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Fantasy Baseball Daily Opener: Brett Baty, Zach Neto, Alek Manoah (4/17)

Greetings, friends. Welcome back to those of you who followed along with the Daily Opener last season. For those of you who are new here, this is where we hang out and talk about what happened in baseball the night before.

Every morning, I’ll be with you to recap the previous day of baseball and talk about what stood out to me. We’ll find fun stats. We’ll discuss some top performances. We’ll lament some injuries. We’ll touch on any noteworthy news and updates. We’ll take a peek at the day ahead. We’ll start way too many consecutive sentences with the word “we’ll.” And we’ll have a few laughs along the way.

Have questions or just want to talk baseball? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.

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Fantasy Baseball News and Notes

Three Up

  • Brett Baty was (finally) called up by the Mets. He was already rostered in many leagues and went for big money in others on waivers. Through nine games in Triple-A to start the season, Baty is batting .400 with five home runs and two stolen bases. Current Mets 3B Eduardo Escobar is off to a slow start, and Baty’s hot start is forcing the Mets’ hand. Everyday playing time isn’t a guarantee, but Baty’s ceiling is worth betting on in every format.
  • Zach Neto is more of an unknown than Baty, but he was also called up by the Angels this weekend. Neto was a first-round pick just last year and has played less than 50 professional games. Through seven games in Double-A this season, he’s batting .444 with three home runs and three stolen bases. He’s a highly regarded prospect with a theoretically high ceiling, but it’s incredibly difficult to project how he’ll fair in the big leagues since he’s being promoted so quickly.
  • Gerrit Cole through four games: 4-0, four quality starts, 0.95 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 28 1/3 IP, 32 K. With so many top-tier SPs struggling to begin the year, Cole has been absolutely dominant. Three of his four starts were also at home in one of the smallest ballparks in the big leagues, with the team also possibly using more of the Aaron Judge superballs.
  • Bonus Up: Max Muncy hit FIVE home runs and drove in 12 runs this past week. So much for the slow start.

Three Down

  • Alek Manoah is off to a, err, rough start. Through four starts, he has a 6.98 ERA, a 1.97 WHIP, and 16:15 K:BB ratio over 19 1/3 IP. And while it’s a small sample size, his FIP, xFIP, SIERA, and xERA all indicate that 6.98 number is earned. His xERA is actually an even gaudier 7.90. I still lean more toward Manoah being a buy-low, given his recent track record, but it’s hard not to be concerned about this start to the year.
  • Byron Buxton this weekend: 0-for-10, 9 Ks, 1 BB, 1 R. At least he didn’t get hurt? He is now batting .236 with 10 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, and 0 SB through 15 games. His strikeout rate is an even 40% (that’s bad), and his Hard Hit % is a lowly 22.6% (also bad). Again, we’re only talking about two weeks here. These sample sizes are too small to worry about truly. But if you were hoping to cash in on a Buxton hot start before the inevitable injury, things could be going better.

  • Christian Yelich fascinates me. I check his FanGraphs and Statcast pages every day. What happened to this guy, other than he back injury? Is that really all it is? His Hard Hit % is actually up compared to last year, but he’s batting just .227 despite a .342 BABIP. He has two HR and three SB, which I guess should be considered a bonus given his otherwise slow start, but he also has a 34.7% strikeout rate and is tied for the MLB lead with 26 Ks. I really want to buy low on Yelich because he feels like a 20-20 candidate, but his numbers are just all over the place.

Fun!

Rub Some Dirt On It (Injuries)

Studs and Duds

Here are some of the best and worst performances from this past week.

Studs (Pitchers)

PLAYER
IP
K
W
QS
SV
ERA
WHIP
ER
H
BB
HR
G
GS
L
CG
ROST%
1 Zac Gallen (ARI – SP)

13.2 18 2 2 0 0.00 0.44 0 5 1 0 2 2 0 0 98%
2 Gerrit Cole (NYY – SP)

16.0 13 2 2 0 1.13 0.63 2 7 3 0 2 2 0 1 99%
3 Luis Castillo (SEA – SP)

13.0 14 1 2 0 1.38 0.77 2 8 2 0 2 2 0 0 99%
4 Shane McClanahan (TB – SP)

11.0 15 2 1 0 1.64 1.09 2 6 6 0 2 2 0 0 99%
5 Andrew Heaney (TEX – SP)

10.0 14 1 0 0 0.00 0.90 0 4 5 0 2 2 0 0 49%
6 Pablo Lopez (MIN – SP)

