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| Monday, April 12, 2021 |
| We made it! Happy Monday but especially to my Joe Musgrove truthers out there. It only took six seasons perhaps Musgrove is finally ready to reward Fantasy managers everywhere. Musgrove provided the Padres with their first no-hitter in franchise history Friday with Victor Caratini as his catcher. That last part is important, as Musgrove relied heavily on his breaking stuff in that start. If you remember Yu Darvish turned his career around back in 2019 after leaning on the cutter as his main pitch. Perhaps this is the key to unlocking Musgrove as well. |
| He wasn't the only one who pitched this weekend, with names like Trevor Rogers, Yusei Kikuchi and Johnny Cueto also showing out. On the hitter side, J.D. Martinez and Eduardo Escobar look like they both might be back to their 2019 form. You can find all the waiver wire names below and on the podcast. Good luck this week! |
| And of course, you can subscribe to make sure you get the latest episodes of Fantasy Baseball Today right when they drop on Apple and Spotify. |
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| Tatis on pace to return soon |
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| Padres SS Fernando Tatis finished another full pregame workout on the field on Sunday -- he fielded and hit the ball. Padres manager Jayce Tinger said Saturday that Tatis Jr. could be activated from the 10-day injured list when first eligible on Friday if he continues to progress in his recovery. The 22-year-old star has been sidelined since April 5 with a left shoulder subluxation. |
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| Make sure Rogers is rostered |
| We'll have more waiver wire pitchers and hitters to target below, but Marlins SP Trevor Rogers deserved his own nod as the one player (pitcher or hitter) who all three of us would move to the very top of our priority list in any league he remains available in. Rogers outdueled Jacob deGrom this past weekend. Rogers went six shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks. He racked up 10 Ks with 19 whiffs on 82 pitches. His fastball remained up at 95.5 MPH -- a two-MPH increase from last season. The main reason Chris, Scott and I are so excited about Rogers is his strikeout upside. He now has 16 Ks in 10 innings. I've moved him up to SP59 in my rankings and that might be conservative. He's currently rostered in 69% of leagues but that number should be much closer to 100%. |
| More news and notes |
| Padres SP Adrian Morejon left Sunday's start with a left elbow/forearm strain, which is obviously terrible news. Ryan Weathers is a swingman type who made 29 starts in the minors but might not be worth pursuing with Dinelson Lamet getting closer to a return. However, there is Padres top pitching prospect MacKenzie Gore to keep an eye on. Gore is currently 46% rostered. Brewers OF Christian Yelich left Sunday's game due to back soreness. He's dealt with back injuries off and on the past few years. Who knows, maybe that's what has been hampering him and why he hasn't been the player we saw in 2019. Brewers 2B Kolten Wong was placed on the IL with that left oblique strain. Jace Peterson started the last two games at second base. He does have some speed for those in deeper leagues who are desperate for SBs. Yankees SP Domingo German was optioned to the Yankees' alternate training site after another disappointing start Saturday, but before you go add Deivi Garcia, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said German is still the team's fifth starter. They just did it to get an extra arm in the bullpen. Angeles OF Dexter Fowler has a torn ACL. Juan Lagares has started in right field each of the past two days. Cardinals OF Tyler O'Neill was placed on the IL with a right groin injury. Lane Thomas has been recalled, and he and Austin Dean were both in the lineup Sunday. Tigers SP Julio Teheran was placed on the 60-day IL with a right shoulder strain. Michael Fulmer will replace Teheran in the rotation and I know Fulmer is kind of an afterthought, but ... in seven innings this season, Fulmer has two earned runs allowed, 10 strikeouts to zero walks, a 13% swinging strike rate, and his fastball velocity is back up to 95 MPH, where he was at earlier in his career. Also, he's throwing