It’s nearly time for the first wave of prospect promotions. Coincidentally — I say sarcastically — prospects will be called up now that they’ll be unable to accrue the requisite 172 days on the active roster for one year of Major League service time, as defined by MLB. The next wave of notable prospect promotions will come in June once teams believe their prized prospects have passed the “Super Two” cut line. This is all a wordy way of tying back to last week’s prospect talk while reiterating the value of keeping tabs on the game’s brightest youngsters in the minors. Changing gears, the earlier start to the MLB season this year has been disastrous in regards to postponed contests. My condolences go out to the unlucky saps in leagues with weekly-lineup changes who have been burned the most by the rash of PPDs. Now, let’s look ahead at week four of the fantasy baseball season. One note for the Notable Matchups section, there are zero teams scheduled to play only five games next week. Every team is scheduled to play at least six games in week four.
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Notable Matchups
White Sox vs. Mariners (3), @ Royals (5)
The White Sox headline this section thanks to their eight-game week. They’ll be making up a previous PPD with a doubleheader against the Royals on Saturday, April 28. There’s nothing especially noteworthy about the handedness mix of opposing starting pitchers they’ll be squaring off with. Since there are so many seven-game weeks — 10, to be exact — and the rest of the teams will be playing six games next week, gamers shouldn’t go crazy bumping up the value of the Pale Hose’s hitters. Having said that, if you’re in a league that counts holds, a guy like Nate Jones is a bit more attractive than he already typically is thanks to the bonus game.
Braves @ Reds (4), @ Phillies (3)
Atlanta’s bats get a sizable bump in homer outlook next week. Great American Ball Park ranks sixth in park factor for homers at 1.133, and Citizens Bank Park ranks second with a park factor for homers of 1.234, as you can see here. Assuming Cincinnati’s and Philadelphia’s rotations remain healthy and on normal rest, Atlanta will face six right-handed pitchers and just one southpaw next week. Preston Tucker makes for a viable deep-league option thanks to the righty-heavy slant of pitching matchups and his calling card, power, getting a boost from the ballpark factors.
Reds vs. Braves (4), @ Twins (3)
The Reds will open next week with four contests in their homer-friendly home digs before being able to utilize a designated hitter for three games in Minnesota. Add in that they’re one of the seven-game week teams, and their hitters get a bump in value next week. They’ll face at least five right-handed pitchers with the potential to face six, depending upon who fills Anibal Sanchez’s void in the rotation next Tuesday. Jesse Winker and Scooter Gennett stand to benefit from the righty-heavy matchups.
Rockies vs. Padres (3), @ Marlins (3)
Here’s your weekly look at Colorado’s hitters. They’re home for three against the visiting Friars before traveling to homer-suppressing, pitcher-friendly Marlins Park. The Rockies will have dreamier fantasy layouts than in week four, but on the plus side, the pitching matchups will be favorable for their hitters.
Tigers @ Pirates (3), @ Orioles (3)
Detroit will lose the services of the designated hitter for their first three games next week in Pittsburgh. Victor Martinez has gotten off to a solid enough start that he’s owned in some deeper leagues and AL-only formats, but he’s not startable next week due to the three games in Pittsburgh.
Royals vs. Brewers (2), vs. White Sox (5)
The Royals are an odd duck seven-game week squad with a doubleheader against the White Sox on Saturday, April 28. As I discussed in the Pale Hose’s write-up, there’s potential for some regulars sitting one of the two games in the doubleheader. That applies to the Royals. In other words, I’d approach their hitters as if they have a six-game week with the potential for a gravy game. Depending on who gets the ball for the White Sox in the doubleheader, the Royals could face only right-handed starting pitching next week. Regardless, they’re projected to face at least six right-handed pitchers, which is favorable for Kansas City’s corner infielders, Lucas Duda and Mike Moustakas.
Dodgers vs. Marlins (3), @ Giants (4)
You could almost copy and paste the write-up from the Royals to this section — save for the corner infielder analysis. The Dodgers get seven games next week with a Saturday doubleheader at MLB’s most homer-suppressing venue, AT&T Park.
Brewers @ Royals (2), @ Cubs (4)
The Brewers will utilize the designated hitter for two games in Kansas City to start next week before a four-game series in Chicago against their division rival Cubs. Mr. April, Eric Thames, should stay busy with five of six games against right-handed probable starters.
