With the season almost halfway done, 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 16.
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Tools
- Weekly Fantasy Baseball Content
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
Fantasy Baseball 20 Things to Watch: Week 16
Fantasy Baseball Week 16 Schedule Notes
- The following teams have just five games this week:
- Kansas City Royals at STL, at BOS
- San Diego Padres vs. SEA, vs. ATL
- The following teams have seven games this week:
- Los Angeles Angels vs. TEX, vs. SEA
- Atlanta Braves at ARI, at SD
- New York Mets at PIT, vs. WAS, vs. COL
- Washington Nationals vs. STL, at NYM, at MIL
- Chicago Cubs at BAL, at STL
- Cincinnati Reds vs. COL, vs. MIA
- Pittsburgh Pirates vs. NYM, at MIL, at CWS
- St. Louis Cardinals at WAS, vs. KC, vs. CHC
- Arizona Diamondbacks vs. ATL, vs. TOR
- Colorado Rockies at CIN, at NYM
The Futures Game
The most underrated event of the MLB All-Star week is the Futures Game. This is an All-Star game for MLB’s top prospects. It’s underrated because the league doesn’t showcase it on its night but rather plays it the weekend before against other MLB games. This year’s game will include Marcelo Mayer, Max Clark, Samuel Basallo, Ethan Salas and others. If you are a dynasty player or just a baseball fan, this is a must-watch event.
Brooks Lee (SS – MIN)
Brooks Lee was supposed to play in the Futures Game, but he will likely be replaced with his call-up to the Majors. Lee has been great in AAA, hitting .329/.394/.635 with seven home runs and a stolen base. He doesn’t have a carrying tool for fantasy, but could be a very interesting accumulator if he plays full-time.
Shane Baz (SP – TB)
Shane Baz is back in the Majors, but it remains to be seen how the Rays will use him. Baz has a ton of talent but with the Rays looking like they could fall out of the American League East race, they could be more conservative with him or push him to see if he can help propel them towards the Wild Card.
Heston Kjerstad (DH, OF – BAL)
Heston Kjerstad has been great since returning from the minor leagues, hitting .333/.429/.667 with two home runs in 28 plate appearances. He hasn’t played every day, but he is playing more than 50% of the time, which is encouraging. If he can continue to gain plate appearances, he could become a difference-maker in fantasy.
Davis Daniel (SP, RP – LAA)
Davis Daniel was called up to fill in the injured Angels’ rotation and was fantastic in his first start before getting beat up by the lowly Athletics. He has a two-start week, which will likely determine if he goes back to the Minors after the All-Star Break or sticks in the rotation. I wouldn’t use him for this set of matchups, but I definitely will be watching.
Parker Meadows (CF – DET)
Parker Meadows has been recalled from the minor leagues by the Tigers. The former top prospect was great in AAA but struggled mightily before his demotion. Contact skills will be the thing to watch. He was striking out at a 38% clip before being sent down, but if he can keep the strikeouts to a reasonable level, he will be someone to watch.
Gavin Williams (SP – CLE)
Gavin Williams made his season debut last week against the White Sox, getting lit up for five runs in four innings. Williams missed the first half of the season with elbow issues but can be an overpowering pitcher when healthy. We get to see him for a two-start week this week. That will be a good indicator of whether he is healthy or not.
Potential Demotions
Every year we see several young players get sent down or put on the injured list (IL) right before the All-Star break as a way of limiting a pitcher’s innings or preserving arbitration status for future years. This can wreak havoc on fantasy teams so keep an eye on it.
Trade Rumors
With the trade deadline only a few weeks away, it is time to take a look at who may be traded at the deadline and which players could be hurt or benefit from those deals. Teams like the White Sox, Cubs, Marlins, Rockies, A’s, Angels, and Blue Jays will likely be sellers and should trade away expiring contracts and talent to better teams, leaving vacancies on their current teams that may mean more playing time for others.
Streaming Options
Carson Spiers (RP, SP – CIN) vs. COL
Carson Spiers has pitched well and gets a Rockies team that struggles away from home.
Frankie Montas (SP, RP – CIN) vs. COL
Similar to Spiers, Frankie Montas gets a nice matchup I want to exploit.
Michael Mercado (SP, RP – PHI) vs. OAK
Michael Mercado has pitched well for the Phillies since being called up and gets a great matchup versus a bad Oakland team.
Tobias Myers (SP – MIL) vs. PIT
Tobias Myers has been really good this season and has a good matchup versus a poor Pittsburgh offense.
Two-Start Options
Dean Kremer (SP – BAL) vs. CHC, vs. NYY
Dean Kremer has two tough matchups, but they are both at home where the dimensions of Camden protect him from home runs. The Yankees start is tough, but the Cubs one is pretty juicy.
Christian Scott (SP – NYM) at PIT, vs. COL
Christian Scott has two fantastic matchups versus a mediocre Pittsburgh lineup and a bad Rockies one away from Coors Field. You are using him in all formats.
Mitchell Parker (SP – WAS) vs. STL, at MIL
Mitchell Parker is facing two teams that are worse offensively versus left-handed pitching than they are against righties.
Ben Lively (SP, RP – CLE) at DET, at TB
Ben Lively is facing two bad offenses in the Tigers and the Rays, so this is a pretty easy two-step to take advantage of.
Miles Mikolas (SP – STL) at WAS, vs. CHC
You won’t get many strikeouts from Miles Mikolas, but he can deliver good ratios when he doesn’t get unlucky.
Colin Rea (SP – MIL) vs. PIT, vs. WAS
Is Colin Rea a good pitcher? No, but he continues to pitch well enough to get through outings and the Brewers provide a ton of run support, which means he is in line for wins often.
Jose Quintana (SP – NYM) at PIT, vs. COL
While Jose Quintana doesn’t have a ton of strikeout upside, he is facing two nice matchups and should be streamed in most formats. He has pitched well as of late.
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