The calendar will flip from July to August next week, and that means the trade deadline is Wednesday. I specifically didn’t say the non-waiver trade deadline because it’s the only trade deadline this year. There is no longer a waiver trade period in August. On that note, there is one piece of rumor-mill discussion in the pitcher notes below. Both the hitter and pitcher notes sections are bursting at the seams with injury news. Before that, however, is a look at next week’s notable matchups. Four teams play just five games, and five are at the other end of the spectrum with seven games scheduled. Everyone else is clustered in the middle with six games on tap.
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Notable Matchups
Athletics vs. Brewers (3), vs. Cardinals (2)
The A’s drew the short stick with only five games next week. The bad news doesn’t end there, though. All five are at home, and Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has the seventh-lowest park factor for runs (0.921) and fifth-lowest for homers (0.846). Although they have some soft pitching matchups, the bad outweighs the good for Oakland’s hitters and dings their value a bit this scoring period.
Cardinals vs. Cubs (3), at Athletics (2)
The Red Birds are also stuck with only five games next week, but they pick up the services of a designated hitter for a couple of contests in Oakland. The pitching matchups are mediocre, but the park factors are nearly as bad for them as the previously discussed A’s. Two games are in Oakland, and the three in Busch Stadium offer a nearly negligible bump up in park factors for runs (0.924) and homers (0.866). The stock is down for Cardinals hitters next week.
Rangers vs. Mariners (2), vs. Tigers (3)
The Rangers have it by far the best of the teams with a short week. They play all five of their games in Globe Life Park in Arlington, home to the second-highest park factor for runs (1.239) and fifth-highest for homers (1.145). Additionally, their pitching matchups are soft and could be even more favorable if Matt Boyd is dealt from the Tigers before he’s scheduled to face the Rangers on August 3. Unfortunately, the Rangers do have some forthcoming bad news in the hitter notes section below.
Rockies vs. Dodgers (3), vs. Giants (3)
Gamers rostering Colorado’s hitters can rejoice. A week-and-a-half stretch of road contests comes to a close over the weekend, and they’ll host a pair of three-game series at the cream of the crop of hitter-friendly parks. Coors Field remains home to the highest park factor for runs (1.344) and homers (1.280). The stock’s up for all Rockies hitters next week.
Twins at Marlins (3), vs. Royals (3)
The Twins get highlighted here primarily for one reason. Three games at Marlins Park means Nelson Cruz will most likely be limited to pinch-hitting duties for the first three games next week. Cruz hasn’t played a game in the outfield this year, and he’s played just nine games in the field since 2017.
Yankees vs. Diamondbacks (2), vs. Red Sox (4)
The Yankees are basically a five-game team with a cherry on top next week. Two of their games against the Red Sox take place as a Saturday doubleheader. As I often warn, there’s a high probability some of the regulars won’t play both games of the doubleheader. All of the Bronx Bombers’ hitters at least get a lift from playing all six games in their homer-friendly (1.265 for homers, second highest in MLB) home digs.
Red Sox vs. Rays (3), at Yankees (4)
The Red Sox are in the same boat as the Yankees, but they play one more game than their bitter rivals thanks to opening the week with a three-game set at home against the Rays. The park factors at Fenway Park (1.100 for runs and 0.945 for runs) and Yankee Stadium bump the value of Boston’s bats.
Dodgers at Rockies (3), vs. Padres (4)
The Dodgers are not only treated to a full complement of seven games next week, but their hitters also get a value boost from kicking off the week with three games at Coors Field.
Hitter Notes
Gary Sanchez (C – NYY)
Sanchez is on the IL with a groin injury. The good news is that it’s a Grade 1 strain, the lowest on the scale. The bad news he’ll almost certainly miss more than the minimum of 10 days. Manager Aaron Boone’s quotes in Randy Miller’s piece for NJ.com indicates the timetable is fluid and probably best measured in weeks as opposed to days.
Carlos Correa (SS – HOU)
Correa is due back Friday night, and he should be activated on fantasy rosters immediately. The emergence of rookie Yordan Alvarez creates some uncertainty about where Correa will hit, but quotes from manager Brad Ausmus in Hunter Atkins’ piece for the Houston Chronicle suggests it will be fifth or sixth. Houston’s lineup depth will provide Correa ample run-scoring and RBI potential in either spot that’s atypical for a hitter lower than cleanup in most offenses.
