Fantasy Baseball Podcast: Just How Good Is Steven Kwan?
Published: Apr 12, 2022
The opening weekend of the MLB season is complete. It wasn’t quite what we expected though. For fantasy baseball players there were a ton of storylines to take away from the first series of the season. Key injuries to players like Blake Snell, Jon Gray, Lucas Giolito, and A.J. Pollock all have some important fantasy implications. On the other hand, performances both good and bad, have fantasy managers wondering if things are going to change. Players like Steven Kwan, Mark Canha, Austin Meadows, and Gavin Lux are off to good starts while Akil Baddoo, Alec Bohm, and Jazz Chisholm are all struggling. Speaking of struggling, what the heck is happening with closers right now? We all spent top fantasy draft picks on guys like Liam Hendriks, Craig Kimbrel, and Raisel Iglesias but haven’t seen the saves from them yet. All of this and more is covered in this week’s Fantasy Baseball Podcast and check out these other articles for more talk of all of these topics.
Related Links
MLB Injury Report: Blake Snell Scratched
Fantasy Baseball Round Up: Byron Buxton Off To A Hot Start
Waiver Wire Report: Can Bryson Stott Replace Alec Bohm
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.
Endy Rodriguez (finger) had his splint removed this week.
Rodriguez suffered a lacerated right index finger on April 14th. Now that he is out of his splint, he “is playing catch and doing a slightly modified swing.” Once he can progress to taking full swings, we’ll have a better sense of the timeline for his return.