With the season almost halfway done, 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.
Schedule Notes
The following teams have just five games this week:
- Boston Red Sox vs ATL, at SF
- New York Yankees vs NYM, at BAL
- Tampa Bay vs MIA, at HOU
- Oakland A’s at SF, at COL
- Atlanta Braves at BOS, vs MIL
- Miami Marlins at TB, vs DET
The following teams have seven games this week:
- Cleveland Guardians vs KC, at CHW
- Detroit Tigers vs SF, vs LAA, at MIA
- Washington Nationals vs COL, at NYM
- St. Louis Cardinals at ARI, vs CHC
20 Things to Watch
Free-lick
Over the weekend, Sal Frelick made his Major League debut for the Milwaukee Brewers. Frelick is widely considered a top-50 prospect in baseball with a really good feel for hitting and speed. There isn’t a ton of power in the profile, but where he bats in the lineup and how much he plays should be monitored because that will determine a lot of his value moving forward.
Marlin Madness
Marlins closer AJ Puk has struggled recently, allowing three outings in which he has given up multiple earned runs out of his last six. At the moment, the Marlins have stated he is still the closer, but Tanner Scott will begin to pick more high-leverage situations. This is something to keep an eye on as the Marlins are in the playoff race, and the trade deadline is right around the corner.
Closer Corner
There are a number of closers that are working their way back from injury, and we should get updated timelines on or even could return here in the next week. Ryan Helsley and Liam Hendriks are both throwing right now, and Edwin Diaz has even begun a throwing program from 150 feet.
Hug Watch
The trade deadline is a week away, so we should begin to see players being shuffled around this week. The big question is: who are the sellers, and who are the buyers? At the moment, there appear to be fewer sellers than buyers, which could make prices high and mean less action in terms of deals, but if a number of competitive teams decide they are not real contenders, that could change things.
Fire Sale
Chris Sale is working his way back from an injury and is expected to do another bullpen early in the week. He could be heading on a minor league rehab assignment if this goes well. Once we have that news, he should be picked up in most formats.
Ginkel is Einhorn
Kevin Ginkel has taken over the closer role in Arizona. Ginkel is a former prospect of note who has struggled with walks and homers. However, he has not this season, posting fantastic walk and home run rates this year. We need to monitor his usage as well as the Diamondbacks on the trade front to see if they make a move to add to their bullpen for the playoff run.
Yordan Returning
Yordan Alvarez is expected to return to the Major League club on Monday from his oblique injury. Yordan has been fantastic this year when he is on the field, but he has struggled with his health. However, what is more interesting in terms of his return is what happens to the rest of the lineup. Alvarez will be the everyday DH which means Yainer Diaz can’t get the extra plate appearances there. It also potentially hurts one of their outfielders, as Corey Julks and Chas McCormick‘s playing time benefited from not having Alvarez clog up the DH spot. This will be important to watch.
Mickey Moniak‘s Clubhouse
Former first-overall pick Mickey Moniak has been fantastic this season, hitting .333/.364/.624 with 11 home runs and three stolen bases in just 173 plate appearances. However, a lot of it has been great luck. He has a .436 BABIP, and the underlying numbers are terrible. At some point, he will slow down, and the numbers could crater, so we need to keep a close eye on his numbers to determine when to jump off.
Young Pitchers
We are getting to the point of the season where people are going to start discussing when some young pitchers will be shut down or skipped to keep their inning totals low. Eury Perez, who should be returning from the minors soon, was the first of the larger group of rookie pitchers to be affected by this. Guys like Bryan Woo, Andrew Abbott, Logan Allen, and Hunter Brown could get managed down the stretch in spite of being in a playoff race.
The Return of Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers is beginning a minor league rehab assignment after missing the entire season thus far with a shoulder injury. He will have 20 days to return from the IL once he begins the assignment which makes him an interesting stash in deeper leagues for the stretch run.
12-15. Streaming Options
Gavin Williams (CLE) vs. KC
Williams has been up and down this season, throwing 33.2 innings with a 3.74 ERA but with not as many strikeouts as expected and a poor WHIP. He has a really nice matchup here so he is still someone I would roll with.
Patrick Sandoval (LAA) at DET
Sandoval is coming off of one of the best starts of his career and now faces a bad Tigers team in Detroit.
Alex Wood (SF) at OAK
Wood is not the pitcher he once was, but this is about as good of a matchup as you can get versus the worst team in baseball in the comfy confines of the A’s Stadium.
Graham Ashcraft (CIN) at MIL
Ashcraft has run either extremely hot or extremely cold, but recently he has been on a hot streak of starts. While Milwaukee is not a great place to pitch, it is better than Cincinnati, and the Brewers struggle offensively.
16-20. 2-Start Options
Aaron Civale (CLE) vs KC, at CWS
Civale doesn’t have a huge upside, but he does have a pretty safe floor. These are two pretty fantastic matchups for him, so unless you are in dire need of strikeouts, you should be rolling with him here.
Eduardo Rodriguez (DET) vs. SF, at MIA
Rodriguez has been fantastic this season, throwing 83.3 innings with a 2.69 ERA and a .97 WHIP with a 27% strikeout rate. These aren’t the best of matchups, but the Giants especially have not been great versus lefties this season.
Cristopher Sanchez (PHI) vs BAL, at PIT
Since getting called up to the rotation, Sanchez has quietly had a nice season, throwing 35.1 innings with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP with 30 strikeouts. He has the Orioles, who are decent versus lefties, but he also gets the Pirates, who are bad against them.
Kenta Maeda (MIN) vs SEA, at KC
Maeda has been bad since returning from the IL but has also been unlucky. He has a good walk rate and good home run rate, as well as getting a lot of strikeouts. These are two pretty nice matchups, so while I am not necessarily a believer, this is a good spot for a stream.
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