2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 3 Start/Sit: Jarred Kelenic, Jeff McNeil, More (4/17/23)
Welcome to Week 3. I can’t believe we’re already this far into the season! We’ve still got a LONG way to go, but we’re starting to get to the point where we’re seeing some (relatively) meaningful trends emerge that can help us make informed lineup decisions.
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 17.
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Catcher
Start
Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves
It’s taken a bit of time (and two weeks on the Sit list), but Murphy is finally rounding into form. He’s hitting .391 with three home runs over the last week and has raised his average to .279 on the year. If you had benched him out of frustration last week, get him back in your lineup!
Sit
Wilson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals
I like Contreras and think he’s a good player. But he’s just not cutting it right now and shouldn’t be in your fantasy lineups. He’s hitting just .200 on the year and has yet to hit a home run after hitting 22 last year. Will he turn things around? Probably. Should he be in your fantasy lineups this week? Nope!
First Base
Start
Rowdy Tellez, Milwaukee Brewers
Tellez started the season ice-cold, but he’s turned things around in a hurry. He’s now hitting .240 on the season (which still isn’t great) due to a week of hitting .320 last week – which was also a week during which he hit FOUR home runs. Start him!
Sit
Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox
This one pains me as a Boston Red Sox fan, but Casas has been awful this season. He’s only hitting .133 on the year and is coming off a .056 week. He’s slugging just .311 and belongs on your bench (and waiver wire) for now.
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Second Base
Start
Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
Hoerner has become one of the Cubs best players to start the year and is now hitting .333 with EIGHT stolen bases on the year. Coming off a week during which he hit .375 with five steals – Hoerner belongs in your starting fantasy lineup until he proves otherwise.
Sit
Jeff McNeil, New York Mets
I’ve honestly never really understood the fantasy allure for McNeil (he’s good, but not great) and he’s been proving my confusion right to start 2023. He’s only hitting .218 on the year and hit just .158 last week. He’s yet to hit a home run and only has four runs scored and five RBI to go with one steal. You can do better than that in your fantasy lineup.
Shortstop
Start
Jorge Mateo, Baltimore Orioles
Mateo is the top-rated shortstop so far, but he’s still un-rostered in about half of ESPN leagues. Go figure. Whether he keeps this pace up for the whole season is a valid question. But it doesn’t really matter for our start/sit purposes this week. He’s hitting .372 on the year with eight stolen bases – and he’s also had six hits in his last eight at-bats!
Sit
Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
Turang was fun to start the year, but I think the wheels may have fallen off here. After hitting .238 last week, Turang is down to just .273 on the year with one home run and three stolen bases. That isn’t awful, but his strikeouts have been up lately and I’d like to see him turn things around before I slot him back into my fantasy lineup.
Third Base
Start
Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies
I’ll be honest and say that Bohm will probably be a waiver-wire guy pretty soon. But you might as well take advantage of his hot streak while you can. He’s hitting .350 with three home runs on the year and hit a ridiculous .393 last week. Keep riding him as he looks to extend his 10-game hitting streak.
Sit
Brandon Drury, Anaheim Angels
I like Drury quite a bit for fantasy purposes as he provides multi-position eligibility that can be gold when he’s hitting. However, he’s not hitting right now. His average of .196 is anemic right now and he’s hit just one home run on the year. Keep Drury away from your fantasy lineups this week (and probably beyond).
Outfield
Start
Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners
Throw what you know about Kelenic out the window for this week. He won’t keep this pace up, but he’s on fire and should be in your fantasy lineups until he proves otherwise. Riding a 10-game hitting streak (with four home runs during that streak), Kelenic is an absolute fantasy asset right now.
Sit
Masataka Yoshida, Boston Red Sox
The signing of Yoshida was questioned by many around the league and I think we’re starting to see why. He’s only hit one home run on the year and is hitting just .205 overall. After a week during which he hit .111, there is really no reason to cram Yoshida into your lineup – or onto your roster, for that matter.
Pitcher
Start
Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies
Freeland has put together an amazing start to the season and carries a 2-0 record with a 0.96 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP to go along with 11 strikeouts to start the year. He has a two-start week this week and will face the Pirates and Phillies. Both are good lineups, but neither one scares me too much so I’m happy to go with Freeland and his two starts this week.
Sit
Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays
Manoah has been a mess to start the year and enters the week with a 6.98 ERA and 1.97 WHIP. He’s had 16 strikeouts in 19.1 innings, but he’s also had 15 walks. He’ll turn things around eventually (he’s good!), but with a one-start week this week coming against a tough Yankees lineup in New York, I’d keep Manaoh on your fantasy bench.
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