So last week we decided to go hunting for mushrooms, Morel to be specific, and it appears we stumbled upon a few. It was very nice to see the Farmer produce. (Get it…Farmer/Produce). I’ll keep the comedy to the internet trolls whose keyboard commando skills rival no one. It may be a little early, but even Stripling had a fantastic 1st start with his next start still TBD. All in all, our picks for H2H Fantasy Baseball treated us fairly last week.
Yes, it would appear that I am simply patting myself on the back, but for each nut that this blind squirrel finds, there is a Keegan Thompson start to bring me back to Earth. Let’s be honest, we got lucky that Kimbrel’s wife went into labor so that Daniel Hudson could pick up a few saves. I will now focus my attention on Week 9 and which players/schedules are designed to help you Get Ahead In Head To Head. And without further ado, let’s go from hunting shrooms to hunting for “he who dealt it”!
What to look for!
- Favorable Team Schedules
- R/L Matchups to Exploit
- SPARP(S) of the Week
- SAGNOF
Favorable Team Schedules!
8 Games
PHI (vMIA/@WSH)
SEA (vMIN/vLAA)
WSH (vATL/vPHI)
7 Games
BAL (@TOR/vTB)
CHC (vSD/vATL)
DET (vCWS/vTEX)
LAA (@LAD/@SEA)
PIT (@STL/vSF)
SD (@CHC/@COL)
STL (vPIT/@BOS)
TEX (vHOU/@DET)
TOR (vBAL/vNYY)
5 Games
LAD (vLAA/vCLE)
SPARP(S) Of The Week!
Alex Faedo-SP/RP-DET (vCWS/vTEX) (9% rostered in Yahoo)-The SPARP to double tap on the week! Faedo has been a very good boy! He has been taken off the leash and has rewarded the team with 7 consecutive starts of >5 innings and allowing 2 runs or fewer! This feat has only been done 6 times since 1893. The matchup vs CWS was once considered a scary one, but as of late, the Sox aren’t as intimidating.
Devin Smeltzer-SP/RP-MIN (@ARI)- Most likely to avoid a real stinker. He may not have “smelt” it, but he sure has “dealt” it. Smeltzer has been terrific over his past 28 innings pitched. During that stretch, he has collected 2 wins and a silent 1.93 ERA/.93 WHIP. If you are looking for the high-K upside, you may want to excuse yourself, considering he has a measly 12.5% K%. Devin and the Twins will travel to face the D’Backs, which is always a good recipe for potential success.
R/L Matchups To Exploit!
Adam Frazier, 2B/OF, SEA (20% rostered in Yahoo)- Are you looking for some splits that are bananas? Look no further than Adam Frazier. While he has been mediocre at best on the season, it is what’s in store that is sure to grab your attention. The Mariners are set to play 8 games over the next 7 days at home. During that stretch, the Mariners are scheduled to face 6 RHP. Why is this important? Well, Frazier has been a whole different hitter at home v RHP. He carries a .351 AVE with a 168 wRC+. Finally, if you really want to be ahead of the curve in NFBC leagues, you could take Frazier out on Friday and avoid the LHPs he is set to face over the weekend.
Trent Grisham, OF, SDP (37% rostered in Yahoo)- I think many of us would rather be hit by a Grisham novel than have to roster Trent Grisham this season. Well, don’t skip ahead too many chapters! This next week could be something juicy! For starters, the Padres are set to face a handful of lefties, to which Grisham has been on a tear. Over the past 2 weeks, he has crushed lefties to the tune of .556. He has collected a hit in 5 of 6 games and gets the juicy weekend series in Coors.
Santiago Espinal, 2B/3B, TOR (42% rostered in Yahoo)- If you get a chance to roster an everyday player on one of the best offenses in baseball, you jump on it. Santiago Espinal has been playing every day for the Jays, and even hit as high as 4th just the other day. While I don’t envision him becoming the new cleanup hitter for the Jays, I do think his past 2 weeks have been worth noting! During that stretch, most notably against lefties, he has a .333 with 4 RBI. Let’s peel back a little more and look at his past 7 days as a whole. (5/2/8/.448) The Jays play 7 this week at home vs the Orioles and Yankees.
SAGNOF
Diego Castillo, RP, SEA (18% rostered in Yahoo)- The Mariners bullpen is a mess when it comes to predicting saves. I am in no way predicting that Castillo will get the majority of the saves, but Sewald is the highest leverage RP and will get the highest leverage innings. Castillo has recorded the past 2 saves, so when Sewald is tasked with coming in early, it appears to be Castillo in the 9th.
Jason Adam, RP, TB (11% rostered in Yahoo)- If you like heartburn and headaches, go ahead and pick up both Castillo and Jason Adam. TB is just as bad, if not worse when it comes to handling RPs. While it’s a mess, the mess has been reduced by 1 when Andrew Kittridge went back on the IL and appears to need surgery. Granted there could be others in the mix, if I had to guess, I would say Adam leads the Rays in Saves from here on out.
That concludes another week of Getting Ahead In Head To Head. I appreciate all the messages/questions, and I encourage you to continue asking them. I hope that we continue to crush our H2H matchups!
