Fantasy Baseball
Todd Zola, Fantasy 3y

Fantasy baseball daily notes: Pitcher and hitter rankings for Wednesday

Fantasy, MLB, Fantasy MLB

The initial introduction cited this being a rare Wednesday without a full schedule but then it struck me I've used that opening several times this season. With so many two-game interleague sets, Wednesday can no longer be assumed to feature a 15-game slate so that icebreaker has been retired. This week, the Cubs, Reds, Indians and Twins enjoy a hump day on the sideline. The other 26 clubs are in action with six matinees beginning with the Pirates hosting the White Sox at 12:30 PM ET.

Much like Tuesday, the card isn't ripe with streaming options, but there are some candidates for those with rotation holes to fill. Bats, as always, are easier to find. Here are Wednesday featured players with everyone available in at least 50% of all ESPN leagues.

Pitching

James Kaprielian (R), rostered in 50% of ESPN leagues, Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers: With Jesus Luzardo and A.J. Puk still working their way back from major surgery and Mike Fiers missing most of the first half, Kaprielian has stepped up and is a big reason Oakland is contending in the AL West. The 27-year-old righty has fanned 42 in 38 frames and gets to face a Rangers lineup with the sixth highest strikeout rate against righthanders in the major league.

Erick Fedde (R), 11%, Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies: Fedde tweaked his pitch mix and the result is a career high 23.3% strikeout rate. Specifically, he's throwing fewer four-seam fastballs while using his cutter and changeup more. Further, Fedde is throwing his sinker and cutter higher in the zone while burying his changeup low. While others are correctly pointing out Fedde has been lucky with a .241 BABIP, don't fret the correction as the increase in strikeouts should soften the landing. Speaking of strikeouts, the Phillies fan the tenth most in MLB against righty pitching.

Matt Manning (R), 9%, Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals: Manning's recent promotion was surprising in that he wasn't pitching well for Triple-A Toledo, yet the Tigers summoned their top pitching prospect for his major league debut. The rookie three five frames, allowing just two earned runs while fanning three Angels, holding his own with Shohei Ohtani as his mound opponent. On paper, Manning is in a good spot to follow up strongly on his first start as the Cardinals tote the fourth lowest weighted on base average (wOBA) into Comerica Park.

Justus Sheffield (L), 7%, Seattle Mariners vs. Colorado Rockies: Sheffield isn't a very good pitcher. In fact, his ERA- is 139 (39% worse than average). However, one of the safest streams over the past several seasons is a lefty facing the Rockies away from Coors Field. This season's Colorado club isn't as poor as usual, but they'll still bring the fourth worst wOBA against southpaws into one of the best pitching venues in the league.

Caleb Smith (L), 13%, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers: The Rockies note aside, team splits versus lefty pitching are less reliable than facing righthanders due to a smaller sample. Even though we're approaching the halfway point of the season, the sample is still subject to variance. That said, there aren't any other compelling choices on today's slate, so using Smith at home against a Brewers team with the fourth highest strikeout rate facing lefties could pay dividends. For what it's worth, Smith has fanned 19 in his last three starts, spanning 15 1/3 innings.

Bullpen

With more leagues using holds, it's good to periodically check in on the league leaders. Of course, leagues scoring holds are more likely to have already rostered the top options, but it doesn't hurt to check. Andrew Chafin, CHC: (17 holds, 8% rostered), Ryan Tepera, CHC: (15 holds, 3% rostered), Victor Gonzalez, LAD: (15 holds, 8% rostered), A.J. Minter, ATL: (14 holds, 3% rostered), Blake Treinen, LAD: (14 holds, 15% rostered), Adam Ottavino, BOS: (13 holds, 21% rostered), Yusmeiro Petit, OAK: (12 holds, 18% rostered), Hansel Robles, MIN: (12 holds, 15% rostered), Tanner Scott, BAL: (12 holds, 3% rostered), Devin Williams, MIL: (12 holds, 52% rostered), Tyler Rogers, SF: (12 holds, 49% rostered) and Anthony Misiewicz, SEA: (12 holds, 1% rostered).

