Week 23 of the Fantasy Baseball season begins Monday September 14, 2015. The playoffs are in full swing and the Roto Leagues are beginning to wind down. If you need Starting Pitching or waiver wire options this week I have some early week suggestions for you to consider.
Week 23 Interleague Matchups
Toronto Blue Jays at Atlanta Braves (3 games, Tuesday-Thursday)
New York Yankees at New York Mets (3 games, Friday-Sunday)
Week 23 Two Start Pitchers
Each of the following pitchers are the scheduled starting pitchers at the time of this publication. Please check your lineups daily for any last minute schedule changes.
Sonny Gray (Mon-Sat), James Shields (Mon-Sun), Cole Hamels (Mon-Sat), Gerrit Cole (Tue-Sun), Jon Lester (Tue-Sun), Jordan Zimmerman (Mon-Sat), Danny Salazar (Tue-Sun), Garrett Richards (Mon-Sat), Jake Odorizzi (Tue-Sun), Julio Teheran (Tue-Sun), Scott Kazmir (Mon-Sat), Collin McHugh (Tue-Sun), Jeff Samardzija (Tue-Sun), Stephen Strasburg (Tue-Sun), Carlos Martinez (Tue-Sun), Ubaldo Jimenez (Tue-Sun), Edinson Volquez (Mon-Sat), Carlos Rodon (Mon-Sat), CC Sabathia (Mon-Sat), Chase Anderson (Mon-Sun), Tim Hudson (Mon-Sun), Kyle Lobstein (Mon-Sun), Mike Pelfrey (Mon-Sat), Tom Koehler (Tue-Sun), Kevin Gausman (Mon-Sat), Erasmo Ramirez (Mon-Sat), Adam Conley (Mon-Sat), Ariel Pena (Tue-Sun), Kris Medlen (Tue-Sun), Henry Owens (Mon-Sun), Vidal Nuno (Mon-Sun), Josh Tomlin (Mon-Sat), Aaron Brooks (Tue-Sun), Keyvius Sampson (Mon-Sun), Tyler Duffey (Tue-Sun), Martin Perez (Tue-Sun) and Nick Tropeano (Tue-Sun).
Week 23 Starting Pitching Options
Each of the following pitchers are the scheduled starting pitchers at the time of this publication. Please check your lineups daily for any last minute schedule changes.
Monday: Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies host the Washington Nationals on Monday night. Over his past 5 starts Nola has been fantastic going 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA, 3.75 FIP and 4.02 xFIP. Average 1.19 WHIP but his per nine numbers of strikeouts (7.50), walks (2.50) and bombs (1) are solid enough for me to take a chance on him Monday night against Nationals team that since September has a 22 percent strikeout rate, .361 wOBA and wRC+ of 127. I like the strikeout potential here on Monday night.
Monday: Taijuan Walker and the Seattle Mariners host the Los Angeles Angels in a Monday night contest. Over his past 6 starts Walker is 2-1 with a 4.81 ERA, 3.89 FIP and xFIP of 3.99. His per nine numbers of 6.42 strikeouts, 1.60 walks and just over a bomb per nine are solid as is his 1.25 WHIP. He’ll face an Angels team that has struggled in September with a 18 percent strikeout rate, .133 ISO, .305 wOBA and wRC+ of 98. Walker could be a good option on Monday straight across the board.
Tuesday: J.A. Happ and the Pittsburgh Pirates host the Chicago Cubs in a Tuesday night game that is the second of a scheduled doubleheader. Over his last 6 starts Happ is 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA, 2.28 FIP and xFIP of 3.02. His per nine numbers of 9 strikeouts, 1.25 walks and less than 1 bomb have been spectacular as is his 0.81 WHIP. The Cubs are an exceptional hitting team but against lefties this season have a 26 percent strikeout rate, .132 ISO with a wOBA of .302 and wRC+ of 87. It’s all systems go for Happ on Tuesday night against the Cubs.
Tuesday: Carlos Rodon and the Chicago White Sox host the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night. Over his past Over his past 6 starts Rodon has a 3-2 record with an ERA of 1.76, FIP of 3.51 and 3.31 xFIP. His per nine numbers of strikeouts (9.0) and walks (3.29) and less than 1 bomb per nine are very strong as is his 1.02 WHIP. He’ll face an A’s team that strikes out just 16 percent of the time it faces lefties with a .128 ISO, wOBA of .307 and wRC+ of 96. This should be a good matchup on Tuesday for the red hot Rodon.
Wednesday: Jorge De La Rosa and the Colorado Rockies are Los Angeles to play the Dodgers in a Wednesday night game. Over his past 6 starts De La Rosa is 2-2 with a 2.68 ERA, 3.63 FIP and xFIP of 3.49. His per nine numbers of strikeouts (8.76), walks (3.89) and less than 1 bomb per nine innings pitched is solid with a slightly below average 1.32 WHIP. He’ll be facing a Dodgers team that strikes out 20 percent of the time it faces lefties with a .154 ISO, .331 wOBA and wRC+ of 111. This should be a good one for strikeouts on Wednesday night.
