Greetings sports fans, what a week we just had! This was no ordinary week in the baseball world. We saw the Cubs trade-off their World Series-winning core (somehow Kyle Hendricks stayed put). The Nationals traded Mad Max to the still prospect-rich Dodgers. But wait, that’s not all the Dodgers did bolster their rotation, too. They also traded for Danny Duffy who’s been hurt, but is also enjoying a career year. The Twins traded Jose Berrios to the Blue Jays, making that rotation a top rotation in baseball now. Also, we saw Kyle Gibson get traded too the Phillies for top prospect Spencer Howard. On the lower end of the starting pitcher spectrum, we saw Trevor Williams go to the Mets, J.A. Happ and Jon Lester to the Cardinals and Andrew Heaney went coast to coast landing in the Bronx.
Moving onto the injury news. Big names, big news. Tyler Glasnow will indeed be getting Tommy John Surgery. deGrom is shut down for 2 weeks, something in my gut tells me all these injuries are leading somewhere bad but I shall not jinx it. Chris Sale went 5 innings in a rehab start and is almost ready for his return. Chris Paddack has an oblique strain and has hit the IL. Alex Cobb hit the IL with a wrist injury. Clayton Kershaw threw a simulated game. Rookie, James Kaprielian landed on the IL with a shoulder injury. Lastly, both Jack Flaherty and Brady Singer both began their rehab Assignments. There is a lot of good names this week so without further adieu… let’s get to them!
MUST STARTS
1. Zack Wheeler PHI: (8/3 @ WAS)(8/8 vs NYM)
– The inning eating machine has gone 6+ innings in 16 of his 21 starts. He’s become one of the most reliable starting pitchers in the league and his penchant to go deep into games and strike batters out lands him firmly in the number 1 slot for me this week.
2. Gerrit Cole NYY: (8/3 vs BAL)(8/8 vs SEA)
– Cole is going to dominate the strikeout category time and time again. Also, his matchups this week are great. It feels weird not having him number one but since the sticky substance rule went into effect, Cole has a 4.93 ERA in 7 starts. We all know he was the biggest name implicated in the scandal but the timing of his step back can not be ignored. In any event he should have a great week this week considering the weak nature of his matchups and both being at home with a team and fan base invigorated by their recent trades.
3. Shoehei Ohtani LAA: (8/2 @ TEX)(8/8 @ LAD)
– Well, I tried last week to get excited about a 2 start week only to be shot down. Is this the week? I hope so. We all know the talent here, a start against Texas is great, the Dodgers? not so much. The Dodgers look scarier than they ever have with the roster they constructed at the deadline. Regardless, Ohtani is a once-in-a-lifetime talent so you have to bet on that.
4. Robbie Ray TOR: (8/2 vs CLE)(8/7 vs BOS)
– What a revelation Ray has been this season. He too, was supposed to have a 2 start week last week and due to a postponement, it didn’t quite work out like that. He has 2 home starts this week, Cleveland should be a really nice start. Boston is interesting, a team he’s seen 3 times this year already, and both of his last starts were against them. His line? 17 IP, 14 H, 8 ER’s, 7 BB, 22 Ks. Prognosis? He can handle the Red Sox.
5. Anthony DeSclafani SF: (8/2 @ ARI)(8/7 @ MIL)
– Another guy enjoying a career year. DeSclafani gets two pretty damn good matchups here. He’s been a one of the best road pitchers in baseball this year, not allowing more than 3 runs in any road start.
6. Max Fried ATL: (8/3 @ STL)(8/8 vs WAS)
– Fried had his highest strikeout game of the year in his last start. Hopefully, he’s finding a groove. St. Louis has had good success against lefties this year but he’s faced them once already this year on June 18th and dominated them. Washington just sold everyone not named Juan Soto so that should be a solid start for Fried.
7. Sandy Alcantara MIA: (8/2 vs NYM)(8/7 @ COL)
– Alcantara was in a tough little stretch a couple of weeks ago but he has righted the ship and he’s pretty consistent. Also, he’s yet to see either of these teams this year so there isn’t much to offer in terms of that but we can bet on Alcantara going out and doing what he usually does.
8. Lance McCullers Jr. HOU: (8/3 @ LAD)(8/8 vs MIN)
– McCullers had himself a MONTH of July in terms of Strikeouts. In his last 5 starts, he’s had 8, 8, 10, 8, 8. Well above his seasonal averages. The Dodgers are obviously tough but McCullers is talented enough to weather that storm. Also, Minnesota is horrible and just got done trading a bunch of talented players including their top hitter Nelson Cruz so McCullers should have his way with them.
9. Yusei Kikuchi SEA: (8/3 @ TB)(8/8 @ NYY)
– Kikuchi is at an all-time peak for his strikeout rate right now. I don’t see that changing. Even though he has been in a small rough patch lately, with the changes he’s made, he’s a must-start for me with the way he’s pitched all year long.
10. Tyler Mahle CIN: (8/3 vs MIN)(8/8 vs PIT)
– Mahle has been a solid #3 starter all year and his strikeout stuff has been really impressive. So this week he gets two bottom feeders, he should rack up plenty of K’s this week.
