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Monday, September 19, 2022
Happy Monday, everyone! It was an excellent weekend of baseball and we've got some great performances to recap on this Monday morning as we roll forward into the final days of the Fantasy Baseball season. I wanted to kick things off with the phenomenal performance from the weekend from a finger waiver wire frequented Hunter Greene. We all know Greene has immense upside based on his stuff and prospect pedigree, but he hasn't put it all together at times in 2022. Well, this past weekend against the Cardinals , Greene showed off why he's an excellent asset in Dynasty and keeper leagues -- and potentially someone who can help you down the final stretch run.
Greene threw six innings of shutout ball in his return for the Reds and he struck out a whopping 11 batters despite not walking a single one. We haven't seen Greene with that kind of elite command at any point yet this season, but it was certainly there in this start. He also induced 19 swinging strikes on just 18 pitches -- 13 with a whipping fastball that average -- wait for it -- 101 mph! This is up 2.2 mph from his season average. His slider velocity was also up. Greene is 63% rostered and draws the Brewers this week.
We'll dive into some of the other key takeaways from this weekend below. Make sure you're also all caught up with everything going on over at CBSSports.com/Fantasy. Scott White broke down his weekly sleeper hitters from Week 25 here.
Scott likes Guardians OF Oscar Gonzalez's chances of getting going this week given his matchups -- and he's 47% rostered. From Scott: "The matchups could be better, no doubt, but the bottom line is that Gonzalez is severely under-rostered at 47 percent, especially now that his power stroke is beginning to come through with four homers in his past 11 games. With all the scrubs I'm having to call sleepers this week, I can't afford to balk at Gonzalez's matchups."
You can also find Scott's sleeper pitchers here. If you're looking to add an arm to your lineup this week, Scott likes what you can get from Reds SP Nick Lodolo. From Scott: "After back-to-back 11-strikeout efforts and a 2.80 ERA in his past nine, it's safe to say Lodolo is a must with two starts on the schedule. The Brewers in particular struggle against lefties."
Also, Scott dove into some of his favorite two-start pitchers from this coming week here.
Framber makes history
Framber Valdez made history when he set the single-season record after his 25th consecutive quality start on Sunday against the As. Valdez threw six innings and allowed just four hits, one walk and two earned runs. He struck out seven, he induced 14 swinging strikes and he dropped his season-long ERA to 2.57 overall. This is a true breakout season for Valdez who also is nearing 200 strikeouts (176 in 185 2/3 innings pitched).
Verlander back on his Cy Young stuff
In his return off the IL, Justin Verlander looks like his Cy Young self. He didn't allow a single hit against the As and threw five innings with just one walk allowed -- zero runs -- and nine strikeouts with 12 induced swinging strikes on just 79 pitches. The velocity was there for Verlander and he made the conscious decision to lean on his slider -- which was hyper-effective. Verlander's ERA dips to 1.78 on the season and he draws the Orioles this week.
Who's hot
Marcus Stroman could be a nice addition if you need help after he put together a strong outing against the Rockies. Stroman threw seven innings and allowed just three hits, two walks and one earned run. He is no 63% rostered and has racked up a 2.74 ERA over his last 13 starts.
Fantasy news, injuries and notes
For a complete recap of every injury, update and more, make sure you're locked into the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast where Frank, Scott and Chris dive deep into every player note. For the CliffsNotes version, we'll recap the biggest news and notes you need to know right here:
  • Ozzie Albies returned Friday and then suffered a fractured right pinky finger Saturday. He's out for the rest of the regular season. Vaughn Grissom should hop back in as an everyday player. 
  • Max Scherzer will be reinstated to start Monday against the Brewers. 
  • Zack Wheeler will return Wednesday against the Blue Jays but it sounds like he'll be on a pitch count. Bailey Falter will stay in the Phillies rotation and instead Noah Syndergaard will work as a piggyback reliever to Wheeler for his next two starts. 
  • Tony Gonsolin threw a successful bullpen session but the Dodgers don't expect him to be built up to a full starter's workload before the postseason.
  • Carlos Rodon looks to be good to go for his next start in Colorado. He left his last outing with a blister.
  • Jazz Chisholm underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus Friday. He played through that before sustaining a stress fracture in his lower back. 
  • David Bednar will make a rehab appearance at Triple-A Monday before returning to the team.
  • Trevor Rogers left his start early Saturday due to left lat discomfort. 
  • Frankie Montas' shoulder is acting up again and could require a trip to the IL. He's 91% rostered and could likely be dropped.
  • Brendan Rodgers left Sunday due to left hamstring tightness, which comes at a bad time with seven games in Coors this week.
  • With Justin Verlander back, Hunter Brown was moved to the Astros bullpen, which we suspected.
  • Harrison Bader is likely to make his Yankees debut Tuesday against the Pirates. He's 42% rostered if you need speed.
  • He's 6-21 with 1 HR and 2 SB in six rehab games
  • Nick Pratto was optioned back to Triple-A and could be dropped in all redraft leagues.
  • Aaron Civale will return Tuesday.
 
 
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