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Welcome to the newest edition of the Weekly MLB Preview!
GAME BREAKDOWN GRID FOR WEEK 5 (5/2-5/9)
| TEAM | # GAMES | HOME | AWAY | VS LEFT | VS RIGHT |
| Orioles | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Yankees | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Red Sox | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Blue Jays | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Rays | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Tigers | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Royals | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| White Sox | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Indians | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Twins | 6 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Angels | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Mariners | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| Athletics | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Rangers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| Astros | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Nationals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| Marlins | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Mets | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Braves | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Phillies | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| Pirates | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Brewers | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Reds | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Cubs | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Dodgers | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Giants | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Padres | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Rockies | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| Diamondbacks | 6 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
Analysis: Fantasy owners should be aware of the following splits prior to setting their Week 5 lineups:
- The Orioles' team average of .287 at home is currently fourth best in the major leagues, and the team enjoys the friendly confines of Camden Yards in Week 5. The team has struggled over the past week and a half, but expect some fireworks to kickstart them.
- Which team currently leads the major leagues in home runs? How about the Arizona Diamondbacks! Even without slugger A.J. Pollock, the desert snakes have proven they have plenty of pop to go around. In Week 5 they face the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves on the road. The Marlins staff has a collective 4.36 ERA, while the Braves fare even worse at 4.53. Paul Goldschmidt is going to explode.
- Fun statistic – The St. Louis Cardinals hit .287 and have scored 104 runs against RHP, while the Los Angeles Angels bat just .201 with 34 runs scored. The Angels face five RHP in Week 5, and so do the Cardinals.
- Collectively, the Cleveland Indians are hitting .235 versus LHP (23rd in MLB) with a .289 OBP against them (27th in MLB). Although all six of their games are at home in Week 5, all come against LHP.
INTERLEAGUE OUTLOOK
| AWAY TEAM | HOME TEAM | # GAMES | DH? | PLAYER(S) IMPACTED |
| Nationals | Royals | 3 | Yes (3) | Stephen Drew, Chris Heisey |
| Angels | Brewers | 3 | No (3) | Albert Pujols, C.J. Cron |
| Dodgers | Rays | 2 | Yes (2) | Chase Utley, Enrique Hernandez |
| Dodgers | Blue Jays | 2 | Yes (2) | Chase Utley, Enrique Hernandez |
Analysis: This week we see an uptick in the number of interleague games in MLB, with 10 scheduled. The one which will impact fantasy owners the most is when the Los Angeles Angels face off against the Milwaukee Brewers as the road team, losing their DH. I listed both Pujols and Cron above, since it would make sense for them to start Pujols at first and bench Cron. The Angels could opt to use these games as a break for the 35-year-old slugger, as he is off to a slow start, hitting below the Mendoza line.
STARTING PITCHER RANKINGS
| PITCHER | MATCHUP 1 | MATCHUP 2 |
| Jake Arrieta | @Pirates (Niese) | Nationals (Gonzalez) |
| Matt Harvey | Braves (Chacin) | @Padres (Cashner) |
| Michael Wacha | Phillies (Nola) | Pirates (Niese) |
| Patrick Corbin | @Marlins (Cosart) | @Braves (Norris) |
| Sonny Gray | Mariners (Karns) | @Orioles (Tillman) |
| Jon Lester | @Pirates (Nicasio) | Nationals (Roark) |
| Adam Wainwright | Phillies (Hellickson) | Pirates (Cole) |
| Jose Quintana | Red Sox (Wright) | Twins (Nolasco) |
| Dallas Keuchel | Twins (Nolasco) | Mariners (Karns) |
| Johnny Cueto | @Reds (Finnegan) | Rockies (Gray) |
| Matt Moore | Dodgers (Kazmir) | @Angels (Weaver) |
| Bartolo Colon | Braves (Norris) | @Padres (Shields) |
| Jered Weaver | @Brewers (Jungmann) | Rays (Moore) |
| Gio Gonzalez | @Royals (Volquez) | @Cubs (Arrieta) |
| James Shields | Rockies (Gray) | Mets (Colon) |
| Justin Verlander | @Indians (Anderson) | Rangers (Perez) |
| Collin McHugh | Twins (Gibson) | Mariners (Iwakuma) |
| Chris Tillman | Yankees (Severino) | Athletics (Gray) |
| Jeff Samardzija | @Reds (Moscot) | Rockies (Chatwood) |
| Aaron Nola | @Cardinals (Wacha) | @Marlins (Undecided) |
| Hisashi Iwakuma | @Athletics (Bassitt) | @Astros (McHugh) |
| Brandon Finnegan | Giants (Cueto) | Brewers (Jungmann) |
| Ricky Nolasco | @Astros (Keuchel) | @White Sox (Quintana) |
| Edinson Volquez | Nationals (Gonzalez) | @Indians (Anderson) |
| Andrew Cashner | Rockies (Chatwood) | Mets (Harvey) |
Analysis: Unlike previous weeks where there were a number of high-end aces with two starts, this week thins out at the top quite quickly.
- Jake Arrieta is atop the list this week, after coming off a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. While the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals will provide him with a much tougher challenge, the elite level of run production the Chicago Cubs provide him with, coupled by his outstanding start, make it difficult to bet against him.
- Michael Wacha ranks third amongst two-start pitchers in Week 5, and has thrown three consecutive quality starts. His owners would like to see him last past the sixth inning for the first time this season, but so far can’t complain about their return on investment (he owns a 2.82 ERA and is 2-0).
