Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Monday’s games
As for Monday’s ledger, nine games remain with arguably the top pitcher in each league scheduled to take the hill. Gerrit Cole and the Yankees will host the Phillies, who pick up their season after playing only three games so far. In addition, Jacob deGrom leads the New York Mets into SunTrust Field for a matchup with the Atlanta Braves.
Elsewhere, there’s a limited supply of pitchers available for a spot start, though injuries have availed playing time for several hitters. Here are the players in line to get your fantasy lineups off to a good start, in what promises to be one of the most unique weeks in MLB history.
Randy Dobnak (L), rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues, Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Homer Bailey was in line for this start but was placed on the injured list Sunday with biceps tendinitis. Dobnak is coming off a scoreless outing against the Indians, working five innings with three hits allowed, while walking two and fanning four. The left-hander looks to continue the roll, squaring off with one of the weaker lineups in the league.
Alec Mills (R), 5%, Chicago Cubs vs. Kansas City Royals: Mills also is aiming to build off a strong start, after limiting the Cincinnati Reds to a pair of runs in six innings, albeit with just three whiffs. The Royals lineup is in the bottom half of the league in terms of weighted on base average and runs per game.
Justus Sheffield (L), 6%, Seattle Mariners vs. Oakland Athletics: Sheffield making the cut exemplifies the sparse nature of Monday’s streaming options. The young lefty shined in summer camp as he transitioned to featuring a two-seam fastball since his four-seamer lacked the spin rate to be effective. Sheffield’s best pitch is a slider, while he’s also working on a changeup as his third pitch. The success in intrasquad games didn’t carry over to the regular season as the Los Angeles Angels scored four times against the lefty, as he walked four with just two strikeouts in three innings. The allure for this matchup is that so far, Oakland has struggled against lefthanded pitching. Normally, it would be too soon to consider that actionable, but most sample size warnings are moot in this landscape as there isn’t enough time to wait and see.
Bullpen: With Scott Oberg sidelined indefinitely with blood clots in his throwing arm and Wade Davis on the IL, the Colorado Rockies will probably hand the ball to Jairo Diaz in the ninth inning, perhaps as soon at Monday with staff ace German Marquez on the hill against Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants. Diaz has been effective so far, fanning seven in four frames through Saturday’s action.
For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.
Note: W-L, ERA and WHIP are 2019 statistics
Catcher — James McCann (R), 9%, Chicago White Sox at Milwaukee Brewers (Undecided): Please note, it isn’t a sure thing McCann will be in the lineup, but a recent move by the White Sox portends more playing time for last season’s break-out backstop. When Tim Anderson was put on the IL, the club called up catcher Yermin Mercedes despite already having Zack Collins on the roster, not to mention Yasmani Grandal. The logical reason is the White Sox want the flexibility to keep both Grandal and McCann in the lineup, perhaps at the expense of Edwin Encarnacion.
First base — Ryan O’Hearn (L), 1%, Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs (RHP Alec Mills): O’Hearn is in a first base platoon with Ryan McBroom. O’Hearn has yet to leave the yard, but he’s swatted a pair of doubles and is batting .333 on the young campaign.
Second base — Josh VanMeter (L), under 1%, Cincinnati Reds vs. Cleveland Indians (RHP Zach Plesac): Shortly before Sunday’s doubleheader with the Tigers, Joey Votto reported feeling ill and was put on the COVID-19 list as a precaution. As such, he’s able to come off at any time, though he’s likely to miss at least Monday’s opener with the Indians, clearing the path for VanMeter to fill in. Matt Davidson is in line to face lefties in Votto’s stead. VanMeter’s playing time has been spotty so he’s been unable to get in a groove, but he displayed the ability for a 20/20 season last year if prorated to a full season.
Third base — Marwin Gonzalez (S), 11%, Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (LHP Derek Holland): So far, Gonzalez has played first, third and the outfield as the Twins are moving the utilityman around to keep his bat in the lineup. He doesn’t play every day, but with a lefty on the hill and a predominantly lefty-swinging outfield, Gonzales will likely be playing. For the past couple of seasons, Gonzalez has been more productive against left-handers.
Shortstop — Nico Hoerner (R), 11%, Chicago Cubs vs. Kansas City Royals (LHP Danny Duffy): Last season, Hoerner’s September call-up was out of necessity. So far this season, he’s earned his playing time by batting a robust .350 with five runs and five RBIs through the first week and a half of the season.
Corner infield — Jedd Gyorko (R), under 1%, Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago White Sox (LHP Carlos Rodon): With Lorenzo Cain opting out of the season, the Brewers have reworked their lineup, propelling Avisail Garcia to the leadoff spot against left-handers. Gyorko will also be counted on to pick up the slack versus lefties, something he’s done well throughout his career.
Middle infield — Jake Cronenworth (L), under 1%, San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (RHP Walker Buehler): With Eric Hosmer out, Cronenworth and Ty France are sharing first-base duties. Cronenworth took advantage with a weekend homer at Coors Field. Facing Buehler in Chavez Ravine is obviously a much greater challenge; however, the Padres are off to a great start, averaging the fifth most runs per game through Saturday.
Outfield — Aaron Hicks (S), 40%, New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Philles (LHP Derek Holland): Hicks was thought to be one of the players who would benefit from the season delay as he would not have been ready for the March opening. That said, how soon he’d return to speed after Tommy John surgery was obviously unclear, and thus far, it’s been slow going. History shows it doesn’t take long for hitters to get back to normal, so look for Hicks to find a groove, perhaps against Holland, one of the poorest starters in the league.
Outfield — Sam Hilliard (L), 9%, Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants (RHP Johnny Cueto): Hilliard impressed in his late-season call-up last season, leading to him winning a spot on the 2020 roster as the lefty-swinging part of a left-field platoon. It should be noted Hilliard sat Sunday despite right-hander Zach Davies taking the hill, but he’ll likely be back on Monday. That said, while Hilliard is off to a slow start, the reward of playing in Coors Field is worth the risk.
Outfield — Stephen Piscotty (R), 6%, Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners (LHP Justus Sheffield): Piscotty showed signs of snapping out of his season-long malaise over the weekend. The timing is ideal as historically, the veteran hits lefties for more power than he does righties.