With the season almost halfway done, it is important to look at some important storylines in order to be ahead of the curve and gain an edge on your league mates.
Fantasy Baseball 20 Things to Watch
This Week’s Schedule Notes
- The following teams have just five games this week:
- Toronto Blue Jays vs PHI, at CIN
- Chicago White Sox at CHC, at COL
- Minnesota Twins vs DET, vs PIT
- Philadelphia Phillies at TOR, at WAS
- Chicago Cubs vs CHW, vs KC
- Cincinnati Reds vs CLE, vs TOR
- The following teams have seven games this week:
- Kansas City Royals vs SEA, at CHC
- Seattle Mariners at KC, at HOU
- New York Mets vs PIT, at STL
- St. Louis Cardinals vs OAK, vs NYM
- Arizona Diamondbacks at COL, at SD
- San Diego Padres vs BAL, vs ARO
Lewis has been working his way back from another injury after straining his oblique and should be back any day from the IL. He is a top tier prospect that has struggled with injuries throughout his time in the minors and Majors. Once healthy, he should be an every day player with a ton of fantasy upside.
Hayes has struggled this year with injuries and underperformance, but he has been extremely hot since returning from the IL, hitting three home runs in his last four games. Hayes has a ton of speed and can hit the ball hard and is widely available as he was dropped from teams during his struggles.
Story has returned from the IL where he has been all season. He has already stolen three bases and is hitting high up in the powerful Red Sox lineup. There are questions to the power returning, but he is worth monitoring to see if he will play full time right away and if the power is there.
Heim hit the IL a couple of weeks ago with a tear in a tendon in his wrist. There was talk that this could end his season, but it would be up to his pain tolerance. In spite of that, he looks like he may be activated this week from the IL. Heim was the #1 catcher this season in fantasy prior to the injury so if he is available in your league, then he is someone to grab off the wire. We need to see how much he will play and what the power looks like because injuries like this can sap power.
Singleton is a former top prospect that flamed out in his first go around with Houston years ago. He has worked his way back to the Majors after bouncing around with a few teams and hit two home runs in his debut this season. There has always been power, but we need to see what the contact ability looks like and how much he will play with the Astros.
Butler has made his Major League debut with the Athletics. Butler is the A’s #3 prospect and there is a lot of power in the profile, but he can struggle to make contact. He has made some really nice improvements in the minors this season, so we should watch what his playing time looks like and if he is making consistent contact.
Michael Wacha had pitched like an ace prior to going on the IL, posting a 2.84 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 85.2 innings this season. However, he was getting pretty lucky with a .251 BABIP and an 81% strand rate. He gets a two start week off of the IL, so this is a good week to pick him up and see what happens.
Prospects on the Rise
During this week, the line for players to retain their rookie status heading into next season will pass which means we may see a new crop of top tier prospects coming up. Guys like Kyle Manzardo and Masyn Winn highlight some interesting names that could debut and help fantasy teams.
Angels On The Mound
The Angels are having some struggles on the mound late in the season Shohei Ohtani is expected to have his next start skipped due to some soreness. Carlos Estevez has also struggled as of late. With the Angels trying to stay in the Wild Card race, there could be a change at closer if Estevez can’t get it together.
NL Wild Card Race
The NL Wild Card race is heating up with three teams within three games of the Marlins for the last spot in the Wild Card. The Marlins have a tough schedule this week with the Astros and the Dodgers. The Cubs have a really nice schedule with the White Sox and the Royals. The Reds host both the Guardians and the Blue Jays. The Diamondbacks start in Colorado and then face off against the Padres who are trying to stay alive in the race. This should be fun until the end!
13-16. Streaming Options
Jameson Taillon (CHC) vs KC
Taillon has been up and down this season, but he gets a great matchup versus a bad Royals team at home.
Kyle Gibson (BAL) at OAK
Gibson has quietly been really valuable in fantasy because of the amount of wins he has racked up and now faces the worst team in baseball in a great park.
Matthew Liberatore (STL) vs OAK
Liberatore is coming off of the best start of his career and now faces the worst team ever constructed.
Johan Oviedo (PIT) vs NYM
Oviedo has been up and down recently, but he is facing a bad Mets offense at home in the best park to pitch in in baseball.
17-20. Two-Start Options
JP Sears (OAK) at STL, vs BAL
Sears has been fantastic and from a straight skills perspective, but his major flaw is not of his own making. He has just two wins on the season because he pitches for the worst team in baseball. So, if you are looking for wins, you may want to look elsewhere, but if you want strikeouts and great ratios, he is one of the best options this week.
Miles Mikolas (STL) vs OAK, vs NYM
Mikolas has been up and down this season, posting a 4.20 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 141.1 innings. He is very dependent on his team’s defense because of his extreme ground ball tilt, but that is helped by the Cardinals being a very good infield defense. He has the easiest of matchups versus two of the worst offenses in baseball.
Emerson Hancock (SEA) at KC, at HOU
Hancock has a nice debut and is a former first round draft pick. The first part of this two-start week is really nice in Kansas City and becomes much harder at the end of the week in Houston, but I think I would roll with him in a lot of formats.
Dakota Hudson (STL) vs OAK, vs NYM
Hudson is not a good pitcher, but this is the two best matchups in baseball right now. There is a ton of risk here, but if you can’t use him here, you can’t ever use him.
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