Fantasy Baseball Week 19 Start/Sit: TJ Friedl, Ryan McMahon, and More!
Happy Monday! I hope you had a restful weekend and are ready to dive head-first into the week.
As always, 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), Mid-week Waivers (Thursday), and the Closer Report (Friday), but for today, we’re going to take a look at who we should start and sit this week. Sidenote: I also covered some good streamer-type players in this week's waiver article if you have some extra time to check that out.
And with that, let’s identify the right (or wrong) players we should have in our fantasy baseball lineups for the week of August 7.
Top Fantasy Baseball Starts
TJ Friedl, OF, Cincinnati Reds
Friedl has great season-long stats (.282, 44 runs scored, 10 home runs, 42 RBI, 20 steals), but he's a really streaky player and a lot of those stats have come in bunches. After a July during which he hit .216 with just one home run and three steals, Frield looks to be headed on another heater as he's hit three home runs and stolen three bases over the first week of August. While I don't fully trust his potential to keep this pace for the rest of the season, Friedl is one of those guys who we can pick up while he's hot and then safely drop once he cools off. I think this is one of those times to grab him while he's hot and see if you can surf the wave for at least one week (and maybe more).
Ryan McMahon, 2B/3B, Colorado Rockies
Speaking of streaky players, let's take a look at one of the streakiest in the league. McMahon is more or less a .255-.260 hitter who is going to hit 20-25 home runs with 70 RBI and five or six steals. The trick, however, is having him in your starting fantasy lineup when he's putting up the bulk of those numbers -- and having him on your fantasy bench when he's in the midst of a cold streak. Well, my friends, the time to have McMahon in your starting fantasy lineup is now. He's hitting .318 over the last week with three home runs and eight RBI. After hitting .232 during the month of July, August (or at least the early part of it) is shaping up to be McMahon's month. Make sure he's in your starting lineup while he's hot.
Andrew Heaney, P, Texas Rangers
There aren't many pitchers hotter than Heaney right now. Though his season-long numbers aren't great (9-6 with a 4.14 ERA, 1.28 ERA, and 118 strikeouts in 113.0 innings), Heaney's last two starts have been fantastic. In his last 11.2 innings in those two starts, Heaney hasn't allowed a run while striking out 15 batters and giving up just six total hits. Will he keep that up? Probably not. But the Rangers are one of the better teams in the league and give him a shot at picking up a win any time he's on the mound -- and his next start will come against a Giants team no one will accuse of being an offensive juggernaut.
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
Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees
While a 20-plus home run season is something most hitters would be happy with, Aaron Judge is probably ready to turn the calendar to 2024. Finally healthy again, Judge has been scuffling since his return. The 31-year-old is 2-for-20 through the first week of August and has just one home run since his return on July 28th. I understand the urge to get Judge back into your fantasy lineup after missing him for almost two months, but he's just not helping anyone right now. Give him a few days on your fantasy bench see if he can turn things around. While you might miss out on a home run or two, you'll also probably miss out on another week of hitting in the .150 range.
Jose Abreu, 1B, Houston Astros
I'm honestly not sure why Abreu is rostered on something like 60 percent of fantasy baseball leagues on ESPN, but he is. And that means at least something like forty percent of people on ESPN are starting Abreu. Maybe those are teams where people stopped paying attention, but we're talking about a guy who is hitting .237 with 10 home runs on the season. And outside of a couple of hot stretches, the 36-year-old has been a fantasy albatross this season. He's hitting .105 through the first week of August and is 2-for-222 over the last seven days. Gone are the days of 30-plus home run seasons from Abreu. Get that out your mind and find a better first base option. They exist.
Dylan Cease, P, Chicago White Sox
I'm frankly a little surprised that the White Sox didn't trade Cease, but now that he's stuck with still with the White Sox, I think we need to think twice about his fantasy value. While Cease has a lot of talent, he's on one of the worst teams in the league and wins won't be plentiful in the South Side of Chicago (and Cease has just four wins on the year). Furthermore, he's been scuffling over his last two starts and has allowed 11 runs over his past 7.1 innings (including seven runs in 1.2 innings his last time out against the Rangers). He'll face the Yankees on Monday and then the Brewers later in the week, so I think I'd steer clear of him this week and let him prove he should be in fantasy lineups again.
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