Fantasy Baseball Week 5 is here and we are going to keep this a little shorter this week, but it’s not due to a lack of baseball. Four teams are scheduled to play seven games this week: OAK, KC, LAA, and STL.
We are a little over a month into the baseball season and we are close to understanding who the true contenders are. One thing is for sure, video assisted replay makes a difference. Among those who vouch for the video in the dugout, Boston’s J.D. Martinez has looked as good as ever. He is hitting .361 with 9 HRs, making him the second ranked player in fantasy baseball so far. Last week, we were high on the Yankees with great matchups vs the Orioles and Tigers. This week, the Red Sox will benefit from playing both for a combined 6 games.
Our models are also very high on the Giants this week, at least the first half of it. San Francisco is scheduled to play 3 games at Coors Field to start the week and bats such as Buster Posey, Wilmer Flores, and Tommy La Stella should all be targeted. We are less high on the Giants in week long leagues, with some tough matchups vs the top of the Padres rotation over the weekend.
A handful of players are also set to return from injuries this week, including Max Fried, Hyun Jin Ryu, Teoscar Hernandez, and Matthew Boyd.
There are a number of other low owned hitters and pitchers who we are targeting this week. This list will continue to grow throughout the week, but for now we are keeping a close eye on the following players/situations:
- We mentioned the Red Sox and their soft schedule, but the biggest benefactor might just be Nick Pivetta, owned in about 15% of leagues, who has pitched well and will have two starts this week.
- Cardinals OF Tyler O’Neil, owned in only 25% of leagues, has provided both power and speed so far this season and should be owned in all deeper leagues soon enough.
- We need to mention Brandon Nimmo, less than 50% owned, again. He is currently battling some minor injuries, but the Mets’ everyday leadoff man is still getting on base and hitting over .320 on the season. It would be wise to monitor those injuries and to keep an eye on Nimmo this week.
- Andrew Benintendi, owned in about 50% of leagues, was featured here last week too, after hitting his first HR of the season during that week. He has since hit 2 more and should be targeted by teams needing OF depth.
- Padres young SP Dinelson Lamet, available in nearly 15% of league, should be returning soon and is well worth an IL spot in the meantime.