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.
20 Fantasy Baseball Things to Watch
1. Schedule Notes
- The following teams play just five games this week:
- Arizona Diamondbacks vs. CWS, vs. SD
- San Diego Padres vs. LAD, vs. MIA
- The following teams play seven games this week:
- Boston Red Sox vs DET (1), vs. NYY, at BAL
- Detroit Tigers at BOS (1), vs. MIL, at CIN
- Atlanta Braves at WSH, vs. PHI
- Philadelphia Phillies at CHC, at ATL
- Washington Nationals vs. ATL, at CWS
- Chicago Cubs vs. PHI, at LAD
- Colorado Rockies vs LAD (1), vs. SDP, at NYM
- Los Angeles Dodgers at COL (1), at SFG, vs. CHC
2. Patriots Day
Today is Patriots Day in Boston, which means the first game starts at 11:10 am ET. Make sure your lineups are set and ready to go.
3. Kyle Stowers (OF – MIA)
Kyle Stowers made his season debut over the weekend after being sidelined with a hamstring strain he suffered in spring training. He had a breakout season last year, hitting .288/.368/.544 with 25 home runs and five stolen bases in 117 games. We need to see whether he can build on that or even repeat it, given the poor underlying contact skills.
4. Cole Ragans (SP KCR)
Cole Ragans got lit up for seven earned runs on Sunday in a loss to the Yankees. He struggled with control, walking eight, and his velocity was down throughout the final innings of his start. We need to watch him this week because there are warning signs that things are wrong with him.
5. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (OF – ARI)
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made his season debut last weekend, returning from ACL surgery. We need to see if he is still the same player he was pre-surgery and if the recovery from it has hampered his speed or power.
6. The Return of Zack Wheeler
Zack Wheeler is expected to make his season debut for the Phillies on Friday, though he was originally supposed to debut last Sunday. He had thoracic outlet surgery this offseason after experiencing a blood clot in his shoulder.
There isn’t a good track record of pitchers coming back from this type of surgery. He has been good in Triple-A during his rehab assignment, but his velocity has been down a ton. We need to see if he is still the same pitcher he once was.
7. Cubs’ Closer Chaos
Daniel Palencia hit the injured list (IL) with an oblique injury, and now the Cubs are in search of a closer for the next 2-4 weeks. Ben Brown and Caleb Thielbar appear to be the most likely fill-ins, but we need to see who takes the role or if it is shared.
8. Brewers’ Closer Chaos
Trevor Megill has struggled this season, and it appears there may be a changing of the guard to Abner Uribe. We need to see if this is actually happening or if Megill will continue to be the closer for the Brewers.
9. Astros’ Closer Chaos
The Astros have struggled in the bullpen, losing Josh Hader to an injury, and now Bryan Abreu is struggling mightily. It appears they will need to find a new closer, and the top options are Bryan King and Enyel De Los Santos. We need to see if this will be a committee or if someone will emerge.
10. Blue Jays Closer Chaos
Jeff Hoffman continues to struggle this season despite gaudy strikeout numbers. It is a matter of time before the Blue Jays move to someone else, and Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland seem like the logical next men up.
11-14. Streaming Options
Clay Holmes (SP – NYM) vs. MIN
Clay Holmes has been great this season and gets a bad Twins team at home.
Michael Soroka (SP, RP – ARI) vs. CWS
Michael Soroka has quietly pitched better than he ever has this season and is facing a terrible White Sox offense at home.
Eduardo Rodriguez (SP – ARI) vs. CWS
Eduardo Rodriguez has been up and down this season, but he pitches in a great matchup at home and is worth the risk.
Landen Roupp (SP – SFG) vs. MIA
Landen Roupp has looked pretty good so far this season and is at home versus a bad Miami lineup.
15-20. Two-Start Options
Sean Burke (SP – CWS) at ARI, vs. WSH
Sean Burke has been up and down so far this season, throwing 20.1 innings over four starts with a 4.43 ERA and 17 strikeouts. He has two decent matchups versus an Arizona offense that has struggled against righties and a Nationals offense that has been mediocre against righties.
Justin Wrobleski (RP – LAD) at COL, vs. CHC
Justin Wrobleski has a fantastic ERA and WHIP, but barely any strikeouts. He is allowing a ton of contact and getting super lucky with batting average on balls in play (BABIP). That is a tight rope to walk, but with the Dodgers’ offense supporting him, there is a lot of win upside.
Max Meyer (SP – MIA) vs. STL, at SFG
Max Meyer has been up and down this season, throwing 19.2 innings with a 4.12 ERA and 20 strikeouts. The command has been good, but the control has been off and on. However, these are two really good matchups against offenses that you aren’t super afraid of, so he should be used in most formats.
Aaron Nola (SP – PHI) at CHC, vs. ATL
Aaron Nola has been fairly mediocre this season, throwing 22.1 innings with a 4.03 ERA and 24 strikeouts. However, despite the surface numbers, Nola’s last start was the first time in about two years he looked like the vintage version of himself.
Nola’s stuff was great, and he was locating the ball fantastically. These are tough matchups, but that outing made me enough of a believer to risk him in a lot of formats.
Kyle Harrison (SP – MIL) at DET, vs. PIT
Kyle Harrison has been really good this season, throwing 14.2 innings over three starts with a 3.07 ERA and 15 strikeouts. However, he left his last start after hurting his knee trying to cover first base and had his start last week pushed back. If healthy, he is a must-start pitcher, but he is risky due to the potential injury issue.
Carmen Mlodzinski (SP – PIT) at TEX at MIL
Carmen Mlodzinski doesn’t have amazing stuff, but what he does have is a complete arsenal of five pitches that he can command and use at any time to keep hitters off balance, and so far, it is working well. He has a good matchup in a great park to start the week and then a tough one at the end of the week, so there is some risk here.
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