Fantasy baseball's Week 19 brings us rematches of both of last year's League Championship Series, as well as a potential preview of one on the horizon in 2024.
The Philadelphia Phillies, defending NL champions and the league's winningest team, begin their week with a three-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers -- still the betting favorite to advance to the World Series and a prospective NLCS foe this October. The Phillies then head to the desert for a rematch of the 2023 NLCS, visiting the Arizona Diamondbacks for four games.
The Texas Rangers are the defending World Series champions but are in desperate need of a hot streak, as they entered the week 5 1/2 games back in the AL West. They host the team they dispatched in the 2023 ALCS, the Houston Astros, for three games to begin the week. The Rangers then finish their week with three road games against the New York Yankees, who entered the week tied for first place in their division.
Both Chicago teams draw the short end of the stick as far as total games, as the Cubs and White Sox join the Kansas City Royals with only five scheduled contests. That's a disadvantage in a week where nine teams are scheduled to play as many as seven times. All three teams also have a scheduling oddity, playing two-game sets (Friday and Saturday) before being off on Sunday. The Cubs and White Sox play at U.S. Cellular Field, while the Royals host the St. Louis Cardinals.
There are two rescheduled games during Week 19. The New York Mets and Cardinals will play a standalone game Monday at Busch Stadium to make up for their May 8 postponement. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins will play a Friday doubleheader at Target Field, with one of those games making up for their April 7 postponement. With the extra games, the Guardians, Twins and Mets are each scheduled for seven games.
Also, we might well see the returns of three notable pitching names, two of whom would be making their 2024 debuts. The Diamondbacks will welcome Eduardo Rodriguez back into their rotation Tuesday at Cleveland's Guaranteed Rate Field, while the Rangers appear likely to have Tyler Mahle back on the same day against the Astros. Additionally, Alex Cobb, acquired by the Guardians prior to Tuesday's trade deadline, is on track to retake the hill during their series in Minnesota.