2017 Fantasy Baseball Weekly Planner: Week 3

Week 2 is in the books and Week 3 is quickly approaching. The SP rankings have been extended to 75 and as always be sure to monitor how the interleague matchups may impact your team!

GAME BREAKDOWN

• Two teams have a short five-game slate this week; the Rockies and Giants. The latter of which will play all five games on the road, including the final three at the incredibly hitter-friendly Coors Field. With the Rockies and Giants getting those three matchups in the thin air of Denver, be sure to dial up the bats from each side over the weekend.
• The Dodgers’ and Orioles’ batting orders feature plenty of prime fantasy producers. However, both teams have scuffled overall against left-handed pitching and will face off with three each during the next seven days. Going into play this past Saturday, the Dodgers held a mere .209/.291/.318 slash line opposite southpaws this year. The Orioles have been just as poor, producing a meager .225/.271/.324 of their own. 

INTERLEAGUE BREAKDOWN

• Ichiro has not seen much action yet, but back in his longtime home of Seattle, expect the Marlins to get him in the lineup with the DH spot in the mix.
• The Giants might be better off as just allowing Madison Bumgarner to hit for himself during Wednesday’s start at Kansas City, but they are obviously more likely to get Aaron Hill in the lineup opposite lefty Jason Vargas. 

TOP 50 SP RANKINGS

• Robbie Ray’s name certainly sticks out up at No. 6 overall in the pitcher ranks this week, but the Dodgers’ struggles opposite lefties have already been mentioned. On top of that, Ray has enjoyed previous meetings with the club from Chavez Ravine, posting a 2.96 ERA and 9.6 K/9 across eight starts. For those that were high on the 25-year-old hurler in drafts, he has delivered to this point and should continue to do so this week.
• After going 12-plus innings before giving up his first big-league run, Amir Garrett has certainly impressed so far. Formerly a basketball player at St. John’s, the young left-hander has successfully made a most improbable transition from the hardwood to a pitcher’s mound. Garrett’s second start of the week against the Cubs is a bit less than ideal, but like the Dodgers, the Orioles’ lackluster numbers against southpaws have already been pointed out above. Buck Showalter’s team has struck out 26.5 percent of the time against lefties so far on the campaign. Garrett will also get to see the Orioles minus a DH. Roll with the Reds’ rookie in Cincy.
• Noah Syndergaard has slipped some in the rankings, but it has nothing to with his brilliant work on the mound through the season’s first two weeks. The 24-year-old phenom exited this past Friday’s outing early due to a couple of torn fingernails, and though he is not expected to miss this Thursday’s scheduled start versus the Phillies, this is a situation to monitor and it would not be surprising if he were less than totally comfortable with his delivery. 

• Yankees’ youngsters Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery definitely made some leaps this past week. Montgomery turned some heads during an MLB debut that saw him register seven punchouts while giving up two earned runs on five hits and two walks across 4.2 innings (89 pitches). For Severino, a 17-to-2 K/BB ratio through his first 12.0 innings of 2017 has more than a few believing this could be the beginning of a breakout. 

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