With the season starting to wind down, 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.

Week Schedule Notes

• The following team has just five games this week:
  • Tampa Bay Rays at MIA, at CLE
• The following teams have seven games this week:
  • New York Yankees at DET, at HOU
  • Detroit Tigers vs NYY, at CHW
  • Atlanta Braves at COL, at LAD
  • Washington Nationals at TOR, vs MIA
  • Los Angeles Dodgers vs ARI, at ATL
  • San Diego Padres at STL, vs SF
  • San Francisco Giants vs CIN, at SD

Things to Watch

Baltimore Closing Chaos

Orioles closer Felix Bautista was placed on the IL with a UCL injury which sounds pretty terrifying for fantasy managers. Yennier Cano is the clear choice to be the next man up, and he did get the first save over the weekend, but we need to see if it is his job or a committee moving forward, as Cano has been less than reliable after an electric start to the season.

Shohei Ohtani (SP, DH – LAA)

Ohtani was diagnosed with a UCL tear ending his season as a pitcher. However, he plans to hit as he explores second opinions on his elbow. He remains a top-tier hitter in fantasy, but once he makes a decision on surgery or rehab on the elbow, that could potentially end his season at the dish as well.

Parker Meadows (CF – DET)

Meadows has made his Major League debut and done so with a bang! He is hitting .353/.476/.706 with a home run in his first five games. He has power and speed but has struggled with contact prior to 2023 in the minors. We need to keep an eye on the contact skills to see if the tools will translate.

Mason Miller (SP – OAK)

Miller had been an electric arm when he made his debut with the A’s, but as he did throughout his minor league time, he struggled with injury and was placed on the IL. He was fantastic in his rehab work in the minors, but he also hasn’t thrown a ton of innings in each outing. He is expected to return to the Majors soon, and we need to watch to see what his role will be moving forward.

Edward Cabrera (SP – MIA)

Cabrera struggled in the Majors this year with walks before being demoted to AAA. He is expected to rejoin the rotation this week after Johnny Cueto hit the IL. He has been better in the minors, only allowing more than two walks in one of his four starts in AAA. He has electric stuff, and if he can harness it, then he could be a huge asset down the stretch.

Cole Ragans (SP – KC)

Ragans has been fantastic since being called up by the Royals, throwing 34.2 innings of a 2.08 ERA with 47 strikeouts. He is a must-own in all formats, but if he continues to throw like this, he will be a popular draft target for next season.

Noelvi Marte (3B, SS – CIN)

Marte made his Major League debut last week, and he has played okay, hitting .227/.320/.364 with four stolen bases in seven games. Marte is a former top prospect that has a lot of fantasy upside. If he can hold his own with his contact skills, he could be a great asset down the stretch.

Kenley Jansen (RP – BOS)

Jansen is dealing with a hamstring injury that is a bit concerning. If he were to miss time, Chris Martin or Josh Winckowski would be next up for saves in Boston, so this is a situation worth monitoring.

Dylan Cease (SP – CWS)

Cease has been the worst pitcher in baseball over the last month, throwing 28.2 innings over his last six starts with an 8.16 ERA. He still gets strikeouts, but the walks have been outrageously high. He has a start in Baltimore this week, which is a good test to see if he can get back on track.

Alex Cobb (SP – SF)

Cobb has been really struggling over the last month, but he finally looked like his old self in his last start. His splitter was fantastic, which has been what was missing recently. He has an interesting two-start week to watch versus the Reds and Padres. I want to see the splitter working if I am to believe he is a usable pitcher moving forward.

12-15. Streaming Options

Kyle Gibson (BAL) vs CHW

Gibson has had a much better fantasy season than real real-life one because of 13 wins, but that makes him pretty valuable in good matchups like this one.

Tanner Houck (BOS) at KC

Houck is back after time on the IL, and while the stats in his first start weren’t overwhelming, he pitched well enough to take a gamble on him against the lowly Royals.

Braxton Garrett (MIA) at WAS

Garrett has been a stud when you look at the game logs. He has a couple of really bad outings that are masking how well he has pitched overall. He has a tougher matchup than one would expect versus a Nationals team that hits lefties well, but I am willing to roll with him in just about any matchup right now.

Zack Littell (TB) at CLE

Littell has pitched well since joining the Rays rotation, and he gets a great matchup versus a Guardians offense that has been pretty bad since the trade deadline.

16-20. 2-Start Options

Bryan Woo (SEA) vs OAK, at NYM

Woo missed some time with an injury, but in his first start back, he looked pretty good in spite of only throwing four innings. He has two extremely friendly matchups versus two of the worst offenses in baseball in great pitcher’s parks, so this is a fantastic pickup in leagues where he may be available.

Tarik Skubal (DET) vs NYY, at CHW

Since returning from the IL, Skubal has been either fantastic or ugly in his outings. However, his 2.63 xERA says the times he has been ugly have been a product of mostly bad luck. He has two very good matchups versus struggling offenses and should be a top priority in terms of streaming this week in leagues where he is still available.

Johan Oviedo (PIT) at KC, at STL

Oviedo has been up and down all season, throwing gems and duds at weird times. However, he is coming off of one of his better starts versus the Cardinals and now gets them again and a bad Royals team both in good pitcher’s parks, so if you were ever thinking about using him, you won’t get a better opportunity.

Brandon Williamson (CIN) at SF, vs CHC

Willimson has been up and down this year which is expected from a rookie pitcher, but he has started to get things going over his last four starts. He has a great matchup in a great park versus the San Francisco Giants and a less-than-ideal one at home, but I think in most formats, you can use him as long as you aren’t too worried about a hit to your ERA at the end of the week.

Taijuan Walker (PHI) vs LAA, at MIL

Walker has had an interesting season where he struggled to begin the year and then was quietly one of the best pitchers in baseball for over a month before he seemingly ran out of gas recently and struggled. After getting skipped in the rotation, he has seemed to get the lost velocity back and now faces an Angels team without Trout and potentially Ohtani and a Brewers offense that has been hit or miss. I think I would take the gamble on him in a lot of formats.

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