20 Things to Watch: Miguel Vargas, Luis Matos, Tylor Megill (Fantasy Baseball)

With the MLB season continuing, previewing storylines and aspects of each week is important to get ahead of the curve and gain an edge on your leaguemates.

Let’s look further at 20 things to watch as Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season begins!

Fantasy Baseball 20 Things to Watch: Week 9

Fantasy Baseball Week 9 Schedule Notes

No teams have just five games this week!
The following teams have seven games this week:
- Baltimore Orioles at STL, at CHW
- New York Yankees vs. SEA, vs. MIL
- Toronto Blue Jays vs. CHW, at DET
- Chicago White Sox at TOR, vs. BAL
- Detroit Tigers at KC, vs. TOR
- Seattle Mariners at NYY, at WAS
- Atlanta Braves vs. SD, at CHC, at PIT
- San Diego Padres at ATL, at CIN, vs. NYY

Miguel Vargas (2B – LAD)

Miguel Vargas has been called up by the Dodgers after destroying AAA with eight home runs and eight stolen bases with a .295/.436/.583 triple slash. Vargas is a former top prospect who struggled in his rookie season. The problem with Vargas is he is stuck as a bench option with the Dodgers’ lineup being so stacked. We need to monitor if he is playing or not because there is a lot of upside if he can find regular playing time.

Luis Matos (OF – SF)

Luis Matos was recalled after the Giants lost Jung Hoo Lee for the rest of the season. Matos responded with a massive weekend, hitting a home run and knocking in 11 runs in two games. Matos is a former top-100 prospect who was blocked coming into the season but now looks like he could be the everyday center fielder in San Francisco. If he plays every day and can move up the lineup, he could have a lot of value.

Tylor Megill (SP – NYM)

Tylor Megill is coming off of the IL straight into a two-start week. While I am not a fan of starting pitchers straight off the IL, we need to watch how deep he can go into games and if he can keep up the elite numbers in his Minor League rehab assignments.

Otto Lopez (2B, 3B, SS, OF – MIA)

I will not lie and say I even knew who Otto Lopez was coming into the season, but he has been pretty great in Miami, hitting .300/.345/.540 with three home runs and a stolen base this year. His profile doesn’t have a ton of power, but there is a fair amount of speed and contact skills. If he can continue to play every day, he could be a nice source of average and speed.

The Orioles’ Lineup

The Orioles’ lineup is stacked with young talent. They recently called up another top prospect, Kyle Stowers. They have already brought up and sent down Heston Kjerstad and Jackson Holliday, so there is no guarantee Stowers will stay up or even play regularly. They also have multiple top prospects still in AAA that could be appearing over the next couple of weeks, including the aforementioned Holliday and Kjerstad, as well as Coby Mayo.

Joey Ortiz (2B, 3B – MIL)

Joey Ortiz was a part of the Corbin Burnes deal and has played really well for the Brewers, hitting .292/.387/.538 with five home runs and a stolen base with really strong defense. Ortiz has even started to move up the lineup on occasion, and that would be really valuable for added plate appearances.

Brenton Doyle (OF – COL)

Brenton Doyle has been fantastic this season, hitting .273/.331/.447 with five home runs and nine stolen bases. Doyle had a great rookie season but struggled to make consistent contact. He has improved that this year, dropping his strikeout rate and increasing his zone contact. If he can continue these, he could have a massive breakout.

Alek Manoah (SP – TOR)

Alek Manoah has been up and down since returning from the Minor Leagues, but he is coming off of two seven-inning starts where he has allowed zero earned runs. Monoah relies upon his control and command to be pristine for success. It is hard to trust him after his disastrous 2023, but we must see if he can keep this up.

Tommy Pham (OF, DH – CWS)

Tommy Pham has been great since signing in Chicago this season, hitting .333/.379/.481 with two home runs and three stolen bases in 87 plate appearances. He has been leading off in Chicago, and if he can continue to do that, he could be massive for fantasy.

The Rays’ Bullpen

Pete Fairbanks is back, but the Rays have allowed eight different relievers to close out games this season. While Fairbanks has led the team, he has also been the worst reliever thus far. We must monitor whether this stays a committee or if Fairbanks holds the job.

The Reds’ Bullpen

Alexis Diaz has been disappointing this season with a 7.47 ERA. He is really struggling with walks, but he has also been unlucky in the strand rate. We need to see if the Reds decide to move on, but the whole Cincinnati bullpen has been pretty bad, so it is hard to know who the next man up would be.

The Orioles’ Bullpen

Craig Kimbrel has been struggling, and while he is the highest-paid player in the bullpen, it feels like a matter of time before they move on to Yennier Cano as the closer. This is something to monitor for sure.

Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitchers

Dean Kremer (SP – BAL) at CHW: Dean Kremer has pitched really well this season and faces a bad White Sox team.

Alec Marsh (SP, RP – KC) vs. DET: Alec Marsh has been up and down but has shown a better pitch mix this season and faces a Tigers offense that no one is afraid of.

Aaron Brooks (RP, SP – OAK) vs. COL: Aaron Brooks is not a great pitcher, but he pitches in a good park, doesn’t walk batters and is facing a Rockies offense that struggles away from Colorado.

Robert Gasser (SP – MIL) at MIA: Robert Gasser has been really good so far and faces a bad Miami offense in a good park.

Fantasy Baseball Two-Start Pitchers

Gavin Stone (SP – LAD) vs ARI, at CIN: Gavin Stone doesn’t strike out a lot of batters, but he has a lot of win potential with the Dodgers, and he is limiting the walks and homers.

Erick Fedde (SP – CWS) at TOR, vs. BAL: Erick Fedde has been really good this season, although there is not a lot of win potential with the White Sox.

Ben Lively (SP, RP – CLE) vs. NYM, at LAA: Ben Lively is not a great pitcher, but he doesn’t walk batters, and these are decent matchups coming versus a mediocre Mets offense and a bad Angels one.

Taj Bradley (SP – TAM) vs. BOS, vs. KCR: Taj Bradley has been fantastic since being activated from the IL and has shown increased cutter velocity. These aren’t great matchups, but I am rolling with him.

MLB Prospects Streamers Two-Start Pitchers Weekly Advice Miguel Vargas Luis Matos Jung Hoo Lee Tylor Megill Otto Lopez Kyle Stowers Heston Kjerstad Jackson Holliday Coby Mayo Joey Ortiz Corbin Burnes Brenton Doyle Alek Manoah Tommy Pham Pete Fairbanks Alexis Diaz Craig Kimbrel Yennier Cano Dean Kremer Alec Marsh Aaron Brooks Robert Gasser Gavin Stone Erick Fedde Ben Lively Taj Bradley

10 Burning Questions: Jackson Jobe, Grayson Rodriguez, Ha-Seong Kim (Fantasy Baseball)

by Corey Pieper | 4 min read

About Author

Justin Mason

@JustinMasonFWFB

Justin Mason is the lead fantasy writer and analyst for Friendswithfantasybenefits.com. He is a writer at Fangraphs and Fantasy Pros. You can hear him on the Radio on the FWFB, TGFBI and the Sleeper and the Bust Podcasts. He also runs The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational and the Bay Area Roto Fantasy (BARF) league.