Last Updated on May 29, 2022 12:54 pm by Steve Vidovich | Published: May 29, 2022

Fantasy Baseball Weekly Insight: Week of May 30^th

Another week gone by! It is truly hard to believe that we are more than a quarter of the way through the MLB season, with most teams approaching 50 games played. Let’s wrap up this eventful week with a look at some players to keep an eye on, a few guys who are under-rostered, and some two-start pitchers who are worth grabbing for next week!

You guys can also stay up to date throughout the week by listening to Fantasy MLB Today, my podcast, and also by following my Twitter feed, @JoeOrrico99, to see all of my threads, thoughts, and show links!

Here are some players that I’m going to be keeping my eyes on going forward.

Big Stories of the Week

Alex²

The two Alex’s out in San Francisco (Cobb and Wood) have both been the victims of some really bad luck to start their seasons. Wood is allowing a .3 60, much higher than his career .304 mark and the league average, while most of his other numbers remained unchanged. As for Cobb, he’s pitched to a 1.93 xERA and that has resulted in a 6.25 ERA. Yikes. His advanced numbers remain strong as do the strikeouts, and it needs to be noted that he is only leaving 49.1% of runners on base, a number that will undoubtedly return to somewhere around the 70% number he’s been at for his career. I urge you to not give up on these guys, as luck is bound to turn their way sooner rather than later.

The Kids Are More Than Alright

It’s been really great to see rookie studs Julio Rodriguez and Bobby Witt Jr. play beyond fantasy manager’s expectations, and Julio in particular. Witt Jr. is currently ranked 71st behind his six home runs, seven steals, and 47 R+RBI, while Rodriguez is the 24th ranked player with his six dingers, 43 R+RBI, and a whopping league-leading 14 steals. Both project to be among the top contributors the rest of the way, and I wonder if we will see either of these guys go in the first round of redraft leagues next year. Wouldn’t shock me to see Julio get there.

Hang tight on Semien

I know, I know. It’s been almost unbearable to this point, with the one saving grace being the five steals to his name. However, Marcus Semien has picked it up recently, going 15 for his last 52 over the last two weeks, which is still not great but we are seeing improvement. He also finally hit his first home run of the season on Saturday, a grand slam against the Athletics, which is a very good sign. Considering where he was being drafted, you simply cannot afford to cut ties with him as tempting as it might be, and the trade market for him would get you a pitiful return He’s going to figure himself out, and when he does, you’ll be sorry you moved on from him.

Under-Rostered Players

Brandon Nimmo has looked really good to start the season. He’s the leadoff hitter for a Mets team averaging 4.9 runs and 8.8 hits per game (Both good for third in MLB) to go along with a .261 team average, the best in the majors. He walks a very solid 12.4% of the time, which is actually below his career mark of 14.6%, and he’s dropped his K% to 15.6%, almost 8 points better than his career mark. He’s 58% rostered on Yahoo, criminally low considering his situation and improved metrics from last year.

Ryan Helsley has been fun to watch (and roster) this year. The flamethrower has yet to allow an earned run through his 16.1 innings this year, while racking up two wins and three saves. His 50% K rate obviously won’t sustain to that level, and he isn’t locked into the closer role, but it doesn’t even matter. He can go out there a few times a week, give you elite strikeout numbers, ridiculous ERA and WHIP (his ERA won’t stay at 0 forever, but it should still be good), and give you the odd win and save. He’s 56% rostered on Yahoo and that number will definitely rise, so get him while you can!

Jeffrey Springs has been one of the nicer stories of this young season, but why am I even surprised anymore when the Rays take a relative nobody and turn them into a stud. His K% is still elite at 26.8%, despite being lower than it was last year, and he’s also walking only 5.7% of batters. He won’t continue to strand 92% of baserunners, but the discrepancy between his ERA and xERA is only one run (1.62 to 2.67), which indicates that he is likely to maintain a pretty low number. He’s rostered in 33% of Yahoo leagues and only 8.6%(!) rostered on ESPN. He needs to be added before the masses catch on.

Two Start Pitchers

Aaron Ashby: May 30^th @Cubs, June 4^th vs SD (33% Rostered)

Ashby will have a starting role with the Brewers until Freddy Peralta comes back, and he should be scooped up regardless of this two-start week. He’s done a fantastic job at limiting hard contact, with a 29.5% hard-hit rate, a .318 xSLG, and only 2 HR allowed in 34 innings pitched. He’s a priority add for this week, and I believe he will have sustained success and fantasy relevance as long as he is in the rotation.

Cal Quantrill: May 31^st vs KC, June 5^th @BAL (45% Rostered)

This one is based more on matchup than performance, as Quantrill will get a couple of fairly poor offenses this week. He needs to work on getting his BB% and K% back to his previous season’s numbers, but he’s got a very solid 3.42 ERA and is allowing just .227 BA against. While he hasn’t been great by any means, he should be one of the better streaming options this coming week among the widely available players.

Rich Hill: May 30^th vs BAL, June 5^th @OAK (7% Rostered)

This is another one that comes down mostly to advantageous matchups, but Hill has been a pretty solid option this year. The 42-year-old wily veteran has had success by limiting hard contact and walks, ranking in the 70^th percentile or better in hard-hit rate, average exit velocity, and BB%. This is likely his last go-around before father time takes over, but he’s still been solid. Facing the Orioles and then the A’s this week is about as sweet of a matchup combo as you can get, and primarily that fact has me adding him in many leagues and different formats.

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