Fantasy Baseball Week 1 Preview: Top sleeper hitters for both five- and 12-day period led by Munetaka Murakami
If you're already hurting for hitting, these bats could provide an immediate assist
Chances are your lineup hasn't been hit hard enough by injuries yet for you to turn to the waiver wire for replacements. If that's the case, I want you to think of this article as superfluous. No matchup considerations are enough for you to stray from those big bats you drafted.
But if you have had a couple of injuries already or came out of your draft with some known weak points, these recommendations could be of interest.
I'll come out with some every week, and they may prove to be more vital as the season plays out. Note that I'll be limiting my selection this week to those rostered in no more than 75 percent of CBS Sports leagues.
This first week actually requires two lists. With the season beginning on a Wednesday, some leagues will choose to treat opening weekend as its own five-day scoring period (which is the CBS standard), but others will combine it with the first full week for an extra long 12-day scoring period. Rest assured that no matter how your league has opted to handle it, I have you covered.
It's kind of amazing that Dansby Swanson is as available as he is, seeing as he's a perennial 20/20 contender in a good lineup, but because it's the case, you can use him to increase your exposure against a Nationals pitching staff that might be the worst this side of the Rockies (both the team and the mountain range).
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Andrew Vaughn has a chance to take revenge on the team that let him go and that's only running out Shane smith, Sean Burke and Anthony Kay to open the season. Vaughn slashed .308/.35/.493 after joining the Brewers last year and has looked even better this spring.
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I have my doubts the Cubs will sit the left-handed-hitting Moises Ballesteros against a left-hander as fringy as Foster Griffin, and the other two pitchers that the Nationals are throwing out there for opening weekend are Cade Cavalli and Zack Littell. There's a reason why the Cubs cleared out the DH spot for this 22-year-old catcher, and you can see it whether you look at his stats from last September or this spring.
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Dominic Canzone delivers primo exit velocities and slashed .300/.358/.481 in his 82 games with the Mariners last year, but because the Guardians are one of the few teams playing four games this weekend, it won't put him at any sort of playing time disadvantage.
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The biggest doubt about Cole Young coming up through the minors was how much power he'd provide, which makes his six home runs this spring, several in excess of 430 feet, an eye-opener. He might start all four of the Mariners' games this weekend.
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I have real doubts about whether Munetaka Murakami can make enough contact to deliver on his massive power here in the States given that he skirted that line in Japan, but the book won't be out on him yet to open the year. Plus, the White Sox have the fifth-best hitter matchups for the season's opening weekend.
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Best hitter matchups for short Week 1
1. Astros LAA4
2. Marlins COL3
3. Cubs WAS3
4. Mariners CLE4
5. Brewers CHW3
Worst hitter matchups for short Week 1
1. Rangers @PHI3
2. Diamondbacks @LAD3
3. Padres DET3
4. Phillies TEX3
5. Nationals @CHC3
The Cubs' third-best matchups for opening weekend become the second-best over the longer 12-day scoring period, with the addition of the Angels and Guardians series. I'm just going to say Swanson should be started in most leagues most weeks, regardless of matchups.
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Carter Jensen ran Kyle Schwarber-like exit velocities in both the majors and minors last year and hasn't been far off this spring. There's some question as to how much he'll play against lefties, but the Royals are scheduled to face only two in their nine games this week, with some of the righties being mashables like Reynaldo Lopez, Simeon Woods Richardson and Brandon Sproat.
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The Mets have the fifth-best hitter matchups over the longer scoring period, being one of just eight teams scheduled for 10 games, which should give Carson Benge a gentle landing in his debut. The 23-year-old is arguably the top outfield prospect in baseball, boasting the kind of plate discipline and all-fields approach that should make him an instant success.
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Only two of the Mets' 10 games this week are against left-handers, which means Brett Baty should be in the lineup for at least the other eight. The former top prospect appeared to break out in the second half last season and could provide big power against pitchers like Mitch Keller Carmen Mlodinski, Kyle Leahy, Andre Pallante and Landen Roupp.
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Mike Yastrzemski probably isn't breaking new ground at age 35, but he homered six times this spring and is finally out of San Francisco, a locale may have been stifling his left-handed power. The Braves are another team scheduled for 10 games this week, and of the seven righties on the schedule, Ryne Nelson is the only who I would confidently say is good.
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The White Sox's matchup remain pretty favorable when the scoring period is extended to 12 games, and there's only one lefty on the schedule, which should make for a gentle landing for the left-handed-hitting Murakami.
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Best hitter matchups for long Week 1
1. Blue Jays ATH3, COL3, @CHW3
2. Cubs WAS3, LAA3, @CLE3
3. Astros LAA4, BOS3, @ATH3
4. Rays @STL3, @MIL3, @MIN3
5. Mets PIT3, @STL3, @SF4
Worst hitter matchups for long Week 1
1. Guardians @SEA4, @LAD3, CHC3
2. Reds BOS3, PIT3, @TEX3
3. Rockies @MIA3, @TOR3, PHI3
4. Padres DET3, SF3, @BOS3
5. Nationals @CHC3, @PHI3, LAD3
