned).

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Webb is going to have some days where he gets BABIP’d to death. He kept the ball in the park. He worked ahead of hitters. He recorded more ground-ball outs than fly-ball outs and he had seven strikeouts against just one walk. If you told me all that stuff ahead of time, I’d be thinking two runs or fewer.

The big New York rally was a five-run second, which featured four singles, one plunked batter and one triple to right. Webb even closed the inning by striking out Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger.

He should be fine. I’m not altering my stance after one night.

And hey, Judge went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts on the other side. It’s a long season. Settle in, settlers.

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On the flip side, Max Fried had an easy time (6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) navigating a San Francisco lineup that doesn’t go particularly deep. This is a good spot for fantasy managers to attack — the Giants when they’re home in their roomy park. San Francisco ended the night with three piddly singles, a couple of walks and zero runs.

One other fantasy nugget to consider — Jazz Chisholm Jr. stole a base in the middle of the game, with the Yankees ahead by seven runs. The Giants took the steal in stride — it didn’t set anyone off — and the game meandered along. I’ve never had a problem with professional athletes trying hard for the entirety of their games, no matter the score. My lone concern would be if someone got hurt stealing a meaningless base in a blowout game, but perhaps that risk is low, too.

Anyway, for anyone who has Chisholm shares, it’s probably a good sign that he’s good for another 30-40 bags. Game situations aren’t going to slow him down.

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My other assignment for Wednesday night was to process some FAAB offers. Two of my most competitive mixers (one a 12-teamer, the other a 13-teamer) had their first free agent run of the season, after recent drafts. Here are some of the more interesting players who were selected.

Early waiver wire pickups for Opening week

— Connelly Early, SP, Red Sox (58% rostered): While the sample sizes aren’t deep yet, Early has been a dominator ever since he put on a Boston uniform. He made four late-season starts last year and was tremendous (2.33 ERA, 1.086 WHIP), with 29 strikeouts against four walks per 19.1 innings. The strikeout rate wasn’t at that level during the spring, but Early still checked in with dominant ratios (1.59/0.941) and whiffed 16 batters against five walks over 17 innings. The Red Sox didn’t just put him in the rotation — he’ll start their third game of the year.

— Paul Sewald, RP, Diamondbacks (30%): His ERA has been in the 4s the last two years and he’s stepping into the age-36 season, but the barrier for relevance is low for any save-potential reliever. Until A.J. Puk is healthy again, Sewald is likely the best option at the end of the Arizona bullpen.

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— Jordan Romano, RP, Angels (14%): Here’s another save-speculation play, one I’ve made in a couple of deeper leagues. With Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson hurt, Romano will likely get the first call when the Angels have an early-season lead to protect. Romano hasn’t been healthy or effective for two years, but he was an All-Star in 2022 and 2023 and looked it in the spring, for whatever you can take from six innings (5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K).

— Luis Rengifo, UT, Brewers (2%): This could be a sneaky little pickup, with Rengifo a possible regular in Milwaukee, and someone who covers three fantasy positions (2B, 3B, OF). He lost his way with the Angels last year, but he’s still just 29, and posted useful fantasy seasons from 2022-2024 (decent average, some category juice).

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— Shane Smith, SP, White Sox (31%): This was one of my adds. Smith was surprisingly helpful in 29 starts last year (3.81/1.196), striking out a batter per inning. The White Sox aren’t close to playoff contention, but I expect them to be modestly improved from last year. You don’t have to start Smith against the Brewers on Thursday, but he could be a preferred streamer or spot-starter that we utilize against weaker opponents.