Greetings, friends. We’re back for another baseball season. More importantly, we have a fun new series this year!
Welcome to the Daily Opener.
Every morning, I’ll be with you to recap the previous day of baseball and talk about what stood out to me. We’ll find fun stats. We’ll lament some injuries. We’ll take a peek at the day ahead. And we’ll have a few laughs.
Have questions or just want to talk baseball? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
Top Stories
We’re back with a Patriots’ Day edition of the Daily Opener, and we have a lot to get to:
- Ronald Acuna Jr. is starting a rehab assignment this week, and we could see him back on the field sooner rather than later as long as he doesn’t suffer any setbacks. Fantasy managers may be able to slide Acuna into their lineups as early as next week.
- Corey Seager received the Barry Bonds treatment this weekend as he was intentionally walked with the bases loaded in a game against the Angels.
This video is hysterical:
You can literally see Mike Trout processing that there was indeed a runner on 1st 2nd and 3rd when they walked Corey Seager
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 16, 2022
- Friends, I’m officially concerned about Zack Wheeler. He allowed seven runs to the Mets this weekend, and he just doesn’t look right. His velocity is all over the place, and it would not surprise me to see a trip to the injured list in his future.
- Mike Trout left a game over the weekend after being hit on the hand by a pitch, but X-rays were negative. He’s day-to-day for now. Side note: Trout had a really strange reaction to this pitch. Instead of turning his back to it, he kind of turned forward to face it, which is how he got hit on the hand.
- Yu Darvish continued his roller coaster start to the season, striking out eight in a dominant performance to beat the Braves. His three starts to begin the season:
- 6 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 4 BB, 3 K
- 1.2 IP, 9 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 K
- 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K
- Nestor Cortes struck out 12 in a no-decision against the Orioles AND threw an immaculate inning.
- Alek Manoah struck out six in a win over the Athletics. The Blue Jays have won 17 of his first 21 big league starts.
- Byron Buxton is “very optimistic” about how he’s feeling, and the Twins are going to “get to a point in the next day or two where we’re talking about a specific plan for getting him back out there.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, but this is a good news.
Fun!
Aroldis Chapman is the only reliever in the modern era to walk all 3 (or more) batters he faced in one appearance and then issue a walkoff walk in his next appearance.
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) April 16, 2022
Studs and Duds
Here are some of the best and worst performances from over the weekend.
Studs (Hitters)
- Seiya Suzuki – 3-for-6, 1 HR, 4 BB, 2 IBB, 3 R
- Through 9 games: .400 AVG / .543 OPB / .960 SLG, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 7 R
- Shohei Ohtani – 5-for-15, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB, 6 R
- C.J. Cron – 3-for-12, all three hits were home runs
- Tied with Nolan Arenado for the MLB lead with 5 HR
- Starling Marte – 4-for-12, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB, 4 R
- Marcell Ozuna – 4-for-12, 2 HR, 3 RBI
- Francisco Lindor – 3-for-9, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB
- Alex Verdugo – 3-for-10, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Studs (Pitchers)
- Justin Verlander – 8 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 8 K in win
- Marco Gonzalez – 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K in win
- Carlos Rodon – 7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 9 K in win
- Yu Darvish – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K in win
- Miles Mikolas – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K in win
- Chris Bassitt – 6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K in win
- Andrew Heaney – 6 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 11 K
- Through first two starts with Dodgers: 10.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 16 K
- Nestor Cortes – 5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 12 K in no-decision
- Kyle Wright – 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 ER, 9 K in no-decision
- Dylan Cease – 5.2 IP, 1 Er, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K in win
Duds (Hitters)
- Joey Votto – 0-for-9 with 7 K
- Carlos Correa – 0-for-11 with 6 K
- Luke Voit – 0-for-8 with 6 K
- Brandon Lowe – 0-for-11 with 5 K
- Bryson Stott – 0-for-8 with 5 K
- Gleyber Torres – 0-for-11 with 4 K
- Christian Yelich – 0-for-7 with 4 K
- Alex Bregman – 0-for-9 with 3 K
- Jake Cronenworth – 0-for-11 with 3 K
Duds (Pitchers)
- Tyler Mahle – 3.2 IP, 7 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K in loss
- Zack Wheeler – 3.1 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 3 K in loss
- Trevor Rogers – 1.2 IP, 7 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 3 K in loss
- Freddy Peralta – 3 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 4 K in loss
- Jose Urquidy – 4 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 2 K in loss
- Marcus Stroman – 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K in loss
- Nick Pivetta – 2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K in loss
- German Marquez – 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 3 K in no-decision
From the News Desk
We have an incredible news desk at FantasyPros. Seriously, they crush it. If you don’t already, you should sync your teams with My Playbook and check out the Fantasy News and Scores app for updates about your players.
- Sonny Gray (hamstring) placed on IL
- Ronald Acuna Jr. to begin rehab assignment on Tuesday
- Mike Trout’s X-rays are negative for fracture
- Hyun Jin Ryu placed on injured list
- Kevin Plawecki tests positive for Covid
Dingers
Here is every player who hit a home run yesterday:
Thairo Estrada
Bryce Harper
Ty France
Albert Pujols
Michael Brantley
Kyle Schwarber
Gavin Sheets
Seiya Suzuki
Pete Alonso
Ryan McMahon
Adolis Garcia
Stephen Vogt
Brandon Belt
Marcell Ozuna
Willson Contreras
Swipes
Here is every player who stole a base yesterday:
Adam Engel
Andrew Velazquez
Jorge Mateo
Chris Taylor
Andrew McCutchen
Tyler Wade
Joc Pederson
Tony Kemp
Ben Gamel
J.D. Davis
Santiago Espinal
Gavin Lux
Steven Duggar
Jose Azocar
Jeff McNeil
Brandon Marsh
Tim Anderson
Paul DeJong
Arm Barn Report
Here is every player who recorded a save yesterday:
David Robertson
Taylor Rogers
Jordan Romano
Josh Hader
David Bednar
Today’s Starting Lineup
- I love Patriots’ Day because we get an 11am ET baseball game. It isn’t the most exciting pitching matchup (Dylan Bundy vs. Rich Hill), but we at least get some morning baseball in the form of Twins vs. Red Sox.
- No national games today, but we have Giants vs. Mets on ESPN+ with an intriguing Alex Cobb vs. Tylor Megill matchup.
- Nick Lodolo vs. Sean Manaea is a pitching matchup I want to watch in tonight’s 9:40pm ET Reds vs. Padres game.
- And lastly, Clayton Kershaw is taking the mound for the first time since Dave Roberts inexplicably pulled him with a perfect game in his last start. That’s the late late game tonight with a 10:10pm ET start for Braves vs. Dodgers.
- As of this writing, Diamondbacks vs. Nationals and White Sox vs. Guardians have already been postponed.
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Mike Maher is an editor and content manager at FantasyPros and BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive, follow him on Twitter @MikeMaher, and visit his Philadelphia Eagles blog, The Birds Blitz.
