It is important to look at some important storylines and aspects this week to be ahead of the curve and gain an edge on your leaguemates.

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Week 2 Schedule Notes

The following team has just five games this week:

• Pittsburgh Pirates (at DET, vs ARI)
• Detroit Tigers (vs PIT, at WAS)

The following teams have 7 games weeks:

• Baltimore Orioles (vs LAA, at TOR)
• New York Yankees (at TOR, at CIN)
• Toronto Blue Jays (vs NYY, at BAL)
• Los Angeles Angels (at BAL, vs MIN)
• New York Mets (at WAS, vs TB, vs CLE)
• Washington Nationals (vs NYM at MIA, vs DET)
• St. Louis Cardinals (vs MIL, vs LAD)
• Los Angeles Dodgers (vs MIN, at STL)

Things to Watch

• About Schmitt

Casey Schmitt has made his Major League debut and has been on fire, hitting .563/.563/1.125 with two home runs in his first four games. Schmitt is an under the radar prospect known more for his glove than his bat. He does have pop in the bat, but he tends to hit the ball on the ground a lot which mutes some of that power. His defense is go good that he could get regular playing time even after he cools down and be a valuable accumulator.

• Eury Arrives

Eury Perez made his Major League debut on Friday, throwing 4.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven in the no-decision. Both runs that he gave up in the outing were solo home runs, which is one of the potential issues with Perez. He is widely considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and the best of the pitching prospects that had not been called up yet. There is a ton of upside here, but there is risk that he struggles with the long ball.

• What Can Brown Do For You?

Ben Brown is absolutely dominating in the minors throwing 30.2 innings between AA and AAA with a .59 ERA and a .95 WHIP while striking out almost 40% of the hitters he has faced. While there is no indication that he will be up in the next week or so, he is almost 24 and there is no reason he needs to keep dominating minor leaguers for long. The Cubs have a struggling Jameson Taillon and an injury prone Drew Smyly in the rotation so it is matter of time before he is up.

• Cruz-ing

Elly De La Cruz has been crushing the ball in AAA hitting .268./348/.598 with six home runs and four stolen bases. He is the top prospect on the Reds and a top 10 prospect in baseball. He could be up any day now on his own merit, but with TJ Friedl dealing with a side issue, he could be the replacement on the roster with Nick Senzel heading back to the outfield.

• In The Year Of Our Lourdes

Lourdes Gurriel is on fire so far this year, hitting .310/.366/.519 with five home runs and a stolen base. He is making amazing contact in the zone and not swinging much outside of it. He has dropped his swinging strike rate and upped his walk rate which is a good sign that this can continue. With how loaded the Diamondbacks are in the outfield, he could lose playing time if he goes cold, but the skills are a good sign that he can keep it going.

• Darth Bader

Since returning from the IL at the beginning of the month, Harrison Bader has been fantastic, hitting .342/.390/.684 with three home runs. Known more for his speed and defense than his power, Bader has always struggled to stay healthy, but when he does he can be a valuable fantasy player. He has been hitting in the bottom half of the lineup, but if he can continue to hit well, he could find himself at the top in front of one of the strongest lineups in baseball.

• Leody On Fire

Leody Taveras has caught fire this month, hitting .455/.500/.606 with a home run and two stolen bases in May. Taveras has a nice hit tool and plenty of speed, but tends to hit at the bottom of the lineup. His really nice plate skills this month could move up the order pretty quickly if he can continue to maintain what he is doing.

• En Massey

Michael Massey struggled to start the season, but has really turned it around in the month of May, hitting .400/.515/.720 with two home runs and a stolen base this month. He has been walking more and dropped his strikeout rate during that time. While it is likely just a hot streak, it is worth riding because of his potential to steal bases, hit for power and hit for average.

• Is Manoah Broken?

Manoah has been dreadful this year, posting a 4.83 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP with 32 strikeouts in 41 innings this season. I wish I could say he is a buy low, but he actually has been worse than those numbers suggest. There has been some speculation that the new pitch clock is affecting him as a bigger guy. Manoah was likely your SP1 or SP2, but is borderline droppable soon if he does not turn it around.

• Grayson Getting Rocked

Grayson Rodriguez has struggled this season, throwing 33.2 innings with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He is walking too many guys and allowing too many home runs. Ups and downs are to be expected from rookie pitchers, but if he can not get the home run issue under control, he could find himself in the minor leagues.

• Cubs Closing Confusion

The Cubs have had a rotating door in the ninth inning this season. Four pitchers have saves this season and only one of them has more than one total save. Right now the job is being shared between Adbert Alzolay and Mark Leiter Jr. but I expect that Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger continue to factor in the later innings. This is a situation to continue to monitor.

13-15. Steaming Options

James Paxton made his season debut for the Red Sox, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out nine in five innings in the no-decision versus the Cardinals. This was Paxton’s first start since 2021 and he hasn’t pitched more than 20.1 in a season since 2019. When healthy, Paxton has the talent to be a top 20 pitcher in baseball and he lines up versus the Mariners this week who have struggled versus left handed pitching this year.

Brandon Bielak vs OAK

Bielak is not a high ceiling guy, but he tends to offer a high floor as someone that isn’t going to hurt you often. He has a great matchup versus the A’s on the schedule, so I am willing to stream him for an easy win.

Brandon Pfaadt at PIT

Pfaadt has been absolutely dreadful since making his Major League debut and if he doesn’t turn it around quickly, he will be heading back to the minor leagues. However, the Pirates are scuffling month of May, scoring the fewest runs in baseball and having the highest strikeout rate. I think Pfaadt is a really nice gamble here.

16-20. Two Start Recommendations

Merrill Kelly (at OAK, at PIT)

Kelly has been pretty good to start the season, throwing 45.1 innings of a 3.18 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 46 strikeouts. He is getting a pretty tantalizing two-step versus the worst team in baseball in the A’s and a struggling offense in the Pirates in two great pitcher’s parks.

Josiah Gray (at MIA, vs DET)

Gray has been great this season, allowing a 2.96 ERA in 45.2 innings this season. He is relying less on the fastball and more on his secondary stuff which has allowed him to cut down his home run rate in exchange for less strikeouts and it has been working for him. He has a pretty fantastic two-start week versus bad Miami and Detroit teams.

Seth Lugo (vs KC, vs BOS)

Lugo has quietly been very good this season, throwing 39.2 innings with a 3.18 ERA and 36 strikeouts for the Padres this season. However, these matchups are a bit scary with the Royals having been really hot over the last two weeks and scoring the second most runs in baseball during that span and the Red Sox who murder right handed pitching better than any other team in baseball other than the Rays. There is a lot of risk with this one in spite of how well Lugo has pitched.

Lance Lynn (vs CLE, vs KC)

Lynn has been atrocious this season, allowing a 7.51 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP in 44.1 innings pitched this season. However, while the numbers are bad, the underlying skills are in line with who he has been in the past. He is getting unlucky in the BABIP department and in his strand rate. The issue is if he can cut down the home runs, but he is getting unlucky there allowing a 22% HR/FB rate which is double his career average. He has a tough matchup with the hot Royals and a great one with the cold Guardians which makes him somewhat intriguing.

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