The Morning Buzz: April 11

Good morning, fantasy baseballers!

I woke up this morning with a whole lot to say, but feel like I got most of it done when I pinch-hit for today’s MLB Injury Report. Be sure to check it out as I went through everything quite thoroughly. In addition to covered the most-recently DL’d players, I also took the time to update everyone who is considered day-to-day as well as those currently on the DL but are on the mend. With everyone who is expected to miss time moving forward, I also discussed who should see an increase in at-bats during their absence. Some are certainly worth a look for short-term fixes, so be sure to check it out.

Closing Time in Philly

I would have thought I was covered with the closer talk from yesterday as I addressed a number of tenuous situations, however, a late meeting with Jeanmar Gomez was called yesterday by manager Pete Mackanin and the 29-year old righthander was told he’s been bumped back to low-leverage bullpen work until he can right the ship. Surprisingly, Mackanin named Joaquin Benoit the closer over everyone’s expected choice, Hector Neris. The irony of this move shouldn’t be lost. For years, Benoit was passed over as the closer because his managers preferred to use him as the shut-down reliever in the seventh and eighth innings rather than limit him to the ninth. That’s exactly what is happening to Neris here. Benoit has closing experience and has found success in the role, so look for things to settle in with Neris as his primary set-up man. If your league counts holds, Neris is a great play thanks to his strikeout rate. You can also check out Edubray Ramos as well as he moves up a step in the bullpen hierarchy as well.

Call to Arms

We saw some absolutely amazing pitching performances yesterday and fantasy owners who opted to wait on starting pitching and look a little deeper certainly reaped the benefits. The enigmatic Michael Pineda shined brightest, but the pitching lines for James Paxton, Jharel Cotton, Matt Moore and Jerad Eickhoff were all a very close second. Each guy will have his ups and downs on the year and Cotton is likely to have an innings cap, but there is no question that fantasy owners should feel good about these performances. Yes, even the Pineda owner who may have had him on the bench after his first outing. Stay the course, people. I have a feeling each one of these hurlers will return a solid fantasy value this season.

Of course, there’s a yin to every yang and that would be the performances of Tyler Glasnow and Brandon Finnegan. While both of them looked absolutely atrocious yesterday, they remain worthy of a roster spot in leagues of 12 teams or more. You can be a little more selective in your shallower leagues, though I do feel like both will be able to harness the command they failed to show last night. Outings like this can certainly be frustrating, but remember sample size and skill set. Both have solid pedigrees, so there’s no reason to jump off the ledge yet.

The match-ups I am watching closest today are Matt Harvey against the Phillies, Robbie Ray against the Giants and J.A. Happ against the Brewers. Expectations for all three were somewhat high coming into the season and it’s always recommended that you watch those investments early on in the season. Ray was coveted for his strikeout upside, but the ratios also need to be tight. Will Harvey show consistency with his velocity and if so, will the command hold all year? And finally, can Happ actually repeat last season’s mind-boggling success? Ray Searage did some great work with him in Pittsburgh and the Jays are certainly reaping the benefits. Can fantasy owners as well.

Obviously there are a number of hurlers on the lower end who I am watching as well, though their cost on draft day wasn’t as strong. Jameson Taillon has the marquee name and could prove to be a solid asset considering he’s always been lauded for his command. Lance Lynn and Carlos Carrasco always remain on my injury watch and, of course, you have to check in on Dylan Bundy and my boy Antonio Senzatela. Bundy has the greater name recognition so he’s on everyone’s radar, but another great outing from Senzatela means you can start including him in trade negotiations. People shy away from Colorado starters, but if he can stifle the Padres while throwing in Coors, you may be able to convince someone to consider him as a working part to a bigger trade.

Powering Up

Jay Bruce made for a fine play yesterday in DFS, but I still don’t understand the lack of love from seasonal players? No, the name isn’t sexy. No, the batting average isn’t great. But he’s cleared the 20-homer plateau in eight of his last nine seasons and cleared the 25-homer mark in six of those. He’s also eclipsed the 30-homer barrier in four of those years. People, please. Whatever your pre-conceived notions are, put them away and see him for who he is – a low-cost, high-power option you can probably steal from someone in a trade.

Wil Myers is doing everything he can to live up to his “I want to hit 40 home runs,” comments during spring training as he crushed his third of the season yesterday while also en route to be the second player in Padres history to hit for the cycle. Unfortunately, he has no steals so his dreams of a 40-40 performance are already getting a little hazy. Well, hazier than they were when he first mentioned it. Still, I love this guy and admire the energy and hustle. I’ll happily keep the faith in a return to the 20-20 level, but I’ll be happy with 10-15 steals if the power upticks to the 30-40 home run range.

Aaron Judge and Hunter Renfroe are also repping the power potential with solid performances at the plate. Neither is expected to crush it in the batting average department, but in this era where we worship the long ball and tolerate the strikeouts, both should prove to be fantastic late-round power assets.

Speed Demons

If you didn’t check out yesterday show on SiriusXM or last night’s Daily Bender, stay focused – Pirates backstop Francisco Cervelli continues to lose the battle to the base-stealers and with wild man Tyler Glasnow on the hill yesterday, the Reds took full advantage. Billy Hamilton swiped two bases while Jose Peraza and Adam Duvall also picked up a steal each. Be sure you’re tracking which catchers are struggling the most and watch how they are paired up with a starter each day. This could be the solution to not owning a burner while remaining competitive in the category.

Teams crushing it on the bases include: Diamondbacks, Reds, Yankees, Rays, Mariners, Nationals and Royals. Be sure you look at who is stealing on each team and who the opposing catchers have been. Start making notes and track throughout the year!

Hot and Cold Hitting

I’ve always loved using wOBA to track which players and teams are the hottest right now. Obviously you can look at our advanced stats and take it one step further with our wOBA splits, but for here, let’s take a look at who the top five hitting teams are as well as the bottom five. You can use this for deciding streamers or possibly even tie-breakers when you decide which hitters to use. Again, check out our stats pages to look deeper into individual performances.

On Fire

Cold as Ice

**First game starts at 1:10pm ET, so get those lineups set!