Fantasy Baseball Forecaster for Week 23: Playoffs Week 1, Sept.1-7 - ESPN

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.

Pros