Oh, you’re still reading? Well, congrats on making it this far into your season. If you’re reading this just because you love fantasy baseball and your season is over, you’re just a monster. But, like, the best kind of monster.
Speaking of monsters, there are groups of us who are readying our game for 2020 right now by doing some mock drafts. You can follow along on Twitter by searching the hashtag #2EarlyMocks or follow the spreadsheet here to get an idea of what the current ADP landscape looks like.
Since we are going into most quarter or semifinal weeks, instead of doing a more broad look at guys who can help you in categories, we are going to go more week to week here to help you take advantage of good matchups or get the most out of your players.
We’ll take a look at 10 guys who can help you across the traditional roto categories, with an emphasis on helping you for Week 24.
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Average
Hanser Alberto (2B/3B – BAL) 23%
It wasn’t until Mike Petriello tweeted Tuesday morning that I realized how good of a season — statistically — Alberto was having. He has a shot of passing D.J. LeMahieu and Michael Brantley for the batting title, which would just be fantastic to see. On the year, he’s posting a .323/.345/.454 slash with 11 homers, 52 runs, and 47 RBIs. It’s been a quiet year from Alberto, but he can put you over the hump for average in head-to-head category leagues. In roto leagues, it’s going to be hard to make up too much ground unless you’re within the slimmest of margins.
Runs
Raimel Tapia (OF – COL) 7%
You’re going to see a trend with these next four players. The Rockies have a six-game series at home next week, so I’m looking to add as many Rockies, Cardinals, and/or Padres as I can. We’ll start with Tapia, who was recently activated from the IL.
At home this year, Tapia has a .330 average with 32 runs scored. He’s played and done the majority of his damage against righties this year, and that’s what the Cardinals have exclusively in their rotation. For the Padres, they have four righties in their rotation out of six total pitchers, with Eric Lauer and Joey Lucchesi being the exceptions, but it’s impossible to project their rotational schedule this far.
RBIs
Ryan McMahon (1B/2B/3B – COL) 50%
See Tapia, Raimel. This basically applies to McMahon, too, who we highlighted a couple of weeks ago in this very column. McMahon has been night day at home and on the road, and like Tapia, he does his damage against righties. Sign me up for a week’s worth of top production at home to get me to the next round of my playoffs.
Home Runs
Hunter Renfroe (OF – SD) 49%
Remember when the Franmil Reyes trade was supposed to help both him and Renfroe? Well, that hasn’t happened. Renfroe has just one home run in the past month, but we know the power he possesses. He’ll get a three-game stint in Coors Field, but for a guy who has the type of power to lead all of baseball in homers, he could hit five or six homers in that series alone. Sign me up in five-outfielder leagues.
Stolen Bases
Dexter Fowler (OF – STL) 10%
In the year of our Lord 2019, here we are suggesting Fowler as a fantasy option. Now, the truth is that it’s hard to highlight a steals source at this point in the season who can make a real difference. But Fowler, who gets three games in Coors Field to start his week, hits atop the Cardinals’ lineup and has seven steals on the season. He’s a good option in five-outfielder leagues where you want all-around production in a great environment with steals sprinkled in.
Wins
Jordan Lyles (SP/RP – MIL) 34%
So with hitters, we are looking at matchups and environment. With pitchers, I’m looking at upside and potential two-start options. Yes, I’ll be doing my two-start pitchers column tomorrow, but we’ll take a quick look here too, and that starts with Lyles.
Lyles was great last year with the Brewers, and since coming over to Milwaukee from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, he’s been serviceable. I’d be lying if I said I felt comfortable using him in a playoff situation, but the Brewers get the Marlins and Cardinals both on the road. I like that win potential for Lyles.
ERA
John Means (SP/RP – BAL) 36%
This one makes me a lot more nervous than Lyles. In fact, I’d only use Means if I’m in a points-based league where he can be started as a reliever. He gets the Dodgers and the Tigers next week. He’s definitely worth using in the Tigers’ matchup to end the week.
WHIP
Anthony Kay (SP – TOR) 1%
The Blue Jays, who acquired Kay in the Marcus Stroman trade, announced that they were calling Kay up to get him a taste of the big leagues. He projects as an SP4, and we’ve seen the hurdles that pitching prospects face early in their careers. Still, Kay has some streamer appeal in the right matchups.
Strikeouts
Julio Urias (SP/RP – LAD) 25%
Urias back with the Dodgers, and they’ll be building up as they march toward the playoffs. He’s going to be stretched out, slowly, but we’ve seen the insane numbers that he can put up across the board. He’s a good guy to start in an RP or P spot and take the numbers that he gives you.
Saves
Jose Urena (SP – MIA) 3%
This one is intriguing, and I can actually see it working. Urena was clearly the worst pitcher the Marlins had in their rotation, so a change of roles can actually work. Of course, don’t expect the Fish to get too many save opportunities, but every save counts during the stretch run.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
