20 Things to Watch: Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, J.D. Davis (Fantasy Baseball)

With the season in full swing, 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.

Here are 20 things around the world of fantasy baseball to watch for Week 14.

Fantasy Baseball 20 Things to Watch: Week 14

Fantasy Baseball Week 14 Schedule Notes

The following teams have just five games this week:
- Colorado Rockies at HOU, at CWS
- New York Mets vs. NYY, vs. HOU
- Houston Astros vs. COL, vs. NYM
The following teams have seven games this week:
- Baltimore Orioles vs. CLE, vs. TEX
- Toronto Blue Jays at BOS, vs. NYY
- Chicago White Sox vs. LAD, vs. ATL, vs. COL
- Cleveland Guardians vs. PHI, at LAA
- Kansas City Royals vs. MIA, vs. CLE
- Los Angeles Angels vs. OAK, vs. DET
- Texas Rangers at MIL, at BAL
- Atlanta Braves at STL, at CHW, vs. PIT
- Miami Marlins at KC, at PHI
- Philadelphia Phillies at DET, vs. MIA
- Chicago Cubs at SF, at MIL
- Cincinnati Reds vs. PIT, at STL
- St. Louis Cardinals vs. ATL, vs. CIN
- San Francisco Giants vs. CHC, vs. LAD

The Giants Honor Willie Mays

The Giants lost a legend of the game in Willie Mays last week while they were on the road for the Field of Dreams game. They will undoubtedly honor him during the upcoming home stand. This will likely be filled with greats talking about one of the greatest players to ever play baseball and will be a must-watch.

Heston Kjerstad (DH, OF – BAL) Returns

Kjerstad is expected to be recalled to the Orioles on Monday. He struggled in his first go-around in the Majors, but was never given a real chance to play. Will he get a chance this time around? Only time will tell.

The Yankees Lineup

The Yankees have lost Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton for a while, and they recently traded for J.D. Davis, as well as called up prospect Ben Rice. This likely means that Rice will play first and Trent Grisham plays centerfield while Aaron Judge DHs, but it remains to be seen what the Yankees will do.

Nolan Arenado (3B – STL)

Arenado is out for the time being with a forearm issue. He reportedly got an injection in his arm to deal with the pain, but he may be hitting the IL. This season, he has struggled to hit the ball hard and this could be the reason why.

Sunday Pitching Matchups

Sunday’s projected pitching matchups are looking pretty amazing. You have Gerrit Cole vs. Kevin Gausman, Paul Skenes vs. Reynaldo Lopez, Bryan Woo vs. Joe Ryan, and Bobby Miller vs, Blake Snell. This will be a great day to relax and watch some baseball.

The MVP Season of Steven Kwan (LF – CLE)

Yeah, I know it is early, but Kwan is hitting .390/.448/.575 with seven home runs and three stolen bases. He has a 7% strikeout rate and an 8.6% walk rate. While it is unlikely, he could potentially challenge Ted Williams for the highest batting average in a season with the way things are going.

The Mets Bullpen

Edwin Diaz was ejected from the game on Sunday night for having a foreign substance on his hand. He will be suspended for 10 games. In the meantime, the Mets are likely to go to Adam Ottavino and Reed Garrett in the ninth inning.

The White Sox Bullpen

The White Sox don’t win a lot of games, but when they do, they seem to be moving away from Michael Kopech in the ninth inning. John Brebbia got their most recent save and could be the next man up.

Pittsburgh Bullpen

David Bednar was placed on the IL and the Pirates are now in need of a closer. The obvious answer is Aroldis Chapman, who got the first save once Bednar was gone. Colin Holderman has also been good and could also be in line for opportunities.

Toronto Bullpen

Yimi Garcia has hit the IL and Jordan Romano had a setback in his rehab, so the Blue Jays are once again in need of a closer. Chad Green seems the likely first choice, but the Blue Jays also have former top pitching prospect Nate Pearson, who has looked great in the bullpen this season.

12-14. Streaming Options

Cal Quantrill (SP – COL) at CHW

Quantrill has quietly been pretty good this season, and he has been even better on the road, posting a 3.06 ERA in 50 innings with 34 strikeouts. He faces a terrible White Sox team so this is a nice streaming spot.

Spencer Arrighetti (SP – HOU) vs. COL

The Rockies are one of the worst offenses in baseball this season and they typically struggle mightily in their first few games of a road trip as they adjust to the movement of the ball outside of the thin air of Colorado. You can stream most pitchers against them.

Spencer Turnbull (RP, SP – PHI) at DET

Turnbull has been great this season, whether he was pitching in the rotation or the bullpen. There will be questions about how deep he will go in games now that he is back in the rotation, but this is a nice matchup.

15-20. Two-Start Options

Taj Bradley (SP – TB) vs. SEA, vs. WAS

Bradley has been up and down since coming off the IL, but he is suddenly looking like the former top prospect that he is. Over his last three starts, he has a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings with 21 strikeouts. These are two good matchups as well, so I think he should be used in most formats.

Cade Povich (SP – BAL) vs. CLE, vs. TEX

Povich has been up and down since his debut, but he has shown a lot of upside when he can control his pitches and doesn’t walk too many guys. These are tough matchups, but both are in Camden Yards, which is a great place to pitch. As long as he can go five innings, the Orioles’ offense will gives him plenty of chances for wins.

Spencer Schwellenbach (SP – ATL) at STL, vs. PIT

Schwellenbach has struggled since his call-up, but he has actually just been extremely unlucky and most of the damage was done in one start against him. He has two nice matchups on tap and I think this is a good buy low opportunity on the rookie.

Griffin Canning (SP – LAA) vs. OAK, vs. DET

Canning has struggled this season with a 5.02 ERA, but these matchups versus the A’s and Tigers are too good to pass up. Oakland and Detroit have been two of the worst offenses in baseball recently. While Griffin has risk, he has shown the ability to be good in stretches, so I would risk it in deeper formats.

James Paxton (SP – LAD) at CHW, at SF

Paxton has been up and down this season, but in spite of not getting many strikeouts, he has been pretty great, with seven wins and a 3.65 ERA this year. These are amazing matchups versus the White Sox and Giants, so at worst, you should get a lot of win potential.

Tyler Anderson (SP – LAA) vs. OAK, vs. DET

Do I believe in Tyler Anderson? No, but at this point, you have to keep using him, especially when he has matchups like these versus two of the worst offenses in baseball.

MLB Weekly Advice Heston Kjerstad Anthony Rizzo Giancarlo Stanton J.D. Davis Ben Rice Trent Grisham Nolan Arenado Gerrit Cole Kevin Gausman Paul Skenes Reynaldo Lopez Bryan Woo Joe Ryan Bobby Miller Blake Snell Steven Kwan Edwin Diaz Adam Ottavino Reed Garrett John Brebbia David Bednar Aroldis Chapman Colin Holderman Yimi Garcia Jordan Romano Chad Green Nate Pearson Spencer Arrighetti Spencer Turnbull Taj Bradley Cade Povich Spencer Schwellenbach Griffin Canning James Paxton Tyler Anderson

Fantasy Baseball Planner: Streamers, Two-Start Pitchers, Hitter Rankings (Week 15)

by FantasyPros Staff | 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.