Growing up with a father who possessed a terrific sense of humor, watching Caddyshack together (cut version) on television proved to be special times shared. With the early returns starting to come in for fantasy baseball, it calls to mind the scene in which Rodney Dangerfield’s character talks to his accountant on the phone:

 

From the mountain tops, many will be screaming to sell high, buy low and manipulate one’s league for dominance. However, can one sell high, buy high, sell low and buy low? When maximizing a roster, each facet needs to be explored. For instance, if selling high on Didi Gregorius , who Howard Bender loved this preseason, will it be salient? Gregorius will cool off from his historic start but here’s some tidbits to consider:

  • Through 21 games, he’s walked 15 times against eight strikeouts.
  • Gregorius has increased his fly ball percentage by seven percent, his home run per fly ball rate over eight percent, hard hit percentage by 15-plus percent.
  • He’s also cut his swinging strike percentage by 3.6 percent and his chase rate (swings and misses at pitches outside the strike zone) by over 11 percent.

And all of this in his power peak? No, Gregorius will not keep up this torrid pace, but if he finishes with 27 home runs and seven stolen bases with an average near three hundred? Is he worth selling? Perhaps if an owner in your league’s nervous, kick the tires.

On the other hand, surface statistics suggest Joey Gallo ’s off to a slow start. He’s launched seven home runs in 89 at-bats (one every 12.17) accompanied by an .213/.293/.494 slash line. Yikes. However, he’s cut his swinging strike percentage by almost four percent, hitting balls to the opposite fields to counteract shifts without sacrificing hard hit percentage and reduced his strikeout percentage by over eight. Homeruns will ensue, time to add him if possible.

Other players of interest:

  • Max Kepler ’s carrying a low BABIP, with four home runs, hitting more fly balls while raising his hard hit percentage and no major changes within his plate discipline.
  • Christian Villanueva ’s a bit banged up right now, but pulling the ball for power, carrying over his fly ball rates from Triple-A and will lose average, but the power’s for real.
  • Nick Pivetta ’s changed the grip on his curve to mirror teammate Aaron Nola ’s causing more drop to the pitch from the same tunnel as his fastball. Yes please.

That Just Happened

No day baseball, shame on you MLB, but prior to print, Kyle Schwarber ’s already recorded the sixth multi-homerun game of his career. His first Schwar-bomb (if a bar in Chicago does not have this on a menu, shame on you) left the bat at 117.1 MPH, a Cubs record in the Statcast era. Willson Contreras and Ian Happ have also left the yard off of tomato can Josh Tomlin .

Another rainout, this time in Baltimore. Tampa Bay already announced they will start Jacob Faria on Wednesday and Chris Archer on Thursday. Plan accordingly.

Facing the Yankees in the Bronx can be daunting. So much so, José Berrios issued his second walk of the season already. Not a typo, Berrios has been scintillating to start the season. Gary Sánchez did hit an oppo-taco in the second inning. Thanks to David Price for waking him up.

Night Moves

Dodgers starter Rich Hill completed a four innings simulated game throwing 80 pitches. He announced he’s on track to start on Monday. Hopefully David Roberts concurs. Also, the team optioned Walker Buehler back to the minors and activated Daniel Hudson to add depth to the bullpen. It could be a short stay for Buehler since he could be called up as the 26th man and start in their upcoming doubleheader this weekend.

Reports suggest Jack Flaherty will not make his scheduled Triple-A start on Thursday and will prepare to take the mound for the Cardinals on Saturday. Patience padawans.

Orlando Arcia did not start on Tuesday night, but he missed due to a stomach ailment not his ankle. He should be back on Wednesday.

For those in leagues this matters, José Pirela makes his second start at second base in Colorado this evening.

Burning Questions

Will Miguel Andujar extend his extra-bases hitting streak to eight with Berrios on the mound? Who closes for the Angels if opportunity arises tonight? (Keynan Middleton ’s worked in the last three games in a row) What does Ronald Acuna have to do to share a flight with José Bautista when he joins the Braves? Did anyone else laugh when finding out José Abreu ’s nickname in Cuba was “The Big Elephant”? Will the Rockies answer back with a huge night versus San Diego?

Be sure to check back in the morning with Fantasy Alarm’s Round Up to find out.

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Statistical Credits:

MLB.com, BaseballSavant.com, Fangraphs.com