13.2 17 0 2 0 2.63 0.88 4 10 2 1 2 2 1 0 95%
7 Framber Valdez (HOU – SP)

13.0 12 1 2 0 2.08 1.08 3 7 7 1 2 2 1 0 99%
8 Wade Miley (MIL – SP)

12.0 11 1 1 0 2.25 1.00 3 9 3 1 2 2 1 0 12%
9 Corbin Burnes (MIL – SP)

8.0 8 1 1 0 0.00 0.38 0 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 99%
10 Drew Smyly (CHC – SP)

10.2 10 1 0 0 1.69 0.84 2 6 3 1 2 2 0 0 3%

 

Studs (Hitters)

PLAYER
AB
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OBP
H
2B
3B
BB
K
SLG
OPS
ROST%
1 Max Muncy (LAD – 2B,3B,DH)

20 5 5 12 0 .350 .409 7 0 0 2 7 1.100 1.509 91%
2 Brent Rooker (OAK – DH,LF)

24 5 4 11 0 .417 .464 10 1 0 3 5 .958 1.423 12%
3 Jarred Kelenic (SEA – CF,LF,RF)

19 6 4 6 1 .474 .546 9 2 0 3 5 1.211 1.756 60%
4 Francisco Lindor (NYM – SS)

23 7 3 11 1 .304 .407 7 3 0 3 6 .826 1.234 99%
5 Sean Murphy (ATL – C,DH)

23 6 3 11 0 .391 .500 9 6 0 4 10 1.044 1.544 85%
6 Austin Hays (BAL – LF,RF)

30 11 2 3 0 .467 .500 14 3 1 2 8 .833 1.333 53%
7 Jorge Mateo (BAL – SS)

21 6 1 7 3 .429 .462 9 3 0 2 3 .714 1.176 65%
8 Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL – RF,DH)

25 6 1 6 2 .480 .552 12 2 0 3 5 .680 1.232 99%
9 Ryan Mountcastle (BAL – 1B,DH)

32 4 4 13 1 .188 .182 6 0 0 0 6 .563 .744 87%
10 Bobby Witt Jr. (KC – 3B,SS)

27 6 0 2 4 .444 .464 12 2 1 1 4 .593 1.057 98%

 

Duds (Pitchers)

PLAYER
IP
K
W
QS
SV
ERA
WHIP
ER
H
BB
HR
G
GS
L
CG
ROST%
257 Mason Englert (DET – RP,SP)

4.2 9 0 0 0 11.57 1.50 6 5 2 3 2 0 0 0 0%
296 Jose Cuas (KC – RP)

2.2 4 0 0 0 10.13 1.13 3 2 1 2 3 0 0 0 0%
249 Sean Hjelle (SF – RP)

4.0 6 0 0 0 9.00 1.25 4 5 0 1 3 0 0 0 0%
272 Luis Garcia (HOU – SP)

5.0 7 0 0 0 9.00 1.60 5 6 2 1 1 1 1 0 77%
285 Evan Phillips (LAD – RP)

3.0 7 0 0 0 9.00 2.00 3 5 1 2 3 0 0 0 58%
295 Clay Holmes (NYY – RP)

2.0 1 0 0 1 9.00 2.50 2 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 85%
297 Julian Merryweather (CHC – RP)

3.0 4 0 0 0 9.00 1.33 3 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 0%
220 Grayson Rodriguez (BAL – SP)

9.1 14 0 0 0 8.68 1.93 9 12 6 2 2 2 0 0 50%
172 Dennis Santana (NYM – RP) DFA

3.1 3 1 0 0 8.10 1.20 3 4 0 1 2 0 0 0 1%
203 Corey Kluber (BOS – SP)

4.2 7 0 0 0 7.71 1.07 4 4 1 1 1 1 1 0 11%
298 Michael Fulmer (CHC – RP)

3.2 4 0 0 0 7.36 1.64 3 6 0 1 4 0 1 0 21%

 

Duds (Hitters)

PLAYER
AB
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OBP
H
2B
3B
BB
K
SLG
OPS
ROST%
227 Byron Buxton (MIN – CF,DH)

21 3 1 2 0 .095 .208 2 0 0 3 14 .238 .446 87%
62 Christian Yelich (MIL – LF,DH)

31 5 1 3 2 .194 .242 6 1 0 2 13 .323 .565 86%
48 Matt Olson (ATL – 1B)

