Fantasy Baseball Week 10 WW/FAAB Preview
Get your FAAB bids ready with the weekly preview.
We have made it through another week of the season, which has been a doozie. Plenty of injuries have required attention on our fantasy teams. There have been some good and bad performances, which may have caused some overreaction. Most people need to take a deep breath and wait longer, while others will start dropping some solid players to pick up when they do.
Most weeks throughout the season, I’ll bring you some FAAB previews for your weekend FAABing. It’ll be similar to my work last year, where I highlight schedules, 2-start pitchers, and bats to add/stream for the week. For players to target, I’ll use NFBC OC roster rates and mention players available in 60% or less of leagues. If you have any questions, feel free to message me.
If you want a full FAAB preview, listen to Bubba & the Bloom EP 137.
Schedule
7 Games- ATL, BOS, CHC, HOU, KC, MIL, MIN, NYM, SEA, WAS
6 Games- ARI, BAL, CIN, CLE, COL, CWS, DET, LAA, LAD, MIA, NYY, OAK, PHI, SD, SF, STL, TB, TOR
5 Games- PIT, TEX
Schedule highlights-
The Orioles face six RHP in six games.
The Red Sox face five RHP in seven games.
The Cubs face six RHP in seven games.
The Reds play their first three games of the week in GASP against three RHP.
The Guardians start the week with three games in Coors and will face two LHP in the three games.
The Rockies play their first three games in Coors this week and face five RHP in six games.
The White Sox face five RHP in six games.
The Tigers face six RHP in six games.
The Astros face seven RHP in seven games.
The Royals face seven RHP in seven games.
The Marlins face six RHP in six games.
The Twins face five RHP in seven games.
The Pirates only play two games in the first half of the week.
The Padres face four LHP in six games, three in the first half of the week.
The Mariners face five RHP in seven games.
The Rangers only play five games this week and only two in the first half of the week.
The Nationals face five RHP in seven games.
2-Start Pitchers (Available in most Leagues)
Cole Irvin, BAL (vs BOS, vs TB) - coin toss in 12’s, start in 15’s
Cooper Criswell, BOS (at BAL, vs DET) - START
Xzavion Curry, CLE (at COL, vs WAS) - Hard Pass
Austin Gomber, COL (vs CLE, at LAD) - only in deep leagues
Nick Nastrini, CWS (vs TOR, at MIL) - Hard Pass
Alex Marsh, KC (at MIN, vs SD) - START
Griffin Canning, LAA (vs NYY, at SEA) - only in deep leagues
Trevor Rogers, MIA (at SD, vs TEX) - Hard Pass
Tobias Myers, MIL (vs CHC, vs CWS) - NO
Simeon Woods Richardson, MIN (vs KC, at HOU) - only in deep leagues
Tylor Megill, NYM (vs LAD, vs ARI) - Start
Jose Quintana, NYM (vs LAD, vs ARI) - Start
Mitch Spene, OAK (at TB, at ATL) - NO
Taijuan Walker, PHI (at SF, vs STL) - only in deep leagues
Lance Lynn, STL (at CIN, at PHI) - NO
Jake Irvin, WAS (at ATL, at CLE) - only in deep leagues
FAAB/WW Hitting Targets (with quick thoughts)
Korey Lee (C - CWS)
Lee is a solid C2 who is showcasing C1 upside. In May, he’s hitting .302 with two home runs and two stolen bases.
Patrick Bailey (C - SF)
Bailey has been on the concussion IL twice this season, but he’s back and healthy for now, which makes him a strong C2. Bailey is hitting .299 on the season with four home runs and two stolen bases with 18 RBI. The hit tool is strong, and the defensive game is even better.
Mike Tauchman (OF - CHC)
Tauchman has cooled down after that hot start, but he’s still performing well. Over the last two weeks, Tauchman is hitting .245 with a home run and two stolen bases. The stats do not jump off the page, but his OBP skills as the Cubs leadoff hitter do. The Cubs have a nice schedule versus RHP this week, which makes Tauchman attractive, at least in deeper formats.
David Fry (C - CLE)
Hey, look, another option at C2. Fry plays all over the diamond for the Guardians and is producing. He does not play daily, but when he does, Fry hits .360 this season: six home runs and three stolen bases. He’s even walking nearly 19% of the time, which helps with the 22 runs he scores. He will only play four or so games a week, but when he’s in the lineup, he’s stuffing the fantasy stat sheets.
Michael Massey (2B - KC)
Massey continues to produce since returning from the IL, adding two more home runs this past week. I’ve written him weekly since he came back, so you should know how much I like him by now. The one catch is he’s banged up and has sat this weekend. Keep an eye on that, and if we get some good news, add him this week.