11. Hyun-Jin Ryu TOR: (8/3 vs CLE)(8/8 vs BOS)
– Ryu has been his solid self all year. So, there’s not much stat digging to do here. In his last start, he went 6 scoreless against Boston, and we know we’re not worried about the Cleveland Clevelanders here. So Ryu should have a solid week ahead of him.
QUESTIONABLES
12. Dylan Cease CHW: (8/3 vs KC)(8/8 @ CHC)
– Another incredible strikeout pitcher here. We know of Cease’s troubles on the road but this start comes in his city and it’s against a team that just traded every valuable offensive piece they have not named Patrick Wisdom. Cease has shown a proclivity to be decent against bad clubs on the road so I’m expecting a good week from him. Start him.
13. Kenta Maeda MIN: (8/3 @ CIN)(8/8 @ HOU)
– After a bad start to the year, followed by an injury, Maeda is finally back on track. His month of July was pretty damn good. The line in 5 starts is: 29.1 IP, 18 H, 7 ER, 6 BB, and 36 Ks. Also, he had a .176 BAA and a 0.82 WHIP in July. Great numbers. Numbers good enough that he should be in the must-start category, but let’s take a closer look. 3 of those starts came against Detroit, one was against the Royals and the other was against the Angels. Those are all really bad teams offensively. I’m still starting Maeda this week but I’m tempering my expectations considering the opponents and the fact they are both in hitter-friendly away ballparks.
14. Tylor Megill NYM: (8/2 @ MIA)(8/7 @ PHI)
– What a revelation Megill has been for the Mets. He hasn’t had a bad start for them yet in 7 starts, and I don’t expect to see it this week against two bad-hitting NL East opponents. The only caveat here is, he was in this column last week and didn’t make the second start. I think it’s a good shot he does this week since the first start is on Monday as opposed to Tuesday last week.
15. Johnny Cueto SF: (8/3 @ ARI)(8/8 @ MIL)
– While not the pitcher he once was, Cueto still finds a way to get the job done. I’m not going to bore you with deep dive numbers here. I’ll just say he has a 3.84 ERA this season and has two really good matchups this week. I’m starting him.
16. Taijuan Walker NYM: (8/3 @ MIA)(8/8 @ PHI)
– After a blazing hot first half of the year Walker has come to a skidding stop in his last 3 starts. 9.1 IP, 16 ERs, 18 H, 8 BB, and only 8 Ks. There’s nothing to lean on in any of these starts either. They were just all bad. I’m still not out on him though, and unless this recent slump is injury-related and can’t see it keeping up considering how well he pitched the first half of the year. I’m starting him cautiously this week against two bad offenses.
17. Zach Plesac CLE: (8/3 @ TOR)(8/8 vs DET)
– *CAUTION* Zach Plesac is not a strikeout pitcher. However, he does have a feel for pitching. I don’t like the Toronto matchup. Who would? However, I do like the Detroit matchup. I’m going to give Plesac the go here and start him.
18. Chris Flexen SEA: (8/2 @ TB)(8/7 @ NYY)
– Flexen was on a solid run until he ran into the buzzsaw known as the Houston Astros in his last start. He got tagged for 7 runs in that one. I don’t like these matchups at all. However, Flexen has earned the right to start in your fantasy lineup with the way he’s defied the odds this year. Therefore we’re starting him.
POINTS LEAGUE PLAYS
19. Andrew Heaney NYY: (8/2 vs BAL)(8/7 vs SEA)
20. Adrian Houser MIL: (8/2 vs PIT(8/8 vs SF)
21. Dane Dunning TEX: (8/2 vs LAA)(8/7 @ OAK)
NO THANKS
Jon Lester STL: (8/3 vs ATL)(8/8 vs KC), Patrick Corbin WAS: (8/3 vs PHI)(8/8 @ ATL), Madison Bumgarner ARI: (8/3 vs SF)(8/8 @ SD), Zach Davies CHC: (8/3 @ COL)(8/8 vs CHW), Wily Peralta DET: (8/3 vs BOS)(8/8 @ CLE), Michael Wacha TB: (8/2 vs SEA)(8/8 @ BAL), Garrett Richards BOS: (8/3 @ DET)(8/8 @ TOR), Matt Moore PHI: (8/2 @ WAS)(8/7 vs NYM), Chad Kuhl PIT: (8/3 MIL)(8/8 @ CIN), Jordan Lyles TEX: (8/3 vs LAA)(8/8 @ OAK), Taylor Widener ARI: (8/2 vs SF)(8/7 @ SD), Kris Bubic KC: (8/3 @ CHW)(8/8 @ STL), Jorge Lopez BAL: (8/2 @ NYY)(8/8 vs TB), Elijah Morgan CLE: (8/2 @ NYY)(8/7 vs DET), Lucas Gilbreath COL: (8/3 vs CHC)(9/8 vs MIA), Jordan Holloway MIA: (8/3 vs NYM)(8/8 @ COL)
