Everyone else having as much fun as I am now that baseball is officially rolling? Soto, Kershaw, Verlander, Moustakas, Meadows, Yordan, Marlins fans all shake their heads. Secret time – I started writing this Opening Night and the list just kept growing. We’re in the second part of the extended Week 1 and hopefully, you’re already cruising in your matchups. If not, here are some lower-owned options to give your team a little jump start.
Brady Singer, SP: 8.1% ESPN; 17% CBS – Just in case you missed it over the weekend, Brady Singer struck out 7 Indians through 5 innings, while allowing 2 runs. The second run was allowed on a wild pitch and he allowed just 5 baserunners. Brady Singer moved rapidly through the Royals’ system, throwing exactly zero pitches in AAA before making his major league debut. In his debut, Singer coupled a two-seamer with a lot of movement with a slider to keep hitters off-balance. At one point, he threw the slider ten times in a row, so he shows a lot of confidence in the pitch. Singer is slated to face Detroit on Thursday, making him an easy start this week and a potential add target for the long run.
Kyle Gibson, SP: 4.7% ESPN; 18% CBS – Yes, it’s a small sample, but so far the Rangers’ new ballpark has heavily favored pitchers. Through three games, the average run total for both teams has been just 4.3 runs per game. This is important information to have moving forward. It’s especially important when Kyle Gibson gets a two-start week that includes at home against the Diamondbacks and then in San Francisco to face the Giants. Gibson is a must-add for me this week.
Wade Miley, SP: 3.1% ESPN; 20% CBS – Wade Miley pitched yesterday against the Cubs and I don’t want to talk about that game, because I’m already looking to his next start in Detroit against the Tigers on August 1st. In a short season, it’s important to identify the teams you want to stream pitchers (and hitters) against quickly and exploit those matchups as often as you can. Sometimes that means looking forward a couple of days to find your next streaming target. This will keep you one step ahead of your opponents.
Alec Mills, SP: .5% ESPN; 5% CBS – You want deep options? Here’s your deep option. Mills actually pitches today against the Reds, but I want nothing to do with that start. I do want to keep an eye on it to see how his stuff looks and how deep he goes, but by no means am I starting him today. We’re again looking forward to his next start where he’ll take on the Pirates at home on Sunday, August 2nd. Now, pitching in Wrigley can be tricky at times, so keep an eye on the weather once Sunday rolls around. If the wind is blowing out, Mills is a hard-pass, even in a matchup with a Pirates team that has gotten off to a putrid start.
Early Speed Trends
We’re talking about a small sample here, but so far the Padres have two times the stolen base attempts than any other team. This is mostly driven by Tommy Pham, who has four stolen bases in three games played. I’m not sure how actionable this is yet, but it creates two things that I want to keep an eye on. Number one is does this continue for the Padres? If so, I could see Wil Myers, Jurickson Profar, or Edward Olivares being pickups if you’re desperate for steals. Myers and Profar both have above average sprint speed and Olivares stole 56 bags over the last two years in the minors.
The other thing we want to keep an eye on is their opponent that allowed seven stolen bases on eight attempts, the Diamondbacks. Is it just the case that they’re easy to run on? If that’s what’s going on, we can try and stream speedy hitters against the Diamondbacks to try and find some cheap speed.
Bats To Add
Jurickson Profar, 2B (9.0% ESPN; 23% CBS) – This goes for all Padres, as later this week, they get the privilege of being the first hitters in Coors of the year. Take this time to get ahead of your league-mates and add them before they’re already scooped up.
Hanser Alberto, 2B/3B (13.2% ESPN; 20% CBS) – This is mostly for daily transaction leagues, as Alberto is strictly a lefty-masher. Maybe masher isn’t even the correct term. Lefty hits them really good? That just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Regardless, Alberto batted .398 against southpaws in 2019 and has continued where he left off going 3/4 against lefties this year. The Orioles faced Martin Perez in their second game of the season and Alberto got bumped up to the two-hole behind Austin Hays.
Ji-Man Choi, 1B (5.5% ESPN; 12% CBS) – Choi has been at the top of the lineup against lefties to begin the year. Later on this week the Rays get the gift that keeps on giving in Baltimore against the Orioles. The Rays should put up plenty of runs over the weekend. The Rays then get the Red Sox at the beginning of next week.
Brandon Nimmo, OF (14.2% ESPN; 45% CBS) – Nimmo and the Mets will look to right the ship after a rough start against Atlanta. They get the Red Sox at the beginning of this week, who’s pitching staff has been decimated by injury (and Martin Perez). Nimmo finds himself atop the Mets lineup (most days) and should be rostered at a higher rate on ESPN.
Good luck this week!! Towards the weekend, I’ll pop a comment up over the weekend for any lower owned two-start pitchers that jump out to me.
