Whether you’re playing daily or seasonal fantasy baseball, FanSided’s Call to the Pen brings you a weekly roundup from MLB’s notable happenings in the first week of the 2016 season.
Houston’s Tyler White is hitting .556/.591/1.167, while Mike Trout is a cool .200/.320/.250 through fantasy baseball’s first week of MLB action and is yet to go yard. Trout just collected his first RBI of the year yesterday, while Trevor Story (7) has more home runs in 2016 than Trout has base hits (4). It’s no surprise then that Colorado leads MLB with 17 team homers, as Story has more individual ones than 16 other teams have collectively.
It’s fairly apparent now why Troy Tulowitzki was viewed as expendable by Rockies front office executives at last years trade deadline. If you drafted Story, you’re likely off to a great start this season. The young shortstop will eventually have some setbacks to offset the highs, but his seven home runs through his first six games of the season is a nice record for a rookie to be associated with. Be wary though, as Story also has as many strikeouts through his first six games as he does hits (9).
For fantasy baseball managers, there are some injury notes worth mentioning after week 1. Obviously, the Kyle Schwarber loss is a big one. The young Cubbie was a 25 home run bat and eligible in the outfield and at catcher. Monitoring Jacob deGrom‘s status moving forward could also be paramount to your squad’s success or the sanity of Mets fans. His next scheduled start is being skipped in the rotation because of a tight lat muscle.
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For anyone who drafted Michael Taylor following his tremendous spring, seeing Ben Revere hit the DL is almost validation. If you lack outfield depth and Taylor is a FA in your league, go grab him. Not only is he the most athletic defensive outfielder on Washington’s roster, he has true 20-20 potential and could run away with an everyday role over the coming weeks.
Reigning AL MVP Josh Donaldson surely scared a few owners for a second there, but failed to miss a start from a calf strain and looks to have picked up where he left off last season with a .310-4-9 line through the Blue Jays first week of games.
Aside from guys like the Astros’ Tyler White and Story, there are a few other surprising stories unfolding through the first week of fantasy baseball. Here are your top performers at each eligible position from week 1. If you fielded this lineup, chances are you’re a top manager in your league after Opening Week:
- C- Brian McCann (.467-8-1-3-0)
- 1B Tyler White (.556-3-3-9-0)
- 2B Jean Segura (.423-6-3-5-2)
- 3B Eugenio Suarez (.435-9-4-9-1)
- SS Trevor Story (.333-7-7-12-0)
- OF Matt Kemp (.375-4-3-10-0), Yasiel Puig (.417-7-1-4-1), Dexter Fowler (.526-7-1-4-0)
- UTIL Carlos Correa (.304-5-3-4-2)
- SP Clayton Kershaw (1-0, 1.20 ERA, 14 K), Jake Arrieta (1-0, 2.25, 11), Noah Syndergaard (1-0, 0.00, 9), Cole Hamels (2-0, 2.08, 12), SP Vincent Velasquez (1-0, 0.00, 9)
- RP Ryan Madson (2 SV, 0.00 ERA, 3 K), Roberto Osuna (3, 0.00, 6)
It’s Monday morning now and the start of week 2. However, if it’s not too late for a last minute transaction, Texas Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara may still be a free agent in your league. He was the number one player added at weeks end on Sunday, with 48,395 managers acquiring his services. Players who were dropped more than any others on Sunday were Schwarber (7,601), OF Ender Inciarte (5,560), 3B/OF Yasmany Tomas (3,951) and speedster Billy Burns (3,937).
SoDo Mojo
Schwarber and Inciarte are casualties of injuries, while Tomas is hitting .222 and Burns is losing considerable playing time right now to Coco Crisp. The player involved in the most number of trades at weeks end was Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton. If you’re looking to do some wheeling and dealing, here’s a great site that can help you analyze the fairness of a potential trade that could pay big dividends.
As is always the case, closers finish off games, so it’s fitting we take a look at fantasy baseball’s closer carousel after week one to end this instalment. Jason Grilli‘s stuff is not nearly as nasty as Arodys Vizcaino‘s is, so you’ll want to scoop him up as the likely future closer for the Braves.
There’s no one worth owning in the Phillies’ bullpen, but a guy flying under the radar is Miguel Castro of the Rockies. The fireballer briefly held closing duties for the Blue Jays last year before eventually being sent down and then traded. Right now, Jake McGee has two saves, but he’s not doing anything spectacular. Castro, however, is third on the team in strikeouts with seven despite only having pitched as a reliever in four innings. He’s given up only a single hit and opponents are batting .077 against him. Put the 21-year-old Dominican on your watch list.
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Detroit’s situation is another one to keep and eye on, as Francisco Rodriguez has been pretty shaky through two appearances. Meanwhile Ryan Madson in Oakland has continued to pitch better than Sean Doolittle in spring and now the regular season.
*Transaction numbers are courtesy of Yahoo! fantasy baseball’s platform