I wasn’t sure when exactly to release the first version of my weekly recap, but it seemed fitting to do so after we had officially played one week of baseball, and here we are. The season is already 4% complete, which feels insane to even type out, but the baseball season moves incredibly fast, and keeping up with the latest goings on is how you stay ahead of the curve.

In these recaps, I will talk about a lot of different things going on around the fantasy baseball world, and maybe we’ll stray into the real-life drama here and there if something big happens.

This week, I will be going through all 30 teams and talking about the most fantasy-relevant developments that we have seen through seven days’ worth of games, and trust me when I say a TON has happened

If you enjoy my quick hits on Twitter, this will essentially be a very extended version of those

Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Sewald has not yet played in a game this season after going on the IL on March 25th with an oblique strain, a very unpredictable injury with an uncertain timeline. He is first eligible to come off the IL on April 9th but isn’t expected to be ready that soon. Kevin Ginkel is the clear add in his place. He pitched to a 3.46 SIERA and 18.5 K-BB% in 2023 and has been sharp through his two appearances thus far. With Sewald aging and convalescing, It wouldn’t be a surprise if Ginkel ends up getting a lot of run here and finished with ~20 saves.

Atlanta Braves: They have been fairly pedestrian to open 2024 compared to their standards and what we were expecting. They haven’t been bad by any means, but aren’t firing on all cylinders out of the gate either. A little “Monster Season Hangover”. But still, something feels a little bit off through the first week that I can’t quite put my finger on. The Sean Murphy injury certainly doesn’t help but it’s more than that. The elites of their lineup (Acuna, Albies, Olson, and Riley) seem a bit off in their approach and I wonder if that is something that will carry on for a while. It’s probably nothing to worry about, but something I’m watching pretty closely anyway

Baltimore Orioles: The way they use their players is incredibly annoying for fantasy managers. Why is Colton Cowser in the majors just to sit on the bench every day? What does Jackson Holliday have to do to be called up? Why is Ramon Urias getting everyday PT ahead of their incredible core of young studs? Not a lot makes sense from where I stand. They are going to be a problem in terms of player usage until they eventually unclog some spaces via trade.

Boston Red Sox: Jarren Duran looks like he could steal 70 bases. He already has six through his first six games and only 28 PA. The young outfielder was one of the best “wait on speed” options in the middle rounds of drafts and that is so far paying off in a big way. If you need to acquire some bags, I would think that his price hasn’t risen to a cost-prohibitive point yet in most leagues so a trade should still be plausible if need be.

Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga dominated the Rockies and flirted with a no-no at Wrigley in his big league debut.   Imanaga was pretty severely undervalued by most (including me) before spring training started. It’s so hard to know how a player will convert to MLB from NPB, but he was incredible in spring and the price didn’t rise appropriately, which surprised me. Even after a great start, Imanaga will likely still be undervalued by a lot of people because of a small sample size and the fact he faced Colorado. I’m buying high.

Chicago White Sox: I have fallen in love with Garrett Crochet. Watching him dominate the Braves last night was very special stuff, absolute must-see TV. They couldn’t manage anything against him, other than one mistake that he made to Marcell Ozuna at the end of his outing. He was inducing very weak contact and generating some incredible whiffs throughout his seven innings of joy. Sorry, I have potentially gotten a bit carried away with him. He passes the eye test with flying colors, and he has carried over his strong spring into two brilliant starts. It’s hard to contain the excitement! He is somehow still available on a ton of waiver wires and should be rostered in absolutely every league

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