- While Patrick Corbin’s ERA appears rather pedestrian at 3.51, he has shown dramatic improvement with his secondary pitches over the course of his past two starts. He faces the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins, two of the three worst NL teams in terms of run production. He may allow a run or two in the process, but he is a good bet to secure two wins in Week 5.
- Need a streaming pickup this week? Consider the “Human Twinkie,” Bartolo Colon. Weight jokes aside, Colon has two above-average matchups against the Braves and Padres. The Padres have been better of late, but are still hitting just .238 as a team, and offer little opposition other than Matt Kemp and Wil Myers.
| PITCHER | MATCHUP 1 | RATING |
| Noah Syndergaard | @Padres (Pomeranz) | 9 |
| Chris Sale | Twins (Santana) | 8.5 |
| Zack Greinke | @Braves (Teheran) | 8.25 |
| Jacob deGrom | @Padres (Rea) | 8 |
| Clayton Kershaw | @Blue Jays (Estrada) | 8 |
| Kenta Maeda | @Rays (Smyly) | 7.5 |
| Stephen Strasburg | @Royals (Medlen) | 7.25 |
| Jose Fernandez | Diamondbacks (De La Rosa) | 7.25 |
| Max Scherzer | @Cubs (Hendricks) | 7.25 |
| Vince Velasquez | @Marlins (Chen) | 7.25 |
| Madison Bumgarner | Rockies (De La Rosa) | 7.25 |
| David Price | @Yankees (Eovaldi) | 7.25 |
| Corey Kluber | Tigers (Greene) | 7 |
| Raisel Iglesias | Brewers (Nelson) | 7 |
| Chris Archer | @Angels (Shoemaker) | 7 |
| Nick Tropeano | @Brewers (Davies) | 7 |
| Wei-Yen Chen | Phillies (Velasquez) | 6.75 |
| Garrett Richards | Rays (Odorizzi) | 6.75 |
| Steven Matz | Braves (Blair) | 6.5 |
| Hector Santiago | @Brewers (Anderson) | 6.5 |
| Felix Hernandez | @Athletics (Surkamp) | 6.5 |
| Mike Leake | Phillies (Morton) | 6.5 |
| Jaime Garcia | Phillies (Eickhoff) | 6.5 |
| Kevin Gausman | Athletics (Graveman) | 6.5 |
| Jordan Zimmerman | Rangers (Ramos) | 6.5 |
| Gerrit Cole | @Cardinals (Wainwright) | 6.5 |
| Shelby Miller | @Braves (Wisler) | 6.5 |
| Jake Odorizzi | @Angels (Richards) | 6.5 |
| John Lackey | @Pirates (Liriano) | 6.25 |
| Francisco Liriano | Cubs (Lackey) | 6.25 |
| Drew Smyly | Dodgers (Maeda) | 6.25 |
| Phil Hughes | @Astros (Fiers) | 6.25 |
| Mike Fiers | Twins (Hughes) | 6.25 |
| Jerad Eickhoff | @Cardinals (Garcia) | 6.25 |
| Masahiro Tanaka | @Orioles (Wright) | 6.25 |
| Rick Porcello | @Yankees (Pineda) | 6.25 |
| Marcus Stroman | Dodgers (Wood) | 6.25 |
| Yordano Ventura | @Indians (Bauer) | 6.25 |
| Ervin Santana | @White Sox (Sale) | 6.25 |
| Carlos Martinez | Pirates (Locke) | 6.25 |
| Drew Pomeranz | Mets (Syndergaard) | 6.25 |
| Ian Kennedy | @Indians (Salazar) | 6.25 |
| Danny Salazar | Royals (Kennedy) | 6.25 |
| Ubaldo Jiminez | Athletics (Hill) | 6.25 |
Analysis: Another week with Noah Syndergaard atop "Valhalla." And by "Valhalla," I mean our pitching lists.
- Several of the tier one aces face difficult matchups in Week 5, namely Clayton Kershaw taking on the Toronto Blue Jays and Madison Bumgarner facing the Colorado Rockies. The first four pitchers I referenced above (Syndergaard, Sale, Greinke and deGrom) have an edge upon the next 10 or so players, who are in a clump together in terms of upside.
- Chris Archer’s 10 strikeout performance (while allowing no earned runs) against the Baltimore Orioles provided me with enough hope to consider him back on track, resulting in his top 15 ranking. While the control hasn’t been particularly sharp this season, he has continued to provide owners with a K/9 of nearly 13.5 – I wouldn’t fret.
- Nick Tropeano faces the Milwaukee Brewers in a fantastic matchup, opposing Zach Davies. Although he isn’t the splashiest name on the waiver wire, Tropeano has only allowed three earned runs over 16 innings this season. He has just one win to his credit, largely in part to his inability to last deep into outings – Tropeano hasn’t made it into the sixth inning yet in each of his three first starts. If he can improve his pitch efficiency, owners can expect a “W.”
- It seems a tad ridiculous that a pitcher with a 2.35 ERA and 1.27 WHIP who averages over a strikeout per inning would be 1-3 to start the season, but amazingly enough, Garrett Richards is. Selected by many experts as one of their favorite breakouts this season, his numbers have been stellar across the board, except for in run support. He faces a Tampa Bay Rays team that strikes out well above-average. My fearless prediction? Eleven strikeouts while allowing two earned runs or less. Book it.