MLB Weekly Preview: Sep 26 – Oct 5 (2022 Finale)

In the following MLB weekly preview, you will find a game breakdown for all 30 teams, two-start and overall pitching rankings and the latest IL info to dominate Fantasy Baseball…

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Finish Strong

The end of every fantasy baseball season always makes me feel sentimental. If you are still with us and reading this, congratulations on making it to the very end. That is an accomplishment unto itself. However, the work is not done.

Before we get into the goods, for the past few seasons, I’ve shared a story for motivation. I’m copying and pasting it again for the new subscribers this year and as a reminder to those who have been with us for a while. Feel free to skim to the good parts if you’ve #beentheredonethat ??

So, the story… coaches from the youth level on up can, and often do, shape a person into who they become in life. Instilling fundamental moral principles and motivations while instructing the game they love. If you ever played a sport, you know exactly what I mean. Two stand out for me: my high school strength & conditioning coach, John Mckenna, and my college baseball coach, Fred Hill. Unfortunately, both of these great men are no longer with us, but their legacy lives on in all of their athletes. What did the two have in common? Coincidentally enough, both had the same mantra, which was often repeated at practices, scrimmages, games, seasons, etc. “Start Strong, Finish Strong!”

These words have carried me through A LOT in life. Every time I feel weak, weary or overwhelmed, I repeat these words in my head. Matter of fact, I’m reciting them as I type the words for the final MLB weekly preview. I repeat them when I’m up at 3:24 am ET updating pitching matchups. The mantra inspires me to be my very best. No matter what, being at my best – reaching my max potentiality – makes me feel like a winner. And what do winners do? They fucking win!

This brings me to the point. It is time to FINISH STRONG. We braved the elements, handled the postponements, and dealt with the doubleheaders. We shuffled our rosters when players were suddenly unavailable. Now is not the time to stray from the mission and deviate off course. The title of champion remains the same, and the color of money stays true. Don’t let the NFL get your eye off the prize! You worked hard this season, under challenging circumstances, and now is the time to finish as strong as you started to lock up that championship. Fuck your Week 4 lineups… let’s gooooooooo!

The most important area of concentration this final week will lay upon starting pitching. We need to be on top of our SPs’ schedules till the very last second before the weekly lock of 6:35 PM ET when the Reds “battle” the Pirates. Or, if you participate in daily leagues or those hybrids which offer bi-weekly pitching moves, it will be necessary to keep tabs on teams who clinch a playoff spot. Teams can and will shuffle rotations to line up for the new Wild Card round. Plan accordingly, and hopefully, my last breakdown of 2022 will help you do just that.

As always, if there are any requests for information I can provide or a player/team/topic you would like me to cover, drop a line in our 24/7 MLB Discord chat or hit me up on Twitter, @Rob_Povia.

MLB GAME BREAKDOWN GRID

NOTES: Due to the lockout, we are blessed with a final scoring period that extends into the middle of next week. For some teams, it will create a playoff-like six-game series. Take that, five-gamers! For example, Cleveland will host the Royals from October 1 – 5. This presents lots of opportunities for their hitters against subpar pitching (along with some potentially strong CLE SP options). Also, St. Louis will play home & home with the Pirates for the last six days of the season. This should be a boon for our Cardinals hitters despite their shorter schedule. Even if the Cards have their playoff seed locked up, Paul Goldschmidt will need a strong final push for the NL Triple Crown. Plus, teammate Nolan Arenado will try to put his hat in the ring for NL MVP. Finally, CIN/CHC & LAD/COL play six to conclude the regular season.

Including St. Louis, four teams will only play eight games (ARI, NYM, HOU). On the opposite side of the spectrum, eight teams will play the max of 10 games (some due to the doubleheaders below). The remaining 18 teams play nine games and represent the majority.

