2019 Fantasy Baseball Weekly Planner: May 20-26

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

Who’s Hot

Willie Calhoun - Since being called up on the 15th, Calhoun has hit .500 with two home runs and a double in three games. Calhoun has an unusual skill set as he is a high contact hitter with a ton of power, but no on base skills. Of the big call ups this week, Calhoun may have the best bat of the group, but he is limited defensively which has prevented him from sticking in the majors before. He is a worthy gamble, but is not worth a ton of FAAB as he could go the way of Nate Lowe and be back in the minors soon.

Austin Riley- In four games since his call up, Riley is hitting .553  with two home runs in 15 plate appearances. Riley is a top prospect in the game and getting playing time in Atlanta with Ender Inciarte on the IL. He has a real chance to solidify playing time though. Inciarte was awful and if Ronald Acuna can handle center field defensively, then Riley could become the everyday left fields.

Josh Bell - Bell crushed two more home runs on Saturday to bring his total for the year up to 14, which eclipsed his mark from last season of 12. He is hitting .323/.391/.665 this year as well. No one in the Majors has benefited from the juiced ball in the same way that Bell has. However, he was identified prior to the season as a potential bargain as he had better skills in 2018, but didn’t duplicate the great 2017 breakout. He is well on the way to a 30 homer season and there is no sign that this is a fluke.

Who’s Not

Jason Heyward - After a nice start to the season, Heyward is hitting .071/.133/.143 over the last week. Heyward will continue to get playing time because of his premium defense, but it is clear the hot start the season was more fluke than fact.

Travis Shaw - Shaw hit the IL this week, but it may have been more about his pride being hurt than his wrist. He was replaced on the roster with top prospect Keston Hiura . If Hiura hits, Shaw may have a tough time getting full time at bats back. I think he will be back and hit again, but there is a ton of risk to stashing him for now.

Christin Stewart - Stewart has not had a hit in his last 17 at bats and is struggling coming off of the IL. This could be a reason for demotion, but I have faith the rookie will figure it out. In weekly leagues, he should be benched this week as the Tigers have games in an NL Park this week and he will likely be the odd man out for at least one game, if not more.

Interleague Outlook

Top-25 SP Rankings

On the Rise

Chris Sale (SP #6)

On the Decline

Noah Syndergaard (SP #20)

SP Rankings 26-50

On the Rise

Hyun-Jin Ryu (SP #32)

On the Decline

Zack Greinke (SP #38)

SP Rankings 51-75

On the Rise

Zach Eflin (SP #61)

Cole Irvin (SP #69)

On the Decline

Mike Foltynewicz (SP #74)

Marco Gonzales  (SP #75)