For the latest team-by-team closer situations, please consult our Closer Chart.

Hitting

Catcher -- Jorge Alfaro (R), 5%, Miami Marlins vs. Toronto Blue Jays (LHP Robbie Ray): A few Marlins warrant consideration, including Adam Duvall, Miguel Rojas and Adam Duvall. Alfaro gets the nod on the strength of a .342/.405/.395 line over the past two weeks while also swiping a couple bags. Ray's strikeouts remain high, though 14 of the 17 homers he's surrendered have been from righty swingers.

First Base -- Bobby Dalbec (R), 11%, Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays (LHP Rich Hill): All young batters go through a series of adjustments, so Dalbec's roller coaster first half is not a surprise. Since June 10, Dalbec has slashed .382/.432/.794 with most of the production coming against lefthanders.

Second Base -- Tony Kemp (L), 13%, Oakland Athletics at Texas Rangers (RHP Mike Foltynewicz): Kemp continues to not only solidify the Athletics defense up the middle but also provide a presence at the top of their order. Since becoming a regular, Kemp has slashed .313/.412/.566 with 20 runs scored in 29 games.

Third Base -- Abraham Toro (S), 5%, Houston Astros at Baltimore Orioles (RHP Thomas Eshelman): Being bullish on Toro is paying dividends as he's posted a tidy .533/.588/.733 filling in for Alex Bregman. He's become a nice way of getting a piece of one of the most productive offenses in the league. Houston is set up for another big game facing a weak starter in hitter-friendly Camden Yards.

Shortstop -- Willy Adames (R), 17%, Milwaukee Brewers at Arizona Diamondbacks (LHP Caleb Smith): Adames, along with Luis Urias enjoy the platoon edge on Smith, though they both incur a hefty park downgrade in the desert. Still, Adames has responded well since being traded to Milwaukee with .490 slugging mark while fanning at a more palatable 26% clip.

Corner Infield -- Ji-Man Choi (L), 6%, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox (RHP Garrett Richards): While it is wise not to overreact to some of the early observations with respect to MLB clamping down on applying foreign substances to the baseball, Richards outwardly admitting he was afraid to use his curveball last time out warrants attention. He, along with the others on the Red Sox staff have seen a recent ERA correction. All that said, historically Choi is productive with a righty on the hill.

Middle Infield -- Shed Long (L), 1%, Seattle Mariners vs. Colorado Rockies (RHP German Marquez): J.P. Crawford is deservedly drawing all the recent accolades but don't overlook what long has done since getting every day run in the outfield. To wit, over the past week, Long has slashed a productive 320/.346/.600.

Outfield -- Abraham Almonte (S), 3%, Atlanta Braves at New York Mets (RHP Tylor Megill): Almonte has quietly held down the fort with Atlanta missing two-thirds of their opening day outfield. His .358 wOBA would be a new personal best. As a switch-hitter, Almonte should thrive on a day the Mets will likely use a few relievers following Megill, who is making his first career start and isn't likely to provide length. The Mets staff is being taxed amid a torrid stretch of three doubleheaders in 10 days.

Outfield -- Akil Baddoo (L), 16%, Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals (RHP John Gant): Baddoo appears to have made some adjustments and is again a force, especially in points leagues. He took a seven-game hitting streak into Tuesday action, getting on base at a 50% clip over that stretch.

Outfield -- Daz Cameron (R), 1%, Detroit Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals (RHP John Gant): In a rare instance of doubling down on a team, Cameron deserves his own mention as he is showing signs of being more comfortable than his initial foray into the Show last season. This comes with a warning Cameron has fanned 41% of the time during this stretch, but he's also collected six hits over his past four games, including his second career homer and second steal, following in the footsteps of his father Mike, a fantasy favorite for his power and speed combination.

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