2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 6 Start/Sit: Taylor Walls, Josh Jung, More (5/8/23)
Welcome to Week 6, my friends. We’re rolling right through May and we have another full week ahead of us. And with that full week, come the typical Monday decisions we need to make as we set our rosters. Which pitchers have a two-start week? Which ones have juicy matchups? Which hitters are on a hot streak? Which ones are having trouble buying a hit? Think of this like a fantasy football streamer article.
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.
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 May 8.
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Catcher
Start
Eric Haase, Detroit Tigers
Anyone who has ever read anything I’ve ever written about fantasy baseball knows I don’t value catchers much. And that means I’m always chasing guys on a hot streak. Enter, Eric Haase. The 30-year-old is in the midst of a five-game hit streak during which he’s hit .368 with two home runs, seven RBI, and a steal. Surf the wave while it’s cresting.
Sit
Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
I think Rutschman is a good player and is going to be really good. But he’s hurting fantasy lineups right now. While he hasn’t had a horrible season overall (.285 with four home runs), he has one hit in his last 17 at-bats and hasn’t hit a home run in over two weeks. Let him take a breather on your fantasy bench this week.
First Base
Start
Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
I hope everyone who has Walker on their fantasy roster has been starting him, but just in case you haven’t been…change that now! Walker hit almost .500 last week (.429) and hit three home runs while he was at it. For some reason, he’s still available on waivers in some fantasy leagues. I’m not sure why, but either way, make sure you’re playing him this week.
Sit
Joey Gallo, Minnesota Twins
It was fun while it lasted, but it’s time to make sure Gallo is on your league waiver wire. Despite having hit seven home runs due to a strong start to the season, Gallo is now hitting .176 on the year and is coming off an 0-for-15 week. ‘Nuff said.
Second Base
Start
Chris Taylor, Los Angeles Dodgers
Taylor has had a tough start to the season and is hitting just .205 on the year. However, he’s been playing well lately with a .438 average over the last week with a home run and two steals. With the multi-position eligibility he brings with him, Taylor is worth plugging into your lineup this week if he fills a hole.
Sit
Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays
Lowe had a nice start to the year, but he’s been struggling at the plate lately and a lingering back injury hasn’t helped. Despite having two days off this week, Lowe came back and went 0-for-9 so it’s possible the back injury hasn’t fully stopped affecting him. Give him some time on your bench to get healthy.
Shortstop
Start
Taylor Walls, Tampa Bay Rays
Walls has been a great find for anyone who grabbed him off waivers earlier this year as he’s hitting .276 and is currently on pace for a 25-25 season. He can also fill multiple positions on a fantasy roster. While I think Walls is more of a 20-20 threat than a 30-30 threat, the 26-year-old is in the middle of a hot streak and belongs in your lineup (and on your roster if he’s still available).
Sit
Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox
Anderson can help fantasy rosters with steals, but he doesn’t provide much else. Hitting just .260 with 10 runs, zero home runs, five RBI, and five steals, Anderson is fresh off a week during which he hit .200 with zero steals. That’s just not going to cut it.
Third Base
Start
Josh Jung, Texas Rangers
Jung is off to a strong start in his first full major league season and is hitting .258 with 21 runs, eight home runs, 24 RBI, and one steal through 118 at-bats. And as it pertains to this week, Jung is coming off a week during which he hit three home runs. Get him in your lineups!
Sit
Jose Miranda, Minnesota Twins
Miranda has had a rough start to the season as he’s hitting just .224 with three home runs, 12 runs, and 12 RBI. That’s not entirely awful (it’s still pretty bad), but last week made things even worse as he had just two hits in 18 at-bats. There’s no reason for Miranda to be in fantasy lineups right now.
Outfield
Start
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Arizona Diamondbacks
No one is hotter than Gurriel right now and he belongs in your fantasy lineup until he cools off. Gurriel has hit four home runs in his last three games and is 8-for-11 in those three games. Fluke? Yes, of course. But we might as well see if we can catch the tail end of his hot streak this week.
Sit
Brian Anderson, Milwaukee Brewers
Anderson started the season well, but he’s turned into a bit of a pumpkin lately. Coming off a .235 week, Anderson hasn’t hit a home run since April 23 and has struck out two or more times in 6 of 11 games since then. Keep him on your bench (or waiver wire) until he can get back on track.
Pitcher
Start
Zach Eflin, Tampa Bay Rays
Eflin is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts through 28.0 innings to start the year. That’s really good! And even better, he’s only allowed three total runs in his last three starts while striking out 19 batters in 17.0 innings. He has a tough schedule this week with Baltimore and New York on the horizon, but I’ll take his recent track record combined with the two-start week.
Sit
Brady Singer, Kansas City Royals
I’m starting to think it just isn’t going to happen for Singer this year. He’s carrying an 8.82 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP on the year, and worse, had an ERA of 17.55 last week. While the 33 strikeouts in 33.2 innings are nice, Singer has allowed at least five earned runs in five of his last six starts. There’s really no reason to start Singer at this point.
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