The first calendar week of the baseball season featured an incredible slate of games. It's one of the best times of the year because unheralded players become fantasy superstars before our eyes, and the season's stories start to take shape.
Here at Call to the Pen, we'll give out medals every week of the season to those guys who put their teams on their backs and carried them to fantasy glory. Sometimes, it'll be a first-round pick, but other times, it'll be somebody you never would have expected.
Let's dive right in for the Week 1 accolades.
Gold Medal Fantasy Baseball Hitter of the Week 🥇
Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs
The Cubs were on fire during the first week of April, scoring 52 runs in six games against the A's and Padres, and Tucker led the charge.
He went 9-for-23 (.391 average) with three homers, two steals, 11 runs scored, eight RBIs, nine walks and just one strikeout. With performances like this, Tucker, who took a giant leap forward last year, is cementing himself as a top-ten player in MLB. Fantasy managers who selected him with their first-round picks look like geniuses, and so do the Cubs for acquiring him from the Astros in the offseason.
Silver Medal Hitter of the Week 🥈
Nico Hoerner
Hoerner might have just had his best week of the fantasy season, going 10-for-24 (.417) with six steals, six runs scored, five RBI, three walks, and only one strikeout.
The steals catapult him to a silver medal finish in Week 1; if he swiped six bases weekly for the year, he'd break Hugh Nicol's single-season record for pilfers (138 stolen bases). Hoerner is hitting sixth in the Cubs lineup right now, and his fantasy value would see a significant boost if he were to start batting lead-off.
It could happen — Ian Happ, the Cubs' current lead-off hitter, is struggling at the plate, and they have used Happ as a 4-5-6 hitter as recently as last season. Hoerner is off to a great start as he looks to put a disappointing 2024 season behind him.
Bronze Medal Hitter of the Week 🥉
Alex Bregman
Like the Cubs, the Red Sox also scored 52 runs during the first calendar week of the fantasy season, and Alex Bregman had a massive game on Sunday, 4/6/25 against the Cardinals (4-for-5, with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and six RBIs) to help him capture the Bronze Medal for the week.
Overall, Bregman went 11-for-27 (.407) with seven runs scored, 10 RBIs, two home runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts. This is the type of production the Red Sox need to make Bregman's enormous yearly salary worth it. Bregman, who loves a short porch in left field and has excellent numbers historically in Fenway Park, could be in line for a monster year.
Honorable Mentions
Pete Alonso, Teoscar Hernandez, Trent Grisham, Jose Ramirez, Riley Greene, Rafael Devers, Kyren Paris
All these hitters had great weeks, but Trent Grisham and Kyren Paris are the two most surprising.
Grisham forced his way into the Yankees lineup after going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double in the Thursday (4/3/25) night slugfest against Arizona. He continued his hot hitting in Pittsburgh, and the former top 100 prospect ended the week 8-for-17 (.471) with five runs scored, nine RBIs, three home runs, two walks, and three strikeouts.
Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Jasson Dominguez block him in the outfield, but if any of them get hurt or the Yankees decide to use Bellinger at first base, Grisham could be worth a speculative add.
Kyren Paris had the best week of his young career, going 6-for-12 (.500) with seven runs scored, three RBIs, one home run, three stolen bases, three walks, and three strikeouts. He's been in the Angels' farm system since they drafted him in 2019 and is still only 23 years old.
He's one of the fastest players in MLB, and with his ability to play multiple positions, there's no reason he can't get everyday at-bats for the Angels. If he's on waivers in your league, it wouldn't be a bad idea to snatch him up and see if he can maintain the production.
Gold Medal Fantasy Baseball Pitcher of the Week 🥇
Kris Bubic
Bubic made two starts during the first week of the season and won both decisions. He combined to throw 12 and 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, three walks, one unearned run, and striking out 16.
It was a breakout week for Bubic, a popular sleeper entering fantasy baseball draft season. Bubic spent 2024 in the bullpen (30 and 1/3 innings, 2.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) in his first year of being healthy after Tommy John's surgery. He's seen a massive boost in ownership, jumping 39% last week, but he's still unrostered in over 30% of leagues. If he's out there on your waiver wire, he's worth the addition.
Silver Medal Pitcher of the Week 🥈
Spencer 'Schwelly' Schwellenbach
Schwellenbach was better than anyone expected in 2024 and has the potential to be a true fantasy ace in 2025. In his start against the lowly Marlins on Friday, 4/4/25, Schwelly was an absolute menace. He threw 99 pitches, mixing in a fastball, splitter, slider, curveball, sinker, and cutter, inducing at least one swing and miss with each pitch and finishing the game with 23 total whiffs and 16 called strikes.
There's not much more fantasy managers could ask for than an eight-inning gem, with ten strikeouts and only two measly singles allowed.
Bronze Medal Pitcher of the Week 🥉
Zac Gallen
Gallen, who's been inconsistent in the nascent stages of the season, had his best start against the Yankees on Wednesday, 4/2/25. He pitched 6 and 2/3 innings, striking out 13 with no walks and allowing three hits.
Austin Wells was the only Yankee who Gallen didn't strike out and the only Yankee who didn't look lost against him. He got Judge swinging three times, twice on a knuckle curve and once with the four-seamer. Gallen's knuckle curve befuddled all the hitters, as he threw it 30 times and generated 13 whiffs.
He induced 24 swings and misses to go along with 22 called strikes. The Diamondbacks bullpen almost blew his win late when Anthony Volpe hit a three-run home run of AJ Puk. But Puk was able to settle down and close out the game.
Honorable Mentions
Nathan Eovaldi, Mike King, Josh Hader, Jack Leiter, Jesus Luzardo, Luke Jackson, Paul Skenes
Luke Jackson is the Texas Ranger's new closer, and although his track record doesn't inspire much confidence, he does lead the majors in saves as of April 10. So, he's worth a roster spot until Texas demotes him from the closer role (which may never happen).
Fellow Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter had a great start against Cincinnati, allowing one hit over five innings with six strikeouts in what was looking like the beginning of a breakout season for the former No. 2 overall pick... until he developed a blister and landed on the IL. He's someone to watch once the blister clears up.