Welcome to September, but much more importantly, welcome to the fantasy baseball playoffs! In ESPN standard head-to-head leagues, the playoffs begin with Week 1, spanning Monday, Sept. 1, through Sunday, Sept. 7, the first of a two-week semifinal matchup. The Nos. 1 and 4, and the Nos. 2 and 3, seeds face off in this round, with the winners of these next two weeks advancing to the championship matchup.
Monday, also Labor Day, marks the expansion of big league rosters, which go from 26 to 28 active players on that date, with the maximum number of pitchers increasing from 13 to 14. While it's not as expansive an increase as it once was -- before the 2020 season, teams could roster up to 40 active players -- it still grants teams more flexibility, meaning we'll probably see the recall of a handful of meaningful names for fantasy.
Among some of the players expected to be promoted on Monday or later:
The Baltimore Orioles' Tyler Wells (elbow, 60-day IL) made his final minor league rehabilitation start for Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, Aug. 27, and is expected to join the team as part of a six-man rotation on Tuesday.
The Cleveland Guardians' John Means (elbow, 60-day IL) could be on track for activation either late in fantasy's Week 23 or midway through Week 24.
The Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows (quadriceps, 10-day IL) should be activated during Week 23 and figures to see regular time in center field.
The Houston Astros' Luis Garcia (elbow, 60-day IL) might be activated during the Aug. 29-31 weekend, but he'd otherwise likely join the team as part of a six-man rotation during Week 23.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' Michael Kopech (knee, 10-day IL) is expected to be activated before the team's first game of the week on Tuesday.
Prospects such as the New York Yankees' Spencer Jones or Seattle Mariners' Harry Ford could also be under consideration for promotions.
All six teams scheduled to play on all seven days during fantasy's Week 23 hail from the American League. Managers in NL-only leagues should keep that in mind, as all 15 NL teams are scheduled to play just six times each.
Among the Week 23 series with playoff implications are the Yankees and Astros, who play three games at Houston's Daikin Park from Tuesday through Thursday; the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, who play three games at Milwaukee's American Family Field on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; the Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees, who play at New York's Yankee Stadium from Friday through Sunday; and the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds, who play at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park from Friday through Sunday.
Note that Labor Day on Monday has 26 of the 30 teams scheduled to play, and 10 of the games scheduled to begin during the day. Before you head out for holiday activities, make sure to set your lineup accounting for the earlier-than-usual start times.