It appears that all 30 baseball clubs may be in action this weekend, which would certainly be considered a rare occurrence during this irregular season. Of course, the St. Louis Cardinals have not played a baseball game in more than a week, but their weekend home series with the Chicago Cubs could actually take place, even as Friday's contest was scrapped due to COVID-19.
If Saturday's game does take place, several Cardinals will not be present, including catcher Yadier Molina, shortstop Paul DeJong, right-hander Carlos Martinez and, curiously enough, ace right-hander Jack Flaherty, who is healthy but not pitching until Monday. Look for Tommy Edman to handle shortstop duties, and it is also an important weekend for outfielders Tyler O'Neill and Harrison Bader. They are a combined 4-for-26 and top prospect Dylan Carlson looms. Dakota Hudson, who was hammered by the Pirates in his lone outing, could pitch the Sunday night game against Kyle Hendricks on ESPN.
To keep the proverbial party going, here are a few other random things I will be watching for fantasy baseball purposes this weekend.
Speaking of top prospects, the Phillies and Padres have not yet announced that they will be calling up right-hander Spencer Howard and left-hander MacKenzie Gore (respectively). However, each club has an obvious need and no strong case for keeping either off the roster. Howard could pitch Sunday versus Atlanta, as the Phillies jostle their rotation after missing a week and playing a doubleheader Wednesday. The Padres removed sputtering lefty Joey Lucchesi from their rotation, perhaps signaling the proverbial door being opened for Gore, who boasts four plus-pitches and command of each. These fellows are ready. Their teams and fantasy managers should add them now.
A Giants-Dodgers series is always interesting, and their first one was hardly lopsided, as the teams split four games. Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was relatively quiet in that set, but since then he boasts a 1.246 OPS in 10 games, with three home runs, 11 runs and more walks than whiffs. He is the No. 17 option on the season's ESPN Player Rater. Fantasy managers love him and he leads the majors in WAR. Is Yastrzemski, never a top prospect and noticed perhaps only due to his lineage, really a top-20 player? No, but what about a top-20 fantasy outfielder? Some remain skeptical of any real value, but this left-handed hitter still boasts a higher career OPS versus lefties in his career. Plus, he gets Julio Urias and Clayton Kershaw this weekend, and then Walker Buehler.
The Royals embarrassed Cubs right-hander Tyler Chatwood -- only the most-added pitcher in ESPN standard leagues -- for 11 hits and eight earned runs on Thursday. Chatwood probably gets one more chance to stick on fantasy rosters next week when he faces Cleveland -- but enough about him. Let's look at the Royals. This offense drew four walks on Thursday (though not one versus notorious walker Chatwood) and now have 24 free passes in 14 games, easily the lowest ratio in the sport. Leadoff option Whit Merrifield has four home runs and just one walk! Adalberto Mondesi has one walk, one homer and one steal. Maikel Franco still has yet to walk. I want to follow this overeager approach against the Twins this weekend. It cannot last, right? The Twins get Jake Odorizzi back on Saturday, and he is available in roughly one-third of ESPN leagues. Try to walk 'em, Jake, just try!
Speaking of the Twins, Miguel Sano hit a rocket of a line drive home run on Thursday and he struck out twice. Sano has whiffed in exactly half of his 34 at-bats, so while he hits baseballs ridiculously hard when he connects, he might hit his current .147 for a while if he cannot connect more often. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez also could destroy a fantasy manager's batting average. He homered on Thursday on what looked like merely an opposite-field pop-up, but carries a .097 batting average. A full 18 of his 31 at-bats have been strikeouts. It is a short season and these fellows have pop, but they both come with ample risk.
The Yankees decided they had no more roster room for designated hitter Miguel Andujar. He "designated" 27 home runs as a cool rookie in 2018 but was a mere 1-for-14 this irregular season. He offers no defensive value. Andujar is rostered in more than 30% of ESPN leagues, and his absence solidifies playing time for underrated Gio Urshela, who boasts power, patience and a golden glove. It also boosts underrated Mike Tauchman, who is hitting .368 with three steals. Good for the Yankees for prioritizing defense, too! Following where Andujar ends up in 2021 will be intriguing.
The Astros figure to lose leadoff man George Springer for an undetermined number of games after he strained his right wrist on Thursday. Perhaps he plays this weekend, but perhaps he heads to the injured list. Myles Straw can handle center field and he can steal myriad bases -- if he gets on base. Straw boasts three steals, but only two hits in his 12 plate appearances. This is someone to add now in case regular playing time is pending. By the way, there's still no sign of DH Yordan Alvarez, but keep him rostered for sure.
The White Sox claim injured shortstop Tim Anderson will return early next week from a groin injury and, when he does, he gets the leadoff spot back. Perhaps this is fair for the defending AL batting champ, but rookie outfielder Luis Robert looked fine in the role, until striking out in all four of his plate appearances on Thursday. Anderson and Robert at the top of the lineup would be fun... and move games along. These fellows are not into drawing walks.
Bullpen banter
As for the world of the closers (and what a world it is), Astros right-hander Ryan Pressly retired nary a Diamondback on Thursday, allowing four baserunners and two runs to lose the game. Yeah, this is the same fellow I wrote on Thursday was already a top-10 closer! He might still be. He might also still be hurt, so Josh James or thriving lefty Blake Taylor could be next in line for saves.
The Cubs are stuck with Craig Kimbrel for a while, and they claim they fiddled with his mechanics, but he struggled again on Thursday. That makes four outings, with runs in each, and a 23.63 ERA and a 4.13 WHIP. Perhaps I should have noted that Rowan Wick is a top-10 closer!
I should have listened to my colleague Tristan H. Cockcroft when he said back in March that Jairo Diaz would get Colorado's saves. Ugh! I admit my mistake here.
Will Smith is finally healthy for Atlanta, but Mark Melancon looks fine after four outings. I think Melancon gets all the saves, but perhaps it changes this weekend in Philadelphia.
The time to sell high on Brandon Kintzler is nigh. He has three saves, and his scrappy team is 6-1 thanks to having played the Phillies and Orioles. Well, tougher times are ahead.
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