Welcome back my faithful reader(s) to another amazing season of Head to Head Fantasy Baseball talk! It has been a grueling offseason full of CBA disputes, huge contracts, and in some cases (looking at you Conforto), no contracts. Well, we wait no longer! Opening Day has arrived and it is time to look ahead to the 1st full week of H2H baseball. Last year, we walked, hand in hand, for 25+ weeks worth of players to target who may help you in each of the H2H categories. Well, this year is going to be a little different. Yes, I still plan on giving out nuggets of H2H goodness as if I was a lifesize PEZ dispenser, but as the old adage goes, “Give a man a fishing pole and he will just get bored and end up at Chili’s”…or something like that.
My plan this year is to highlight the following in digestible form. (If you are lactose intolerant, gluten-free, or suffer from any other GI disorder, I will make sure to leave players like Melky Cabrera, John Oates, Chili Davis, and good-ole “Buttermilk” Tommy Dowd out of my future articles)
- Favorable Team Schedules: Which teams/players are in line for the most or the fewest games of the week.
- SPARP of the Week: Starting Pitcher as Relief Pitcher- SP/RP eligibility (according to Yahoo)
- Righty and Lefty Matchups to exploit
- SAGNOF: Both Stolen Bases and Saves to target.
7 Games (Assuming no makeup games)
ATL (vs WAS/@SD)
DET (vs BOS/@KC)
KC (vs CLE/@StL/vs DET)
NYY (vs TOR/@BAL)
OAK (@TAM/@TOR)
PHI (vs NYM/@MIA)
PIT (@StL/vs CHI/vs WAS)
SD (vs SF/@ATL)
SEA (@MIN/@CWS/vs HOU)
STL (vs PIT/vs KC/@MIL)
TB (vs OAK/@CWS)
TOR (@NYY/vs OAK)
WSH (@ATL/@PIT)
5 Games (Assuming no makeup games)
ARI (v HOU/@NYM)
HOU (@ARI/@SEA)
SPARP(s) Of the Week!
Drew Rasmussen SP/RP: vs OAK (23% rostered in Yahoo)– Rasmussen’s transition to SP last year went the same way as Bruce Jenner’s….Less balls. His BB% dropped from 11% all the way down to 4%, and has looked as sharp this spring. It’s one thing to have nasty stuff, but when you get to show it off against an AAAA team, you take advantage. If you can name 3 players on the Athletics without looking, I’ll write this article for free. Scheduled to face off against Cole Irvin, look for Rasmussen to be one of the few SPARP options that could pitch into the 5th to qualify for the W!
R/L Matchups to exploit
Akil Baddoo, OF, DET (47% rostered in Yahoo)– Criminally under rostered, but not for long. Baddoo looks to carry a strong Spring into the regular season. Projected to hit leadoff against righties, Baddoo, and the Tigers will play 7 games (vs BOS/@KC) and are scheduled to face 5 righties. In 2021, Baddoo hit .273 vs RHP to go along with all 13 HRs and 17 of his 18 SBs! Do I smell Slam ‘n Legs on the menu?
Miguel Sano, 1B, MIN (38% rostered in Yahoo)– What is this? An RHH who is scheduled to face 5 of 6 RHP? How is this a matchup to exploit? Well, Sano is one of the rare monsters who feast off of like-handedness pitchers. In fact, 122 of his career 161 HRs have come against RHPs.
Joc Pederson, OF, SFG (10% rostered in Yahoo)– The reason the Giants brought Joc and his pearls to SF! Joc and the Giants (a great band name) will look to face 5 righties this week! Not exactly the best park, but if we are looking for matchups to exploit, you could definitely do worse.
SAGNOF
David Robertson, RP, CHC (8% rostered in Yahoo)– Let’s be honest, it’s the Cubs, and we still don’t know exactly who will get 1st crack. My money is on the pitcher with the longest track record of closing experience. The Cubs get the Pirates and the Rockies, and if there was a chance to get multiple save opps, this is the week!
Tanner Rainey, RP, WSH (3% rostered in Yahoo)– Yet another messy 9th inning, this time in the nations’ capital. If Dave Martinez has his way, Tanner Rainey will take the ball in the 9th. Fortunately for us, the Nationals get 7 games, and 4 of which are against the Pirates.
SAGNOF (part Deux)
Andres Gimenez, SS, CLE (8% rostered in Yahoo)- Love the cheap steals you can find late in drafts.
Manuel Margot, OF, TB (8% rostered in Yahoo)- Plays 7 games and gets to face 6 RHP. Margot stole 10 of his 13 bases last year against RHP.
Thank you all so much for reading! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me in the comments below, or @natemarcum on Twitter.
