Weathers Is a Must-Stream, Rays Bats Are Cooking: Tuesday's Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheet
Tuesday's fantasy baseball slate is a mixed bag, but there's a clear diamond in the rough ready to anchor your pitching staff. If you're hunting for an edge in your 10-team standard league, you've come to the right place. Let's dive into the streamers, the fades, and the bats that could win you your week.
Pitchers to stream: Weathers is the guy
Ryan Weathers just posted his second straight scoreless outing, blanking the Cardinals over six frames with six punchouts and just one walk. Sure, he's been prone to the occasional clunker, but the underlying numbers are sweet: eight quality starts, a 3.18 xFIP, and a 3.41 SIERA that all scream regression-proof. And Tuesday he gets a dream matchup against the Mariners — a lineup that's been mired in misery against lefties all season, with the second-lowest wOBA in the league in that split. Get him in your lineup and let the good times roll.
If you're desperate for a second arm, Brandon Young is on the board but not exactly a safe bet. He's yielded seven runs over his last 10 innings, with three homers allowed in that span after serving up just nine in his first 97 2/3 frames. He'll face a Twins team that's been in a rut, posting the fourth-lowest wOBA against righties over the last month. The matchup is decent, but the risk is real.
His mound foe, Bailey Ober, is the other name in the mix. He's logged two straight quality starts against the Royals, but only three strikeouts over 12 innings. Neither Young nor Ober is exactly a sexy play, so the savvy move is to ride Weathers and save your streaming spot for a juicier option later in the week.
Pitchers to avoid: Don't chase Lodolo
Nick Lodolo returns from a blister issue Tuesday against the White Sox, but this is a classic wait-and-see situation. He's only thrown 65 pitches in a single rehab start, and he's been tinkering with a new curveball grip to protect that blister. That's a recipe for unpredictable command and, honestly, arm trouble down the line. Let someone else in your league take the gamble.
Hitters to stream: Rays are about to feast
The wind is blowing out at Sutter Health Park, and that's bad news for A's starter Mason Barnett, who's already coughing up homers at an alarming rate — eight in just 34 innings, including three in 4 1/3 innings last time out. The Tampa Bay Rays are the beneficiaries, and their hitters should be universally locked into your lineup.
For raw power, grab Jonathan Aranda and Cedric Mullins — both are prime candidates to launch one into the California night. But don't sleep on Chandler Simpson, the speedster who's been absolutely raking since the break: .410/.410/.462 with nine steals in nine attempts. And with the A's being one of the worst teams at throwing out runners, Simpson could run wild again. Wind + homer-prone arm + speed = fantasy gold. Deploy accordingly.