It is important to look at 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
Week Schedule Notes
- The following teams have just five games this week:
- Houston Astros at CHC, at COL
- The following teams have seven games this week:
- New York Yankees vs. OAK, at MIL
- Toronto Blue Jays at KC, vs. LAD
- Chicago White Sox at MIN, vs. TB
- Kansas City Royals vs. TOR, at DET
- Minnesota Twins vs. CHW, at LAA
- Oakland A’s at NYY, at BAL
- Philadelphia Phillies at CIN, at SD
- Cincinnati Reds vs. PHI, at TEX
- Milwaukee Brewers at PIT, vs. NYY
- Pittsburgh Pirates vs. MIL, at SF
- San Diego Padres at COL, vs. PHI
Jack Leiter (SP – TEX)
Jack Leiter struggled in his Major League debut but also showed why he is a top-tier pitching prospect with fantastic stuff. For him to stay in the majors long-term, he will have to pitch well before Cody Bradford returns from the injured list (IL). He has the stuff to do it, but we need to watch the command and control as that has been his Achilles’ heel in the minor leagues.
A.J. Puk (RP, SP – MIA)
A.J. Puk has struggled this season and his time as a starter could come to an end soon. The Marlins sent down Max Meyer last week when Edward Cabrera was activated off of the IL, but that is looking more and more like a mistake. With the Marlins’ bullpen also struggling, it might make sense for them to put Puk back into the closer role where he had some success last year.
Paul Skenes‘ Pitch Count
The Pirates are attempting to build Paul Skenes’ pitch count up, but man does he look good in the minors. He has thrown 12.2 innings over four starts in AAA and has a 0.00 ERA and an obscene 57.4% strikeout rate. If he is available in any format, you should pick him up because the Pirates can’t hold him down in AAA much longer.
The Rockies’ Schedule
The Rockies have their first full home week this season in which they will face the Padres and the Astros. This is a good time to stream hitters on all these teams and bench pitchers even though we don’t get the full Coors effect while things are still cool.
Andy Pages (OF – LAD)
Andy Pages has made his Major League debut for the Dodgers. He is a prospect who has hit at every level of the minor leagues and is a decent defender. With James Outman and the rest of the Dodgers outfield struggling, Pages could find himself playing regularly. If so, he would be a pretty nice pickup.
Justin Verlander (SP – HOU)
Justin Verlander has made his season debut and pitched well, getting the win versus the Nationals. The Nationals are not a powerhouse of an offense, so this week’s game versus the Cubs is more indicative of how Verlander may look moving forward. His velocity was down from last season, but if he can start to build towards the 95 mph we used to see, he could turn back into a very valuable pitcher.
Brady Singer (SP – KC)
Brady Singer has added another pitch and looked elite in his first two outings, but he has looked more pedestrian since then, allowing a lot more zone contact and not getting many swinging strikes in the process. He faces a tough Blue Jays lineup, which is a good test to see what pitcher he actually will be the rest of the way.
Reid Detmers (SP – LAA)
Similar to Singer, Reid Detmers started off looking good and then all of a sudden he looked mediocre again. Detmers has been a favorite of a lot of smart people in the industry for a while, so a test versus the Orioles in L.A. is a nice barometer of what we can expect from him moving forward.
The Brewers’ Bullpen
After Devin Williams went down with a back issue, there was a lot of confusion as to who would be the closer in Milwaukee. Abner Uribe seemed to be the guy early, but he has struggles and now it looks like Joel Payamps might be taking the job. However, the Brewers just activated Trevor Megill, who has the best stuff in the Milwaukee bullpen. This is something to keep an eye on.
The Rays’ Bullpen
Pete Fairbanks has struggled mightily this season and looked distraught in a recent postgame interview. The Rays recently went to Colin Poche for a save opportunity but they also have Jason Adam in tow.
12-15. Streaming Options
Edward Cabrera (SP – MIA) vs. WAS
Edward Cabrera looked great in his first start and now gets a bad Washington offense in Miami.
Clarke Schmidt (SP – NYY) vs. OAK
The A’s are always a team to pick on. Despite Clarke Schmidt being up and down already, the matchup is too good to pass up.
Javier Assad (SP, RP – CHC) and Jordan Wicks (SP – CHC) vs. BOS
Boston is one of the most beat-up lineups in baseball — something you should attack with your streamers. I don’t love either pitcher necessarily, but they’re good enough to take advantage of a decimated lineup.
16-20. Two-Start Options
Ranger Suarez (SP – PHI) at CIN, at SD
I know pitching in Cincy is rough, but Ranger Suarez has the profile to make it work with his 60+% ground ball rate and improving strikeout numbers. There is a risk here, but he has looked fantastic to start the season.
Paul Blackburn (SP – OAK) at BAL, at NYY
Usually, you would avoid an A’s pitcher going on the road for some tough matchups, but Paul Blackburn has pitched well so far and made real changes to his profile. In his 24 starts since the beginning of last year, he has only had four starts in which he has allowed more than for runs, which means he is much safer than you would expect.
Reynaldo Lopez (SP, RP – ATL) vs. MIA, vs. CLE
Reynaldo Lopez has been fantastic this season and even handled the Astros’ offense with relative ease. He gets much easier matchups with this two-start and is a must pick-up in all leagues where he is still available.
Tanner Houck (SP – BOS) at CLE, vs. CHC
I have never been a believer in Tanner Houck, but I am now a convert. He has looked fantastic, taking a Robbie Ray approach by filling up the zone and daring hitters to make contact. It has worked beautifully. These aren’t matchups I would run away from. At this point, I don’t think there is a matchup I would sit Houck for.
Zack Littell (SP, RP – TB) vs. DET, at CHW
Zack Littell has looked great this season and gets two of the best possible matchups versus one of the worst teams in baseball in the White Sox and a struggling offense in the Tigers.
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