24 5 2 6 0 .250 .357 6 0 1 4 12 .583 .941 99%
256 Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA – 2B,CF)

21 1 0 1 1 .191 .261 4 0 1 2 11 .286 .547 92%

 

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant

Dingers

Here is every player who hit three or more home runs this past week:

PLAYER
AB
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OBP
H
2B
3B
BB
K
SLG
OPS
ROST%
1 Max Muncy (LAD – 2B,3B,DH)

20 5 5 12 0 .350 .409 7 0 0 2 7 1.100 1.509 91%
2 Brent Rooker (OAK – DH,LF)

24 5 4 11 0 .417 .464 10 1 0 3 5 .958 1.423 12%
3 Jarred Kelenic (SEA – CF,LF,RF)

19 6 4 6 1 .474 .546 9 2 0 3 5 1.211 1.756 60%
9 Ryan Mountcastle (BAL – 1B,DH)

32 4 4 13 1 .188 .182 6 0 0 0 6 .563 .744 87%
11 Rowdy Tellez (MIL – 1B)

25 5 4 8 0 .320 .379 8 0 0 3 6 .800 1.179 68%
4 Francisco Lindor (NYM – SS)

23 7 3 11 1 .304 .407 7 3 0 3 6 .826 1.234 99%
5 Sean Murphy (ATL – C,DH)

23 6 3 11 0 .391 .500 9 6 0 4 10 1.044 1.544 85%
15 Michael A. Taylor (MIN – CF)

25 5 3 7 0 .360 .360 9 0 0 0 9 .720 1.080 1%
17 Brandon Lowe (TB – 2B)

21 6 3 4 1 .333 .417 7 1 0 3 5 .810 1.226 91%
22 Anthony Rizzo (NYY – 1B)

26 5 3 5 0 .346 .414 9 0 0 1 6 .692 1.106 92%
26 Nick Maton (DET – 2B,3B,LF,RF)

19 4 3 7 0 .316 .381 6 1 0 2 5 .842 1.223 2%
30 Pete Alonso (NYM – 1B,DH)

22 6 3 3 0 .318 .444 7 0 0 5 7 .727 1.172 99%
45 Jake Burger (CWS – 3B)

12 3 3 5 0 .333 .400 4 0 0 2 4 1.083 1.483 1%
52 Rafael Devers (BOS – 3B)

22 5 3 6 0 .136 .208 3 0 0 2 6 .546 .754 99%
72 Patrick Wisdom (CHC – 1B,3B,RF)

22 4 3 3 0 .182 .280 4 0 0 3 7 .591 .871 29%

 

Swipes

Here is every player who stole multiple bases this past week:

MLB Hitter Stats | Last 7 Days | FantasyPros
PLAYER
AB
R
HR
RBI
SB
AVG
OBP
H
2B
3B
BB
K
SLG
OPS
ROST%
12 Nico Hoerner (CHC – 2B,SS)

24 5 0 3 5 .375 .464 9 1 0 3 2 .417 .881 80%
10 Bobby Witt Jr. (KC – 3B,SS)

27 6 0 2 4 .444 .464 12 2 1 1 4 .593 1.057 98%
16 Cedric Mullins II (BAL – CF)

23 3 0 7 4 .348 .516 8 1 1 8 6 .478 .994 98%
50 Anthony Volpe (NYY – SS)

19 2 1 1 4 .263 .364 5 1 0 3 5 .474 .837 60%
7 Jorge Mateo (BAL – SS)

21 6 1 7 3 .429 .462 9 3 0 2 3 .714 1.176 65%
21 Esteury Ruiz (OAK – CF,LF)

23 3 0 5 3 .435 .500 10 1 0 0 5 .478 .978 23%
29 Jon Berti (MIA – 2B,3B,SS,LF)

21 4 1 4 3 .286 .348 6 1 0 2 3 .476 .824 29%
70 Jeremy Pena (HOU – SS)

23 3 0 2 3 .261 .346 6 3 0 2 5 .391 .738 79%
87 Steven Kwan (CLE – LF,RF)

23 4 0 2 3 .174 .345 4 0 0 6 1 .174 .519 95%
92 Andres Gimenez (CLE – 2B,SS)

23 5 0 0 3 .174 .240 4 0 0 1 5 .174 .414 93%
97 Starling Marte (NYM – RF)

18 2 0 3 3 .167 .375 3 1 0 5 2 .222 .597 92%
104 CJ Abrams (WSH – 2B,SS)

