In these critical, final 21 days of the fantasy baseball season, chasing trends and short-term matchups is paramount to success. The upcoming small sample means planning ahead is increasingly unnecessary, and clinging to even bigger fantasy names in the midst of slumps or seeing a rising amount of rest is poor strategy.
It's why someone like Patrick Wisdom, a handy pickup for so many managers at multiple points, but who since a five-homers-in-a-14-plate-appearance stretch from Aug. 25-28 has batted.109 with 23 strikeouts in 46 at-bats, is no longer a mandatory piece for your championship push. The Chicago Cubs, after all, have a weekend series ahead against the strikeout-happy Milwaukee Brewers pitching staff.
Similarly, German Marquez, an All-Star who has posted only a 6.23 ERA and 19.5% strikeout rate in his past starts, isn't a required part of your pitching staff the remainder of the way. After all, he's set to face the Atlanta Braves, whose 5.22 runs per game since Aug. 1 rank third in baseball, on the road on Thursday, and of his possible four remaining starts, his next two after that Braves outing are likely to take place at hitters' heaven Coors Field. Marquez's schedule is rather unforgiving.
With that in mind, here are some names you can freely chase off the free-agent list, and bear in mind that cycling these through for tomorrow's big add is an entirely acceptable strategy. Mix and match as you make that final push!
Lane Thomas, OF, Washington Nationals: As mentioned in the Week 23 Forecaster, the Nationals have one of the week's most favorable hitters' schedules over the next seven days, and with a three-game series at the Miami Marlins, four at Cincinnati's homer-friendly Great American Ball Park and three at Coors to follow, it can be said that Thomas and his lineup-mates are in rather good shape the remainder of the year. He's part of a now locked-in top four: Thomas, Alcides Escobar, Juan Soto and Josh Bell, which isn't exactly tops in the game, but has been plenty productive in all 12 Nationals games this month. The Nationals' .409 wOBA from its top four ranks second-best in the game, with a fifth-best 103 total bases.
Thomas, who at times with the St. Louis Cardinals during the past year-plus was in the mix for the team's left field competition, but only now has nailed down his regular spot in center field and as the Nationals' leadoff hitter, has batted .284/.364/.552 with four home runs, 13 RBIs and 14 runs scored while playing every inning for the team in that role in the team's past 16 games. He's not a flashy hitter, with modest hard-contact and Barrel rates and near-league-average batted-ball distribution, but has good plate discipline and makes consistent contact. Players like this, placed into regular roles and with favorable schedules, often can prove the difference in September, and Thomas is a wise such pickup to help plug your open roster holes.
Austin Hays, OF, Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles might be a last-place, rebuilding team, but their lineup isn't nearly as poor on paper as perceived. Hays is a big part of that, one of the team's hottest hitters with .281/.304/.510 rates, eight home runs and 24 RBIs in 39 games since Aug. 1, with his recent hot streak propelling him into the regular left field and No. 3 lineup spots. He has been especially productive against left-handed pitching during his big-league career, his OPS against them 60 points higher than against right-handers, and his Orioles are set to face three left-handed starting pitchers during Week 23 alone. They'll also play 10 of their final 19 games at hitting-friendly Camden Yards, with their final three games on the road against a heavily left-handed Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff.
Bobby Dalbec, 1B, Boston Red Sox: Speaking of righty/lefty advantages, note that the Red Sox are aligned to face five left-handed starting pitchers in their six games this upcoming week, and after that point, they'll play six of their final 11 games against the Orioles and New York Yankees, who since Aug. 6 rank among the top six pitching staffs in pitches thrown by lefties. Dalbec mashes when he has the platoon advantage, with .279/.323/.536 rates and 10 home runs in his big-league career against lefties, and he has been on a recent tear overall, batting .315/.383/.796 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs in his past 15 games.
Eric Lauer, SP, Milwaukee Brewers: Everyone was aware of the Corbin Burnes-Josh Hader Saturday masterpiece against Cleveland, authoring a combined no-hitter, but were you aware that the lesser-known Lauer extended the Brewers' pitching hitless streak five full frames into Sunday's game? The left-hander has pitched quite well of late, with a 2.23 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 24.8% strikeout rate in his past six starts, not to mention a 1.84 ERA in his past 11 starts plus one relief appearance (with the occasional absence sprinkled in that time span). Lauer is aligned to pitch during the team's weekend home series against the Chicago Cubs, who despite decent pop have been awfully streaky and extremely strikeout-prone of late -- they have a major league-worst 29.5% strikeout rate since Aug. 1.
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September 14, 2021 at 01:22AM
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Add and drop - Short term fantasy baseball lineup fixes - ESPN
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