Remaining Doubleheaders: PHI @ WSH (10/1), NYY @ TEX (10/4), DET @ SEA (10/4), WSH @ NYM (10/4 DUE TO PPD)

A Few Areas to Target

AL East Showdown
Three teams in the AL East play the max ten games to wrap the season. Starting at the top, New York has done a good job distancing itself from Tampa Bay and Toronto, who are both 8.5 games behind the pace at the time of this writing. Aaron Judge is making his bid for 61 as well as the AL Triple Crown. Judge will have 9-of-10 righties to contend with, but fortunately, he has owned the same handedness this season with a .329/.435/1.159 slash line, 47 HR and 69 extra-base hits (XBH). Anthony Rizzo is prepared for lift-off with 21 of 31 HR off righties. Furthermore, Oswaldo Cabrera (7% rostered in redraft, 18% dynasty) is a viable streamer, batting .286 with a 1.042 OPS in the last seven days.

Baltimore also enjoys ten games. The volume works well for Adley Rutschman, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson (33%, 71%) Moreover, Ryan Mountcastle is a good source for homers and RBI and belongs in your lineups. Shallow league managers… check to see if another team hastily dropped him. If you require stolen bases, and by the looks of the Discord chat, I know you do, Jorge Mateo (27%, 75%) has some quality SB targets to run on besides Rich Hill and Nestor Cortes. Just make sure you can absorb his .220 batting average.

Finally, Boston enjoys superior park factors to close the season. Fenway Park and Rogers Centre play hitter-friendly. Fenway is No. 3 in the overall Statcast Park Factor (109; just behind Great American Ballpark and Coors Field, 111). And while Rogers Centre is No. 18 and slightly favoring the pitcher, the park is fourth in doubles and ninth in home runs. As a result, Tommy Pham (50%, 85%) and Kiké Hernández (51%, 60%) are two widely available and intriguing streamers. Pham has settled in atop Boston’s order, making him an excellent source of runs.

Phightin’ Phills
Philadelphia is fighting off both the Padres (for the second Wild Card spot) and the Brewers for a ticket into the postseason. Their schedule lays out well to do so, taking on the Cubs at Wrigley, the Nationals in Washington DC and the Astros at Minute Maid. No benefits of home, but this is better for our fantasy purposes. Our Phillies hitters will be guaranteed nine innings per game to add to our totals. All of this makes depth pieces Jean Segura and Alec Bohm (52%, 92%) clear-cut starter material for our lineups. 

Take Advantage of Bad Offenses in Good Situations
Washington sees ten games with the benefit of their doubleheader with the Phillies. Sweet swinging Joey “Nemesis” Meneses (42%, 59%) has eight hits in the past four games along with seven extra-base hits in the last 15 games. Lane Thomas (10%, 62%) is tearing it up the last 15 days, as well. However, a key pick-up for the final stanza is Luis García (3%, 44%), especially if in need of middle infield help. I liked this kid’s stroke when we first saw him in the truncated 2020 season. Now blessed with a free line to regular playing time, he is making the most of it. Garcia has pop and can steal you a base at a key time. 

Best of all, despite facing three teams who boast rock-solid rotations, the Nats will see the lower parts in all three series, minus Max Fried, Chris Bassitt (unless scratched last day of season) and a returning Zack Wheeler.

O Canad… Wait, What?!
While being home presents advantages for Toronto (NYY – 3, BOS – 3, @BAL -3), our focus here is the visitors. Or, more appropriately, the “non-visitors.” Players who are not vaccinated can’t travel to Toronto and will be placed on the restricted list, that is until September 30. This is key timing for the MLB postseason, where Toronto is holding down the No. 2 Wild Card. 

Fortunately for the Yankees, who travel before the deadline, we have no worries. Red Sox will be traveling to Toronto the day “that Canada is reportedly preparing to allow unvaccinated travelers over its borders when the policy expires.” Boston had two known players who were unvaccinated last time we checked: Tanner Houck and Jarren Duran. The prior is on the shelf till 2023, while the latter is currently playing his games at Triple-A Worcester. The kick in the pants is Duran felt he let his team down – Sox went a combined 2-5 in their two previous series in Toronto – and got vaxxed. The Woo Sox season ends on 9/28.

