It’s virtually impossible to see some things coming, but by preplanning for each and every week of the Fantasy Baseball season, you can often get a jump on the trends that are brewing around the league. Let’s take a look at how the upcoming week of the MLB campaign is shaping up.
MLB Schedule Breakdown
TEAM | # GAMES | HOME | AWAY | OPPONENTS |
Braves | 8 | 8 | 0 | vs MIA (4), vs COL (4) |
Marlins | 7 | 0 | 7 | at ATL (4), at WSH (3) |
Mets | 8 | 0 | 8 | at NYY (1), at BAL (2), at PHI (5) |
Phillies | 7 | 7 | 0 | vs BOS (2), vs NYM (5) |
Nationals | 7 | 3 | 4 | at STL (4), vs MIA (3) |
Cubs | 6 | 2 | 4 | vs MIL (2), at PIT (4) |
Reds | 6 | 6 | 0 | vs CLE (3), vs SF (3) |
Brewers | 5 | 0 | 5 | at CHC (2), at STL (3) |
Pirates | 6 | 4 | 2 | at MIN (2), vs CHC (4) |
Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | vs WSH (4), vs MIL (3) |
Diamondbacks | 6 | 0 | 6 | at TEX (2), at SD (4) |
Rockies | 6 | 0 | 6 | at HOU (2), at ATL (4) |
Dodgers | 6 | 3 | 3 | vs SF (3), at SEA (3) |
Padres | 7 | 7 | 0 | vs LAA (3), vs ARI (4) |
Giants | 6 | 0 | 6 | at LAD (3), at CIN (3) |
Orioles | 5 | 2 | 3 | vs NYM (2), at CLE (3) |
Red Sox | 5 | 3 | 2 | at PHI (2), vs TB (3) |
Yankees | 7 | 7 | 0 | vs NYM (1), vs TB (3), vs TOR (3) |
Rays | 6 | 0 | 6 | at NYY (3), at BOS (3) |
Blue Jays | 7 | 0 | 7 | at KC (4), at NYY (3) |
White Sox | 6 | 3 | 3 | at DET (3), vs KC (3) |
Indians | 6 | 3 | 3 | at CIN (3), vs BAL (3) |
Tigers | 7 | 3 | 4 | vs CWS (3), at MIN (4) |
Royals | 7 | 4 | 3 | vs TOR (4), at CWS (3) |
Twins | 6 | 6 | 0 | vs PIT (2), vs DET (4) |
Astros | 5 | 2 | 3 | vs COL (2), at OAK (3) |
Angels | 7 | 0 | 7 | at SD (3), at TEX (4) |
Athletics | 6 | 6 | 0 | vs SEA (3), vs HOU (3) |
Mariners | 6 | 3 | 3 | at OAK (3), vs LAD (3) |
Rangers | 6 | 6 | 0 | vs ARI (2), vs LAA (4) |
Who’s Hot
Nick Markakis (OF, ATL)
Ronald Acuna (OF, ATL)
J.D. Martínez (OF, BOS)
Khris Davis (OF, OAK)
Giancarlo Stanton (OF, NYY)
Who’s Not
Yuli Gurriel (1B/2B/3B, HOU)
Jake Bauers (1B/OF, TB)
Dee Gordon (2B/OF, SEA)
Odubel Herrera (OF, PHI)
Matt Kemp (OF, LAD)
Interleague Outlook
AWAY TEAM | HOME TEAM | GAMES | DH? | Player(s) Impacted |
Diamondbacks | Rangers | 2 | Yes | |
Mets | Yankees | 1 | Yes | |
Mets | Orioles | 2 | Yes | |
Red Sox | Phillies | 2 | No | |
Indians | Reds | 3 | No | |
Rockies | Astros | 2 | Yes | |
Angels | Padres | 3 | No | |
Dodgers | Mariners | 3 | Yes | |
Pirates | Twins | 2 | Yes |
Top-25 SP Rankings
Rank | Pitcher | Game 1 | Game 2 |
1 | @Rangers | @Padres | |
2 | @Yankees | @Phillies | |
3 | vs. Giants | @Mariners | |
4 | vs. Rays | ||
5 | vs. Marlins | ||
6 | vs. Orioles | ||
7 | vs. Mets | vs. Blue Jays | |
8 | vs. Rockies | @Athletics | |
9 | vs. Mets | ||
10 | vs. Orioles | ||
11 | vs. Rays | ||
12 | vs. Marlins | vs. Rockies | |
13 | vs. Rockies | ||
14 | @Reds | ||
15 | vs. Rays | vs. Blue Jays | |
16 | @Dodgers | @Reds | |
17 | @Rangers | ||
18 | @Athletics | ||
19 | @Reds | vs. Orioles | |
20 | @Mariners | ||
21 | @Athletics | ||
22 | @Yankees | ||
23 | vs. Nationals | vs. Brewers | |
24 | @Tigers | ||
25 | @Mariners |
On the Rise
David Price (SP #11, BOS)
Walker Buehler (SP #25, LAD)
On the Decline
Justin Verlander (SP #8, HOU)
Corey Kluber (SP #14, CLE)
SP Rankings 26-50
Rank | Pitcher | Game 1 | Game 2 |
26 | @Padres | ||
27 | @Orioles | ||
28 | vs. Nationals | ||
29 | @Twins | vs. Cubs | |
30 | @Padres | ||
31 | @Phillies | ||
32 | vs. Mets | ||
33 | @Reds | ||
34 | vs. Marlins | vs. Rockies | |
35 | @Padres | @Rangers | |
36 | vs. Red Sox | vs. Mets | |
37 | @Astros | @Braves | |
38 | vs. Rockies | ||
39 | vs. Pirates | ||
40 | @Cardinals | ||
41 | vs. Astros | ||
42 | @Pirates | ||
43 | vs. Giants | ||
44 | @Athletics | ||
45 | @Padres | ||
46 | vs. Tigers | ||
47 | vs. Marlins | ||
48 | vs. Rays | ||
49 | vs. Giants | ||
50 | vs. Mets |
On the Rise
Zack Godley (SP #26, ARI)
Kevin Gausman (SP #47, ATL)
On the Decline
Andrew Heaney (SP #35, LAA)
José Berrios (SP #39, MIN)
SP Rankings 51-75