Dansby Swanson (SS – ATL)
Swanson was scratched from Atlanta’s lineup Wednesday night with a sore heel suffered scraping it on the base in Tuesday’s contest. The Braves were off Thursday, and manager Brian Snitker told Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the move was merely precautionary. Still, gamers will want to check Atlanta’s lineup for Friday’s game to make sure Swanson didn’t suffer any further setbacks before re-inserting him in fantasy lineups.
Brandon Lowe (2B/OF – TB)
This is the third straight week of Lowe appearing in this section. The initial expectation was that he’d be available shortly when eligible to come off the IL, but that hasn’t come to fruition. Instead, he remains out without a timetable for his return after receiving a pain-relieving shot Tuesday and being shut down for two to three days. Perhaps more will be known this weekend, but gamers probably shouldn’t bank on him returning to help fantasy rosters next week. Furthermore, his lengthy absence almost certainly means he’ll need a rehab assignment to shake off the rust before returning to Tampa Bay’s active roster.
Joey Gallo (1B/OF – TEX)
The Rangers and fantasy squads rostering Gallo were dealt a blow when the slugger had surgery for a broken hamate in his right wrist. A’s slugger Matt Olson underwent the same procedure back in March and missed a little over six weeks before returning to action. Using that timeline as a rough guess, Gallo could be back by the beginning of September. As we’ve seen with Olson, hamate surgery might not necessarily still sound the death knell for homer contributions. Gallo is worth holding in most formats.
Pitcher Notes
Brandon Woodruff (SP/RP – MIL)
Woodruff suffered a tough break in his start Sunday, exiting early and hitting the IL with a strained oblique. The injury is expected to sideline him for approximately six weeks. The timetable puts his return around early September, making him worth holding in most re-draft leagues.
Jameson Taillon (SP- PIT)
While the aforementioned Woodruff is a hold, that’s no longer the case for Taillon. After recently throwing from 90 feet, he once again felt forearm discomfort. Jerry DiPaola of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that the next step is to meet with Dr. David Altchek, who performed Taillon’s Tommy John surgery in 2014. Unfortunately, there’s potential for bad news that would also impact Taillon’s outlook next year, hurting his value in keeper and dynasty formats.
Max Scherzer (SP – WAS)
Scherzer returned to the bump from the IL Thursday. Gamers in leagues with weekly lineup changes who erred on the side of caution and missed an unspectacular start (5 IP, 3 ER) can get him back in starting lineups.
Zack Wheeler (SP – NYM)
Wheeler last pitched July 7 before hitting the IL with a right shoulder impingement. After coming out of a 30-pitch live batting-practice session earlier in the week unscathed, he’s scheduled to take the bump Friday night against the Pirates. Wheeler has taken a sizable step back after a career year in 2018, but his upside remains intriguing and a big gap in his ERA (4.69) and ERA estimators (4.01 SIERA, 3.66 FIP, and 3.85 xFIP) suggest he’s been rather unlucky.
However, unless gamers rostering Wheeler are totally desperate, exercise some caution and bench him for his first start off the IL. Wheeler’s name has been heavily circulating through the rumor mill, but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic shares that the Mets are exploring the possibility of retaining him and trading Noah Syndergaard instead:
An option #Mets are exploring, per sources: Trading Syndergaard and signing Wheeler to an extension. NYM would benefit from return for Syndergaard while keeping Wheeler, a quality starting pitcher who otherwise would depart in free agency. @TheAthleticMLB
– Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 25, 2019
Blake Snell (SP – TB)
The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner pitched earlier in the week, but he won’t start again until September if things go according to plan. He’ll undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow and is expected to miss at least a month.
Alex Wood (SP/RP – CIN)
Wood’s first season with the Reds has gone anything but as planned. He’s yet to make a start, but that will change Sunday. Following four rehab starts (three in Triple-A and one in Double-A), the lefty is scheduled to face the Rockies on Sunday. Wood threw 85 pitches across six innings of one-run ball in his last rehab outing for Double-A Chattanooga, per John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He struck out four of 22 batters faced in that start and posted an 11.8% SwStr rate as well. Wood is a reasonable speculative add in leagues as shallow as 12-team mixers.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