IMPORTANT PARK FACTORS

2022 Statistics

*As of 9/22/22; Statcast data via Baseball Savant

TOP TWO-START PITCHERS

IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE – SUPERSCRIPT NUMBER IS OVERALL RANK

1. Sandy Alcantara¹ (@MIL, ATL) ⬅️ Manager Don Mattingly announces that Alcantara is being shut down for the season. He’s healthy but has fired a whopping 228.2 innings in a stellar season. ?
2. Gerrit Cole⁴ (@TOR, @TEX)
3. Corbin Burnes⁵ (MIA, ARI)
4. Justin Verlander⁷ (ARI, PHI) ⬅️ Moves up with HOU reshuffling and will gain a second start.
5. Max Fried⁸ (@WSH, NYM) ⬅️ From what I’ve been reading, we should expect Fried to move up on normal rest to pitch in the series finale versus New York, especially since Spencer Strider is done for the regular season (see IL report). Of course, this depends on the state of the NL East at that point. UPDATE: Fried will just pitch vs. New York in the series opener on 9/30 (seven days rest).
6. Shohei Ohtani⁹ (OAK, @OAK) ??? See note below pitching ranks!
7. Framber Valdez¹⁰ (TB, PHI) ⬅️ HOU getting Urquidy ready for bullpen role, so Valdez will have one last shot to cap off a stellar season as well as Cy Young bid. May come down to the two teammates (Verlander). #ShowdownInHouston
8. Julio Urías¹¹ (@SD, COL)
9. Zac Gallen¹² (@HOU, @MIL) ⬅️ Gallen gets moved up with MadBum done for 2022.
10. Carlos Rodón¹³ (COL, @SD) ⬅️ Rodón’s season is over.
11. Brandon Woodruff¹⁴ (STL, ARI)
12. Shane Bieber¹⁵ (TB, KC)
13. Aaron Nola¹⁶ (@CHC, @HOU)
14. Yu Darvish¹⁷ (CHW, SF) ⬅️ SD likely saving him for Wild Card
15. Kevin Gausman¹⁸ (NYY, BOS)
16. Chris Bassitt¹⁹ (@ATL, WSH) ⬅️ Bassitt being moved to third game of NYM/ATL series, according to Tony DiComo.
17. Joe Musgrove²⁰ (LAD, SF)
18. Robbie Ray²¹ (TEX, OAK)
19. Kyle Wright²³ (NYM, @MIA) ⬅️ Based on the above update, that would push Wright down for only one start. Here’s how the beginning of the week will shape out now.
20. Alek Manoah²⁵ (BOS, @BAL) ⬅️ With nothing left to play for, TOR will save Manoah for the playoffs.
21. Logan Webb^IL (COL, ARI)
22. Miles Mikolas²⁹ (@MIL, @PIT?) ⬅️ Mikolas will be sharing his second (and final regular season) start with José Quintana on 10/3. Order TBD & I would only be interested in who goes second.
23. Tyler Anderson³⁰ (@SD, COL)
24. Brady Singer³¹ (@CLE, @CLE)
25. Merrill Kelly³² (@SF, @MIL?) ⬅️ Kelly may pick up final start of the season.
26. Lance Lynn³³ (@MIN, @SD)
27. Clayton Kershaw³⁴ (COL, COL) ⬅️ Kershaw and Heaney (below) should pitch in tandem on the last day of the season.
28. Logan Gilbert³⁵ (OAK, DET) ⬅️ SEA saving him for Wild Card
29. Triston McKenzie³⁷ (TB, KC)
30. Lance McCullers Jr.⁴⁰ (ARI, PHI)
31. Blake Snell⁴¹ (LAD, CHW)
32. Martín Pérez⁴² (@SEA, NYY)
33. Alex Cobb⁴⁴ (ARI, @SD)
34. Luis Garcia⁴⁶ (ARI, PHI) ⬅️ Made start on 9/27 due to McCullers scratch and will also go on 10/2.
35. Jeffrey Springs⁴⁷ (@CLE, @BOS)
36. Marcus Stroman⁴⁸ (PHI, CIN)
37. Andrew Heaney⁴⁹ (@SD, COL)
38. Joe Ryan⁵⁰ (@DET, @CHW) ⬅️ MIN opts to let Ryan go out on a good note for 2023. Simeon Woods Richardson will make a spot start on 10/2.
39. Pablo López⁵¹ (@NYM, @MIL)
40. Drew Rasmussen⁵² (@HOU, @BOS) ⬅️ TB saving him for Wild Card
41. Jesús Luzardo⁵³ (@NYM, ATL)
42. George Kirby⁵⁶ (TEX, DET)
43. Carlos Carrasco⁵⁷ (MIA, WSH)
44. Patrick Sandoval⁵⁸ (OAK, @OAK)
45. Taijuan Walker⁵⁹ (MIA, WSH)

