2017 Fantasy Baseball Weekly Planner: Week 21

It’s virtually impossible to see some things coming, but by preplanning for each and every week of the Fantasy Baseball season, you can often get a jump on the trends that are brewing around the league. Let’s take a look at how Week 21 of the MLB campaign is shaping up.

Leading Off

There are no five-game slates to be aware of this week. Quite the contrary in fact, as 13 teams will play at least seven games over the next seven days with three of those clubs, the Twins, White Sox and Mets, looking at eight-game schedules due to doubleheaders.

News From the Mound

There are plenty of news updates to cover on the pitching front this week, so let’s get right to them.

Chase Anderson (MIL) - Anderson was in the midst of an excellent season before an oblique injury sent him to the DL back on June 28. He will finally get the chance to resume his breakout campaign Sunday afternoon (Aug. 20) on the road at Coors Field. Fantasy owners should monitor that outing

Robbie Ray (ARI) - Ray (concussion) hasn’t appeared on a big-league mound since being struck in the head by a line drive during a start in St. Louis back on July 28. He looked quite strong while striking out 11 batters across 4.2 innings during an 80-pitch rehab start at High-A this past Thursday. Ray is now eyeing a return to the Arizona rotation during the team’s upcoming series in New York.

Masahiro Tanaka (NYY) - Tanaka, who has posted a 3.13 ERA and 10.8 K/9 across 31.2 innings since the All-Star break, has been out since August 9 due to inflammation in his right shoulder. He is expected to return to the hill for the Yankees on Tuesday in Detroit.

Yu Darvish (LAD) - Darvish (back) has been outstanding (2.50 ERA, 11.0 K/9) since the trade-deadline deal that sent him from Texas to Los Angeles went down. The four-time All-Star was placed on the disabled list Saturday, but this stint is retroactive to this past Thursday, meaning he could be back as early as Sunday opposite the Brewers.

Max Scherzer (WSH) - The Nationals have been getting hit from all sides by the injury bug lately. Scherzer (neck) was placed on the DL this weekend, but he’s actually eligible to return Friday against the Mets and that is the expectation.

***None of the SP from the “News” (above) will be in this week’s rankings (below).

Top-50 SP

Analysis

Simply put, no pitcher in the league has been as dominant as Danny Salazar to this point. Through five starts since the All-Star break, the resurgent righty has cruised to the tune of a 1.39 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 46-to-9 K/BB ratio across 32.1 innings. Even with just one start on the docket, all things considered, Salazar is the top man on the mound heading into the new week.

One of Salazar’s teammates, Cleveland ace Corey Kluber, has been adjusted down in the rankings from his typical spot among the top handful of hurlers. As of Sunday morning, Kluber’s next scheduled start could be pushed back due to an ankle issue he suffered last time out. Monitor this situation.

Drew Pomeranz has likewise been placed down a bit in the rankings, as he exited his last outing with back spasms. Pomeranz is expecting to make his next scheduled start, but this is also a situation to keep an eye on.

One two-start pitcher that has made a significant climb up the rankings this week is White Sox southpaw Carlos Rodon. Over his last four starts, Rodon has worked to an outstanding 2.12 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 28-to-6 K/BB ratio across 29.2 innings. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this stretch, the opposition for Rodon has been the Indians, Red Sox, Astros and Dodgers respectively.

Next-25 SP

Nate Miller is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and has been an analyst in the industry since 2013. You can follow him on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad, where he is always up for fielding any Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Football or DFS questions.