We’ve already reached the final month of the fantasy baseball season. If you’re playing in a head-to-head league, it’s almost assuredly playoff time. If it’s a rotisserie league, you’re battling for every point that you can get. These 10 Burning Questions can help you in your championship quest; this week’s topics include superstars returning from injuries, a bullpen update, young players emerging late in the season, and more.

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Fantasy Baseball 10 Burning Questions

Can Caden Dana help fantasy teams?

The Los Angeles Angels tried to spark their fanbase by calling up their top pitching prospect Caden Dana for his debut on Sunday. He delivered a quality start in his very first game.

Dana’s final line was six innings pitched with two earned runs and four strikeouts. It’s an exciting start that will likely lead to fantasy managers everywhere trying to get him on their teams. I’m not trying to be a downer, but folks should temper their rest-of-season expectations. That’s not because Dana can’t deliver similar performances when he pitches, but rather a question of how much more he will pitch; he is already at 141 innings which is more than double what he threw last season.

What has led to Sean Manaea‘s dominant stretch?

Sean Manaea is rather quietly putting together his best season. His 3.35 ERA is the lowest he’s had in a season where he pitched at least 30 innings. Going back to the middle of June, he only had one game where he gave up more than three earned runs in a start, which is why his ERA was under three for that stretch.

What has led to this late-career breakout from Manaea? Some of it is luck, as he actually has the highest walk percentage that he’s ever had. Issuing more free passes is an atypical way to your best season. What has helped him is that he’s allowed under seven hits per nine innings, which is the best of his career. His other career-best category at the moment is home runs per flyball. Add it all up and while he has been a bit lucky, a lot of this looks sustainable.

Who is the Phillies fifth starter?

The top four options in the Philadelphia Phillies rotation, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez, have all been reliable this season. However, they are looking for a new fifth starter with Taijuan Walker being moved to the bullpen.

Walker’s last start was his second consecutive in which he allowed six earned runs. He did not strike out a single batter over six innings pitched. It was enough for the Phillies manager to move Walker to the bullpen temporarily. We’ve already seen Michael Mercado and Tyler Phillips each make starts for the Phillies this season and Phillips was the more successful, so expect him to get the first opportunity, but you don’t need to add him yet for fantasy.

How do the Royals replace Vinnie Pasquantino?

It was a tough pill for fantasy managers to swallow when news dropped on Friday that Vinnie Pasquantino will miss the remainder of the regular with a broken right thumb. The slugger’s season ends with 19 home runs, 97 RBI, and a 262 batting average.

In his absence, the Royals need a first baseman. The good news is that they have another slugger who can play first base that already has 25 home runs and 94 RBI himself. That would be Salvador Perez. Since the injury to Pasquantino, Perez has been moved to first base twice, with Nick Loftin getting the start at first base in the other game. Nothing changes for Perez’s value since he was already playing every day, but it does mean that catcher Freddy Fermin should be in the lineup more often. Fermin should be on rosters in two-catcher leagues.

Can any of the new Royals’ additions help fantasy teams?

To replace the offensive production of Pasquantino, the Royals chose to add three veterans; outfielders Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman were acquired off waivers, and they promoted Yuli Gurriel from within their minor league system.

Tommy Pham started in right field and batted leadoff in his debut game, with the Royals finishing 2-5. Yuli Gurriel started at designated hitter and finished 1-3 with an RBI. Robbie Grossman didn’t get into the game. Pham remains the most relevant for fantasy purposes, because he has the clearest path to playing time. That being said, he is only really an option in five-outfielder leagues.

What’s the closing situation with the Pirates?

It’s been a struggle for David Bednar all year and his season-long ERA sits at 6.19. When he gave up five earned runs in less than an inning last week, it was the final straw for Pirates’ manager Derek Shelton who temporarily removed him from the closer role.

Shelton’s advantage is that he can now turn over the closing opportunities to Aroldis Chapman and his 325 career saves. Throughout his career, Chapman has struggled with walks and that’s still an issue this season, as he is averaging over six walks per nine innings. However, he makes up for that with his incredible strikeout ability, striking out 14 batters per nine innings, which is his career average. Fantasy managers who need saves should look to Chapman as an option the last month.

Has there been an update on the injury status of Fernando Tatis Jr.?

We haven’t seen Fernando Tatis Jr. in an MLB game in over two months since he’s been out with a thigh injury, but updates over the past few weeks indicate that his absence may be almost over.

Just over 10 days ago, Tatis was transferred to the 60-day injured list. That was a procedural move, as he had already missed that much time. We’ve since learned that he is back at the Padres’ complex in Arizona where he’s increasing his running and taking at-bats. Padres manager Mike Shildt also informed us that the outfielder may skip a rehab assignment and just return to the Padres’ lineup, which would be beneficial to fantasy managers in the home stretch.

Where is Kyle Tucker?

Another first-round fantasy talent who has been out of action for nearly three months is Kyle Tucker. You may remember that when he was initially injured, there was optimism that he would avoid an injured list stint entirely.

Of course, that didn’t happen. It ended up being a much more severe bone bruise than initially believed. However, much like Tatis, Tucker’s return seems imminent. Houston Astros’ General Manager Dana Brown told us over the weekend that he could be back for this week’s series against Cincinnati. If that happens, he would also be skipping a rehab assignment. Fantasy managers who’ve been waiting could be handsomely rewarded during the last few weeks with top-notch production.

What has changed with Pete Crow-Armstrong?

The only statistic that stands out with the season-long statistics of Pete Crow-Armstrong is the stolen bases. He’s had 26 of those already. The other statistics appear pedestrian, but his August performance shows that a breakout could be happening.

For the season, Crow-Armstrong only has 33 runs, seven home runs, 37 RBI, and a 237 average. Nothing in that stat line screams breakout. However, most of that production came since the start of August. During that period, he had 19 runs, four home runs, 17 RBI, six stolen bases, and batted a robust 330. The 22-year-old seems to be getting more comfortable in the major leagues as he has raised his hard-hard percentage to 45%, although his season percentage is still just 36%.

Can you start Alec Bohm in a weekly league?

If you play in a weekly lineup league, you have a tough decision to make on Alec Bohm. The Phillies don’t play on Monday, so we won’t know if Bohm is playing until tomorrow.

Typically, a hand injury while batting comes from being hit by a pitch, but in Bohm’s case it came on a swing. The good news was that x-rays didn’t show any lasting damage. The bad news is that Bohm hasn’t played since. Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson let us know that Bohm’s grip strength is improving and he shouldn’t need an injured list stint. That’s enough information to get him into your lineups this week.

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