It is vital to look at important fantasy baseball storylines and aspects this week to be ahead of the curve and gain an edge on your league mates. We have 20 such fantasy baseball storylines for you to monitor. This guide will help you navigate the waiver wire, pinpoint potential streamers and more.
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- Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
- Rest-of-Season Projections
20 Fantasy Baseball Things to Watch
1. Schedule Notes
- No teams play just five games this week.
- The following teams play seven games this week:
- Baltimore Orioles at CLE, vs. COL
- Toronto Blue Jays vs. NYY, at DET
- Cleveland Guardians vs. BAL, at KC
- Detroit Tigers at PIT, vs. TOR
- Athletics at TEX, at HOU
- Houston Astros at ARI, vs. ATH
- Los Angeles Angels at NYM, vs. SEA
- Seattle Mariners vs. MIL, at LAA
- St. Louis Cardinals at COL, vs. SD
- San Diego Padres at MIA, at STL
2. Trade Rumors
The trade deadline is quickly approaching and we need to keep track of who is rumored to be moved and what spots that could open up or change the values of players.
The Nationals, Pirates, Athletics, Marlins, Orioles and Braves are expected to be sellers and other teams may join them as well. Preemptive pickups on new closers in places like Washington, Los Angeles (Angels) and Pittsburgh may be sneaky pickups.
3. Rich Hill (P, SP – KC)
Rich Hill is expected to make his 2025 Major League debut for the Royals this week. He isn’t much of a fantasy option, but the 45-year-old starter will be pitching for his 14th organization, which is insane and something to watch and enjoy.
4. Andrew Vaughn (1B, DH – MIL)
Andrew Vaughn was the return for Aaron Civale earlier this season in a dump deal. However, he has come up and is playing regularly for the Brewers with Rhys Hoskins on the injured list (IL).
Vaughn is hitting .350/.440/.750 with two home runs and 12 RBI in just 25 plate appearances. We need to see if he will continue to play every day as the former top prospect has a lot of upside.
5. Drew Rasmussen (SP, RP – TB)
Drew Rasmussen is reportedly on a 150-inning limit and was limited in his last few starts. He reportedly will be given a regular workload for the time being.
We need to see what that looks like for the Rays ace because he is already over 90 innings thrown. If Rasmussen cannot go deep enough into games to qualify for a win, it would crush his value down the stretch.
6. Zebby Matthews (SP – MIN)
Zebby Matthews has returned from the IL and will likely be locked into the Twins rotation moving forward as they are heavily rumored to be moving at least one starter at the deadline.
Matthews has a ton of upside but was put on a pitch count early in the season. We need to see what his workload will be moving forward.
7. Jacob Misiorowski (SP – MIL) vs. Logan Gilbert (SP – SEA)
This is a fantastic pitching matchup with two top-tier young pitchers going head to head. Jacob Misiorowski is electric but can struggle with command and control.
Gilbert struggled with an elbow injury earlier this season. We need to see if both can overcome these hurdles.
8. Adrian Del Castillo (C – ARI)
Adrian Del Castillo is an interesting catcher prospect who was recalled by the Diamondbacks this week. He has a ton of power, but we need to see how much playing time he will get because they still have two other catchers on the roster.
9. Players Coming Back From Injury
As the trade deadline approaches, we need to not only keep track of who may be moved, but who is potentially coming back from the IL.
Spencer Arrighetti, Max Muncy, Zach Eflin and others are working their way back as we speak and could be interesting pickups while other fantasy managers are focused more on the trades.
10. Diamondbacks Closer Chaos
Shelby Miller is down with an injury, and that has opened the door for a new closer in Arizona. Kevin Ginkel would be the logical first man up, but this could be a more fluid situation with Kendall Graveman and Kyle Backhus in play as well.
11-14. Streaming Options
JP Sears (SP – ATH) at TEX
JP Sears struggled in his last start, but this is a really good matchup away from Sacramento, and he can rack up strikeouts.
Taj Bradley (SP – TB) vs. CWS
The White Sox are dreadful, and Taj Bradley had one of his best starts of the season in his last game before the break.
Trevor Rogers (SP – BAL) vs. COL
Trevor Rogers has been great since joining the Orioles’ rotation, and the Rockies are terrible in their first series of a road trip.
Ryne Nelson (SP, RP – ARI) at PIT
Ryne Nelson has quietly been great recently and is facing an anemic Pittsburgh offense in a great park.
15-20. Two-Start Options
Cade Horton (SP – CHC) vs. KC, at CWS
Cade Horton has a fantastic set of matchups versus the 25th- and 29th-worst offenses in baseball this season. However, he has not consistently gone deep enough in games to qualify for a win, but these are too good of matchups to pass up in most formats.
Jacob Lopez (SP – ATH) at TEX, at HOU
Jacob Lopez has been inconsistent this season, but there is a ton of upside in his arm. He has a 28% strikeout rate so far this season, which would almost put him in the top 10 of the league if he were a qualified pitcher.
There isn’t a ton of win upside on the A’s, but Lopez does have a good matchup at Texas, and neither of these games are in Sacramento, which is a terrible place to pitch.
Landen Roupp (SP, RP – SF) at ATL, vs. NYM
Landen Roupp has been good this season, throwing 96.1 innings with a 3.27 ERA. When his control is in check, he can be dominant. However, he has a tough matchup at the end of the week, but the Braves to start the week is a nice one.
Tomoyuki Sugano (SP – BAL) at CLE, vs. COL
Tomoyuko Sugano has struggled a ton lately, but he does have about as good of matchups as you can ask for. The Guardians and Rockies have been the 27th- and 28th-worst offenses in terms of OPS, so if you can’t use him here, you never can.
Tanner Bibee (SP – CLE) vs. BAL, at KC
Tanner Bibee has been all over the place this season, throwing 109 innings this year with a 4.29 ERA and 95 strikeouts. These matchups are pretty decent versus an Orioles offense that was mediocre over the last month and a Royals offense that has struggled.
There is some risk because Bibee has been unpredictable, but the matchups are good enough to take on the risk.
Davis Daniel (SP – ATL) vs. SF, at TEX
Davis Daniel looked good in his first start in the Majors this year and has two good matchups versus struggling offenses.
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