Athletics @ Rangers (3), @ Astros (3)
The A’s will open next week with four straight games against southpaws before concluding the week with a pair of right-handed probable pitchers. Marcus Semien gets a big boost to his value, and Stephen Piscotty becomes a playable option in larger leagues. Not all comes up roses for A’s hitters, though, as Matt Olson has struggled mightily in same-handed matchups with southpaws in his young big-league career. If you’re in a league with weekly lineup changes, Olson can be benched next week.
Padres @ Rockies (3), vs. Mets (3)
As I often do, I’m highlighting the team headed to Colorado. The Friars will play three games in the hitter’s paradise known as Coors Field before hosting the Mets for three games. Two of the three games in Colorado will be against right-handed starting pitchers, but the middle contest will be against southpaw Kyle Freeland. If you’re in a league that doesn’t have restrictive move limits and allows daily lineup changes, consider streaming Hunter Renfroe for the lone game against a lefty in Colorado. In 166 plate appearances against lefties in the Majors, he’s a career .310/.386/.669 hitter with a dozen dingers.
Giants vs. Nationals (3), vs. Dodgers (4)
The Giants are the fourth and final team with a seven-game week that reaches that total via a Saturday doubleheader. You know the drill at this point. Also, all seven games are in their hitter’s nightmare of a home park, and they have some brutal pitching matchups that include Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw. Only Buster Posey stands out as a must-start option in weekly leagues, though, four games against southpaws — albeit two during the Saturday doubleheader — keeps Andrew McCutchen in the weekly league mix.
Hitter Notes
Byron Buxton (MIN)
Migraines sent Buxton to the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to April 15. Add that to the list of mounting frustrations for fantasy gamers with him on their roster. Buxton’s hitting south of the Mendoza line with zero homers. He has stolen four bases, but that’s hardly offset his putrid production across all of the other fantasy categories. Unless you’re in an extremely shallow league and your roster has been ravaged by injuries, it’s best to exercise patience with the toolsy center fielder. We’ve seen this movie before. Last April, he hit just .147/.256/.176. After his disastrous April in 2017, Buxton hit .272/.325/.454 with 16 homers and 26 stolen bases. Be patient.
Mike Zunino (SEA)
Zunino is slated to return from the disabled list tonight. Last year, he followed up an intriguing power showing in 2016 with a 25-homer season with a .251 average. There’s batting average downside below his .251 mark last year due to a sky-high strikeout rate (36.8% K% in 2017), but his power’s legit. Zunino brings enough to the table to be a starter in single-catcher formats, and he should be scooped up if he was dumped in shallower formats.
Ryan Zimmerman (WAS)
Entering play Wednesday night, Zimmerman was slashing only .121/.203/.207 with one homer. Hopefully, you weren’t an impatient owner who cut him, because the signs were there that he’d snap out of it, and he did so in a big way slugging a pair of homers with a triple against the Mets. He entered that game with a 26.8% LD%, 39.0% FB%, and 46.3% Hard%, per FanGraphs. The veteran first baseman is scalding baseballs and ranks fifth in average exit velocity (96.5 MPH) among hitters with a minimum of 10 at-bats, according to Baseball Savant. Zimmerman serves as a perfect reminder of digging a little deeper before prematurely cutting bait this early in the year.
Pitcher Notes
Taijuan Walker (ARI)
Walker’s season is over after only three starts. He has a partially torn UCL, and he’ll require Tommy John surgery. It’s almost hard to believe Walker is only 25-years-old since he reached the Bigs in 2013 and has been a highly-regarded prospect since the Mariners spent a pick in the supplement first-round of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft on him. There’s obviously no reason to hold him in re-draft leagues, and he’s an easy cut in many keeper formats, too. However, in dynasty formats, Walker still has stash value.
Shohei Ohtani (LAA)
Ohtani had his first stateside struggles — at least in games that count — in his last start. He exited at home against the Red Sox after allowing three earned runs in just two innings. As it turns out, a blister likely played a big role in his struggles. As Mike Digiovanna noted in the Los Angeles Times, Ohtani has previously dealt with blister issues in Japan, namely during the 2016 season. Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com wrote that Ohtani is expected to make his next scheduled start while also continuing to be used as a hitter, and in the linked article, manager Mike Scioscia stated Ohtani’s “not very concerned,” with the blister. Gamers should use the two-way star as they normally would, and hopefully, the blister won’t pose problems going forward.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.