With the season coming up on the halfway point 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 league mates.
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20 Things To Watch for June 19 – 25
Week 12 Schedule Notes
The following teams have just five games this week:
- Baltimore Orioles at TB, vs SEA
- Los Angeles Angels vs LAD, at COL
- Chicago Cubs at PIT vs STL
- St. Louis Cardinals at WAS, vs CHC
- Los Angeles Dodgers at LAA, vs HOU
The following teams have seven games weeks:
- Boston Red Sox at MIN, at CHW
- Kansas City Royals at DET, at TB
- Minnesota Twins vs BOS, at DET
- Miami Marlins vs TOR, vs PIT
- Washington Nationals vs STL, vs ARI, at SD
- Pittsburgh Pirates vs CHC, at MIA
- Arizona Diamondbacks at MIL, at WAS, at SF
Now that Elly De La Cruz is up and raking, it is time to turn our attention to the next top tier Reds prospect that will likely make his debut. Encarnacion Strand is a power bat that has not only crushed in AAA, but has improved his strikeout and walk rates this season.
Encarnacion-Strand is a first baseman and. with Joey Votto on a rehab assignment, he will likely need to be proficient in the outfield to find playing time. However, the Reds are now getting him time out there, so it is a matter of time before he finds himself crushing in Great American Ballpark.
A former top prospect, Matos has arrived in San Francisco. I call him a “former top prospect” because he has lost a lot of his hype due to his power not developing the way many thought it might. However, he has a very pretty swing that could still develop power down the road. He makes a lot of contact and can steal bases, so if you need speed and average, he isn’t a bad gamble considering Mitch Haniger will miss a while with a broken forearm.
Skubal is projected to return from the IL this week. While I am not an advocate of starting anyone right off the IL, especially because Skubal has yet to throw more than three innings in a rehab start, I am watching how he looks very closely. Skubal has tremendous stuff and can rack up a lot of strikeouts. If he can get stretched out, he could be an all-formats option.
Rockies Bullpen
Once again the Rockies bullpen is a mess. They have gone from Daniel Bard to Pierce Johnson to Justin Lawrence and now it seems like a committee. I think the Rockies would love to get Bard going so they could flip him at the deadline for something.
Hug Watch
Now that we are past June 15th, teams can trade players on one year deals and many are taking a look at whether the Royals and A’s will start jettisoning their older players earlier than the trade deadline.
Aroldis Chapman has been a popular name in rumors all season long as he has looked more like his old self and he could be a huge boost to a ton of different bullpens. The Royals could also shop Zack Greinke, Jordan Lyles, Amir Garrett, and Matt Duffy. The A’s could look to move Trevor May and Tony Kemp who are impending free agents and their most expensive contracts this year.
Snakes on a Plane
As stated above, the Diamondbacks are playing seven games this week versus three opponents. Usually when a team faces a third opponent it is because they have a wrap around series from the previous weekend.
This week, the Diamondbacks are traveling to Milwaukee for a three games set versus the Brewers before heading to Washington to face the Nationals for one game then flying across the country for a three-game set versus the Giants. This is a ton of traveling in a week and could be the reason some guys get extra days off that they are not used to.
Rodon has yet to pitch in the Majors this season, but he has now been cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment. There are fears that he will need surgery at some point, so watching these first few rehab starts will be informative to whether or not he will actually return.
Cardinals Bullpen
Ryan Helsley has been placed on the IL with a forearm strain which is often a precursor to Tommy John surgery. Giovanny Gallegos was expected to be the next man up as the closer for the Cardinals, but he promptly blew his first save opportunity in the role.
Gallegos has had a dip in velocity which is concerning. He should have some rope because there aren’t a ton of healthy options in St. Louis, but if he is hurt then they would likely have to pivot to Jordan Hicks or Steven Matz.
Baby Birds
The Orioles have been fantastic this season and are tied for the second best record in baseball with the Braves. At some point, they may decide to start bringing up more of their top prospects like Jordan Westburg, Connor Norby, and Colton Cowser to replace some of the weak parts of their lineup.
They could also bring back top-tier pitching prospects Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall to fill out their rotation and bullpen. This is a good young team that should be great soon. It is a matter of how soon.
No-DA
Over the last three weeks, Ryan Noda has been on fire, hitting .304/.442/.493 with three home runs. He is walking 18.6% of the time in that stretch and barreling the ball at a 14.6% rate. This is undoubtedly a hot streak but he has been so good that he has gone from a bench bat to full time player as the Athletics let go of Jesus Aguilar. There will be slumps, but he should be rostered in way more leagues than he is.
Tommy Edman Struggling
Edman has really struggled over his last thirty days, hitting just .207/.260/.337 with just one home run in 100 plate appearances. It hasn’t been empty for fantasy players because of his seven stolen bases, but he has hit ninth for the Cardinals in 12 of his last 17 games and only his defense is saving him from the bench.
With the Cardinals struggling, they may decide that Edman’s defense is not worth the paltry offensive performance, especially as players like Lars Nootbaar and Tyler O’Neill return.
13-15. Steaming Options
Logan Allen vs OAK
Allen had been really good since his call up before getting knocked around by two good offenses in the Astros and Padres. He should rebound really nicely versus an Oakland team that is the worst lineup in baseball and possibly ever constructed.
Andrew Abbott vs COL
Abbott has been great in his first two starts throwing scoreless 11.2 innings versus the Brewers and Cardinals. He gets another easy start versus a Rockies that struggle on the road and versus left-handed pitching.
Yusei Kikuchi vs OAK
Kikuchi actually has a two start week, but in spite of what people think of Miami who his first of two is against, they actually hit left handed pitching well, so I would prefer to just pick on the A’s here. If you have to use him for both, I think he is worth the risk.
16-20. Two Start Recommendations
Michael Wacha at SF, vs WAS
Wacha has gone from an afterthought to a must start this season. His changeup and fastball have been great and now he gets two offenses that I am not really scared of in great pitcher’s parks.
Garrett Whitlock at MIN, vs SEA
Whitlock has been amazing over his last two starts, relying on an elite slider to do a lot of the heavy lifting. These aren’t the easiest matchups, but they aren’t ones I am running away from either.
Johan Oviedo vs CHC, at MIA
Oviedo got beat up a bit in his last start, but he got really unlucky with a .615 BABIP and was doing a fantastic job of attacking the zone to get eight strikeouts. This is a nice set of matchups here that I am happy to ride with him on.
MacKenzie Gore STL, at SD
Gore has been fantastic in spite of walking a few too many guys. The San Diego part of this two-step is a bit risky, but he has been good enough to make it through without too much damage.
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