Quickly jump to any page for specific intel
Fantasy baseball's Week 2 is much busier than the week -- OK, the 11-day period -- that preceded it, with 18-of-30 teams scheduled to play on all seven days. Not a single team has the misfortune of a five-game week, so this is a clear scoring period in which you want "quality over quantity" on the hitting side, while leaning more on two-start pitchers on that side of the ball. As of press time, 47 starting pitchers are scheduled to work twice, many of them staff aces/Opening Day starters, including Sandy Alcantara, Shane Bieber, Gerrit Cole, Yu Darvish, Max Fried, Lucas Giolito, Tyler Glasnow, Zack Greinke, Aaron Nola and Hyun Jin Ryu. Keep that in mind if you play in a head-to-head league, especially one with a weekly start cap. You'll have less need to stream starters if you roster multiples, and you might be facing a more uphill challenge if you're facing a team with multiples.
There's a series at Colorado's Coors Field, which has already seen 83 total runs scored over its first seven games (an 11.9 run average, which exceeds the 2017-19 cumulative average of 11.5), with the New York Mets visiting the Colorado Rockies during the April 16-18 weekend. Both teams need it on the hitting side, as the Rockies visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games to begin Week 2, facing Trevor Bauer and Walker Buehler in the process, while the Mets face the Philadelphia Phillies' front three of Nola, Zack Wheeler and Zach Eflin in their four-game, week-opening series. The seven-game week (not to mention the Phillies staff grading a step beneath the Dodgers overall) provides a much bigger boost to the Mets, and Jacob deGrom's managers can breathe a sigh of relief that he'll make his lone start at home against the Phillies rather than at Coors. German Marquez's managers aren't so lucky, as he'll face the Mets on either Friday or Saturday in a matchup that pushes him well outside the top-75 pitchers for Week 2. As the Mets are scheduled to face nothing but right-handed starters, Brandon Nimmo (40.1% available in ESPN leagues) is a must in any fantasy lineup.
Weather might continue to be a factor in Week 2, though much of the precipitation across the country could subside following the April 10-11 weekend. Cooler temperatures appear to be the greater threat, especially in Boston (three weekend games), Chicago (four week-opening White Sox and three weekend Cubs games), Denver, Kansas City (seven Royals games) and Minneapolis. That Mets-Rockies series in Coors might not see a game-time temperature higher than 53 degrees, and it could face rain or potentially sleet/snow in the 24 hours leading into the Friday series opener. The Mets might also face rain in the Thursday series finale against the Phillies. The Minnesota Twins, meanwhile, begin the week hosting the Boston Red Sox, with a mild threat of precipitation Monday and Tuesday and mid-30s temperatures on Tuesday. Weather worries are probably the reason that those teams kick off both Monday's and Tuesday's action at 2:10 p.m. ET, so keep in mind the early start times. The Red Sox might well have the worst go of it regarding the weather in Week 2.
Zac Gallen (IL, forearm) threw 67 pitches in an April 7 game at the Arizona Diamondbacks' training complex, perhaps aligning him for a Tuesday return to their rotation, as that's a spot manager Torey Lovullo currently lists as "TBD." The team could choose a spot starter or stick with four starters through Week 2 if they don't deem Gallen ready, in which case Merrill Kelly would become a two-start pitcher. Note that all rotations extending 10 days out are always projections. Gallen merits a 54 Game Score projection if he faces the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday. He'd project for only 53 if it the team holds him back for a road assignment against the Washington Nationals.
Sonny Gray (IL, back) threw 60 pitches and 4 2/3 innings in an April 5 Cincinnati Reds alternate training site game, then a successful simulated game on April 10. All indications are that he will rejoin the Reds' rotation during the April 16-18 weekend series, replacing either Jeff Hoffman (April 16) or Jose De Leon (April 17). Gray would receive a 56 Game Score projection if he pitches on either of those days.
After the Los Angeles Angels scratched Shohei Ohtani (blister) from his scheduled April 11 start, manager Joe Maddon said the right-hander should return to the team's rotation sometime during Week 2. I've projected Ohtani for Sunday, being that it has been his traditional "pitching day" in the past, not to mention it would keep his same spot in the rotation after one skipped turn. If he somehow returns in time to pitch at Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium earlier in the week -- something that seems unlikely considering he'll have a Monday throwing session -- his Game Score projection would improve by three full points.
The Baltimore Orioles earned Week 2's most generous hitting grade! Having seven games rather than six helps, but this is largely about their facing Seattle Mariners (four games) and Texas Rangers (three) pitching, staffs that rank among the 10 worst in baseball. Orioles bats might be off to a so-so start, averaging 3.86 runs per game, or roughly six-tenths of a run beneath the league's average. However, they also faced Cole, Jameson Taillon and Eduardo Rodriguez in three of their games, pitchers of greater caliber than what they'll face in Week 2 (with the possible exception of the slow-starting Marco Gonzales). As the Orioles are slated to face three left-handed starters in their seven games, Ryan Mountcastle might well be due for a big week. Incidentally, left-handed leadoff man Cedric Mullins (75% available in ESPN leagues) has remained in that role in both of the team's games against a lefty starter thus far, and the Week 2 Orioles' base-stealing grades are good enough to warrant you adding and starting him, despite any platoon concerns.
Tread carefully with regard to the Nationals 9-graded offense. Neither Adam Wainwright's (Wednesday's projected starter) strong spring nor the COVID-19 absences is something the Forecaster formulas can weight. The Nationals are aligned for a potentially great Week 2, and it's possible they'll get Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber back in time to play a portion of the week, after getting Patrick Corbin, Yan Gomes, Brad Hand and others back in time for the April 9-11 weekend series. If things are looking up for any of those individuals in advance of your league's weekly lock time, be more aggressive activating them considering the matchups. Just be forewarned that there might not be another team with a more risk/reward week ahead.
The Milwaukee Brewers stand an excellent chance at facing 15 consecutive right-handed starting pitchers to begin their season, including all six Week 2 games. Interestingly enough, they've used seven different lineups to begin their year and have given each of their three "rotational" outfielders at least four starts. That makes it difficult to exploit their platoon-heavy matchups, but it's worth pointing out that Omar Narvaez (86.4% available in ESPN leagues) and Travis Shaw (96.7%) are off to good starts. This could be the week Jackie Bradley Jr. (81.9%), too, begins contributing to fantasy teams.
The Twins and Athletics have righty-friendly matchups in Week 2, with each likely to face three (and potentially as many as four) left-handed starters, so plan accordingly. For the Twins, Mitch Garver (44.4% available) tends to get a much more favorable lineup spot facing a lefty, often leadoff or batting fifth, while Willians Astudillo (98.5%) is catcher-eligible and sometimes sneaks in third base starts against lefties -- if you need the backstop help in an AL-only or 15-plus-team mixed league. For the Athletics, leadoff man Mark Canha (38.4%) is an absolute must facing a schedule like his, and lefty-crushing Stephen Piscotty (97.3%), a .281/.362/.483 career hitter against lefties, warrants similar AL-only/15-plus-mixed consideration.