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
- The following teams play just five games this week:
- Kansas City Royals vs. TBR, vs. PHI
- The following teams play seven games this week:
- Chicago White Sox at BAL, at CLE
- Cleveland Guardians vs TEX, vs. CWS
- Miami Marlins at COL, at ATH
- Cincinnati Reds at MIL, vs. BAL
- Milwaukee Brewers vs. CIN, at ARI
- Pittsburgh Pirates at PHI, at WSH
- Colorado Rockies vs. MIA, vs. SFG
- Los Angeles Dodgers at ATH, vs. SDP
- San Diego Padres at CHC, at LAD
2. Young Pitchers
Often, right before the All-Star break, a few teams will send down young pitchers to manage their workloads. This often leads to pitchers being dropped, even though they are talented and will return shortly after the break. Keep an eye on your waiver wire.
3. The Ball
The ball was very dead at the start of the season, but over the last month, it has been flying around and out of the ballpark. There have been a couple of studies that point to a different ball that seems to have been introduced into play. If this trend continues, it may be a tough summer for pitchers.
4. MLB Labor Negotiations
The MLB has made several offers to the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to avoid a lockout at the end of the season. Unfortunately, most offerings will not be accepted. We need to monitor these offers and see if they improve. If they don’t, we may be heading for a shortened 2027 season.
5. Trades
The Mets dealt David Peterson to the Cubs, and this should just be the beginning of what could be a massive trade deadline. There are a ton of teams looking to move talent, including the Giants, Royals and Angels.
The American League Wild Card race is crazy, with a ton of teams still in it, and a number of them could be buyers or sellers as we get closer to the deadline. Trades happening before then are likely, given this trade as an indication.
6. The Mets
Aside from trading David Peterson, the Mets also fired their manager. Is that indicative of a massive sell-off of talent? The Mets could move a number of players over the next few weeks, including Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta, Sean Manaea and Luke Weaver. They are 16 games back in the division, so I would expect to see a big shakeup soon.
7. Sean Keys (1B, 3B – TOR)
Sean Keys was called up by the Blue Jays over the weekend, but as of this writing. He went 1-for-4 with a run in his debut.
Keys was fantastic in the minors this season, slashing .284/.409/.619 with 21 home runs and seven stolen bases between AA and AAA. We need to see if he can carve out enough playing time to matter in fantasy.
8. Max Kepler (OF – ARI)
Max Kepler made his season debut with the Diamondbacks after missing half the season due to suspension. Kepler is talented, but his skills have fallen off in recent years. We need to see what his role will be in Arizona.
9. Mariners Piggybacking
The Mariners are continuing with their piggybacking experiment because they have so many talented starters. They were supposed to do it with Logan Gilbert and Emerson Hancock over the weekend, but then changed their minds.
Reportedly, they are scheduled to do it with George Kirby and Luis Castillo next week, but it remains to be seen whether they continue this experiment.
10. Royals’ Closer Chaos
Alex Lange may be on the hot seat as the closer in Kansas City after a disastrous outing in Chicago last week. He has been pretty good since taking over the role, but he was down a mile per hour (MPH) on his fastball and struggled with control. We need to watch and see if he can bounce back.
11-14. Streaming Options
Brandon Young (SP – BAL) at CIN
Cincinnati is a tough place to pitch, but Brandon Young has been good in the rotation, and the Reds have been terrible versus righties.
Ian Seymour (SP, RP – TBR) at KCR
Ian Seymour has looked elite as of late, and the Royals are a poachable opponent.
Anthony Kay (SP, RP – CWS) at CLE
Anthony Kay is coming off his best start of the season and faces a struggling Guardians team in Cleveland.
Matthew Boyd (SP – CHC) vs. SDP
Matthew Boyd looked good in his return from the injured list (IL). He faces a bad Padres offense that struggles against lefties.
15-20. Two-Start Options
Shane Drohan (SP, RP – MIL) vs. CIN, at ARI
Shane Drohan has been fantastic since getting called up, throwing 52 innings over six starts with a 3.12 ERA and 52 strikeouts. He has a good matchup against a struggling Reds offense to start the week, but the Diamondbacks are lefty killers, which is a bit riskier for the back half.
Droham should be started in most leagues, though, until we see him actually struggle on the mound. He can be benched against the Diamondbacks in leagues where you can make daily lineup moves.
Ryan Weathers (SP – NYY) vs. DET, vs. MIN
Ryan Weathers has been up and down this season, but he has been great over his last two starts, throwing 12.1 innings and only allowing two earned runs while striking out 14.
Weathers has two very good matchups, so you should be using him in all formats and hope that the speed bumps he faced in the earlier part of the month have passed him.
Tanner Bibee (SP – CLE) vs. TEX, vs. CWS
Tanner Bibee has been pretty good this season, outside of two blow-up starts that have elevated his ERA this season. He has a fantastic matchup to start the week and a mediocre one at the end, but it is against a team he just threw six shutout innings against in his last start. Bibee should be used in most formats this week.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – ARI) vs. SFG, vs MIL
Eduardo Rodriguez has been fantastic this season — 2.27 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 95 innings. There is risk here as his xERA is 4.80, but the Giants and Brewers have been terrible versus lefties this year. There is no reason not to start Rodriguez until he stumbles.
Eric Lauer (SP – LAD) at ATH, vs. SDP
Eric Lauer has been fantastic since joining the Dodgers, but the underlying skills are not very good. He has a really tough matchup at the start of the week in Sacramento versus the A’s, but a good one versus a bad Padres offense that struggles against lefties. If he can survive the front half of the week, he should have a good chance at a win in the second start.
Sean Burke (SP, RP – CWS) at BAL, at CLE
Sean Burke has been up and down this season, but he has been on a good stretch recently. The back end of this two-step is against a struggling Cleveland offense that he just dominated in his last start.
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