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See all of today’s starting lineups

# MLB Starting Lineups For Thu 5/15
ATH | ATL | BAL | CHW | CIN | HOU | LAD | MIN | TB | TEX | TOR | WSH | ARI | BOS | CHC | CLE | COL | DET | KC | LAA | MIA | MIL | NYM | NYY | OAK | PHI | PIT | SD | SEA | SF | STL
Hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day weekend, and enjoying some baseball, or as Chef Boyardee calls it, Our National Pastatime. This Monday let's remember all the other red-white-blue American things one hears backstage at a Larry The Cable Guy concert, including burping and farting and wearing an American flag t-shirt. Eat a D, ISIS! Much like how America was just a Platonic ideal, then went to Washington and had to get its hands dirty with the gory details of governing, we have MacKenzie Gore (7 IP, 1 ER, 4 baserunners, 11 Ks (career-high), ERA at 3.57) getting his hands dirty with making good on the promise of being a top prospect. Yesterday, he threw 106 pitches, 75 were strikes, and 23 were swinging. Overall, his command is still a bit wonky -- 11.5 K/9, 4.3 BB/9, 3.48 xFIP -- but if the Ks are that good, the command won't hurt him. Those Ks are Murica thru & thru. Not spelling shizz out is Murica too. Anyway, here's what else I saw this weekend in fantasy baseball:
There are two parts to every season that really drive fantasy success. First off, we have the draft that sets your path for the beginning of the season. Coming out of the draft, I believe you should always feel like a winner. Otherwise, your preparation was not as thorough as it could have been. Anytime I leave the draft feeling disappointed, I know I have a long season ahead as the second part of the season gets underway. That second phase is simply free agency where hidden gems are there for the taking if you employ the right aggressive strategy. This week we discuss Free Agency Acquisition Budget (FAAB) strategy and where that money should be spent as we come up to the end of May.

The pitching streamers were full of mixed results last week, but our hitters went off. I’ve actually done a better job recommending hitters than pitchers this season, which is strange since I’m traditionally better with the arms. It’s hard to understand why but the landscape of baseball has to be playing a factor. Please, blog, may I have some more?

Graduated from Prospect News: Stash List Volume 3: Red Letter DaysMatt McLain Just a refresher or if it’s your first season with us: Players like Jordan Walker are ineligible for the stash list because anyone who has already been promoted in-season is ineligible. Guys like Royce Lewis are a bit of a gray-area.  1. Reds SS Elly De La Cruz | 21 | AAA  Unless half this list gets promoted and I write a new one next Sunday, this should be Elly’s last stash. The Reds are on the verge of dancing around a weak division, and they’ve been dragging their feet on it long enough. They’re five games out of first but tied with the Cardinals, half a game behind the Cubs. De La Cruz is slashing .341/.452/.765 with a 20.2 percent strikeout rate in 21 May games along with nine home runs and seven stolen bases.
Welcome back to another edition of Top Dynasty Keepers. Last week I wrote about Nolan Gorman, a top 100 prospect who entered the 2022 season with high expectations. After being promoted to the majors he performed well only to have opposing pitchers adjust their game plans, leading Gorman to ultimately fall short of the high expectations people had of him only to rebound this year and now living up to those expectations. This week I am going to focus on another player who has followed a similar path in Christopher Morel of the Chicago Cubs. Morel burst onto the scene last year only to ultimately struggle greatly down the stretch but is now performing well. Road to the Show Powerful Bat Morel was signed by the Cubs in 2015 out of the Dominican Republic for $800,00 but had his pro debut delayed until 2017 after suffering a cut arm in a household accident after he signed. After spending the 2020 COVID season at the Cubs' alternate training site and the Instructional League, he was added to the 40-man roster ahead of the 2021 season. One of the main reason's Chicago signed Morel was the power he saw in his bat due to excellent bat speed that produces a lot of high exit velocities - and home runs. The power was not immediately apparent when he first started his career in the minors. But since 2021, he has shown off his power in both the minors and majors and doing so to all fields. Speed and Versatility as Well While Morel's power is a great tool, he also has the ability to swipe a bag. An aggressive base runner, he stole 58 bases in 356 career minor league games and has added another 11 in 127 major league games. In the field, Morel has displayed a strong arm and the ability to play multiple positions. With Chicago he has played in left field and center field as well as second base, shortstop and third base.

Going into the Memorial Day weekend, we should have a pretty good baseline of what the rest of the summer will yield (assuming another new ball isn’t introduced infused with leather from cows crossbred with rubber trees).

Given that this 2023 season has been more volatile than the Ron DeSantis/Elon Musk Twitter conference call from hell, between the bouncier ball, new rules, and cacophony of injuries, it’s a great time to re-examine what the MLB league averages are to adjust expectations going forward. Please, blog, may I have some more?

(NOTE: THIS POST WAS RELEASED EARLY THIS WEEK ON OUR PATREON. IT’S $10/MONTH) Wistfully, "This guy has such great health." That's Royce Lewis looking at Byron Buxton. Royce Lewis is the Merely A Flesh Wound Guy. Royce Lewis has been injured so much he actually knows the difference between physical and occupational therapy. In fact, when Lewis is watching a basketball game that is going to OT, he hops out of his wheelchair, grabs crutches and yells, "It's time to see Sheila!" So, do you have *looks at watch* six years for Royce Lewis to break out? For those who don’t know the bare minimum about Lewis, he was the meow’s cat, missed two years with injury, then came back and was hitting everything in the minors, then, due to that ferocious bat, he was called up. This was last year. Then he hurt himself and missed another year. Lieutenant Dan has had less issues with his legs. Royce Lewis has torn his ACL so many times that he thinks an "ACL" is Roman for 150 knee injuries. He can't be roamin' because his legs are made of taffy and rubber bands. "I wish they used cherry." That's Royce chewing on the creamsicle taffy holding together his knee. Is he back to hitting again in the minors? Yup, and here we are again. He has 30/30/.270 type tools, also see: the young Buxton comp. He has the 2nd best projections for all hitter rookies on our Prospectonator (check out #1). Lewis is a can't miss fantasy superstar if he can miss just one injury. Word on the street that Lewis can't walk down without hurting himself is he could be called up as soon as he's eligible on May 29th. Grab him now, before he chews through the rest of the creamsicle taffy. Anyway, here's some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone! The end of May is always kind of a wake-up call for me when it comes to my fantasy teams, as it more or less marks the end of the first third of the season. Two months of baseball is enough, if nothing else, to see where your teams’ strengths and weaknesses are, and which categories you need to attack to gain a place or two in the standings. Please, blog, may I have some more?