It is vital to examine key fantasy baseball storylines and aspects this week to stay 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.
- Fantasy Baseball Trade Analyzer
- Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Assistant
- Fantasy Baseball Lineup Assistant
- MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet
20 Fantasy Baseball Things to Watch
1. Schedule Notes
- Zero teams play just five games this week.
- The following teams play seven games this week:
- Baltimore Orioles at NYY (1), at MIA, vs. ATH
- Boston Red Sox at DET, vs. TBR
- New York Yankees vs. BAL (1), vs. TEX, at MIL
- Tampa Bay Rays vs. TOR, at BOS
- Cleveland Guardians at KCR, vs. MIN
- Kansas City Royals vs. CLE, vs. DET
- Chicago Cubs vs. CIN, at TEX
- Cincinnati Reds at CHC, vs. HOU
- St. Louis Cardinals vs. MIL, at SDP
- San Diego Padres at SF, vs. STL
2. Bryce Eldridge (1B, DH – SFG)
Bryce Eldridge is the Giants’ top prospect and is expected to get the call to the Majors on Monday. He has a ton of power, but can struggle defensively and with consistent contact. We need to see if he can make enough contact to matter and where the playing time is.
3. Jesus Rodriguez (C – SFG)
Jesus Rodriguez is another Giants prospect expected to get the call on Monday. He was the return for Camilo Doval last season at the deadline and has been fantastic since joining the Giants’ minor league system.
Rodriguez can catch, play second and the outfield, but we need to see where the Giants plan on using him.
4. Spencer Strider (SP – ATL)
Spencer Strider returned from the injured list (IL) and had an uneven start in his debut versus the Rockies. This one was in Colorado, which is always a tough park to pitch in, but the next one doesn’t get any easier against the Dodgers.
We need to see what the velocity looks like moving forward with Strider. If he is in the 95-97 miles per hour (MPH) range, that is a good sign. While he started off the game versus the Rockies throwing 95-96 MPH, he lost that as the game went on.
5. Joe Mack (C – MIA)
The Marlins are expected to send down Agustin Ramirez and call up Joe Mack. Mack is a defensive specialist with offensive upside. We need to see if Mack will be the main catcher and if he gets extra plate appearances at designated hitter, as Ramirez did.
6. Carlos Rodon (SP – NYY)
Carlos Rodon is expected to return from the IL and make his season debut this week. We need to see what his velocity looks like and if the offseason surgery diminished his stuff at all.
7. Andrew Vaughn (1B – MIL)
Andrew Vaughn is expected to be activated from the IL on Monday. Jake Bauers has played decently in his absence, but we need to see how the playing time works out with Vaughn returning. Will they share playing time?
8. Orioles’ Closer Chaos
Ryan Helsley hit the IL with elbow issues. The Orioles need a new closer for the time being. We need to see if the interim closer will be Rico Garcia, Yennier Cano or Keegan Akin.
9. Braves’ Closer Chaos
Raisel Iglesias is returning from the IL this week, and we need to see whether he is fully recovered from his shoulder issue and whether he will return to closing in Atlanta.
10-14. Streaming Options
JR Ritchie (SP – ATL) at SEA
JR Ritchie is a top prospect who has looked good so far and is facing a mediocre Mariners offense in a good park.
Michael Soroka (SP, RP – ARI) vs. PIT
Michael Soroka has quietly been very good this year and is facing a Pittsburgh team that has fallen off.
Max Meyer (SP – MIA) vs. BAL
Max Meyer has looked elite recently and has a decent matchup at home this week.
Sean Burke (SP, RP – CWS) vs. SEA
Sean Burke has pitched well thus far and has a good matchup at home.
Connor Prielipp (SP – MIN) at CLE
Connor Prielipp is a top-100 prospect who has looked great since arriving in the Majors.
15-20. Two-Start Options
Cade Cavalli (SP – WSH) vs. MIN, at MIA
Cade Cavalli struggled out of the gate, but has looked fantastic over his last two starts on the back of better stuff numbers on his fastball in particular.
Cavalli has two good matchups this week versus a Twins team that has come back to Earth and a Marlins team that has overperformed.
Nick Martinez (SP, RP – TBR) vs. TOR, at BOS
Nick Martinez has thrown 37 innings over seven starts with a 1.70 ERA and 24 strikeouts. He is clearly overperforming, but while regression will hit at some point, it shouldn’t be that hurtful to his overall line.
Martinez is a must-start against a mediocre-performing Blue Jays offense and a struggling Red Sox team.
Janson Junk (SP, RP – MIA) vs. PHI, vs. WSH
Janson Junk has been better this season, throwing 33 innings over six starts with a 3.00 ERA and 21 strikeouts. He doesn’t overwhelm people with his stuff, but his stuff has been better, and his command and control have been fantastic.
Junk’s two starts are against powerful lineups, but the Phillies have really struggled to this point, so you can roll with him in a lot of formats.
Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) at MIA, vs. COL
Aaron Nola has been up and down this season and is very frustrating to roster, but if you can’t use him here, he shouldn’t be on your roster.
The Rockies have one of the worst offenses in baseball, and the Marlins are super scary only in Miami.
Michael Wacha (SP – KCR) vs. CLE, vs. DET
Michael Wacha is doing Wacha-type things this season — overperforming his peripherals and putting up solid numbers for fantasy managers. He has two pretty decent matchups, so he should be rolled out in a lot of leagues.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – ARI) vs. PIT, vs. NYM
Eduardo Rodriguez has been pretty good so far, throwing 32.2 innings over six starts with a 3.03 ERA and 22 strikeouts. However, it is largely propped up on shaky skills. His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is way too low, and his strand rate is too high.
Rodriguez is walking 11% of the hitters he is facing, and his stuff is the worst of his career. The Pirates have struggled a little lately, and the Mets are a mess right now, so there is some reason to gamble with him, but regression will come for him at some point.
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