For the past five-plus years, I’ve contributed The Week Ahead and Impact Report at Rotoworld. Those articles included a look at two-start pitchers, streamers, waiver pickups, and injuries. Many readers planned their week and FAAB deadlines around those articles, so my plan is to contribute something similar weekly throughout the 2023 season in this space.
If there’s something else you’d like to see, please let me know in the comments section.
Two Start Pitchers
American League
Strong Plays
Framber Valdez: CHC, OAK
Kevin Gausman: NYY, BAL
Shohei Ohtani: @BAL, MIN
Shane Bieber: @CHW, @NYM
George Kirby: @BOS, @ATL
Decent Plays
Pablo Lopez: @LAD, @LAA
Alek Manoah: NYY, BAL
Dane Dunning: ATL, COL
Domingo German: @TOR, @CIN
Grayson Rodriguez: LAA, @TOR
Dean Kremer: LAA, @TOR
At Your Own Risk
Yonny Chirinos: @NYM, MIL
Brad Keller: @SD, @CHW
Jhony Brito: @TOR, @CIN
National League
Strong Plays
Clayton Kershaw: MIN, @STL
Merrill Kelly: @OAK, @PIT
Justin Verlander: TB, CLE
Jesus Luzardo: WAS, @SF
Freddy Peralta: @STL, @TB
Josiah Gray: @MIA, DET
Decent Plays
Charlie Morton: @TEX, SEA
Jordan Montgomery: MIL, LAD
Alex Wood: PHI, MIA
Hunter Greene: @COL, NYY
Jameson Taillon: @HOU, @PHI
Bailey Falter: @SF, CHC
Michael Wacha: KC, BOS
At Your Own Risk
Patrick Corbin: NYM, DET
Noah Syndergaard: MIN, @STL
Jack Flaherty: MIL, LAD
Jared Shuster: @TEX, SEA
Connor Seabold: CIN, @TEX
Streamers
These are pitchers I’m considering as single-start streamers this week in a 12-15 team mixed league that are available in at least 50% of leagues.
American League
Chase Silseth: @BAL (5/16)
Brandon Bielak: OAK (5/19)
Alex Faedo: @WAS (5/20)
National League
Luis Ortiz: @DET (5/16)
Ryne Nelson: @OAK (5/17)
Trevor Williams: @MIA (5/18)
Braxton Garrett: @SF (5/20)
Player Notes
- This week’s big prize in the pitcher FAAB sweepstakes is Marlins top prospect Eury Perez. The 6-foot-8 right-hander shined in his debut, allowing two runs in 4.2 innings with seven strikeouts vs. Cincinnati. While the long-term upside is almost limitless, Perez’s status brings some nuance to prospect rankings in relation to fantasy leagues. Perez only turned 20 on April 15 and has never made more than 20 starts or thrown more than 78 innings in a season as a pro. He also averaged only 4.1 innings per start last season and just over five innings in his six minor league starts this year. So while Perez seems likely to help fantasy managers with ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts, the volume is very unlikely to be there for him this year or arguably in the next 2-3 seasons. You can make a case that an elite setup man like Bryan Abreu or Yennier Cano will be more valuable than the limited innings we’ll see from Perez in 2023.
- The hitting prize this week is Casey Schmitt. Renowned for his defense at third base before this season, Schmitt shifted to shortstop this spring and has pleased the Giants with his play. Starting the year hitting .313-1-22 in 32 games at Triple-A Sacramento, Schmitt got a promotion with Brandon Crawford on the shelf and has already shown more power than he did in his early minor league start. Granted, Schmitt did hit 21 home runs in 126 games in the minors last season, so the power contribution isn’t unexpected. Despite the hot start, Schmitt isn’t a player who was highly thought of offensively until last season, and still has a limited offensive ceiling based on his track record. While the playing time should continue when Crawford returns, I’m not sure Schmitt is more than a fringe addition in 12-team leagues.
- Alex Faedo has looked very good in two starts for the Tigers after struggling in the majors last season. The 27-year-old might be an afterthought in fantasy leagues at age 27 on mediocre team, but I believe there’s reason to take a closer look. Faedo is a former top prospect and first-round pick in 2017 whose development was greatly hindered by arm injuries, but he has an elite 4.22 K/BB and 2.2 BB/9 for his minor league career with a good three-pitch mix that includes a fastball averaging 93 mph and a slider. An extreme flyball rate is a concern for Faedo’s ERA, though his ability to throw strikes should at least make him a matchup play in the short term.
- The Rockies rarely do things that make sense, but their continued handling of Elehuris Montero is particularly head-scratching. He entered the season as a popular sleeper with a history of great power and a path to at-bats at third base. After struggling defensively, the team sat Montero on the bench in mid-April before demoting him to Triple-A Albuquerque. Since the demotion, he’s hit .324-8-22 in only 17 games, BUT Montero has yet to appear in one game at the hot corner. Instead, he’s played nine games at first base and eight games at DH. Montero clearly isn’t very good at third base, but he’s also age 24 in an organization that’s already eight games below .500. So it seems the Rockies have already given up on Montero at third base, and he’s blocked in MLB by C.J. Cron and Charlie Blackmon. Can we please request a trade?