20 Things to Watch: Ryan Walker, Tyler Mahle, Joe Musgrove (Fantasy Baseball)

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.

Fantasy Baseball 20 Things to Watch: Week 21

Fantasy Baseball Week 201 Schedule Notes

The following teams have just five games this week
- Oakland A’s at NYM, vs. SF
- Miami Marlins at PHI, at NYM

The following teams have seven games this week:
- Boston Red Sox vs. TEX, at BAL
- Minnesota Twins vs. KC, at TEX
- Texas Rangers at BOS, vs. MIN
- Atlanta Braves at SF, at LAA
- Milwaukee Brewers vs. LAD, vs. CLE
- Los Angeles Dodgers at MIL, at STL

Ryan Walker (SP, RP – SF)

Camilo Doval was optioned to the minor leagues by the Giants due to his recent struggles and Ryan Walker has been named San Francisco’s closer as a result. Walker has been fantastic this season and has already registered his first save. Walker becomes an instant pick-up in most formats.

Tyler Mahle (SP – TEX)

Tyler Mahle returned from Tommy John surgery to make his season debut this last week. He looked good in his first start, but questions remain if he can regularly go deep enough into games coming off of the injury and if he will struggle with command and control like many Tommy John returnees do.

Joe Musgrove (SP – SD)

Musgrove is making his season debut for a two-start week (more on the below.) How will the Padres use him? Musgrove did not have many rehab starts and missed a lot of time, so there are serious questions on whether he can go five innings in games to qualify for a win.

Walker Buehler (SP – LAD)

Walker Buehler is returning from the injured list (IL) this week and has a tough matchup against a talented Brewers offense. More importantly than this individual start is what Buehler looks like. He has struggled mightily with command and has not had the swing-and-miss stuff we have grown accustomed to. If he is going to return to ace status, we need to see both of these things fixed.

Ty France (1B – CIN)

Ty France struggled much of the season which is why the Mariners gave up on him and traded him to the Reds after waiving him. However, since arriving in Cincinnati, France is hitting .273/294/.515 with two home runs in 34 plate appearances. Cincinnati has a great park for hitters. If France can continue to get regular playing time he could become relevant again in fantasy.

Max Muncy (3B – LAD)

Max Muncy has missed a lot of time with a recurring oblique issue, but he has started a rehab assignment and reportedly looks healthy. There is a lot of power in his bat. When he does return to the Dodgers he will be in a prime spot in a loaded lineup.

Adrian Del Castillo (C – ARI)

With Gabriel Montero out for a while, the Diamondbacks called up Adrian Del Castillo to take his place on the roster. Del Castillo has been fantastic in AAA, hitting .319/.403/.608 with 24 home runs in 452 plate appearances. He made massive improvements in the strikeout rate in AAA this season, but we need to see if they can stick at the Major League level.

Orioles Closer Chaos

Craig Kimbrel has struggled a lot and officially lost the closer role in Baltimore. The question becomes whether the Orioles will go with a committee of Seranthony Dominguez and Yennier Cano or whether one of those two will take the job and run with it.

Dodgers Closer Chaos

Evan Phillips lost the closer job a few weeks ago, but he appears to be back on track and is factoring into more high-leverage roles. The Dodgers added Michael Kopech at the deadline. Right now things look like a committee with Daniel Hudson leading the way, but we need to monitor this one closely.

Streaming Options

Spencer Arrighetti (SP – HOU) vs. CWS

Spencer Arrighetti has been fantastic lately and faces a historically bad White Sox team at home.

Cody Bradford (SP, RP – TEX) vs. MIN

Cody Bradford returned from the IL and picked up right where he left off earlier in the season when he was pitching very well for Texas. He won’t be on the wire long.

Grant Holmes (SP, RP – ATL) at SF

Grant Holmes is a former top prospect who struggled to live up to his hype, but he has been very good since coming up for the Braves. He faces a bad Giants offense in a great park.

Merrill Kelly (SP – ARI) vs. TB

Merrill Kelly returned from the IL on Sunday and looked pretty good. He faces a poor Rays offense at home, which is a great spot to use him.

Two-Start Options

Paul Blackburn (SP – NYM) vs. OAK, vs. MIA

Since being traded to the Mets, Paul Blackburn has pitched very well, throwing back-to-back six-inning starts while allowing just one earned run and striking out six in each game. He has a fantastic set of matchups versus two of the worst teams in baseball in a good park.

Ben Lively (SP, RP – CLE) vs. CHC, at MIL

Ben Lively has outpitched a lot of his underlying skills this season, but he has struggled more as of late. There is more risk here especially with a good contact hitting team like the Brewers on the docket. He does start the week versus the disappointing Cubs, so there is some upside with the risk.

Charlie Morton (SP – ATL) at SF, at LAA

Charlie Morton has had a bumpier time as of late, but while the aging vet is not the pitcher he was, he has become a smarter pitcher and made up for the diminishing stuff with good sequencing and mixing. He has risk, but these are really good matchups against poor offenses.

Trevor Rogers (SP – BAL) vs. WAS, v.s BOS

I am a big Trevor Rogers fan and I love the situation he is in with the Orioles, but he is very inconsistent. He has a matchup versus a good Red Sox lineup and a bad Nationals one, so this is a risky two-step for a guy that can be hard to trust.

Taijuan Walker (SP – PHI) vs. MIA, vs. WAS

Taijuan Walker is coming off the IL. Typically, I avoid recently-activated pitchers, but these are two really good matchups and he has the Phillies offense behind him.

Joe Musgrove (SP – SD) vs. PIT, at COL

Just like Walker, Joe Musgrove is returning from a long IL stint. These types of debuts can be really risky because we just don’t know how deep into a game he might go or if the stuff is ready for Major League hitting. However, Musgrove is a top-25 pitcher when healthy, so that makes him worth the risk here.

MLB Weekly Advice Ryan Walker Camilo Doval Tyler Mahle Joe Musgrove Walker Buehler Ty France Max Muncy Adrian Del Castillo Craig Kimbrel Seranthony Dominguez Yennier Cano Evan Phillips Michael Kopech Daniel Hudson Spencer Arrighetti Cody Bradford Grant Holmes Merrill Kelly Paul Blackburn Ben Lively Charlie Morton Trevor Rogers Taijuan Walker

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.