*Several of these pitchers’ second starts are subject to change based on how their respective team handles the pitching rotation for the final two series. If your pitcher’s team is playoff-bound, they could opt to skip the elite arms to maximize for the postseason. However, if the team is a first or second seed and receives a bye to the Divisional Round, they may need to pitch the elite arms to keep them built up for game action with the time off. Furthermore, if a bubble team gets eliminated, a top arm could get shut down for the remainder of the season.

Other Options: Johnny Cueto⁶¹ (@MIN, MIN), Jameson Taillon⁶² (@TOR, @TEX), Zack Wheeler⁶⁴ (@CHC**, @WSH), Cal Quantrill⁶⁵ (KC, KC), Jack Flaherty⁶⁶ (PIT, @PIT), Luis Severino⁶⁷ (@TOR, @TEX), Corey Kluber⁶⁸ (@CLE, @HOU), José Berríos⁶⁹ (NYY, @BAL), Ranger Suárez⁷⁰ (@CHC, @HOU), Aaron Civale⁷¹ (KC, KC?), Michael Wacha⁷² (BAL, @TOR), Lucas Giolito⁷⁴ (@MIN, MIN), Nick Pivetta⁷⁶ (@TOR, TB), Dean Kremer⁸⁰ (@BOS, TOR)

*Tyler Glasnow^NR (@CLE, @BOS) could net two “starts” but will only be in the game for 2-3 innings. Let’s hope that is NOT the case. If he is used after an opener (à la Ryan Yarbrough^IL), that would make him valuable for win potential and thus viable. Let’s keep tabs here. Also, I can see Padres flipping Darvish and Sean Manaea¹⁰⁷ (LAD, SF) to get the latter off LAD and on CHW. They have an extra day to work with because of the 9/26 off-day. Both should get two starts if SD has something to play for in the final days. UPDATE: Severino’s second start has been pushed to TEX with Chi Chi González making a spot start on 10/2.

**The original plan for Wheeler returning from the IL was to have the 32-year-old right-hander pitch in tandem with Noah Syndergaard^NR for his first two turns through the rotation. The Cubs start would be number two. However, Wheeler exceeded expectations by firing four strong innings (58 pitches, 38 strikes) with two hits and no runs allowed and three punchies. Noah still may follow Zack, but I’m willing to rock Wheels for the final week.