that fastball less than ever before, with more sliders. Fulmer is only 4% rostered and a super deep league watchlist pitcher. Maybe it's time to keep an eye on prospect Tigers SP Matt Manning? It might be a little too early, but if you're in a deep league and how a low-upside bench player, Manning makes for a better stash. Tigers DH Miguel Cabrera was placed on the IL with a left biceps strain. Renato Nunez was recalled and in the lineup Sunday, batting cleanup as the DH. Jonathan Schoop was at first base. Reds SP Sonny Gray threw a simulated game Saturday and is expected to join the rotation next week. Blue Jays OF Lourdes Gurriel and Teoscar Hernandez were both placed on the COVID IL. Gurriel was dealing with vaccine side effects while Hernandez was a close contact. Rays SP Chris Archer landed on the 10-day IL with right forearm soreness. Brent Honeywell was recalled and made his major league debut on Sunday: two perfect innings with two Ks, four whiffs on 21 pitches, averaging 94 MPH with his fastball. |
| Bullpen news |
| Oakland Athletics: Lou Trivino could see the bulk of the save chances of the A's. Jake Diekman was used in the ninth inning Friday with the score 6-1 at the time. He proceeded to allow one run to score. Bob Melvin had this to say about Trivino: "If we can keep moving forward with Lou, he gives us an option to close as well. He's pitched really well for us. We've seen what he can accomplish when he's feeling good." Los Angeles Dodgers: What's going on with the Dodgers bullpen? Corey Knebel picked up the save Friday. He also got the save back on April 4 last week. Dave Roberts said he didn't want to use Kenley Jansen for a third time in four days on Friday. When asked whether Knebel was the team's closer, apparently Dave Roberts paused and then said this: "I think we're just in a really good spot, whether it's Victor Gonzalez for a certain run, Corey or Blake Treinen. I feel good about any one of those guys outside of Kenley." On Sunday, it was Knebel in the seventh, Blake Treinen in the eighth and Kenley Jansen in the ninth in a 3-0 game. Knebel was a top-three closer back in 2017 with 39 saves and 126 Ks. He entered Sunday with a 19.5% swinging strike rate. |
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| OMGG player of the weekend |
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| My pick: Padres SP Joe Musgrove |
| He had 10 strikeouts in the no-hitter with 15 whiffs and his only blemish was a hit batter. You're seeing the effect the Padres and Victor Caratini are having on Musgrove. His curve, slider, and cutter accounted for 80% of his pitches Friday. He threw his four-seam fastball just eight times, the fewest in a start in his career. Obviously, Darvish has turned his career around, relying on his cutter over 40% of the time. The upside has always been there and now Musgrove just has to stay healthy. |
| Scott White's pick: Reds OF Tyler Naquin |
| He continues to hit the ball really hard. His xSLG is .958. Obviously, he's been around a while and has previously only stood out for his on-base skills, but after a good spring, he's genuinely hitting the ball well. Everyone is skeptical, but we're at the point where you have to pick him up. He has an 81st percentile sprint speed so he might be able to add something there as well (he has one stolen base already). |
Waiver wire pitchers to add
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| Blue Jays SP Steven Matz (76% rostered) Athletics SP Sean Manaea (70%) Mariners SP Yusei Kikuchi (66%) Angels SP Andrew Heaney (63%) |
| After Rogers (mentioned above), Scott is prioritizing getting Kikuchi next. Those are the only two pitchers he is prioritizing. Chris, on the other hand, is buying in Matz and the jump he has made. Still, Chris would have Matz third behind Rogers and Kikuchi. |
| Waiver wire hitters to add |
| Reds OF Tyler Naquin (66% rostered) Diamondbacks 3B Eduardo Escobar (52%) Orioles OF Cedric Mullins (47%) Pirates OF Bryan Reynolds (35%) Tigers C Wilson Ramos (30%) |
| Scott has Mullins as a sleeper hitter for this week and Chris is also excited about him considering how many bases he stole in the minors. Speed is hard to come by and in Roto leagues Mullins could provide value in the scarcest category over the rest of the season. |
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