American League

Angels

• Since returning from the IL, Taylor Ward (.985, 1 HR, 1 SB) has hit either second, third, or fourth.

• Jared Walsh (vs RHP) and Matt Duffy (vs LHP) are in a first base platoon.

• For now, Tyler Wade (.760 OPS, 2 SB) and Andrew Velazquez (.429 OPS) are getting full-time with David Fletcher on the IL. Read the rest of this entry »

American League

Angels

• Anthony Rendon may get every Sunday off to start the season.

Joe Maddon said it was possible that Anthony Rendon remains on this type of schedule with regard to off-days. So far he's had the last two Sundays off.

Maddon said it's because he's coming off surgery, and he may need less time off later in the season.

— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) April 17, 2022

Orioles

• Keegan Akin and Mike Baumann will remain as long relievers.

Meanwhile, the Orioles watched starting prospects like Akin and Baumann make more traditional conversions into relievers. Now, suddenly searching for ways to fill a John Means-sized rotation hole, Hyde said he prefers to keep Akin and Baumann in bulk-relief roles despite their starter history.

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While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even a larger entry fee ($2.5K to $15K). They get originally named “High Stakes Leagues” and this year there are nine of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers are going to try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in five or more of these leagues.

Owen Miller (9): Miller has an insane line of .500/.545/.964 with a .545 BABIP. Obviously, there is some regression coming but it’s tough to know where his talent will stabilize. His eye has improved with his K/BB dropping from 6.0 to 1.3. Those gains might not stick since the league is throwing him 61% fastball (53% last season). Almost all of his damage is coming off those fastballs (1.771 OPS) and the league will eventually adjust. I think in deeper leagues he is a must-add.

Read the rest of this entry »

7:32	Jeff Zimmerman:

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This week’s hitters aren’t that interesting, especially compared to the pitchers. I’d not be surprised if a couple of league winners will be picked up this week.

In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters. Read the rest of this entry »

For this first edition, I mainly noted obvious platoons since there has not been a baseline set for guys moving up or down the lineup.

American League

Angels

• Tyler Wade has sat against lefties with Matt Duffy starting.

• Jose Rojas, Jo Adell, and Brandon Marsh are cycling through two outfield spots.

• With David Fletcher on the IL, Andrew Velazquez is starting at short and batting ninth. Read the rest of this entry »

While the NFBC Main Event garners most of the attention, there are a handful of leagues with even a larger entry fee ($2.5K to $15K). They get originally named, “High Stakes Leagues” and this year there are nine of them. With so much money on the line, these fantasy managers are going to try to gain any advantage. Most of the time, these managers will be a week or two ahead of everyone else on their adds. Here are the players and some information on the ones added in four or more of these leagues.

Jhoan Duran (8): The Twins reliever has lights out talent. He has a fastball that averages over 100 mph. His splitter/change is a unicorn with its high velocity and low spin. The only comp I could find was Zack Britton’s sinker from the mid-2010s when Britton was the league’s most dominant closer. A must-add in all 12 team or deeper leagues for teams hoping for Saves.

Tyler Duffey (7): The only person standing in the way of Duran getting the closer’s job is Duffey. Duffey is no slouch with a 2.77 ERA, 10.8 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9. Additionally, he’s been used in high-leverage roles. With Saves scarce, the pair could be added and then the loser dropped once the roles are defined. Read the rest of this entry »

The in-season Mining the News will generally be focused on players who could be available on the waiver or could be dropped. There will be little to nothing on the likes of Gerrit Cole and Mike Trout. I just don’t have the time to grind out the information on players who, no matter what, will just remain in a fantasy team’s lineup.

American League

Astros

• Chas McCormick and Jose Siri will be sharing the centerfield job.

McCormick started against right-handers and Siri against lefties, but Baker didn’t commit to that going forward.

“Just depends on who I think the matchup is best for and what kind of defense that we need,” he said. “They’re both going to play. Everybody is going to play here. I don’t like guys going too long without playing.”

Read the rest of this entry »

7:31	Jeff Zimmerman:

Read the rest of this entry »

With just a couple lineups in the books, there are just a few hitters moving up. The targets exist on the pitching front where a few pitchers have taken a step forward.

In the article, I cover the players using CBS’s (about 40% or less initial roster rate) and Yahoo’s ADD/DROP rates. Both hosting sites have the option for daily and weekly waiver wire adds. CBS uses a weekly change while Yahoo looks at the last 24 hours. Yahoo is a great snapshot of right now while CBS ensures hot targets from early in the week aren’t missed. The players are ordered for redraft leagues by my rest-of-season preference grouped by starters, relievers, and hitters. Read the rest of this entry »