Danger Zone: Cole Irvin⁸³ (@LAA, LAA), Austin Voth⁸⁵ (@NYY, TOR), Germán Márquez⁸⁷ (@SF, @LAD), Jon Gray⁸⁹ (@SEA, NYY), Eric Lauer⁹⁰ (MIA, ARI), Ken Waldichuk⁹⁴ (@SEA, LAA), Jordan Lyles⁹⁶ (@BOS, @NYY), Zach Davies¹⁰¹ (@HOU, @SF), Bailey Falter¹⁰³ (@WSH, @HOU), Brayan Bello¹⁰⁴ (@TOR, TB), Glenn Otto¹⁰⁶ (@LAA, NYY), Jake Odorizzi¹¹² (@WSH, @MIA), Marco Gonzales¹¹³ (TEX, DET), Tucker Davidson¹¹⁶ (OAK, @OAK), Rich Hill¹²⁵ (BAL, TB), Bailey Ober¹²⁶ (CHW, @CHW), Daniel Lynch¹³³ (@DET, @CLE), Mitch White¹³⁸ (NYY, @BAL), Davis Martin¹³⁹ (@SD, MIN), Joey Wentz¹⁴⁰ (KC, MIN), Bryse Wilson¹⁴⁹ (CIN, STL), Zack Greinke^NR (@DET, @CLE), Adrian Houser^IL (STL, MIA), Tyler Alexander^NR (MIN, @SEA), Connor Seabold^NR (BAL, @TOR), Josh Winder^NR (CHW, @CHW), Javier Assad^NR (PHI, @CIN), Adrian Sampson^NR (CIN, @CIN)

⬆️ Alluring start for Sampson on the final day if you need him!

*Even if the White Sox are out of it (which they may very well be by the time you’re reading this), I can see them pushing up Dylan Cease⁶ to 9/30, so he can make one last start on the final day (in place of Martin) to state his case for the Cy Young Award. Smyly is day-to-day with a shoulder injury but played catch on 9/24 and should make his next start. He would line up for two with decent matchups, but I wouldn’t like getting stuck with a zero in championship week upon re-injury.

UPDATE: Nathan Eovaldi returns from the IL for two starts to end the campaign before he hits free agency. As a result, Seabold heads back to Triple-A Worcester, and Pivetta heads to Toronto. Also, Voth will lose second start since he and Jordan Lyles will swap spots in the Yankee series due to Lyles’ last outing (rain-shortened 2 IP). If O’s remain in the Wild-Card picture on last day of season, Lyles could pick up a third start. Grayson Rodriguez looms as well. Paolo Espino¹⁴⁷ (ATL, @NYM) gets a second turn, as does Erick Fedde^NR.

Do Not Touch: Jonathan Heasley^NR (@DET, @CLE), James Kaprielian^NR (@LAA, @SEA), Chase Anderson^NR (@PIT, @CHC), Luis Cessa^NR (@PIT, CHC), Cory Abbott^NR (ATL, PHI), José Ureña^NR / Ryan Feltner^NR (@SF, @LAD), Chad Kuhl^IL (@LAD, @LAD), Johan Oviedo^NR (@STL, STL)

*You shouldn’t be starting Kuhl, anyway!

STARTING PITCHER RANKINGS FOR SEP 26 – OCT 5

*A better play is to utilize Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher for the final period in weekly-lock leagues. LAA is facing four lefties and five righty starters. Plus, he will surely face TEX be moved up to face Oakland at home and the A’s again in Oakland on the last day so Los Angeles can give him the “closing curtain.” UPDATE: BEAUTIFUL NEWS!

MLB WEEKLY PREVIEW | INJURED LIST REPORT

Besides names that may already be listed, here is the latest injury news on a few of your fantasy studs. I will update you early in the week.

Dustin May – 15-day IL, Lower-Back Tightness (Retro 9/22)
May hits the injured list, which means his regular season is over. He will be eligible to come off the IL on 10/6, the day before the postseason begins. #Strategy

Spencer Strider – 15-day IL, Left Oblique Discomfort (Retro 9/21)
Strider hits the injured list, which means his regular season is over. He will be eligible to come off the IL on 10/5, two days before the postseason begins. #Strategy… although, this is probably more of a move out of necessity since Atlanta could have used him in the big series against the Mets, which will undoubtedly decide the NL East division. Adding kerosene to the fire, Ronald Acuña Jr. (DTD, Lower-Back Tightness) has been absent from the lineup since 9/29. Manager Brian Snitker is hopeful the star center fielder will be back on 9/25, but a more likely return date is sometime next week.

