Walker Buehler threw his first bullpen of the Spring today, he threw all of his pitches and did not seem to be holding back in velocity for a first session. (Ken Gurnick)
Fantasy Impact: Buehler was excellent in his first full season with the Dodgers posting a 2.62 ERA in 137 innings with 151 strikeouts over 23 starts. The 24 year old was dominant in his final 14 starts with a 2.12 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 85 innings. Buehler is going off the board around pick 40 in most drafts, a candidate for 200 plus strikeouts if given the innings, a solid investment in all leagues.
Manager Dave Roberts announced Clayton Kershaw as his Opening Day starter. It will be his ninth straight Opening Day start for the Dodgers. (Rowan Kavner)
Fantasy Impact: Kershaw made 26 starts last year, had a 2.73 ERA and struck out 155 in 161 innings. He missed time early last year with back/biceps injuries, but was excellent over his final 16 regular season starts earning eight wins and a 2.67 ERA in 104 innings. His velocity and strikeouts were down last year, he has not thrown more than 175 innings in his last three years, but Kershaw can still return ace value for your fantasy staff. Draft him based on around 175 innings, pitching for a Dodger team projected for over 90 wins.
Cody Bellinger will get significant spring training reps in right field in addition to center field and first base. Manager Dave Roberts said AJ Pollock is the daily center fielder. (Alanna Rizzo on Twitter)
Fantasy Impact: Bellinger batted .260/.343/.470 last year in 557 at bats with 25 homers and 14 stolen bases. Looking at his 2018 second half, he started making more contact resulting in more line drives, which led to a boost in OBP and stolen bases. If that trend continues he could return nice value as a 20/20 player. Don’t draft him for the 2017 home run total, draft him for the power/speed combo, dual positions, and his everyday role in the Dodger lineup. Still just 23 years old, a solid investment.
Sat, Mar 18th, 2017 10:52am EDT
By Craig Rosenkrantz
The slugger was back in the lineup Thursday after missing a few games with an illness, but his struggles at the plate continued. He is just 4-for-28 (.143) with one home run and three RBI through 12 games this spring, which isn't helping his bid for playing time over Greg Bird and Matt Holiday. (Source: ESPN)
Fantasy Impact: Carter, the National League's defending home run champion, found free-agent suitors hard to come by this winter, a sign of the diminishing value of his power in a league rife with it. He eventually signed a one-year deal with the Yankees, where he'll serve as insurance behind Greg Bird, who missed the entire 2016 season following shoulder surgery, and in Bird's best-case scenario Carter might be Bird's platoon partner. Yankee Stadium's power-friendly confines are a great fit for Carter's skill set, but he's a shaky pick in standard mixed leagues without a guarantee of regular at-bats. He'll help AL-only owners in Rotisserie scoring, but otherwise might be best used in daily leagues when the match up calls.
Seattle Mariners outfielder Kyle Lewis, the 11th pick in the 2016 MLB draft, will miss the remainder of his first professional season due to a serious knee injury. (Source: sports.mynorthwest.com)
Fantasy Impact: It is sad to see someone who just started his professional career suffer such a major injury. In most dynasty leagues, Lewis was being looked at as a prized possession. Recently graduating from Mercer and winning Baseball America’s Player of the Year honors, Lewis was hitting .299 (35 for 117) with 16 extra-base hits, 26 RBIs and a .915 OPS in 30 games with Everett.
Sun, Jul 17th, 2016 7:33pm EDT
By Christopher Arndt
After 18 grueling innings, Starling Marte hits the go-ahead home run in the top of the 18th inning.
Fantasy Impact: Marte scored both runs in the 2-1, nearly six hour affair on Sunday. Fantasy owners can rejoice in the fact that after 18 innings Marte proved clutch once again.
Thu, Jun 2nd, 2016 11:45am EDT
By Israel Katz
Carlos Carrasco is coming off a hamstring injury and has not pitched since late-April. The pitch count is a precaution. (Source: Cleveland.com)
Fantasy Impact: Carrasco should be a huge bust for anyone's fantasy team. Before the injury Carlos pitched to a 2.45 ERA with a 0.95 WHIP. Once the pitch count is gone, which should only last for a start or two, expect Carrasco to be great every time out.
Nationals OF Jayson Werth hit his 200th career home run on Tuesday versus the Marlins, his second of the season. He was 1-for-3 and also walked.
Fantasy Impact: Werth's average is slowly ticking up to .171, but his two home runs and seven RBI had given him some value in just over two weeks of play.
Nicasio pitched six innings and surrendered five hits, two walks, and three earned runs. He struck out six batters.
Fantasy Impact: Nicasio pitched very well outside of a rough fourth inning, during which he surrendered all three of his earned runs. He now has recorded quality starts in two of his three outings this season and is 2-1. He should remain in the rotation for the foreseeable future, but some of the shine has come off him from since his outstanding Spring Training.
Sat, Mar 12th, 2016 1:18pm EST
By Kevin McGuire
Rookie phenom Byron Buxton certainly isn't lighting things up in his Spring performance hitting a mere .133 with two hits in 15 ABs. Eddie Rosario isn't faring much better batting just .176, but rookie Max Kepler has been showing his desire to earn that center field spot hitting .286 and showing some speed on the base paths.
Fantasy Impact: Time to panic? Certainly not yet. There is plenty of Spring left and that will give Byron Buxton time to find his groove. He has the potential to tear things up with the bat and on the base path. Grab him at some point in your draft and stash him. He could turn out to be the gem you are looking for this season.
Though Miguel Sano's power hasn't been prominent this Spring with only one home run, he has managed to bring his average up to .357 hitting a single, a run-scoring double and walking in the 6-5 Twins loss to the Miami Marlins Friday.
Fantasy Impact: Miguel Sano is being watched closely by fantasy players everywhere and, even though Spring numbers don't count, Sano's performance will determine whether he is a lock for that right field starting spot opening day. He is still eligible at 3B in some formats, which adds to his value.
