The Week Ahead: Week Ahead: Snell Test
Heading into this season, Blake Snell was widely viewed as one of the best pitching talents in the minors. Coming off an incredible campaign between Double-A and Triple-A, Baseball America ranked him as the game’s 12th-best prospect, while MLB.com had him 14th.
Snell got off to another good start in Durham this year, so there was obviously much anticipation for his big-league debut, which came in the form of a spot start on April 23rd. He headed back to the minors after that solid outing, but was recalled this month and now he’s looking to stick.
In his brief time with the Rays, Snell has shown some flashes of his promise, facing 69 batters and allowing only one extra-base hit. He logged his first quality start in his latest turn, holding the Indians to two runs over 6 2/3 innings in Cleveland.
The young southpaw will be tested in the coming week, with starts against the Red Sox and Tigers, ranked first and third in the AL in OPS respectively. Both games will be at home, which should help. Can Snell rise to the occasion and perform against a pair of tough lineups?
He is available in about 60 percent of Yahoo leagues, and is a high-risk/high-reward proposition. Give him a shot if you dare. It bears noting that both Boston and Detroit have been a bit worse against lefties, and away from home.
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* Jose Quintana has gone 0-6 in his last eight starts for the White Sox despite pitching rather well (at least outside of Wednesday’s shellacking in Boston). Perhaps going against Minnesota’s miserable staff and playing in Houston’s friendly confines will help Quintana’s offense get him a win or two this week.
* Adam Conley spun an eight-inning shutout gem against the Braves in his last start, and he’ll get them again next weekend, though he will have to travel to Detroit for a tough assignment against the Tigers first.
* Trevor Bauer in June: five starts, 38 2/3 innings, 1.86 ERA, 38-to-9 K/BB, 0.88 WHIP. It sure looks like he is figuring things out. His first match-up next week is a softie in Atlanta, so he is highly recommended even with the second coming in Detroit. Despite his hot streak, Bauer remains unowned in quite a few leagues.
* Danny Duffy is out there in more than half of all leagues and has been a tremendous source of strikeouts even since moving into the Kansas City rotation. Take a hard look at him with his second start coming against the Phillies.
* Consistency hasn’t been a strength for Robbie Ray this season except when it comes to the K column. He has whiffed six or more hitters in eight of his last nine starts. He’s looking ahead to home match-ups against the Phillies and Giants, making him a sneaky good play.
* Jon Gray has been pitching extremely well for the Rockies, but was lifted from his last start at Yankee Stadium due to arm fatigue. Keep an eye on his status. Given that his first start of the week comes against the Blue Jays at Coors Field, it might be best just to sit him.
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Going Twice…
American League
Strong Plays
Jose Quintana: MIN, @HOU
Corey Kluber: @ATL, @TOR
Trevor Bauer: @ATL, @TOR
Matt Shoemaker: HOU, @BOS
CC Sabathia: TEX, @SD
Cole Hamels: @NYY, @MIN
Marco Estrada: @COL, CLE
Decent Plays
Collin McHugh: @LAA, CWS
Danny Duffy: STL, @PHI
Daniel Mengden: @SF, PIT
Hisashi Iwakuma: PIT, BAL
Blake Snell: BOS, DET
Chris Archer: BOS, DET
J.A. Happ: @COL, CLE
At Your Own Risk
Eduardo Rodriguez: @TB, LAA
Mike Pelfrey: MIA, @TB
Kris Medlen: STL, @PHI
Kyle Gibson: @CWS, TEX
Ivan Nova: TEX, @SD
National League
Strong Plays
Jake Arrieta: @CIN, @NYM
Jon Lester: @CIN, @NYM
Noah Syndergaard: @WAS, CHC
Matt Harvey: @WAS, CHC
Jeff Samardzija: OAK, @ARI
Adam Wainwright: @KC, MIL
Tanner Roark: NYM, CIN
Joe Ross: NYM, CIN
Decent Plays
Robbie Ray: PHI, SF
Dan Straily: CHC, @WAS
Jon Gray: TOR, @LAD
Adam Conley: @DET, @ATL
Junior Guerra: LAD, @STL
Francisco Liriano: LAD, @OAK
Albert Suarez: OAK, @ARI
Michael Wacha: @KC, MIL
Kendall Graveman: @SF, PIT
Scott Kazmir: @PIT, COL
At Your Own Risk
Matt Wisler: CLE, MIA
John Gant: CLE, MIA
John Lamb: CHC, @WAS
Adam Morgan: @ARI, KC
Streamer City
The following pitchers are generally available in over 50 percent of fantasy leagues and have favorable match-ups this week:
American League
Wednesday, June 27th: Tommy Milone @ CWS
The slumping White Sox lineup may not present much more of a challenge than the Triple-A squads that Milone has been dominating for the past several weeks.
Friday, June 29th: Mike Fiers vs. CWS
Similarly, Fiers shouldn’t have much trouble with the Sox at home, where he owns a 3.23 ERA this season.
Friday. June 29th: Nathan Eovaldi @ SD
Eovaldi is amidst a tough stretch this month that has seen his ERA rise from 3.71 to 5.02, but a start in Petco is good medicine.
National League
Wednesday, June 27th: Archie Bradley vs. PHI
Bradley held the Phils to one unearned run when he faced them on the road last weekend. He should cruise once again at home. He has notched 38 strikeouts in his last five turns.
Wednesday, June 27th: Junior Guerra vs. LAD
The Dodgers offense has a sub-700 OPS. Meanwhile, Guerra is 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA in five starts at Miller Park.
Thursday, June 28th: Tom Koehler
Koehler has quietly rattled off five consecutive quality starts, and hasn’t given up more than three runs in a game since May 1st.
Total Games
American League
6: BAL, BOS, CWS, DET, HOU, LAA, MIN, SEA
7: CLE, KC, NYY, OAK, TB, TEX, TOR
National League
5: SD
6: ARI, COL, MIA, MIL, PHI, PIT
7: ATL, CHC, CIN, LAD, NYM, SF, STL, WAS
The Infirmary
You can get a full listing of injured players at Rotoworld’s Injury Page but here’s the latest on a few prominent players who have been out of action:
David Peralta: Out until early July (back)
Mallex Smith: Out until late August (thumb)
Chris Young: Out indefinitely (hamstring)
Dexter Fowler: Out until early July (hamstring)
Alfredo Simon: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Tyler Chatwood: Out until early July (back)
Miguel Sano: Returning this week? (hamstring)
Matt Duffy: Out until early July (achilles)
Mikie Mahtook: Out until early August (hand)
Derek Holland: Out indefinitely (shoulder)
Colby Lewis: Out until late August (back)
Jose Bautista: Out until mid-July (toe)
