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The MLB offseason and Spring training are officially over. The regular season is here, and with it comes the daily influx of baseball news that fantasy managers have missed in the last few months. Lineup news, actual games happening, constant waiver wire moves, pitching assignments, and bullpen usage.
Baseball is back, and so too is fantasy baseball, with drafts either starting in the near or not-too-near future for many. This column aims to cover any and all fantasy baseball news, big or small, and how it pertains to your fantasy team. Spring training or the regular season, it's covered here.
Has a player who's usually been hitting in the middle of a lineup suddenly batting eighth or ninth for an extended period? The fantasy implications will be covered here. The same goes for injuries and injured placements and whether or not you should consider picking up a player who was recently called up. Basically, any kernel of fantasy news and its relevance to fantasy managers could be covered here. Today, the news of the day is the fantasy impact of Luke Voit reportedly signing a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers and Johan Oviedo reportedly being part of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation.
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Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Luke Voit Reportedly Signing A One-Year Deal With The Milwaukee Brewers
According to a tweet from MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy on Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers reportedly signed Luke Voit to a one-year deal amongst a number of other roster moves. Per McCalvy’s tweet, the deal comes with a club option for the 2024 season.
Per a previous tweet from McCalvy on March 25, Voit had reportedly opted out of his previous minor league deal with the Brewers, so now he’s on Milwaukee’s major league roster.
The first baseman and designated hitter enjoyed a strong spring for the National League Central club, batting .300 with a .349 on-base percentage, a pair of home runs, and a pair of doubles in 43 plate appearances.
He previously hit .226 with a .308 on-base percentage, 22 home runs, and a stolen base in 568 plate appearances last season split between the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. The average and on-base percentage metrics weren’t ideal, nor were his 31.5% strikeout rate and 37.6% whiff rate. Nevertheless, Voit generally made loud contact when he did connect, with a .430 xwOBAcon and a 14.7% barrel rate last season.
With a lifetime .222 ISO and 14.3% barrel rate, the first baseman has shown he can provide power production when given the opportunity.
The question of how much of an opportunity he’ll have in Milwaukee in terms of consistent playing time remains to be seen with Rowdy Tellez on hand at first base and Jesse Winker an option at designated hitter. Still, there’s some deeper league fantasy appeal here given the home run upside. Even in just a part-time role, a switch to American Family Field should benefit the former Padre and Yankee.
Voit connected on 22 home runs last season. His expected home run total for the Brewers' home park would’ve been 26, tied for the third-highest among all parks where the first baseman’s expected home run metrics were concerned.
Moving forward, his fantasy upside would be considerable if he’s able to carve out a regular place in the lineup. The 32-year-old has produced at a high level before, hitting .278 with a .371 on-base percentage, a .264 ISO, and 58 home runs in a cumulative 905 plate appearances from 2018 through 2020.
Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Johan Oviedo Reportedly Being In Pittsburgh's Rotation
Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo will reportedly be in the National League Central club’s rotation, per a tweet from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Jason Mackey on Tuesday. Mackey tweeted the following:
A trade deadline acquisition from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Jose Quintana deal, Oviedo logged a 3.23 ERA and a 3.47 FIP in seven starts spanning 30.2 innings for Pittsburgh last year. The right-hander also added 28 strikeouts compared to 16 walks for his new club. Overall, he made 21 appearances in 2022, pitching to a 3.21 ERA, a 3.74 FIP, 54 strikeouts, and 23 walks.
Mostly utilizing his four-seam fastball and a slider that saw its usage rate jump considerably from 23.7% in 2021 to 40% in 2022, Oviedo was able to avoid hard contact, by and large. The slider in particular was key, as opposing batters mustered just a 30.4% hard-hit rate and a .237 xwOBA against the pitch.
Overall, opponents managed just a .278 xwOBA and a .304 xwOBAcon against the 25-year-old last season.
Johan Oviedo's 2022 Pitch Mix:
- Four-Seamer: 96.0 MPH, 43.5% usage rate, 13.6% whiff rate
- Slider: 87.5 MPH, 40.1% usage rate, 34.1% whiff rate
- Curveball: 78.5 MPH, 10.9% usage rate, 23.1% whiff rate
- Changeup: 88.8 MPH, 5.5% usage rate, 40.0% whiff rate
If he can continue to limit hard contact and keep his slider effective, it’ll certainly help where his run prevention metrics are concerned.
That being said, even if Oviedo once again limits hard contact and posts solid run-prevention numbers, the fact that he pitches for Pittsburgh is hardly ideal for his fantasy upside.
No Pirates pitcher won more than six games last year. In fact, the two Pittsburgh pitchers who won six games in 2022 were relievers Wil Crowe and Chase De Jong. Elsewhere, Mitch Keller and Roansy Contreras were the only Pittsburgh starters with more than three pitcher wins.
With a largely similar offensive core, Pittsburgh might not be able to provide Oviedo with the best run support, making him more of a fantasy option in deeper leagues despite the solid underlying metrics.
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