April 28-May 4 Fantasy Baseball FantasySP Expert Tips

We're over a month into the baseball season, and things are starting to take focus. Plenty makes sense, like the White Sox and Rockies bringing up the rear, and there are also some early season anomalies, like the Braves sitting a few games below .500.

Fantasy baseball is starting to take shape as well, though it's still a small sample, and things are changing. To help you prepare for this week, Morgan Rode and Daniel Hepner answered five questions in advance of the last week of April/first week of May.

Which team has the best matchups this week?

Daniel: The Red Sox have a good matchup against the Twins later in the week but start off with the Blue Jays, who are more middling. Cleveland has the inverse schedule, starting with four against the Twins but finishing with Toronto.

Aroldis Chapman has four saves for the Red Sox, and Justin Slaten has three. They are both above average with strikeouts, but Chapman has been elite (no surprise). Chapman is the designated closer, but he's also owned in more leagues and might not be available. Slaten is barely owned and could be a decent option in deep leagues.

Morgan: Cleveland has some nice matchups against the Twins and Blue Jays this week. 

Waiver wire options like Kyle Manzardo, Carlos Santana and others could all have big weeks at the plate. Starting pitchers (Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, Ben Lively and Luis L. Ortiz) could all be in for good fantasy starts.

Who are your offensive streamers this week who could be in line for a few big days?

Daniel: The Milwaukee Brewers play three games against the White Sox and three games against the Cubs this week. Both teams are in the top 10 in most runs and most home runs allowed, giving the Brewers some upside.

Their top at-bat guys who are probably available in your fantasy league are outfielder Sal Frelick, infielder Joey Ortiz, and first baseman Rhys Hoskins. Frelick and Hoskins are both hitting right around .300. Frelick has seven extra base hits, while Hoskins has five XBH and 12 RBI. Ortiz has struggled mightily, but he has a little positional flexibility at 3B and SS.

Morgan: I like Miami catcher Agustin Ramirez, who takes on the Dodgers and Athletics this week. Minnesota's Byron Buxton is projected for a bunch of fantasy points against the Guardians and Red Sox, and I too could see him performing well this week.

New York Yankees' Gleyber Torres has matchups against Houston and the LA Angels. Of the probable starters against him, only two have ERAs under 4.

Do you have any pitchers who are facing weak lineups and might have a good start or two?

Daniel: The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners have two good matchups this week based on weak offensive teams. Detroit plays three games against the Astros and four against the Angels, who rank as bottom-10 offenses.

Reese Olson is widely available as a free agent and will make two starts, one against each team. Jackson Jobe and Casey Mize will get one start this week with their next start against Colorado. The Rockies are a good matchup, but the games take place at Coors Field, making it risky to start any pitchers.

The Mariners only play five games during the week, so each starter will only get one outing. The available fantasy players who are projected to start are Emerson Hancock and Logan Evans.

Morgan: Houston's Ronel Blanco has favorable starts scheduled against the Tigers and White Sox, so he could be a double dip this week. 

LA Angels' Griffin Canning has starts scheduled against the Nationals and Cardinals, so he too could be in for big fantasy showings.

How about a young player who either is playing well or about to break through who fans will get to know soon?

Daniel: I have talked about young, highly-regarded pitching prospects who have recently been promoted to the big leagues as guys who can be added for quality innings before other owners know them, even if they make short starts. These guys often do good strikeout work, giving them nice ceilings.

Ben Brown of the Cubs is barely owned, and he has done elite strikeout work, though he also walks too many guys. Another former Cub who is now in Houston, Hayden Wesneski, has more experience and doesn't exactly fit the mold, but he's been doing high-level strikeout work and getting successful outcomes.

Morgan: Miami's Ramirez is someone I already mentioned, and a guy to heavily consider adding in a bunch of fantasy leagues. He should get regular playing time for a bad Marlins' team.

Arizona's Tim Tawa has had some solid fantasy showings of late, and is worth possibly adding in some fantasy leagues. His average isn't great, but he fills the box score otherwise to be a pretty solid fantasy option when he's starting.

Do you have any hunches, feelings, or tips you want to share with us this week?

Daniel: I've been talking about the Athletics because they're on a stretch of games against the White Sox, Rangers, Marlins, and Mariners. I'm mostly excited about the A's starting pitchers, as Texas and Seattle have better pitching staffs, but it's not a bad idea to look at Athletics' players to fill your gaps.

Morgan: There's been several notable prospects called up over the past couple weeks, and I think that trend continues again this coming week.

Keep checking back to FantasySP for some prospect writeups, and also be checking in on team's transactions daily to make sure you know when highly-regarded prospects are being brought to the big leagues.