Welcome fantasy friends and foes to Week 10 of the 2022 Fantasy Baseball Season.
The Philadelphia Phillies fired Joe Girardi last week, and now they are on a nine-game winning streak to push them over .500 at 30-29. We had another firing this week, so let’s see if that also lights the proverbial fire on their team. We received good news for Clayton Kershaw but horrible news on Baltimore Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez.
Here are 2o things fantasy managers need to do as we head into Week 10.
1. Three teams play eight games in Week 10
The Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners, and the Washington Nationals will be busy in Week 10, with each team playing eight games. The Mariners and the Nationals will be lucky to enjoy home cooking all week with eight home games apiece.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers only play five games in Week 10
The Dodgers will play all five games this week at Dodger Stadium with two games against the Los Angeles Angels before welcoming the Cleveland Guardians for a three-game series.
3. Week 10 schedule highlights
Seven teams are playing seven games this week, with the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, and the Toronto Blue Jays playing all seven games at home. In contrast, the Los Angeles Angels and the San Diego Padres will be traveling all week with all seven games on the road. In addition, the New York Mets will look to improve on their 19-8 home record with six games at Citi Field.
4, Los Angeles Angels finally win after firing Joe Maddon
The Los Angeles Angels found their fall guy for the team going from being first in the AL West to dropping 14 straight games. Joe Maddon was fired as manager of the Angels as the struggles continued for the Angels. Former big-leaguer Phile Nevin will be the interim manager. Nevin became the third Angels manager since the end of the Mike Scioscia era in 2018. The Angels are 2-2 since the firing and are eight games behind the division-leading Houston Astros. The Angels can change managers but won’t improve an underperforming pitching staff. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani can not do it all. Maddon might be an overrated manager, but I fail to see where a change would help the team get them where they want to be.
5.-7 Week 10 Two-Start Recommendations
Ian Anderson (SP – ATL)
The Braves right-hander has been inconsistent this season but has won consecutive starts and takes on the Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs in plus matchups this week.
Zach Eflin (SP – PHI)
Eflin has pitched well in consecutive outings and has given up only earned run across his previous 12.1 innings pitched. The Phillies right-hander should be able to continue his momentum in Week 10 with matchups against the middling offenses of the Miami Marlins and the Washington Nationals.
Alex Wood (SP – SF)
Alex Wood is coming off two consecutive solid outings, giving up only three earned runs while striking out 10 batters across 12.1 innings of work. The southpaw has two plus matchups in Week 10 when he takes on the bottom-five offenses of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Kansas City Royals.
8. Week 10 Elite Pitching Duels
Jameson Taillon (SP – NYY) vs. Alek Manoah (SP – TOR)
Jameson Taillon takes a 6-1 record with a 2.73 ERA and 1.01 WHIP across his 11 starts to the Rogers Centre to take on Blue Jays’ right-hander Alex Manoah, who is 7-1 and has a 1.81 ERA and 0.96 ERA across his 11 starts this season. Tailon has won two of his three starts against the Blue Jays. Manoah received a no-decision in his only start against the Yankees this season, allowing one earned run and striking out seven across six innings.
Lucas Giolito (SP – CWS) vs. Framber Valdez (SP – HOU)
Lucas Giolito brings his 4-2 record with a 3.88 ERA to Minute Maid Park this week with a matchup against southpaw Framber Valdez, who is 6-3 with a 2.64 ERA. Giolito is coming off a miserable start against the Texas Rangers, giving up four earned runs in five innings of work. Valdez has won five of his last six starts.
Sandy Alcantara (SP – MIA) vs. Aaron Nola (SP – PHI)
Sandy Alcantara (6-2, 1.61 ERA, .094 WHIP)tries to continue his fine season when he visits Citizens Bank Park to take on Aaron Nola (4-4, 3.50 ERA) and the Philadelphia Phillies. Alcantara won his only start against the Phillies this season, giving up two earned runs and producing five strikeouts across 6.1 innings.
9. Yankees welcome the Rays in for a three-game series
In Week 10, we will see the AL East rivals New York Yankees take the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. These two teams faced off at the end of May for a four-game series where they split the series. This week, we will see exciting pitching matchups. The opening game of the series will see the Yankees send southpaw Nelson Cortes (5-2, 1.96 ERA) to face off the Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Corey Kluber (3-2, 3.88 ERA). In the second game, the Yankees send out their ace Gerrit Cole (5-1, 3.63 ERA) to take on the Rays’ Shane McClanahan (7-2, 1.87 ERA). Finally, the teams close the three-game series with the Yankees going with Luis Severino (4-1, 2.80 ERA) against the Rays’ Drew Rasmussen (5-3, 3.41 ERA).
