2023 Fantasy Baseball Week 11 Start/Sit: Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Rizzo, More
Welcome to the Week 11 Start/Sit article! I hope you all had a nice relaxing week and are ready to dig in to your fantasy baseball week.
It’s time to face 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 streamers article.
I’ll be back later in the week to look at Droppables (Tuesday), 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 identify the right (or wrong) players we should have in our fantasy baseball lineups for the week of June 12.
Top Fantasy Baseball Starts
Gunnar Henderson, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
Henderson had a rough go of it to start the season, but growing pains are to be expected with young players. That said, the youngster has been on fire as of late as he’s hit .458 with four home runs and two steals through the first 11 days of June. Henderson has also worked his way into the leadoff spot for the Orioles, so he’ll see some extra opportunities as he’s begun to earn the team’s trust due to this recent play. I understand the reluctance some fantasy managers might have surrounding Henderson, but he absolutely has to be in your lineups right now.
Michael Taylor, OF, Minnesota Twins
This is not me telling you 32-year-old Michael Taylor will take you to a fantasy baseball championship. This is me, however, telling you 32-year-old Michael Taylor has been playing surprisingly well this season (despite a .225 batting average) and has nine home runs and 11 steals on the year. Even more relevant for us, Taylor hit .294 with three steals last week and is hitting .310 with three home runs and five steals in the month of June. Will he keep up this pace? I don’t know. He may very well keep hitting around .225. But I always don’t want that to distract from the fact that he’s on-pace for a 25-25(ish) season and has been playing well lately.
James Paxton, P, Boston Red Sox
Paxton appeared in our waiver wire article this week, and for good reason. The 34-year-old has been great since coming off the IL and has allowed two or less runs in four of his five starts this season. He’s also maintained a high K/9 rate of 12.5 after missing the entire 2022 season so there’s reason to be optimistic about Paxton keeping this up. He’ll face the Rockies at home to start the week, so things are lining up nicely for Paxton as the Rockies lineup isn’t going to terrify anyone outside of Coors Field.
As always, check out the fantasy assistant for personalized waiver wire recommendations and team analysis. Make moves based on projections, strengths and weaknesses, waiver alerts, and lots more.
Top Fantasy Baseball Sits
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, New York Yankees
Rizzo has very solid numbers on the season (.269, 32 runs, 11 home runs, 32 RBI), but baseball is a game of streaks and Rizzo is in the midst of a cold one right now. He’s 1-for-30 during the month of June and went 0-for-19 last week. He’s also been dealing with some sort of neck issue, so there’s a good chance those numbers are due to the fact that he isn’t fully healthy. That stinks for Rizzo, but it shouldn’t be an excuse to keep him in your fantasy lineups. While it will be up to the Yankees to decide if he requires a trip to the IL, fantasy managers can make the easy decision to sit him this week.
Dansby Swanson, SS, Chicago Cubs
Like Rizzo, Swanson has pretty solid numbers on the season (.254, 29 runs, six home runs, 26 RBI, and four steals). Also like Rizzo, Swanson has been struggling lately. He was 2-for-27 last week and has struck out in 14 of 37 at-bats during the month of June. Swanson has hit 20 home runs in three straight seasons and is in danger of missing that plateau in 2023. While he could produce a late-season surge, he’s scuffling right now and can be safely slotted onto your fantasy bench until he turns things around.
Lance Lynn, SP, Chicago White Sox
Lynn is a strangely tantalizing player because he’ll string together a few starts where you think it’s safe to start him…and then he pulls the rug out from underneath you. While his 6.72 ERA on the season should be enough to scare you away, try to ignore the gems he pitches now and then (along with his high strikeout rate) and try to remind yourself of the 13 runs he’s allowed over his last two starts. To make matters worse, Lynn will face a tough Dodgers lineup on the road this week and belongs nowhere near your starting fantasy lineup.
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