Wednesday: Jesse Chavez and the Athletics are in Chicago to play the White Sox on Wednesday night. Over his last 6 starts Chavez is 1-4 with a 5.97 ERA, 4.63 FIP and xFIP of 3.37. He’s averaging 9 strikeouts per nine, walking just over 3 and allowing just over 1 bomb per nine innings pitched. His 1.48 WHIP is one the high side but he’ll be facing a White Sox team that in the month of September has a 20 percent strikeout rate, .167 ISO with a wOBA of .325 and wRC+ of 105. Focus on the strikeouts and hopefully the rest will follow suit.
Thursday: Colby Lewis and the Texas Rangers play host to the Houston Astros for a Thursday night game. Over his past 6 starts Lewis is 3-3 with a 3.82 ERA, 4.34 FIP and xFIP of 5.05. His per nine numbers are 4.30 strikeouts, 2.30 walks and less than a bomb per nine innings pitched with a decent 1.27 WHIP. He’ll face an Astros team that strikes out 21 percent of the time with a .205 ISO, .342 wOBA and wRC+ of 117. It’s a tough call on a limited Thursday slate but Lewis has been solid so he might be worth taking a flyer on Thursday night.
Week 23 Waiver Wire Options
Francisco Cervelli C Pittsburgh Pirates: Cervelli has been quite good in the month of September with a .371 wOBA and wRC+ of 140. The power numbers haven’t been there as of late but he has hit for an above average .308 during this stretch. Cervelli won’t hurt you this week, he generally bats 7th or 8th in the lineup and he’s available in more than 70 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Mark Canha 1B OF Oakland Athletics: Canha has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the month of September with 3 bombs, 6 RBI, 6 runs scored and a couple of stolen bases. Big .594 slugging and wOBA of .420 with a wRC+ of 175. His duel eligibility gives you flexibility, he generally bats 2nd in the A’s lineup and he’s available in just over 70 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Cesar Hernandez 2B SS 3B OF Philadelphia Phillies: Hernandez has been decent during September batting .308 with a nice .342 OBP. As his .051 ISO suggests you won’t see much in the way of power but he scores runs (5) and has a decent .312 wOBA and wRC+ of 95. Hernandez is also eligible at 4 positions, bats either leadoff or 2nd and is available in over 55 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Yangervis Solarte 2B 1B 3B San Diego Padres: Solarte has been red hot over the month of September batting .459 with a bomb, 17 hits and a wOBA of .507 and wRC+ of 232. At the time of this writing Solarte is in the middle of an 8 game hitting streak. He’s eligible at 3 positions, generally bats either leadoff or 2nd and is available in just over 60 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Odubel Herrera SS OF Philadelphia Phillies: Herrera has had a solid month of September batting .407 with an OBP of .467. He hitting bombs (2) and driving in runs (6) and is being a general pain in the ass to opposing pitchers. Monster .483 wOBA and wRC+ of 212. Herrera generally bats 2nd or 3rd in the Phillies order, is duel eligible and is currently available in just over 55 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Ender Inciarte OF Arizona Diamonbacks: The month of September hasn’t been necessarily kind to Inciarte but he’s still scoring runs (4) and stealing bases (4) with a wOBA of .298 and a wRC+ of 82. He’s been solid all season long, still bats either leadoff or 2nd and is available in just over 50 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Jayson Werth OF Washington Nationals: Werth is now batting leadoff for the Nationals and he’s really taken to the role with 2 bombs, 6 runs, 5 RBI, .500 slugging percentage with a wOBA of .362 and wRC+ of 129. Werth is still available in just over 50 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues.
Nick Markakis OF Atlanta Braves: The Braves offense isn’t very good but when they do score runs its usually Markakis crossing the dish. He’s scored 8 runs in the month of September and has a very good wOBA of .346 and wRC+ of 121. Markakis is available in just over 50 percent of all Major Fantasy Baseball leagues and normally bats leadoff for the Braves.
Good luck this week Fantasy Baseball owner!
On this week’s Phil’s Fantasy Sports Fake Teams Tim Finnegan join me to discuss DFS strategies like stacking as well as advice on how to win big DFS Tournaments. Fantasy Baseball legend Lenny Melnick joins me to talk 2016 Fantasy Baseball prospects and how Fantasy Baseball has changed over the years, Fasketball curator Daniel Grezlak joins me to talk about his unique and free to the public Fantasy Basketball stats site, Rotowire NBA writer Alex Rikleen joins me to discuss the Fantasy Value of Damian Lillard, what stats are the best for determining Fantasy Basketball value and much more Fantasy Hoops talk and Draft Kings Playbook writer Jason Walker and I discuss Fantasy Football Wide Receiver rankings and some sleepers. You can download the show from my site or listen below.
