I apologize for missing a week of the Notes column. Some great news came in and I ended up celebrating on a beach far away from my laptop. We all need breaks. Now, with Week 6 approaching, we are fresh and ready to win our matchups and, more importantly, ready to help you win yours!
Thankfully, we get a later start this Monday, with the first two games scheduled to start at 6:40 pm ET.
In a similar situation that we had the Mets a few weeks back, we will be targetting the Kansas City Royals, who are scheduled to play eight games this gameweek. Better yet, KC will play all eight games at home. The first five will come against the Chicago White Sox (who also has an eight-game week) and the last three against the Minnesota Twins. Our favorite pickup is Brad Keller (SP, about 30% owned), who will start on Monday and is scheduled for a two-start week. Keller should benefit from this homestand and has a career ERA that is nearly a full run lower in home starts. KC's Scott Barlow (RP, 77% owned) has seen the team's last four save opportunities and carries a 1.23 ERA into a busy week. We also like MJ Melendez (C, 5% owned), who should pick up plenty of starts at both catcher and designated hitter throughout the week.
Another team that is scheduled to play eight games this week is the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-backs will play all eight games on the road, with four against the Los Angeles Dodgers and four against the Chicago Cubs. Notably, The D-backs are expected to face between three and five left-handed starting pitchers, which is great for Ketel Marte (2B/OF, 95% owned), who has started the season slowly. For obvious reasons, we are not planning to stream any pitchers here.
On the other end of the spectrum. both the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Guardians have shorter weeks, with each team scheduled to play only five games each. The Reds will play all five on the road. The Guardians play all five at home. Of course, we won't be targetting hitters from these teams, but some starting pitchers from the Reds stand out. Most significantly, we will look to add Luis Castillo (87% owned) and Tyler Mahle (71% owned), who are both scheduled to start against the struggling Toronto Blue Jays.
In this post, I will also always discuss a few more players that I will be targeting on the waiver wire and who are currently available in most leagues:
- Houston Astros' Jake Odorizzi (SP, 90% owned), who is currently riding three consecutive strong appearances, is certainly worth an add in all formats.
- The Mets are heading to Coors Field this week and should all be considered in your leagues. We want to highlight Brandon Nimmo (OF, 37% owned), who typically hits leadoff and has a .438 career wOBA there.