20 Things to Watch: William Contreras, Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole (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 13.

Fantasy Baseball 20 Things to Watch: Week 13

Fantasy Baseball Week 13 Schedule Notes

No teams have just five games this week:
The following teams have seven games this week:
- Milwaukee Brewers at LAA, at SD
- Colorado Rockies vs. LAD, vs. WAS
- San Diego Padres at PHI, vs. MIL

Field of Dreams Game

The San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals will play a game this week at Rickwood Field, which is the oldest active ballpark in the United States. The field was the home of the Birmingham Barons and the Black Barons of the Negro leagues. This should be a really fun event to watch.

The Dodgers Lineup

Mookie Betts has a broken hand and will be out for a while with the injury. With his absence, the Dodgers will lead off Shohei Ohtani, but what will the rest of their lineup look like without Betts? It would seem likely that Miguel Rojas should play a lot more at shortstop, but the back half of the lineup is much weaker than we thought it would be.

The Dodgers’ Rotation

Speaking of Dodgers injuries, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has hit the injured list (IL) with a strained rotator cuff. The Dodgers are now in need of a return from Bobby Miller, who is expected back this week. This originally looked like the deepest rotation in baseball, but now relies upon injury-prone pitchers like James Paxton and Tyler Glasnow and young guys like Miller and Gavin Stone until they can get healthy.

William Contreras (C, DH – MIL)

William Contreras left Sunday’s game with a head injury and has entered into the league’s concussion protocol. Contreras has been fantastic this season but could miss time if he is concussed. With recent losses at the catcher position, it is becoming harder and harder to find a replacement.

Gerrit Cole (SP – NYY) Returns

Gerrit Cole is projected to make his season debut versus the Orioles this week. Cole was sidelined at the end of spring training with an elbow injury many thought would cost him his season. If he is ready to be the guy we have seen the last few years, he may be the best stash of the season.

Drew Thorpe (SP – CWS) vs. the Tigers

Drew Thorpe is a top pitching prospect for the White Sox who had a nice debut versus the Mariners before getting absolutely destroyed on Sunday versus the Diamondbacks. He has a nice matchup versus a mediocre Tigers offense that could be a chance to shine or prove he isn’t ready for the big leagues.

The Orioles’ Rotation

Kyle Bradish has hit the IL with a UCL sprain. Bradish was slow to start the season because of this issue but tried the rest and rehab approach to avoid Tommy John surgery, but it appears that has not worked. This will likely give Cade Povich a chance to stick in the rotation for a little longer but also continues to put added pressure on the Orioles to make a trade.

Edwin Diaz (RP – NYM)

Edwin Diaz has returned from the IL and already logged his first save. This Mets’ closing job has been a committee on and off recently, but if Diaz is back to being his elite self, he should be the guy moving forward.

Andrew Vaughn (1B, DH – CWS)

Andrew Vaughn started the season slow but has been one of the hottest hitters in June, hitting .340/.365/.680 with five home runs in 52 plate appearances. He has increased his zone contact during that time while striking the ball with a 56% hard-hit rate. Vaughn may be one of the many White Sox on the block and a hot streak like this could make him even more appealing to suitors.

Yariel Rodriguez (RP, SP – TOR) Returns

Yariel Rodriguez hit the IL shortly after his MLB debut but has looked just as dominant in AAA during his rehab as he did before his call-up. He faces off against the Guardians this week, but we need to watch if the Blue Jays will allow him to go deep enough into games to qualify for wins.

12-15. Streaming Options

Spencer Schwellenbach (SP – ATL) vs. DET

Spencer Schwellenbach has been up and down since his call-up, but he has shown good skills and faces a bad Tigers offense at home.

Michael Lorenzen (SP – TEX) vs. NYM

Michael Lorenzen has quietly been fantastic with a 2.86 ERA in 66 innings since joining the Rangers. He gets a bad Mets team at home this week.

Lance Lynn (SP – STL) at MIA

Lance Lynn has been up and down this season, but you don’t get a much better matchup than the Marlins in Miami’s cavernous pitcher’s park.

Miles Mikolas (SP – STL) vs SF

Miles Mikolas has pitched well as of late and faces a Giants offense that doesn’t scare anyone.

16-20. Two-Start Options

Reese Olson (SP – DET) at ATL, vs. CHW

Reese Olson has struggled lately but this was just some natural regression for him as he had been elite to start the season. Even in losses he still had good control, which has been his calling card. The back half of the two-step is a juicy matchup and while the front half isn’t good, the Braves haven’t been the elite offense we expected them to be with Ronald Acuna Jr. out and Ozzie Albies struggling.

Michael King (RP, SP – SD) at PHI, vs. MIL

Michael King struggled early in the season but has been elite recently, posting a 1.64 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 22 innings in his last four starts. Part of that has been matchups with three of his four starts against struggling offenses, but he was also good against the Royals. These are two tougher matchups which is why he is this low, but I think he is usable in all formats while pitching this well.

Javier Assad (SP, RP – CHC) vs. SF, vs. NYM

Despite his ERA still being 2.84, Javier Assad has been coming back down to Earth recently, posting a 5.33 ERA over his last five starts. There is risk to his profile as a high-contact guy, but that is why we knew there would be regression at some point. On the plus side, these are two really nice matchups versus two offenses that haven’t been great this season, so he is probably in play in most formats.

Tobias Myers (SP – MIL) at LAA, at SD

Tobias Myers has been pretty good this season and has been especially good recently, throwing 14 innings over his last two starts and allowing just one run total. The Angels are a really nice matchup but the Padres are much scarier. The Brewers have been pretty good offensively, so I think this a good spot to stream and pick up a win with a guy like Myers who doesn’t have a low floor.

Braxton Garrett (SP – MIA) vs. STL, vs. SEA

Braxton Garrett has so much talent but has yet to put it all together. The results have been ugly, but the command and control have been pretty good thus far and I think the results will improve. He is facing two bad offenses, so I would roll with him in a lot of leagues.

MLB Weekly Advice Mookie Betts Shohei Ohtani Miguel Rojas Yoshinobu Yamamoto Bobby Miller James Paxton Tyler Glasnow Gavin Stone William Contreras Gerrit Cole Drew Thorpe Kyle Bradish Cade Povich Edwin Diaz Andrew Vaughn Yariel Rodriguez Spencer Schwellenbach Michael Lorenzen Lance Lynn Miles Mikolas Reese Olson Ronald Acuna Jr. Ozzie Albies Michael King Javier Assad Tobias Myers Braxton Garrett

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.