Julio Rodríguez – 10-day IL, Lower-Back Tightness
Week after week, we see the same crop of injuries surface in unison. Do these Charmin Soft vaginas conspire behind the scenes? We’ll never know. Here’s what we do know. This is the same issue that forced Rodríguez to miss three games during Seattle’s previous series in Anaheim. By designating him on 9/23, JRod has an opportunity to return before the season ends, although it is unsure if he will be healthy enough to contribute to our fantasy teams. Jarred Kelenic will see extended time at center field in Julio’s stead, down by the schoolyard. Damn it, I almost made it a full season without penning that corny-ass pun. 

Jeremy Peña – DTD, Face
Peña had to exit his game on 9/24 against the Orioles in the fifth inning after a hard fall while sliding head-first into home plate resulted in a facial abrasion. The rookie shortstop passed concussion protocols and is considered day-to-day. The Astros plan on resting him for the series finale in Baltimore on 9/25.

DJ LeMahieu – 10-day IL, Right Second Toe Inflammation
LeMahieu has resumed on-field activities, including fielding ground balls and taking batting practice. He still feels discomfort in his toe, however, and is not yet ready to return to the lineup. Hopefully, he can make it back before the season concludes, but with each passing day, it’s more advantageous to cut bait. Hey DJ?! “You want a toe? Hell, I can get you a toe by 3 o’clock this afternoon… with nail polish. There are ways dude. You don’t even wanna know.”

Bombshell!
Shane Baz will undergo Tommy John surgery this offseason and will miss the entire 2023 campaign as a result… In other news, Kris Bryant (plantar fasciitis) said he will not be able to return to the field this season. In his first season with Colorado, he was limited to 42 games due to back and foot injuries. But a rich man, he is… Nick Castellanos (right oblique strain) hit in the cage and took part in on-field defensive drills before the game on 9/24 against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Manager Rob Thomson said Castellanos will not go on a Minor League rehab assignment, and the hope is he will rejoin Philadelphia’s lineup during next week’s series against the Cubs, which begins on 9/27… Starling Marte hasn’t resumed baseball activities yet and will get a checkup on his imaging. The hope is a 9/30 return.

Did you know Byron Buxton has played in 100 or more games only once in his eight-year MLB career? Yeah, we all did. Here’s what you might not know. This season will not be number two. Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey announced Buxton will undergo season-ending right knee surgery. The recovery time is expected to be only a few weeks, so Buxton is expected to be ready for Spring Training next season. 

White Sox Waiving the White Flag
Tim Anderson, who had surgery to repair a left middle finger tear, may soon be shut down for the season, according to general manager Rick Hahn. He said the club is considering doing the same with Michael Kopech (right shoulder inflammation). Additionally, after not playing since 9/20, Luis Robert (sprained left wrist) was finally placed on the IL over the weekend. A day late, and a dollar short.

POV SPECIAL – SP STREAMS OF THE WEEK

→ José Quintana⁶³, LH STL (@MIL, @PIT?; 39% rostered in redraft, 72% dynasty), Domingo Germán⁷⁵, RH NYY (BAL, @TEX; 17%, 62%), Kyle Bradish⁷⁷, RH BAL (@BOS, @NYY; 5%, 38%) – With the elongated final week comes more two-start options. I will be streaming all three of these men! Nothing like playing your former team! Quintana was only a Pirate for 20 starts and a little more than 100 innings, but he spent enough time to know the strengths and weaknesses of the young Buccos hitters. They will know him, too. However, I expect the cagey vet to best those still wet behind the ears. Pittsburgh strikes out at a 26.8% rate vs. left-handed pitching (second-highest in MLB). Additionally, they are 16^th in ISO (.150) and 27^th in wOBA (.285). 

