Fantasy baseball is fun, but also very confusing. Every week includes a new set of mental puzzles and questions to answer, and this weekly piece will attempt to resolve the most pertinent.
Within one week, it may seem rash to have high levels of concern over some of these players or position groups, yet sometimes, questions like Rafael Devers‘ shoulder or the Tigers’ bullpen can linger through two full seasons.
This week’s ’10 Burning Questions’ are below. For any questions or concerns, contact me on Twitter/X (@RotoSurgeon).
Fantasy Baseball 10 Burning Questions
1.) What is going on with Rafael Devers? What should you do?
Rafael Devers ended the 2024 season by “avoiding shoulder surgery,” which came across as positive news on the surface. Unfortunately, the shoulder continued to give him issues during spring training and delayed his preseason start.
Devers is now hitless to start the season with nearly as many strikeouts as plate appearances. His two walks are the only positive outcomes through nearly a week’s worth of at-bats. The veteran third-baseman-turned-designated-hitter is struggling to the highest degree and may either need a stint on the injured list (IL) to get his head right, a change of scenery or that “avoided” surgery.
We cannot know for sure from afar, but the struggles are evident. The Boston Red Sox can only allow this travesty to carry on for so long before an executive decision is made to remedy things. For now, the best “solution” is to bench Devers in fantasy for any other third baseman and ideally put him on IL if/when the time comes.
2.) Should we be concerned about the Braves’ offense between this start and Jurickson Profar‘s suspension?
No. While Jurickson Profar’s loss does hurt, he was not a skeleton key to their offense this season, even in the short-term during the absence of Ronald Acuna Jr. Profar, in theory, was the cherry on top of a team rich in offensive talent. Between Michael Harris, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna, the Braves have more than enough firepower to figure things out even without their MVP.
Ironically, Profar’s loss may help the Braves by moving Harris — the better hitter — up from sixth in the batting order to leadoff against right-handed pitching.
The primary issue for Atlanta to start their season has been the matchups. They have faced a gauntlet of starters between Michael King, Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta and Tyler Glasnow. This is a tough stretch for any team in the league and should not be considered as any cause for concern.
The answer is closer to yes than anyone would want. Nestor Cortes returned from a late-season absence in 2024 to pitch in the postseason and had his most notable moment come against Freddie Freeman in Game 1. Freeman teed off on Cortes for a game-winning grand slam, setting the tone for the Dodgers’ gentleman’s sweep.
While a bad outing against the Yankees’ offense is not an indictment, Cortes was demolished in a concerning manner. The low-fastball velocity starter began the game by giving up three straight home runs and was rightfully pulled after two innings. There are valid worries as to whether his 2024 flexor strain is still an issue and if it will linger throughout this season (or inevitably require surgery).
If Cortes’ next start against the Reds at home does not go smoothly, you can drop him to the waiver wire before pitching in Coors against the Rockies.
This is the second season in a row with a blow-up first start for Bailey Ober. He has given up 16 runs in four total innings when combining his first start in 2024 and 2025. These two starts account for 18.4% of his earned runs across his past 32 outings.
Of course, it would be ideal if we could simply bench him in every opening start moving forward, but this may just be a run of awful luck. Ober was reportedly vomiting over the weekend and started anyway. His fastball velocity was down nearly two miles per hour (MPH), which tracks, based on his awful performance.
The best course of action is to monitor Ober across his next few starts and not make any hasty decisions. He is oddly prone to terrible outings given his fly ball tendencies, but the overall output should be great.
Do not drop him (yet), but you have to bench him. Roki Sasaki’s next start comes in Philadelphia against the Phillies, and that is a tough task. While he does possess ace upside that can reveal itself at any time, he is far too erratic and still raw.
Sasaki entered the league earlier than most Japanese pitchers, given his immense talent. Someone like Yoshinobu Yamamoto was two years older as a rookie and more refined (despite the bad first start).
Sasaki has twice as many walks as strikeouts, but his schedule to start this season was unnatural. Between start one in Japan and start two in the United States, there was a long delay. However, he has not been comfortable whatsoever and his velocity was down in that second start. Until he shows signs of life, do not start him. Also, do not be shocked if the Dodgers demote him to Triple-A.
The corresponding move would likely be calling up Bobby Miller, who has looked fit between spring and his first Minor League outing. He will be worth an eventual flier
6.) What to make of closer puzzles like the Reds and Tigers?
Tigers: This is a mess. They demoted Jason Foley after an incredible spring (if you ignore his ERA) and have no one in the pen who profiles as a closer. Brant Hurter and Tommy Kahnle have one save each thus far, but Hurter’s came in a multi-inning outing. Kahnle is a change-up-only pitcher who is far from a traditional ninth-inning option. Beau Brieske and Tyler Holton will possibly get save chances soon, but neither are closers. The best bet is to ignore this team unless Jason Foley (who is good) returns or if they stick with Kahnle, who at least has the contract backing him.
Reds: Emilio Pagan earned the only save of the Reds’ season thus far and is a solid pitcher, but not a great reliever. He has a 20-save season on his resume, but this came in 2019. Since then, he has had a single season with an ERA below 4.40. Pagan has two seasons with an ERA below 3.00 in his career, but is a volatile player year-to-year and will likely cede the role to Alexis Diaz upon his activation from the IL. Diaz is nothing special but has enough experience in the role, and that is valuable to manager Terry Francona, who historically sticks to one pitcher for saves.
7.) How long should I hold Jackson Jobe?
If you play in a keeper league with deep rosters, Jackson Jobe is an easy player to hold considering his long-term upside as a fantasy ace. However, if your league is a typical redraft format, Jobe can be dropped within his next two or three starts if he underperforms.
The high-pedigree prospect is struggling to generate strikeouts despite his fantastic “stuff” and fastball velocity. Since last season, Jobe has been walking a concerning number of batters between the Minors and Majors. He is talented but unrefined and may require more time in the Minor Leagues to sharpen his arsenal before taking on a full, Major-League workload.
Casey Mize is the better, unproven Tigers starter bet for this season.
Maybe. Spencer Torkelson’s strikeout rate (through an extremely small sample) is the highest of his career, but he has taken some walks (five) and is making great contact. The Tigers’ offense needs him to hit, especially with the absence of Parker Meadows and Gleyber Torres.
Torkelson is being aided by an extreme .600 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) and may have to settle for a low average if he wants to produce whatsoever. The power in Torkelson’s bat is undeniable. If he commits to tearing the cover off of balls, he could remain viable for the big leagues and our fantasy teams as a poor man’s Kyle Schwarber.
We do not know, but the early, mixed signs are closer to negative. Jackson Holliday has a home run, stolen base and .a 316 batting average through one week of games. While this may seem ideal on the surface, he is also striking out 40% of the time with just one walk in 20 plate appearances.
This sample, like every other sample available, is very small, but we should not feel too good about it. The good news is that with Gunnar Henderson‘s return this week, the Orioles’ lineup should become even stronger and protect Holliday as the bottom of the order turns around.
10.) Are the torpedo bats a big deal?
Probably not. Baseball is a game of ebbs and flows. The torpedo bats are all the rage and could help certain players more than others, but on the whole, they are not a baseball cheat code. Different bat structures are not news, and these specific style bats have existed for a while.
The ones currently in use are “refined” to optimize power, but could come with their flaws. If pitchers adjust to throwing on the outside part of the plate more, torpedo bats could be detrimental due to their slimmer nature on the ends.
We will not know for sure until there is a larger sample of use, but given how talented pitchers are and how smart teams have advanced, there is likely no “solution” to hitting employing a new bat.
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