2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 2 Start/Sit: Gunnar Henderson, Ozzie Albies, More (4/10/23)
Welcome to Week 2. We’re chugging along and are starting to see some trends emerge. There are still players playing way above their heads, and others who haven’t quite realized it’s not Spring Training anymore, but things are starting to normalize somewhat.
I’ll be back later in the week to look at Trade Values (Wednesday) and to dive into the Closer Report (Friday), but for today, we’re going to take a look at who we should start and sit this week.
I’m not going to waste anyone’s time giving you the obvious “start Shohei Ohtani” takes here, so the list you’ll see below is going to be filled with more borderline players you might be waffling on.
And with that, let’s go position-by-position and identify the right (or wrong) players we should have in our fantasy baseball lineups for the week of April 10.
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Catcher
Start
Logan O’Hoppe, Los Angeles Angels
I had O’Hoppe here last week, and I’m keeping him here this week. Max Stassi seems to be at least a week away from returning so that gives us another few games to rely on O’Hoppe’s hot start. Like most catchers, he isn’t going to play every day, but unlike other catchers, he’s basically hitting a home run every other game he plays. Will that pace continue? No. But let’s see if we can get another week of production out of O’Hoppe here.
Sit
Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves
I had Murphy here last week too, and like O’Hoppe above, I’m keeping him here this week. Murphy is hitting just .150 and has yet to homer this season. He’ll likely turn things around soon, but he needs to be benched for a better option until he does so.
First Base
Start
Garrett Cooper, Miami Marlins
Cooper is currently hitting .324 with three home runs and has hit safely in three straight games. He’s also homered in two of his last three games. While the Marlins lineup is a less-than-ideal lineup to be part of, Cooper is hitting in the middle of it and is worth slotting into your fantasy lineup until he gives us a reason to bench him.
Sit
Josh Bell, Cleveland Guardians
Disclaimer: I just dropped Bell out of frustration in one of my leagues, so take this with a grain of salt. However, Bell is STRUGGLING right now and is only hitting .086 as he’s started the season 3-for-35. He’ll likely turn things around and make me regret my drop, but let’s play it safe and keep him on our benches for now.
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Second Base
Start
Thairo Estrada, San Francisco Giants
Estrada is another “ride the hot streak” player I’m looking at this week. He’s hitting .364 with one home run and two steals to start the season and provides multi-position eligibility. I don’t think he’s going to keep this pace up much longer, but he has six games this week and is worth keeping in your fantasy lineups.
Sit
Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
I was high on Albies to start the season (still am), but he’s having a rough go of it and is only hitting .225 with one home run so far. While he’s on a two-game hitting streak, he’s only 2-for-17 in his last four games and isn’t worth starting until he starts hitting.
Shortstop
Start
Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox
Anderson went 0-for-4 on Sunday, but he was on fire before that and now has five steals to go with a .318 average. He has a six-game week ahead of him and looks like he’ll be a consistent source of steals and runs in a good White Sox lineup.
Sit
Jorge Mateo, Baltimore Orioles
Mateo is still second in the Major League with five stolen bases, but he’s been dealing with a sore ankle and only has one steal in the Orioles last five games. Mateo is a solid player, but he opened the season playing a bit over his head and isn’t worth starting this week if you have another option at shortstop. We’re trying to maximize games played and Mateo doesn’t give us that right now.
Third Base
Start
Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals
Walker has done nothing but rake since starting the season in the Majors, and we need to keep him in our fantasy lineups until further notice. He’s bound to hit a rookie wall, but he’s hitting .353 with two home runs and a steal in a good Cardinals lineup.
Sit
Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
Henderson has had a slow start to the 2023 season and belongs on fantasy benches for now. I know he’s a highly-touted prospect you were excited to draft, but a .148 average isn’t going to do much for you right now. Give him a bit of time to get on track before he starts weighing down your average.
Outfield
Start
Myles Straw, Cleveland Guardians
Straw has started the season HOT by hitting .344 with six steals and is currently on a nine-game hitting streak. While he’ll most definitely cool off at some point, it’s worth keeping Straw in your fantasy lineups while he’s riding this hot streak.
Sit
Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles
You may have drafted Santander in the middle rounds of drafts, but he’s weighing down fantasy rosters right now. Hitting just .194 and has yet to homer this season. He’ll likely turn things around, but let him start doing that on your fantasy bench before you start trusting him.
Pitcher
Start
Wade Miley, Milwaukee Brewers
Miley doesn’t provide much strikeout upside, but he’s an experienced pitcher and lines up for a two-start week this week. It also doesn’t hurt that he plays on a good team that should hopefully get him a two-win week if all goes to plan. He pitched six shutout innings in his first start of the year and will look to keep the good times going against the Diamondbacks and Padres this week.
Sit
Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
Gallen is rostered in most leagues, but that doesn’t mean he needs to be started in most leagues. He’s allowed nine earned runs through 10.2 innings to start the year and isn’t worth starting until he can prove that he can be trusted. A get-right matchup against the Marlins this week should help, but let’s use a wait-and-see approach here.
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