Francisco Alvarez (C - NYM)
Alvarez has begun doing a few on-field activities. He still has a few weeks before returning, but it may be stash season for Alvarez, given all the catching injuries and poor production this year.
Colt Keith (2B,3B - DET)
Keith may be finally figuring it out at the plate. It's crazy to think it takes a young player a little while to get comfortable. Keith is hitting .396 over his last 15 games and even hit his first home run. The power has not fully arrived yet, but the hit that was taken is getting strong. Keith makes for a nice roster addition where you need help at MI/CI.
Eddie Rosario (OF - WAS)
The calendar switched to May, and Rosario began to crush. He’s hitting .274 in May with six home runs and five stolen bases. The Nats face all RHP this week, making Rosario another great play, especially hitting second for the Nats.
Alec Burleson (OF - STL)
Burleson was one of the more productive hitters for the Cardinals in May. He enters Sunday riding a nine-game hitting streak, hitting .432 with two home and two stolen bases. He’s only striking out 7% of the time as Burleson is locked in. He’s hitting fifth most games for the Cardinals and should be one of the top outfielders added this week.
JJ Bleday (OF - OAK)
The A’s bats may have cooled down, but Bleday’s production has not. He’s hitting .255 over his last 14 games with four home runs. Bleday is hitting second daily and is even hitting LHPs of late. Bleday may still be best left for deeper leagues, but he can’t be entirely ignored in 12’s anymore.
Jorge Mateo (2B,SS - BAL)
Mateo has become the primary second baseman for the Orioles, and he’s bringing that speed to the fantasy table. He has four steals over the last nine games with a home run while batting .259. He’s also a great source of runs as he hits ninth, and the stacked top of the order drives him in. Mateo is a great MI target in deeper leagues with some 12-team appeal.
Kevin Pillar (OF - LAA)
I keep waiting for the production to stop, but it hasn’t. Pillar joined the Angels on May 1, hitting .420 with four home runs, stolen bases, and 17 RBI. He’s the primary cleanup hitter for the Angels and getting the job done. Ride this train while it’s still on the tracks and get ready to jump off when it derails.
Helio Ramos (OF - SF)
Ramos may not be getting the love Luis Matos is getting, but Ramos is producing just fine. Since being called up on May 8, he has been hitting .271 with two home runs and nine RBIs. He’s producing like a deep league OF with plenty of upside for 12’s.
Jake Meyers (OF - HOU)
The Jake Meyers coming-out party has been impressive. He’s hitting .344 in May with three home runs and two stolen bases. He has a 9.5% barrel rate and a 48% hard-hit rate over this stretch. Meyers is one of the top pickups this week, as he seems locked into the Astros lineup.
Nolan Schanuel (1B - LAA)
Schanuel is starting to do it, and he’s starting to hit with power. He has five home runs in the season, two coming over his last ten games, in which he also hit .289. The hit tool was always good for Schanuel, but we were waiting for the power which may be arriving.
Dylan Moore (2B,SS,OF - SEA)
It’s been a few years since Moore was fantasy-viable, but he has returned to our radars. He started playing regularly when J.P. Crawford went on the IL, and since Moore continues to hit, he has stuck in the lineup. Moore is hitting .286 with five home runs and three stolen bases in May. Moore is eligible all over the diamond, which makes him a strong fantasy play, not to mention the production and the fact that he’s starting to hit second regularly.
Nick Gonzales (2B - PIT)
Gonzales was called up on May 10, and he’s been raking. Gonzales is hitting .308 with two home runs, stolen bases, and 14 RBI. If you don’t like Massey, you should definitely like Gonzales for some 2B help.
FAAB/WW Pitching Targets (with quick thoughts)
Cole Irvin (SP - BAL)
With all the Orioles injuries, Irvin is reentering the rotation. He has been very serviceable this season with a 3.15 ERA. He won’t provide a ton of strikeouts, but Irvin has avoided the blowup. This week, he faces Boston and Tampa Bay, making for a decent 2-step option.
Ben Lively (SP - CLE)
Lively was strong again this week versus the Mets, allowing one run and striking out seven. He enters Sunday, allowing three earned runs or less at every start this year, and he gets a great matchup versus the Nationals this week. Lively remains a nice streaming, some may say bench streamer in 12-team and deeper leagues.
Tylor Megill (SP - NYM)
Megill returned from the IL and allowed two earned runs over five innings while striking out seven. He faces the Dodgers and DBacks this week, which isn’t a cakewalk, but I am still starting him this week and going forward. His strikeout upside alone is worth the add.
Cooper Criswell (SP - BOS)
Criswell has that lively feel to him. He has not allowed more than three earned runs in any start and has 34 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched. Criswell faces Baltimore and Detroit this week, which is worth a stream, and then held as a bench streamer going forward.