The first week of baseball and fantasy baseball is in the books and now is the time for over reacting to not just small sample sizes, but ultra-small sample sizes.
After one week, people start dropping good players who had bad starts. Choose to be the team that grabs these now value pick-ups instead of the team that drops them. I just picked up Ryan Zimmerman in my CBS league. Seriously, and in CBS he is 3B/1B/OF eligible. And now Manny Machado has been dropped for Pedro Alvarez and I grabbed him as well. Time to work on some trades as I have Kris Bryant taking over 3B … soon I hope.
After one week some teams panic and shift gears and if a guy is owned in 99% of the leagues and didn’t just get hurt, that is someone you should grab even if you don’t have a starting spot for them as if you are patient you could flip someone to upgrade another position.
So who are these guys, you know them when you see them and sometimes you have to ask yourself is the last bench spot or two better off having marginal players for your league that fit a back-up need for you or huge upside guys that you may not have a starting spot for right now. I will usually lean towards the upside early in the season.
Each week we will review the best performances of the week.
Yes I can count, but as we all saw, Nolan Arenado and Corey Dickerson had good weeks and tied giving us a Top Six. Arenado gets a lot of attention for his Gold Glove, but he put up a big week with the bat. But five Home Runs by Adrian Gonzalez helps him get off to a fast start this year. He had an amazing week and likely led most of his fantasy teams to victory. Miguel Cabrera is trying to show why he was a good value pick as he slipped in many drafts this year. But his slipping in drafts had nothing to do with what he does when healthy, it is will he stay healthy all year? Ian Kinsler showing that he likes his new uniform and Joey Votto showing what happens pitchers think he is just taking pitches versus looking for his pitch to drive.
The best pitchers usually have two starts and this first week is no exception. The only surprise of the bunch is Bartolo Colon. How long can he keep pitching at a high level.
Chicago Cubs Batters
Cubs’ hitters had a slow start to the season but still helped lead the Cubs to a 3-2 week as they bounced back in Denver the last two games. One thing that stood out to me is Arismendy Alcantara getting 10 points without a hit. Five walks and four runs scored, he still found a way to help the team, even as he struggled to get his first hit. But overall as you would expect for which players to avoid and which ones can help a team. Dexter Fowler looks to play every day so he is worth adding if he is still available and if you picked him up late in the draft or in free agency, you may have a very good value pick for your team.
Chicago Cubs Pitchers
Jake Arrieta picked up where he left off and had a dominant performance. If the Cubs win enough games, Hector Rondon could move into the upper echelon of closers this year. But when only two starters are in your top eight pitchers for the week, and yet you go 3-2 you should feel good about the start to the season. Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks will have better days than this week.
Waiver Wire Options
Asdrubal Cabrera looks to be getting consistent playing time in Tampa and has second base and shortstop eligibility, which makes him a very useful player and is owned in just 73% of ESPN leagues. Another shortstop that has started well and is owned in 65% of leagues is Andrelton Simmons. Another shortstop is Jose Iglesias is back this year and has also gotten off to a hot start and owned in just 50% of leagues. All three of these guys are averaging around three points per game right now and even though neither can maintain that pace they can all be useful players at shortstop if you waited on the position in the draft and are looking to play hot hands or are searching for possible breakout players. Another one that I targeted that is still sitting at just 55.2% ownership is Nick Markakis. No, he is not an elite RF but if he stays healthy can give you a player who can be a notch below the top guys for just a waiver wire pickup.
As far as pitchers Matt Shoemaker and Bartolo Colon are both worth targeting. Shoemaker is owned in 69.1% of leagues and has put up 36 points in 2 starts. Colon was a Top 5 pitcher last week with 46 points and is owned in just 50% of leagues. Another one is high upside is Archie Bradley. He has one start and 25 points so far and just 31.2% ownership. He has the most upside of these three and is who I would grab if I had a choice.
CCO Fantasy Leagues
The leagues are off and running with some great games. In the CCO League we had something I don’t believe I have ever seen, especially in a large league. The Top 10 teams in points for the week all won. I know at face value that makes sense, but in reality it doesn’t happen … ever. Well until now. Daverj’s Batsmen was the 10th team and had 266 points and won. I was the 11th team at 260 points and lost. Every team with more points than Daverj’s won and every team with less points than me lost. Just like in real baseball, you see something every day, every week that you have never seen before.