Fantasy Baseball Untouchables: Mookie Betts, Shota Imanaga, William Contreras and More
Discussing fantasy baseball players that should be untouchable, or nearly untouchable.
The best fantasy sports owners out there are always tweaking their lineup, whether it be through the waiver wire or trades. Sometimes though, certain players should simply be untouchable.
Today, I wanted to highlight several MLB players that are untouchable at this point of the season. Of course, a fantasy owner would be foolish to not accept an overpay for these guys, but you should get my point.
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Untouchable Criteria
Before we get into things, I wanted to explain some of the reasoning behind things.
Some of these players are going to be deemed untouchable because they are simply playing incredible baseball. Others might not be playing quite as well, but their high draft status should make them close to untouchable.
Other players might be breaking onto the scene, and because we don’t have any prior knowledge to go off of, they too are going to be untouchable.
Untouchable Hitters
At the very top of the untouchable list is Mookie Betts. He ended up as the second player off draft boards and is absolutely tearing it up at the plate. Betts has a .377 average and .481 on-base percentage.
Betts leads the league in hits, walks, average, OBP and is tied for the league lead in runs. He’s simply been sensational.
What makes him an even better fantasy player (probably tops in the game right now) is that he’s likely eligible to start at several fantasy positions. Of course, he’s going to be in your lineup everyday, but his versatility allows you to configure your lineup in so many different ways.
I’m going to toss catchers Will Smith and William Contreras together here - you’ll see why shortly.
Smith was the second catcher off draft boards, with Contreras right after him. They are both in the top three in scoring among catchers (along with Salvador Perez).
Both Smith and Contreras are hitting around .350. Smith has a .395 OBP, while Contreras is at .420. They’ve already driven in 20+ runs each and are in double-digits with extra-base hits.
Their numbers at the plate are obviously great, but it’s because of the position they are at that they need to be untouchable. Catchers are sort of like the tight end position in fantasy football - there’s only a few elite fantasy options, and because they get more off days than the other regular starters (like a down week in fantasy football), they are pretty underappreciated in the fantasy world.
Smith and Contreras play way more often than not, are absolutely raking at the plate and are the cream of the crop at the catcher position. Don’t move them (unless you want to swap them, I guess).
Untouchable Pitchers
The first untouchable pitcher is Shota Imanaga. The Cubs starter has been fantastic to start the season, sitting with a 5-0 record and 0.78 earned run average after six starts.
Imanaga has only covered 34 2/3 innings in those starts, but because this is his first season in the MLB, I do not want to trade him, because we simply don’t have any idea on how the rest of his season will shake out.
Some important numbers to note despite the lower inning total are his 35 strikeouts and 0.75 WHIP number. A mark of a great fantasy starting pitcher is averaging at least a strikeout per inning, while limiting hits and walks. Imanaga has already shown he can do that, and there’s probably still room to grow too, especially when he’s able to pitch deeper into games.
Imanaga was the 58th SP taken in drafts, according to FSP data. He’s been maybe the biggest steal of the season so far, and hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down, so there’s no real reason to try to sell high. Hold on to him and reap the rewards.
Another starting pitcher I deem to be untouchable is Tarik Skubal.
I was not nearly as high on Skubal as others during the drafting season, but he’s been electric this season. He’s 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA through six starts. He’s covered 36 2/3 innings in those starts and has 41 strikeouts and a 0.74 WHIP mark.
He was the 17th SP selected in fantasy drafts, but is a top-five fantasy option right now. Unlike Imanaga, Skubal has played in parts of four other MLB seasons, so we have an idea what kind of pitcher he is and the numbers he delivers.
His stats are all on track to be career bests this season, and the only thing that could hold him back is an injury, which has plagued him in a few seasons. I can understand how that would make some fantasy owners want to sell high on Skubal, but you can’t base everything on injuries - anyone can get injured, and you don’t want to take on a worse fantasy option just because you are afraid of something that could maybe happen.
Ride things out with Skubal, or at least wait until there’s signs to panic.
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