10. Catching prospect Gabriel Moreno‘s shiny debut
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen suffered a minor fracture to his pinkie finger on his left hand, and he is out indefinitely. The Blue Jays called up Zach Collins to share the catching duties with the red-hot Alejandro Kirk, but the Blue Jays also promoted their No. 1 prospect Gabriel Moreno to help share time behind the plate. Moreno is a promising two-way catcher who got his first MLB hit in his first start on Saturday. He is the jewel of the Blue Jays’ system and owns a lifetime .311 minor league batting average. He is only 22 years old, and it will be exciting to witness how he develops with the remaining young Blue Jays nucleus.
11-13. Closing Time
Diego Castillo (RP – SEA)
After a horrendous May showing, Diego Castillo has the Seattle Mariners looking to the right-hander to close out games. In his last four appearances, Castillo is 2-0 with two saves and has not given up a run across five innings of work. He has also produced a 9/1 K/9 ratio and looks to be the go-to reliever now in the Mariners bullpen.
Tanner Scott (RP – MIA)
Right-hander Tanner Scott has emerged as the new closer for the Miami Marlins. Scott has gone 3-for-3 in save opportunities in June and has nine strikeouts against zero walks across five innings of work. Scott is a sneaky add as he is given save chances even though the Marlins are not winning many games.
Matt Strahm (RP – BOS)
The revolving door in the bullpen for the Boston Red Sox has temporarily stopped at left-hander Matt Strahm. The southpaw reliever has been relied upon to be in high-leverage situations as of late, including two saves this past week. As a result, Strahm is not widely rostered and is a viable candidate to assist fantasy managers in the saves and holds categories.
14. Brewers losing streak
The number of injuries across their roster has finally caught up to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers have dropped eight games in a row and have been outscored 57-20 during their losing streak. The Brewers will attempt to get off the snide in Week 10 with three-game series against the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds.
15-20. Hot or Not
Hot
Byron Buxton (OF – MIN)
If only Byron Buxton could remain healthy. Buxton showcased what he could do this past week. Buxton produced a .350/.458/1.150 slash and smacked five homers with seven RBI across 20 at-bats.
Jake Cronenworth (1B, 2B, SS – SD)
Cronenworth started the season struggling but picked it up last week. He slashed .409/.519/.995 and produced a 1.473 OPS across 22 at-bats. Cronenworth slugged three dingers and three doubles while knocking an incredible 17 runs as the San Diego Padres won five of their six games.
Marcus Semien (2B, SS – TEX)
Texas Rangers’ second baseman Marcus Semien was a Week 9 wrecking machine. Semien produced a .440/.462/.920 slash along with a 1.382 OPS. He smacked four homers, scored seven runs, and swiped three bases.
Not
Willy Adames (SS – MIL)
Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames has been a massive disappointment on my preseason sleeper lists coming into the season. He is hitting below the Mendoza line but has smashed 10 homers. Unfortunately, Adames was of little help in Week 9, going 1-for-11 with his only hit being a home run.
Aaron Ashby (SP – MIL)
Unfortunately, Aaron Ashby was highlighted as a two-start streaming option. However, Ashby was steamrolled in his two starts last week. Ashby surrendered 19 hits and 10 earned runs across 11.2 innings. The only help Ashby provided was the 11 punchouts he posted against the San Diego Padres and the Washington Nationals. Otherwise, he killed your Week 9 chances.
Walker Buehler (SP – LAD)
One of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers who hasn’t lived up to expectations is right-hander Walker Buehler. In his last two starts, Buehler pitched only six innings and gave up eight earned runs and nine hits, which resulted in a brutal 11.37 ERA. However, Buehler did leave his last start with right elbow discomfort, which may have explained his poor outings. The Dodgers subsequently placed Buehler on the 15-day injured list with a right foreman strain which should result in not seeing the right-hander until after the All-Star break.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
Beyond our fantasy baseball content, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Baseball Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator, which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents, to our Draft Assistant, which optimizes your picks with expert advice, we’ve covered this fantasy baseball draft season.
Dennis Sosic is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Dennis, check out his archive and follow him @CALL_ME_SOS.