We’re a week into the season and this seems like as good a time as any to overreact to the first 7 days. April is a tricky time because after all the draft prep, after all the spring training this is our first look at real action so it is so ridiculously easy to tilt based on the first week or two. Trust your draft prep, players go on hot or cold streaks all the time. It was a rough week for a number of highly drafted starters but that doesn’t mean you should drop Corbin Burnes for Seth Lugo that would be silly. I remind you of this because it’s time to tilt.
Might as well start by checking in on my guys to watch from last week. I’m they’re all off to flying starts… Oh… Blake Sabol has been downright awful to start the season batting under .100 with 4 strikeouts. Ok, so he’s actually been costing you points if your league punishes guys who swing and miss. This is fine, it’s just jitters from being on the big league roster. I’m not going to panic but I do have some concern regarding the kind of leash the Giants will give him to sort things out at the plate.
Trevor Larnach is off to a much better start with 14 total bases and a home run. The 7 strikeouts put a bit of a damper on things but he’s still been very productive.
Oscar Colas has looked solid even if his point totals haven’t exploded yet. Don’t worry, his time will come and you’ll want him on your roster when it does.
Jared Shuster was a big ole swing-and-miss, already sent to the minors after one disastrous start. He could be back soon given the Braves injuries at pitcher but I’d definitely take a wait-and-see approach. His poor performance opens the door for Dylan Dodd to stick in the rotation. Dodd looked far better in his first turn on the mound though he did only last 5 innings and recorded only 3 Ks. Nevertheless, he tamed a Cardinals offense that should be pretty good this season and that’s impressive. Rookie pitchers can be tough to trust but there’s a lot of upside here.
Yandy Diaz has come out of the gates hitting the ball hard. More importantly for us, he seems to be elevating the ball more than in past years. Yandy has been a solid points league asset due to his high batting average but if he can boost his power big things are ahead.
Brice Turang is off and running, literally. He profiles as more of a speed guy than a power guy but there is some pop in his bat, knocking one out of the park in only 16 ABs. Injuries opened a path to playing time but for now, it looks like he’ll be in a platoon and sitting against lefties. That’s unfortunate but if he keeps this up (and he has the tools to do so) he could seize the job. He’s a flyer with high upside, well worth a pickup while he’s hot. At the moment he’s only eligible at short but all his appearances this season have come at second. We all know that the keystone falls off sharply so that’s great news.
Jason Vosler is swinging a big bat right now, to the tune of 3 home runs in a week’s worth of games. That’s the kind of performance that grabs your attention, especially in April. Baseball is a streaky game and right now Vosler is on a hot streak even without everyday playing time. Sadly the supporting cast is weak but you can still ride the wave.
Nolan Gorman can help you out at second base if the guy you drafted is making you feel blue. Gorman has pop and looks much more comfortable at the plate this year than he did last season. The only downside is that the Cards lineup looks absolutely stacked and there will be a lot of competition for playing time. He flashed his power with a double dong game and that obviously propping up his season output so far but it does show what he’s capable of. Give me all of that.
Joey Gallo is back with the shift gone. He’s here to crush bombs and there’s totally no way that he’ll strike out 40 percent of the time.
Jeffrey Springs was nothing short of dominant in his first start. Any time you average 2 Ks per inning, you’re bound to draw some attention. His hype has been growing and now it’s off the charts.
Michael Harris II oof, not the start I had in mind. Guess last year was just a one off, flash in the pan type of thing. He has to rebound.
Gunnar Henderson has not been the next big thing that we were promised. He was hyped up as such during draft season. Instead, he has rewarded us with a 50% strikeout rate, that’s good right? Good news, he has walked 6 times. I guess that’s cool.
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