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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 missed in the winter 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 the draft season having just wrapped up, or otherwise being very close to being wrapped up. 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 Hunter Strickland reportedly staying with the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants placing Joey Bart on the injured list.
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Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Hunter Strickland Reportedly Staying With The Reds
Relief pitcher Hunter Strickland is reportedly back with the Cincinnati Reds organization at the Triple-A level, per a tweet from The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans on March 27:
Strickland was also listed on the Louisville Bats’ (Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate) Opening Day roster in a tweet from the Bats’ official Twitter account on April 1:
The Reds previously released Strickland on March 25, per a tweet from the National League Central club’s official Twitter account:
Strickland provides the Reds with some experienced minor-league depth, particularly where the bullpen is concerned. The 34-year-old has thrown 374.2 innings at the MLB level, all from the bullpen. Of those 374.2 innings, 62.1 came last year for Cincinnati.
The veteran also pitched to a 4.91 ERA and a 4.78 FIP in 66 appearances, registering 60 strikeouts, 33 walks, and four holds in the process. Perhaps most crucially, at least where fantasy scoring was concerned, Strickland chipped in with seven saves.
It remains to be seen if Strickland will make it back to the MLB with the Reds this season. He’s certainly a name to keep an eye on for fantasy managers seeking ancillary saves considering the lack of experienced ninth-inning options in Cincinnati outside of Alexis Diaz.
As of now, Strickland has 28 career saves in his MLB career. That’s more than the entire Reds bullpen currently has in their careers combined. Diaz and Derek Law, both with 11, are the only ones in the group with more than two lifetime saves in the majors.
Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Joey Bart Being Placed On The Injured List
San Francisco Giants catcher Joey Bart was placed on the injured list on April 2, per a tweet from NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic on Sunday:
The Giants also announced the move in a tweet from the team's official Twitter account on April 2:
Bart previously hit .215 with a .296 on-base percentage in 291 plate appearances in the majors last season, adding 11 home runs and a pair of stolen bases in the process. He was reasonably productive in Spring training earlier in the year, hitting .214 with a .333 on-base percentage, a home run, two doubles, and two stolen bases in 33 plate appearances.
As Pavlovic noted in his tweet, it’ll be Roberto Perez and Blake Sabol behind the plate for the National League West club for the time being.
At the time of his signing with the club, Perez looked like someone to stay away from for fantasy purposes as there was timeshare potential that could hurt the fantasy ceiling of both players.
Per Pavlovic’s tweet, that might not be the case here, as Sabol could be in line for regular starts. The 25-year-old could be worth a look in deeper leagues as a versatile bench option for fantasy managers given his ability to play other positions besides catcher.
The 25-year-old has experience in left field as well as behind the plate and has started three of the four games he’s played in so far as San Francisco’s left fielder.
The former Pirates prospect hit .284 with a .363 on-base percentage, 19 home runs, and 10 stolen bases in 513 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A last season and enjoyed a strong spring.
In 62 plate appearances, Sabol logged a .348 average, a .475 on-base percentage, three home runs, and a pair of stolen bases while finishing with a 1.106 OPS in Cactus League play. If he can continue to produce in the home run and stolen base departments, he could be a useful fantasy option in deeper leagues for the time being considering his ability to play multiple positions and Bart being on the injured list.
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