Fantasy Baseball Winners & Losers: Chris Paddack and Josh Bell bounce back, Luis Castillo does not

Here are the top winners and losers in Fantasy baseball from Sunday.

By Frank Stampfl

Aug 31, 2020 at 11:36 am ET • 5 min read

Like the rest of 2020, this weekend was no different; crazy. Between the MLB Trade Deadline approaching and an abundance of games being played because if doubleheaders, there's a lot to pay attention to. Heck, by the time you're reading this Mike Clevinger or Lance Lynn might be on the move. With that being said, it's a fun time to be a Fantasy player. With these trades create new opportunities for prospects and players taking on expanded roles. Strap in folks, we've got about a month left.

Check out Scott White's take on the Monday Waiver Wire, with two rookie pitchers becoming priority targets.

On to Sunday's action.

THE LATEST IN THE WORLD OF FANTASY BASEBALL

Before we get into the actual news, let's first give you the trades from the weekend.
The Royals traded Trevor Rosenthal to the Padres for outfielder Edward Olivares and a PTBNL. If I had to guess, I would say Rosenthal gets the next save opportunity for the Padres while Scott Barlow is the guy for the Royals.
The Red Sox traded Mitch Moreland to the Padres for prospects Hudson Potts and Jeisson Rosario. Apparently, manager Jayce Tingler hinted at Moreland playing everyday with the Padres. The bigger fallout is likely for the Red Sox as they promoted top prospect Bobby Dalbec. He's only worth a look in deeper leagues for now if you need power from your corner infield position.
In a much bigger trade, the Padres received Austin Nola, Dan Altavilla, and Austin Adams from the Mariners in exchange for Ty France, Taylor Trammell, Andres Muñoz, and Luis Torrens. Nola might not play as much as he did in Seattle but he joins a better lineup. France is a name to watch if gets everyday playing time with in Seattle.
The Orioles traded Mychal Givens to the Rockies, and Scott White predicted that he'll be their closer if you're in need of saves.
In some smaller trades, Tommy La Stella was traded to Oakland, Jose Martinez was traded to the Cubs, and Tommy Milone was sent to the Braves.
Dodgers top prospect Gavin Lux was recalled over the weekend. He slots back in as a top 20 second baseman with much more upside.
Ronald Acuña left Sunday night's game against the Phillies with hamstring tightness. Manager Brian Snitker said he expects Acuña to be in the starting lineup Monday.
The Yankees optioned prospect Deivi Garcia to their alternate site after his start Sunday. Garcia was strong in this one, striking out six over six innings. Although he was optioned, there is growing belief he will be recalled later this week for another doubleheader. I'd be trying to stash him if you could.
J.D. Martinez was pulled Sunday after getting hit by a pitch on his wrist. X-rays came back negative.
Marcus Semien is dealing with soreness in his left side. An MRI taken Saturday showed no structural damage.
Michael Pineda will make his season debut for the Twins on Tuesday against the White Sox. He's returning from suspension and is a popular waiver wire add if you're looking for starting pitching (who isn't?).
Charlie Morton is on track to rejoin the Rays' rotation on Tuesday or Wednesday against the Yankees.
MLB postponed Sunday's scheduled game between the A's and the Astros "out of an abundance of caution" following a positive COVID test in the A's organization. Oakland is supposed to play six games this week: three against the Mariners and then three against the Padres. It seems likely they'll miss some time.

Sunday's Biggest Winners

If we're going to crush Chris Paddack when he's lackluster, we also have to give him credit when he pitches well, especially when he does so in Colorado. Paddack put together a much-needed bounce-back where he allowed just two runs over six innings while striking out eight. He was much more aggressive early in counts in this start, throwing first-pitch strikes to 17 of 24 batters faced. That's more like the breakout Paddack from 2019.
Like Paddack, I've been very hard on Josh Bell, and rightfully so. With that being said, he's starting to heat up. He has six hits over his past four games, including homers in back-to-back games. Bell has also cut down the strikeouts recently. The Pirates play eight games this week, which means you should probably get Bell back in your lineups.
Deivi Garcia made his much-anticipated debut Sunday and was fantastic, striking out six over six innings against the Mets. Yes, he was sent back to the Yankees' alternate site Sunday but I'd expect him back later this week. The Yankees are in desperate need of starting pitching.

Sunday's Biggest Losers

Luis Castillo has been the biggest buy-low candidate all season. With that being said, at some point he has to turn things around to return value. That wasn't the case Sunday as his dropped to 0-5, allowing four runs to the Chicago Cubs. He's still getting a ton of whiffs, but they just haven't translated to success. I'll continue to start him this week but I'm getting closer to moving him down the rankings.
It's hard to really blame him after missing the past month due to COVID, but on Sunday Sandy Alcantara was a far-cry from the pitcher we saw on Opening Night. He was tagged for eight runs against the Rays, with five of them earned. I would drop Alcantara for Corbin Burnes, Sixto Sanchez, Dane Dunning and Michael Pineda but once you get past that, it's better to just hold.
Cole Sulser blew another save for the Orioles on Sunday, allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth. This comes at a bad time for Sulser, too, as Hunter Harvey was activated off the IL Sunday. Harvey was the favorite to close out games back in spring training but an injury delayed his start to the season until now. The Orioles wanted to ease Harvey in but they might not have a choice. Hold Sulser for now to see who earns the next save chance, but things aren't looking good for him.