20 2 0 2 3 .200 .304 4 1 0 2 5 .250 .554 20%
132 Tim Locastro (NYM – LF)

2 1 0 0 3 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 0%
8 Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL – RF,DH)

25 6 1 6 2 .480 .552 12 2 0 3 5 .680 1.232 99%
13 Cody Bellinger (CHC – CF)

23 7 2 4 2 .348 .385 8 2 0 2 4 .696 1.080 51%
18 Josh Lowe (TB – LF,CF,RF)

17 5 2 5 2 .353 .389 6 1 0 1 4 .765 1.154 14%
19 Jonathan India (CIN – 2B)

25 7 0 5 2 .400 .452 10 4 0 3 4 .560 1.012 77%
20 Trea Turner (PHI – SS)

29 9 0 2 2 .379 .455 11 1 0 4 1 .414 .868 99%
34 Bryson Stott (PHI – 2B,SS)

36 2 1 5 2 .333 .333 12 3 0 0 9 .500 .833 50%
49 Kyle Tucker (HOU – RF)

18 1 1 5 2 .389 .539 7 0 0 7 0 .556 1.094 99%
60 Ke’Bryan Hayes (PIT – 3B)

23 5 1 1 2 .261 .370 6 2 1 4 3 .565 .936 35%
62 Christian Yelich (MIL – LF,DH)

31 5 1 3 2 .194 .242 6 1 0 2 13 .323 .565 86%
75 Brendan Donovan (STL – 1B,2B,3B,SS,LF,RF)

30 5 0 0 2 .300 .364 9 3 0 3 6 .400 .764 64%
80 Ian Happ (CHC – LF)

25 2 1 3 2 .240 .296 6 3 0 2 5 .480 .776 79%
96 Willy Adames (MIL – SS)

26 4 1 2 2 .154 .333 4 1 0 7 6 .308 .641 93%
98 Ji Hwan Bae (PIT – 2B,CF)

18 2 1 3 2 .167 .286 3 0 0 2 6 .333 .619 12%
131 Jake Fraley (CIN – CF,DH,LF,RF)

19 1 0 2 2 .263 .364 5 0 0 3 4 .263 .627 17%
133 Daulton Varsho (TOR – C,CF,LF,RF)

17 4 0 0 2 .177 .333 3 0 0 3 3 .177 .510 98%
138 Nick Madrigal (CHC – 2B)

5 1 0 1 2 .400 .400 2 0 0 0 0 .400 .800 1%
155 Brett Phillips (LAA – CF,RF)

1 1 0 1 2 .000 .667 0 0 0 2 1 .000 .667 0%
204 Tyler Wade (OAK – 2B,3B,SS)

1 0 0 0 2 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 0%
220 Victor Robles (WSH – CF)

18 0 0 1 2 .167 .250 3 0 0 1 5 .167 .417 6%

 

Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Chart

Arm Barn Report

Here is every player who recorded multiple saves this past week:

PLAYER
IP
K
W
QS
SV
ERA
WHIP
ER
H
BB
HR
G
GS
L
CG
ROST%
18 Emmanuel Clase (CLE – RP)

4.0 4 0 0 3 0.00 0.75 0 3 0 0 4 0 1 0 99%
23 Paul Sewald (SEA – RP)

4.0 7 0 0 2 2.25 0.25 1 1 0 1 4 0 0 0 67%
32 David Robertson (NYM – RP)

4.1 5 0 0 2 0.00 0.69 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 0 79%
34 Jordan Romano (TOR – RP)

3.0 3 1 0 2 0.00 1.33 0 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 97%
46 Ryan Helsley (STL – RP)

3.1 6 0 0 2 0.00 1.50 0 4 1 0 3 0 0 0 91%
58 Kenley Jansen (BOS – RP)

2.0 3 0 0 2 0.00 0.50 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 91%
67 Kyle Finnegan (WSH – RP)

2.0 2 0 0 2 0.00 0.50 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 16%
77 Pete Fairbanks (TB – RP)

2.0 1 0 0 2 0.00 0.50 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 59%
90 A.J. Minter (ATL – RP)

3.0 2 0 0 2 6.00 1.00 2 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 60%
92 Jhoan Duran (MIN – RP)

3.0 3 0 0 2 6.00 1.33 2 4 0 2 3 0 0 0 71%

 

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Mike Maher is an editor and content manager at FantasyPros and BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive, and follow him on Twitter @MikeMaher.

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