UPDATE: Miles Mikolas will be sharing his second (and final regular season) start with Quintana on 10/3. Order TBD & I would only be interested in who goes second.

Meanwhile, Germán has posted a 2.34 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 11 starts since 8/1 by limiting hard contact (28.9%). Initially cast aside with the return of Luis Severino, Domingo was given new life when Frankie Montas went down with shoulder inflammation. And even if Montas returns for one start before season’s end, Germán will retain his two-start status with the benefit of a doubleheader on 10/4. 

Lastly, we’ve been keeping a watchful eye on the 26-year-old Bradish throughout the season. We utilize his skills when the matchup is right. However, he made a bold statement in his last start. Much to my surprise, Bradish nearly had himself a complete game shutout of the Astros. It was their B+ lineup minus Jose Altuve, but still a fine effort with 10 strikeouts. But maybe I shouldn’t have been that surprised. After all, he went eight strong in Houston on 8/26. Okay, his pitch selection serves as kryptonite to the Super ‘Stros. But he’s handled several top offenses this year. He’s handled Boston well and will continue to do so as they are making golfing plans. Also, I have confidence in his start against New York, even in Yankee Stadium.

Honorable Mentions: Braxton Garrett⁷⁹, LH MIA (@MIL, ATL; 6%, 38%), Mitch Keller⁸¹, RH PIT (CIN, STL; 9%, 59%), Eduardo Rodriguez⁸², LH DET (KC, @SEA; 65%, 77%) – If you’re on Discord, you know all about Mr. Garrett and my feelings towards the 25-year-old southpaw. I also like Keller, coming off five-straight quality starts. You can also consider Roansy Contreras¹⁰² (CIN, @STL), but I would prefer Keller at home. PNC Park has an 88 HR Park Factor per Statcast. Furthermore, Keller has a 3.86 ERA at home with a 4.13 ERA on the road. Contreras also has a better home ERA (3.22) than away (4.15), and there you can see a slight difference. Also throwing in ERod just in case he’s available in your league due to the good matchups. If Mariners have a Wild Card spot locked up by then, expect multiple hitters to be rested.

Don’t Forget About: Graham Ashcraft⁸⁴, RH CIN (@CHC, CHC; 7%, 42%), Hunter Greene⁸⁸ RH CIN (@PIT, CHC; 34%, 83%), Michael Lorenzen¹³⁷ RH LAA (OAK, @OAK; 9%, 42%) –Remember the inexplicable hot streak Lorenzen had in the early part of the season? “Let’s see that in an instant replay!” Of course, as previously mentioned, his second start is conditional on what the team does with Ohtani.

Deep League Dives: Hayden Wesneski^NR, RH CHC (PHI, @CIN; 10%, 23%), Bryce Elder^NR, RH ATL (@WSH, @MIA; 3%, 21% – This could be Kyle Muller instead or in addition to; see update in top two-start pitchers) – For Triple-A Iowa (89.2 IP), Wesneski had a 3.51 ERA with an 8.33 K/9. So far for the big club, he has posted a finer 2.45 ERA (3.16 xFIP, 2.86 SIERA, 1.71 xERA) with a gaudier 9.82 K/9. It’s only been 22 innings, but the skills are translating at the highest level. What’s key? A 44.6% groundball rate while just about matching the league average in swinging-strike rate at 11.1%. Room to grow, for sure, and the Philly lineup will be a test. But when you’re diving deep, a reliance on young arms doing big-boy things is necessary. Just watch out for Jaws. “Smile, you son of a bitch!” 

For more streaming options on the mound AND at the plate, visit Ray’s FAAB Values!

DAILY PITCHING MATCHUPS

Wednesday, October 5, 2022
*Not Confirmed

GAME 1

GAME 2