Fantasy Baseball Weekly Planner: Week 5 (2020)

Compared to Week 4, we actually have a lighter schedule ahead of us — for some teams, anyway. The Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals will each play eight games — remarkably, none against each other — as they try to make up for lost time.

Elsewhere, the week will end with most organizations hitting a critical number of games played: 30. That’s right. By the end of Week 5, we will be halfway through the schedule for most of the league. Of course, this means that the fantasy baseball playoffs are rapidly approaching.

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Notable Matchups

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Royals (3), vs. Pirates (2), vs. Indians (3)
The St. Louis Cardinals are noteworthy for their eight-game schedule in a seven-day span, but they get an extra boost in this section with all eight games being played at home. The Cardinals have the most ground to cover of any team after a bevy of positive COVID-19 cases, but playing this large of a set at home in a short span is certainly helpful. Now let’s see if they can make some noise in the process.

Oakland Athletics at Rangers (4), at Astros (3)
It’s not always a benefit to play at home. At least, not when fantasy teams need offensive production.

Oakland’s home stadium ranks eighth-worst for home runs and ninth-worst for runs scored, according to FantasyPros. Houston ranks better for offenses in both categories — much better in home runs — and, while Texas’ new ballpark currently isn’t being factored into the equation, the dimensions of the outfield suggest that we will eventually see an uptick in offense. The Athletics play all seven of Week 5’s games on the road in these two ballparks.

New York Yankees at Braves (2), vs. Mets (3)
As of this writing, the New York Yankees’ schedule is already in flux. With the assumption that the team will be back in action for Week 5, it has a handful of important — albeit, non-divisional — matchups ahead.

New York had been cruising through the first third of the season to the tune of a 16-6 record and the American League East lead. That changed quickly when the Tampa Bay Rays came to town and promptly swept them. To add injury to insult, James Paxton, Gleyber Torres, and Zack Britton are now all dealing with ailments. Week 5 is suddenly that-much-more important for the Yankees.

San Diego Padres vs. Mariners (3), at Rockies (3)
Where else can we start with the San Diego Padres besides the barrage of grand slams? Currently, San Diego is riding a four-game streak of hitting a grand slam. More importantly, the team holds a winning record and has moved into second place in the National League West.

San Diego has already dipped into its stellar prospect pool, but there is much more waiting in the wings. Specifically, there are two potential plays for fantasy purposes.

The Padres will travel to Colorado to close out Week 5, so we can ready San Diego’s bats in any lineup. The other move would be grabbing top pitching prospect MacKenzie Gore before it’s too late. Gore can instantly be a game-changer, and, while the Padres have not made any indication that his time is near, he’s too valuable of a commodity to try to add after an announcement.

Cincinnati Reds at Brewers (4), vs. Cubs (4)
The introduction already touched upon the Cincinnati Reds’ eight games in Week 5, but the level of importance for the next series should not be overlooked. Cincinnati is trying to erase a pathetic start to the 2020 season, and it now has a full week of games against division opponents. The Cubs have led the National League Central somewhat comfortably for the majority of the year, but Cincinnati could get back in the race with some head-to-head wins.

Hitter Notes

Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS – SD)
Pick a category, any category. Most likely, you’ll land on one that features Fernando Tatis Jr’s name at the top. Home runs? Tatis has a league-leading 12. Stolen bases? He’s tied with four others for the most in baseball. Runs scored? Runs batted in? He’s first in those, too. Is it even worth mentioning that he has the best offensive WAR in the sport? Probably not.

It’s almost laughable the havoc that Tatis is wreaking on Major League Baseball, but it does not diminish how impressive this run is. Because his batting average is “only” .317, he probably won’t win the Triple Crown. It doesn’t matter. Tatis has cemented his name firmly in the story that will ultimately be written about the 2020 season.

Mike Trout (OF – LAA)
If we ever want to question just how special of a player Mike Trout is, we should look no further than 2020. The superstar missed four games earlier in the season for the birth of his son, yet he is still second in the league in home runs. In fact, nine-of-his-ten home runs have come in August after he returned from paternity leave.

Trout is chasing only Tatis in the home run race, but he is also roughly 20 points below his career batting average. This means that we might not have seen the best from Trout in 2020.

Anthony Santander (OF – BAL)
Prior to the season, it would not have been overly shocking to predict that Tatis and Trout would be two of the best hitters in the game. Anthony Santander, however, is another story.

Santander has not only hit well to start 2020, but he has hit consistently well from the start. Through 25 games, Santander has recorded at least one hit in all but four. He has an extra-base hit in 16 games.

Santander has been a bright spot for a Baltimore Orioles team with few expectations entering the season. The good news is that it looks like he’s more than capable of keeping this hot streak going.

Joey Bart (C – SF)
Already, we have seen two catching prospects make their Major League debuts in Daulton Varsho and Keibert Ruiz. Joey Bart’s pedigree is arguably the best of the group.

Bart was the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, and there was never a doubt that his advanced hitting profile and defensive prowess would fast-track him to the Big League squad. The question, of course, was a matter of “When?”

Now. The answer is “now.”

Pitcher Notes

Kenta Maeda (SP – MIN)
Kenta Maeda was three outs away from being the leading story in all Major League Baseball news, but he still gets the prestigious honor of leading off the “Pitcher Notes” section of the Weekly Planner. I’m sure he’s thrilled.

Maeda earned such a highlight after he struck out twelve batters through eight no-hit innings in his last start. He was given a chance to make history when he took the mound in the ninth inning, only to give up a leadoff single to Eric Sogard — who eventually scored, where the earned run was charged to Maeda. Despite losing the no-hitter — and not even factoring in the decision — Maeda clearly deserves recognition, as he has now moved his ERA to an outstanding 2.27. He also leads the league in WHIP at 0.632.

Casey Mize (SP – DET) and Tarik Skubal (SP – DET)
Buckle up. The veteran Maeda might have been the pitcher with the most impressive outing in recent memory, but we’re about to dive headfirst into a glimpse of the future.

The Detroit Tigers not only called up their prized prospect, Casey Mize, but they paired him with Tarik Skubal in an announcement on the same day. Mize and Skubal both carry outstanding potential, but Mize — the former first-overall pick from 2018 — is the one most likely to get attention. Still, don’t sleep on Skubal, as he basically pitched his way into the conversation of one of the organization’s best prospects.

Dane Dunning (SP – CWS)
The Chicago White Sox were not to be outdone by their division-mates from Detroit. The same day that Mize made his Major League debut, the White Sox called up Dane Dunning and lined up the top prospect head-to-head with Mize. Dunning wasn’t particularly efficient, but he did he strike out seven batters in fewer than five innings of work. As of now, he’ll continue to pitch in Chicago’s rotation, and he might be an important piece as the team makes its playoff push.

Sixto Sanchez (SP – MIA)
The American League Central couldn’t have all the fun. After Mize, Skubal, and Dunning all moved up, Sixto Sanchez promptly got the call for the Miami Marlins. Sanchez was arguably the biggest trade chip in the deal that sent catcher J.T. Realmuto from the Phillies to the Marlins, and he is another highly-touted prospect in development for years.

Sanchez’s actual debut is on hold, as the Marlins recently had to cancel their game with the Mets, but it looks like the right-handed flamethrower will get a start in the near future.

Get excited. The young talent flooding Major League Baseball right now is extraordinary.