Fantasy Baseball Week 20 Start/Sit: Lance Lynn, Ryan Mountcastle, and More!
Welcome to Week 20.
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 14.
Top Fantasy Baseball Starts
Lance Lynn, P, Los Angeles Dodgers
Lynn is one of the most frustrating fantasy pitchers out there due to his volatility, but he's been very good since being traded to the Dodgers and appears to be safe to deploy (for now). Desite his 5.88 ERA and 1.39 WHIP on the season, Lynn has a lot of upside any time he takes the mound. The 36-year-old has 166 strikeouts through 137.2 innings this season and has managed to finagle his way to nine wins despite having very little offense behind him during his time with the White Sox. Since being traded to the Dodgers, Lynn is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in 18.0 innings. He's also held opposing batters to a .197 average and looks to continue his recent success against the Brewers this week. Get him in your lineups!
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B, Baltimore Orioles
Mountcastle started the season hot before missing a month due to vertigo. He's finally healthy, however, and should be in all lineups as he's been on a recent hot streak. The 26-year-old is hitting .400(!!) over the past month and has scored 16 runs to go along with four home runs, 14 RBI, and a steal during that span. While it would be nice to see him add more of the power that he's capable of adding, that's not exactly a small sample size so it's safe to assume Mountcastle can be relied upon at this point. Get him in your lineups and lock him in there as long as he can keep this up.
MJ Melendez, C/OF, Kansas City Royals
Catchers don't play every day, so it's always a bit of a hack when you can find a player who plays every day but is still eligible at catcher for fantasy purposes. Enter, MJ Melendez. The 24-year-old is playing everyday due to his multi-position ability and is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak. During that span, he's hit .409 with three home runs and five RBI! Small sample size? Absolutely. But we're really just looking to piece together good weeks at this point, and a fantasy catcher who is contributing stats to your lineup every day (and good stats, at that) is invaluable.
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
Jesus Luzardo, P, Miami Marlins
I said to hang onto Luzardo last week, but I'm going to go back on my word (and that just shows how quickly things change). The 25-year-old has a ton of upside, but he's been scuffling lately and needs to be benched -- and maybe dropped depending on your league size and team needs. Over his last three starts, Luzardo has allowed 15 combined earned runs and hasn't gone past 5.1 innings in any of those starts. Even worse, he's allowed five home runs over his last two starts. With a date against a hot Astros team this Wednesday, Luzardo doesn't belong anywhere near starting fantasy lineups right now.
Masataka Yoshida, OF, Boston Red Sox
As a Red Sox fan, I've been happy with Yoshida's season thus far as he's put up respectable numbers (.300, 58 runs scored, 12 home runs, 56 RBI, and eight steals). However, he's not doing a whole lot for your fantasy team right now and belongs on your bench. Over the past month, Yoshida hit just .245 with two home runs and two steals. Worse, he's hitting just .212 with zero home runs and zero steals over his past 15 games. That's just not going to get it done heading into the last six weeks of the fantasy baseball season. I wouldn't say Yoshida is an outright drop right now, but he shouldn't be in your starting fantasy lineup this week either.
Bryce Elder, P, Atlanta Braves
Elder had a really good April through June, but he's fallen off big-time since. The 24-year-old had a 5.96 ERA during the month of July, and things have gotten worse in August. Through two August starts, Edler has allowed 10 earned runs in 9.1 innings ("good" for a 9.64 ERA in those two starts) while allowed opposing batters to hit .317 against him. That's a small sample size, but Elder has allowed five or more runs in four of his last six starts so he's been trending downward for a while. With a Tuesday start against the Yankees next up for Elder, I'll be giving him a seat for this week to see if he can get things right before I roll him out there again (if at all).
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