Welcome fantasy friends and foes to Week 9 of the 2022 Fantasy Baseball Season.

Heading into Week 9, teams have played 50+ games, and this is a good barometer to judge the rest of their season outlook. Additionally, this is also an excellent opportunity for fantasy managers to gauge where their team stands compared to their league standings. Analyze your weak points and address them immediately. Fantasy managers can not afford to stand pat while the season passes them by.

Fantasy managers can start their team recovery by finding 20 Things to Watch for in Week 9 (Fantasy Baseball).

1. Two teams are playing only five games in Week 9

Two teams will only play five games next week, including the Chicago Cubs, who will visit the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees next week. The Detroit Tigers will also get five games next week when they see the Pittsburgh Pirates for two games, then travel to Rogers Centre to play three games against the Toronto Blue Jays.

2. Week 9 Schedule Highlights

There will be 20 teams playing six games in Week 9. Only the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros, Minnesota Twins, and the San Francisco Giants enjoy home cooking all week. Half of the teams playing seven games next week will not have to pack their bags all week, including the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, and the San Diego Padres.

3. Phillies move on from Joe Girardi

The Philadelphia Phillies are currently sitting at 22-29 and have lost seven of its last nine games. The Phillies decided to fire manager Joe Girardi Friday before taking on the Los Angeles Angels. Girardi was 132-141 in three seasons as manager of the Phillies and never made the postseason with Girardi as manager. Phillies bench coach Rob Thomson was named interim manager for the remainder of the season. Girardi was brought to Philadelphia to bring in a winning attitude and is the team’s fifth manager in eight years.

However, the Phillies owned one of the worst bullpens in the league and a poor defense which is not a winning formula. The Phillies spent plenty of money this offseason, but they underwhelmed and are a flawed team. Girardi lost the clubhouse, and a change was needed. Typically, when managers get let go during the season, the team gets a spark and starts playing better ball at the outset. The Phillies started their series against the Angels with a 10-0 win. The Phillies will try to continue that momentum in Week 8 when they visit Milwaukee for a three-game series against the Brewers and then welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games. Fantasy managers should focus on the Phillies and ride the wave.

4. Dodgers will welcome reinforcements

It’s not like the Los Angeles Dodgers are struggling without their two veteran mainstays, but the Dodgers could be welcoming back starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw and infielder Max Muncy. The Dodgers sit atop the division at 34-17, and it looks likely we will see Kershaw return in Week 9. Kershaw, who last pitched on May 7th, went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 32 strikeouts against just three walks across five starts this season. He is scheduled to make a rehab start on Sunday with low-A Rancho Cucamonga. If all goes well, the southpaw will return to the Dodgers rotation. Max Muncy is expected to go on a rehab assignment and could return in Week 9. Muncy has been bothered with elbow issues since he suffered an elbow injury late last season. He has been struggling at the play, hitting only .150/.327/.263 in 41 games. Hopefully, the rest woke up his bat.

5. Brendan Rodgers is on fire

Colorado Rockies’ second baseman Brendan Rodgers got off to a dismal start to the season. Rodgers hit a woeful .078/.172/.098 across his first 58 plate appearances. However, Rogers’ bat heated up along with the weather in May, hitting .347/.380/.484 with a pair of homers, 18 RBI, and a .864 OPS. Rodgers is coming off a three-homer game against the Miami Marlins and looks to continue his scorching bat with seven games at Coors Field in Week 9.

6. Yankees found another ace

The New York Yankees have been searching for another dominant starter to create an imposing 1-2 punch in the rotation with Gerritt Cole. Nestor Cortes has thrown his hat in the ring with a 5-1 record with a 1.80 ERA and 0.87 WHIP. The southpaw owns a 68/14 K/BB ratio, yielding a .178/.231/.280 slash and .239 BABIP. His Statcast numbers also portray a glossy picture with a .198 xBA, .310 xSLG, and 2.14 xERA. Fantasy managers who drafted Cortes hoping that he would capitalize on his strong 2021 finish are reaping the rewards. Cortes is a two-start pitcher when he will take on the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago Cubs next week.

7. Oh no, not Grayson Rodriguez!

After the Baltimore Orioles promoted super prospect catcher Adley Rutschman, many fantasy managers were clamoring for the Orioles to do the same for Grayson Rodriguez, the No.1 pitching prospect in baseball. Rodriguez was producing video game numbers at Triple-A Norfolk. The right-hander produced a 2.09 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 80 strikeouts in 56 innings. He has struck out 37.4 percent of batters against an impressive 6.5 percent walk rate. He’s allowed fewer than three earned runs per nine innings at every stop in his career. Regrettably, Rodriguez has been diagnosed with a strained right lat muscle. The 22-year-old is projected to miss a significant amount of time at a minimum. The buzz was that Rodriguez would be pitching in the big leagues as early as next week, but now we won’t see Rodriguez until after the All-Star break.

8-11. Two-Start Recommendations

Carlos Carrasco (SP – NYM)

In his last five starts, the Mets right-hander is 4-0 with a 4.00 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. He also owns a 23/7 K/BB ratio across those starts, leading Carlos Carrasco to a 6-1 overall record with a 3.63 ERA. Carrasco has a mixed bag of opposing matchups next week with a San Diego Padres that he should be able to handle, but a Los Angeles Angels team that is ranked in the top ten. However, as a deep streamer option, Carrasso should be a productive starter for fantasy managers in Week 9.