Rank | Pitcher | Game 1 | Game 2 |
51 | @Braves | ||
52 | vs. Rays | ||
53 | @Cardinals | vs. Marlins | |
54 | @Athletics | vs. Dodgers | |
55 | vs. Brewers | @Pirates | |
56 | vs. Mariners | ||
57 | @Braves | ||
58 | @Reds | ||
59 | vs. Rays | ||
60 | vs. Astros | ||
61 | @Tigers | vs. Royals | |
62 | @Padres | @Rangers | |
63 | vs. Mariners | vs. Astros | |
64 | vs. Rockies | ||
65 | @Phillies | ||
66 | vs. Blue Jays | ||
67 | @Braves | ||
68 | vs. Cubs | ||
69 | vs. Dodgers | ||
70 | vs. Giants | ||
71 | vs. Cubs | ||
72 | @Dodgers | ||
73 | @Royals | @Yankees | |
74 | vs.Brewers | ||
75 | @Athletics |
On the Rise
Mike Fiers (SP #56, OAK)
Shane Bieber (SP #58, CLE)
On the Decline
Masahiro Tanaka (SP #59, NYY)
Rick Porcello (SP #65, BOS)
You can follow Nate Miller on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad or hear him every Monday & Thursday hosting the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Podcast along with Colby Conway.
Player News
Joey Bart (back) is starting behind the dish for the Pirates on Thursday and hitting clean-up.
Bart had missed five games with a back injury, which allowed Henry Davis to make four starts behind the plate. Bart will now return to a near-everyday role and a .275/.370/.425 slash line. Henry Davis will go back to being a backup.
Reds manager Terry Francona said, “It won’t be very long” before Spencer Steer can play first base.
With Christian Encarnacion-Strand landing on the IL with a back injury, there are some at-bats open for Steer at first base, which would push Jeimer Candelario to the bench. However, both Steer and Candelario are struggling to start the year, and you have to wonder whether Steer’s shoulder injury is impacting his swing. The 27-year-old is slashing .120/.185/.220 in 54 plate appearances with one home run and a 14/4 K/BB ratio. Steer is hitting more groundballs than he ever has, but has a career-low zone contact rate so far. We wouldn’t drop Steer just yet, but we have reason to be concerned.
Owen Caissie went 2-for-6 with a solo home run for Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old is rounding into form a little bit after a slow start to the season. The Cubs’ third-ranked prospect had off-season core muscle surgery and then was shut down in spring training with a groin injury. He now has hits in five of his last six games and has two home runs and seven RBI in nine games this season. There is no place for him in Chicago now, but if he shows the power many scouts believe he has, he’ll make the decision hard for the Cubs by summertime.
David Bednar threw a scoreless inning of relief for Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, striking out two.
Bednar has only allowed one hit in five innings at Triple-A while striking out seven and walking nobody. If the Pirates wanted a reset, it’s happened. There’s no reason for Bednar to remain in Triple-A any longer, and we’d be stashing him in fantasy leagues if you need saves.
Matt Mervis is not in the starting lineup for the Marlins on Thursday against the Diamondbacks.
Mervis has homered in four of his last five games but will take a seat with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound. The Marlins will hope that his bat stays hot on Friday against Zack Wheeler and the Phillies. Eric Wagaman will start at first base and bat cleanup on Thursday. Wagaman has some intriguing batted ball data this season and could be an interesting deep league fantasy option with Jonah Bride no longer in Miami, but with Jesus Sanchez and Connor Norby now off the IL, it’s unclear how Miami will set their lineup against right-handed pitching.
Mariners optioned RHP Will Klein to Triple-A Tacoma.
Klein was called up on Wednesday to take Gregory Santos’ place in the bullpen, but he’s now being sent down to make room on the active roster for Emerson Hancock. Klein did not appear in a game for Seattle and will continue to serve as organizational bullpen depth.