The fantasy baseball season is nearly coming to an end, and you want to finish strong! Here is what I am watching in Week 22.

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1. Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider
With Diego Castillo (shoulder) sidelined, Sewald has been the primary closer in the Mariners bullpen. Steckenrider posted an impressive performance last Tuesday, allowing just two hits against Oakland over the final 2.1 innings to earn his sixth save of the season. Sewald is the main closer in Castillo’s absence, but don’t count out Steckenrider. He should see late-inning work in Seattle’s bullpen and can receive save opportunities when Sewald is unavailable. The Mariners have played a lot of close games.

2-5. Interesting Two-Start Pitchers

Chris Flexen (SP – SEA)
Flexen continues to shine bright in Seattle’s rotation this season. Once a top prospect in the Mets organization, he was out of MLB before Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto found him in the KBO last year. He has tossed at least six innings in four of his last five starts, boasting a 2.43 ERA in that span against some tough lineups, including the Yankees and Blue Jays. Flexen begins the week with a start at home against Houston. He struggled against the Astros last month but allowed just one run over six innings against them earlier this season. Flexen will look to continue his recent excellence before seeing a more favorable matchup later in the week against the Diamondbacks.

Taijuan Walker (SP – NYM)
Walker has been an innings-eater in the Mets rotation all season, pitching at least six innings in four consecutive starts. He boasts a 3.82 ERA with 117 strikeouts over 129.2 innings pitched. This week, Walker faces the Marlins and Nationals. Having faced each NL East opponent twice this season, he’s split a productive start and a not-so-great start against each. Regardless, these are favorable matchups for Walker.

Luis Castillo (SP – CIN)
After getting crushed by Cleveland to eight runs over 3.1 innings, Castillo has turned in three straight quality starts. He has also recorded 21 strikeouts to five walks in that span with a 2.70 ERA. Castillo is scheduled for two starts at home this week against St. Louis and Detroit. He allowed one run over seven innings against the Cardinals last month.

Robbie Ray (SP – TOR)
Ray continues to enjoy a career year with a 2.72 ERA over 152.1 innings pitched. He has tossed at least seven innings in three straight starts while allowing no more than two runs, and you can extend that to six straight starts of at least six innings. He has two more favorable matchups this week against Baltimore at home, followed by another home start against an Oakland lineup that has struggled mightily as of late.

6. Aroldis Chapman’s usage
Chapman’s inconsistency with his control has been evident all season. That showed most recently on Tuesday against Atlanta when he entered the ninth inning with the Yankees up 5-3. After picking up two quick outs with a single in between, he allowed two walks and an infield single. Yankees manager Aaron Boone removed him for Wandy Peralta, who secured the 5-4 win by getting Freddie Freeman to fly out with the bases loaded. Just two days later, Boone went right back to Chapman, who worked around a single to pick up the save against Oakland.

7-9. Scheduling
The Tigers, Brewers, Giants, Red Sox, Rays, Braves, Rockies, Nationals, and Mets have seven games scheduled this week. Every other team is currently scheduled to play six games except for the White Sox, who have just five games this week

10-12. Hot-Hitting Yankees
Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Luke Voit have all seen the ball well during the Yankees’ historic winning streak. They head to Los Angeles and Baltimore this week for three-game series against the Angels and Orioles, who each rank towards the bottom of MLB in team ERA.

13. Will Salvador Perez Stay Hot?
Perez launched grand slams in back-to-back days Thursday and Friday against the Mariners, followed by another long ball Saturday. He has now hit 37 home runs this season to go along with a respectable .275 batting average. Perez will look to keep up his recent hot hitting at home against Cleveland and White Sox.

14-15. Aaron Civale and Raimel Tapia on Rehab Assignments
On Friday, Civale (finger) allowed one hit over 4.1 shutout innings for High-A Lake County, picking up four strikeouts across 59 pitches. It was his second rehab start as he continues to work his way back from a sprained right middle finger. Civale is on track to return in September and is worth adding if available.

Tapia (toe) went 3-for-6 with a double and stolen base in his first two games with Triple-A Albuquerque. He should return to the Rockies’ lineup soon.

16-19. First Basemen on Fire

José Abreu (1B – CWS)
Abreu picked up a hit in four straight games from Tuesday through Friday last week with seven RBIs and two home runs. The White Sox are the lone team with five games this week, though, with a two-game series against Pittsburgh and three games against the Royals.

Paul Goldschmidt (1B – STL)
Goldschmidt followed Wednesday’s two home runs with six hits (including two doubles and a triple) in his last three games. This stretch came right after he snapped an 11-game hitting streak.

Patrick Wisdom (1B – CHC)
Wisdom hit two home runs in back-to-back games against the White Sox, giving him 25 in just 275 plate appearances this season. The Cubs play a two-game series against Minnesota, followed by four home games against the Pirates.

Connor Joe (1B – COL)
Joe has been on a roll, batting .311/.387/.594 since the All-Star break. He will have seven games this week, including four at Coors Field against Atlanta, to try and stay hot.

20. Whit Merrifield’s Recent Surge
Merrifield picked up at least one hit (17 total) in nine of his last 10 games. Although not known for his power, he’s delivered two home runs and three doubles in his last four games.

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