Jon Gray (SP – TEX)

This season, Jon Gray has been an inconsistent starter for the Texas Rangers, but he shined in his last start. Gray went seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, giving up only three hits and one earned run while striking out 12 batters. It’s only better to be ahead of the curve so that I will ride with Gray this week and his two-start week. Gray takes on two mediocre offenses in the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox. So ride the wave and start Gray in Week 9.

Dakota Hudson (SP – STL)

Dakota Hudson does not overwhelm hitters, evidenced by his 4.9 K/9 rate, but he does limit runs, which is the game’s name. Hudson is currently 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. His underlying stats are concerning, but his Week 9 matchups are not with dates with bottom-tier offenses with the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds. Typically, not a recommended start but this week, fantasy managers should make an exception.

Kyle Wright (SP – ATL)

Kyle Wright is enjoying an excellent start to the 2022 season with a 5-3 record and a 2.41 ERA. He is also producing a 1.07 WHIP and 2.94 FIP while striking out batters at a 10.0 K/9 ratio. In addition, Wright yields a .193/.285/.274 and an impressive 1.3 HR%. Wright is a no-brainer start each week, but he faces juicy matchups next week. The right-hander takes on two bottom five offenses in the Oakland A’s and Pittsburgh Pirates and is a must-start in Week 9.

12-14. Bullpen Notes

12. Boston Red Sox

With Matt Barnes and Hansel Robles on the injured list, there is a revolving door in the Boston Red Sox bullpen. There are no defined roles in the back of their bullpen, and each reliever has not produced consistently. The pen has given up 25 home runs, the fourth-highest total in the league. The Red Sox also have the most blown saves (12) up to this season. The culprits are Tanner Houck, who has made the most appearances for the Red Sox but owns a 3.82 ERA and a 7.9 K/9 rate. Fellow right-hander John Schreiber is also part of the closer committee, but he has not taken over the closer role even though he has produced a 1.26 ERA and owns a 9.4 K/9 rate. Two southpaws round out the committee with Jake Diekman, who owns the team lead in holds but has produced a 3.50 ERA and a 12.5 K/9 rate. The southpaw is better suited for a complementary role. Finally, Matt Strahm is a situation lefty who has one save and four holds but is not considered an option as a closer. It will be highly frustrating to roster any of these relievers where the Red Sox, the dreaded closer by committee, to extremes.

13. St. Louis Cardinals

Ryan Helsley has emerged as the preferred closing option in the St. Louis Cardinals. Giovanny Gallegos won the job out of spring training, but his struggles, along with Helsley performing lights out, led to a changing of the guard. Helsley owns a 0.48 ERA and a 0.48 WHIP to a 28/5 K/BB ratio. The right-hander has not coughed up a home run across 18.2 innings pitched and has recorded three saves this season. Gallegos is trending downward with three blown saves with a 3.48 ERA and eight recorded saves. However, his grip on the closer role has slipped through his hands into Ryan Helsley’s impressive start to the season.

14. Tampa Bay Rays

Injuries to popular sleeper candidate Andrew Kittredge and JP Feyereisen have the Tampa Bay scrambling to fix a bullpen tied with the most blown saves on the season with ten blown saves. The Rays are generally considered one of the brightest minds in the big leagues, but even their bullpen has perplexed them. Why wouldn’t it do the same for fantasy managers? A Hodge podge of names, including Colin Poche and Jason Adam, is leading the way now in the Rays bullpen. Not sure how we can trust anyone in the Rays bullpen, especially with the Rays’ penchant for doing things unorthodox. There are liable to do anything, and that type of uncertainty makes me avoid this bullpen at all costs.

15-20. Hot or Not

Hot

Austin Riley (3B – ATL)

The Atlanta Braves third baseman hit three homers and three doubles among his 11 hits this past week. He slashed .379/.438/.739, knocked in eight runs, and scored seven runs. His stock continues to rise, and his now just behind Manny Machado as the best NL third baseman.

Sandy Alcantara (SP – MIA)

Sandy Alcantara was impressive in his last two starts for the Miami Marlins. The right-hander gave up only one earned run across 15 innings in two starts. He notched wins in both games while striking out 22 and only walking two batters.

Tony Gonsolin (SP – LAD)

Tony Gonsolin stepped up for the Los Angeles Dodgers with two splendid performances. In 12 innings, Gonsolin struck out 12 while walking only one batter. He gave up just six hits and two earned runs on his way to both wins.

Not

Alex Bregman (3B – HOU)

Alex Bregman has only two hits in his last 16 at-bats, sinking his season to a career-low .221 batting average.

Brandon Crawford (SS – SF)

Luckily, one of the two hits that Brandon Crawford had this past week was a grand slam. Otherwise, he would not provide any fantasy production. Crawford went 2-for-20 this past week and knocked in five runs. He is only hitting .215 this season, so his roster percentage should continue to sink.

Miles Mikolas (SP – STL)

The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander did not fare well in his two starts this past week. Miles Mikolas gave up 17 hits and ten earned runs across 11.2 innings. Add in the four walks and three dingers, and you have to be thankful that he squeezed out a win in one of those starts.

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Dennis Sosic is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Dennis, check out his archive and follow him @CALL_ME_SOS.