Fantasy Baseball Players To Watch For The Week Ahead (May 13 - May 19)

Another week and Shota Imanaga, Ranger Suarez, and Seth Lugo are all still going strong. Marcell Ozuna collected two more RBI Sunday to bring his league-leading total to 40. However, it didn't matter as Brandon Nimmo hit a 2-run home run in his only at-bat of the game in the bottom of the ninth to win it for the Mets on Sunday Night Baseball.

For those keeping track of some of last week's topics, Alec Bohm's hit streak finally came to an end, the Chris Sale "revenge game" narrative came to fruition, and we still don't know who the new closer is in L.A. while Evan Phillips is out, as both Alex Vesia and Daniel Hudson each recorded a save over the past week.

Taking a look ahead to this week's action, we'll touch on some intriguing hitters below, both for DFS and season-long. We'll also discuss some recently called-up pitchers that have encores coming up this week as well as a two-start pitcher who might finally be putting it all together. I've got my eye on these guys, and perhaps you should, too.

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Players to Watch: Hitters

Max Kepler

What I'm watching: Hit streak

Alec Bohm was atop the mountain for a couple weeks, but it's Max Kepler's turn now. Kepler now owns the longest hitting streak in the majors at 14 games after smacking a double on Sunday. During the 14-game hit streak, the 31-year-old has six multi-hit performances. Since coming off the IL April 22, Kepler has been on fire, going 26-for-63 (.413) over 19 games with nine doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI, 13 runs scored, a 7:7 BB:K, and a stolen base. The left-handed hitter has a good Contact% of 81.2% and 9.0% Barrel%, so there's reasons to believe he can keep it going.

Mad Max extends the lead in the 8th ‼#MNTwins | #MLB pic.twitter.com/dPKTAZnT5a

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) May 12, 2024

Brent Rooker

What I'm watching: Is he the hottest hitter in baseball?

Brent Rooker is coming off a 30-homer campaign in 2023 over 463 at-bats, which was equivalent to around 15 at-bats per home run. In 2024? Rooker has 10 home runs in 110 AB, which is a home run every 11 at-bats. If he can get to the 463 at-bat level again, that equates to a 42-homer season in 2024. Even if he stumbles at some point, he probably still gets over the 30-homer threshold again. Right now he's mashing, with six multi-hit performances over his last nine games. The 29-year-old is now slashing .292/.380/.632 on the year with a .431 wOBA and 187 wRC+.

Brent Rooker - Oakland Athletics (10)
pic.twitter.com/3RXdmtSSp5

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 12, 2024

If the hottest hitter isn't either Kepler or Rooker, it could be Rooker's teammate Abraham Toro, who belted his fourth home run of the year on Sunday and now has nine multi-hit efforts in his last 12 games.

Key Matchups: Hitters

These hitters caught my eye when looking over batter vs. pitcher matchups, although this week there were A LOT more than usual, so I just included table to make it easier on the eyes. Most of these guys are already rostered in a majority of leagues, so you aren't running out to snag them off the waiver wire, but they could be targets for your DFS lineups. While sometimes there isn't enough matchup history worth looking at, there is frequency with these, and with frequency comes familiarity. These pitchers likely don't have any more tricks up their sleeves versus these batters.

Players to Watch: Starting Pitchers

Robert Gasser / Paul Skenes

What I'm watching: What will they do for an encore?

Both Robert Gasser and Paul Skenes made their big league debuts this past week. Skenes is one of the most high-profile pitching prospects we've seen in a long time, but it was Gasser's final line that looked much better:

Gasser is not Skenes, but both can be relevant for fantasy. So what will they do in their encore performances? Gasser will take on Pittsburgh at home on Wednesday, while Skenes lines up with the Cubs in Chicago on Friday.

Brent Rooker - Oakland Athletics (10)
pic.twitter.com/3RXdmtSSp5

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 12, 2024

Brady Singer

What I'm watching: Two favorable starts this week

Brady Singer was a first round draft pick in 2018, but has yet to live up to his once-promising billing. Last season was his fourth year in the majors, but posted both a career-worst 5.52 ERA and 12.0% K-BB% in 29 starts. However, he's off to a terrific start in 2024 with a 2.36 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 16.9% K-BB% which has propelled him to a 3-1 record. The 27-year-old has a chance to keep rolling this week, facing a Seattle team on Monday that strikes out the most in the majors, and Oakland on Sunday that has the fourth-lowest team batting average so far.

Brady Singer, Nasty 84mph Slider. 😨

7th K pic.twitter.com/LrryAhfAvE

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 4, 2024

Players to Watch: Relief Pitchers

Jalen Beeks

What I'm watching: Is he the new closer in Colorado? 

A week ago, you might not have cared all that much, but all of the sudden the Rockies have won four in a row including a sweep of the defending champ Texas Rangers and Jalen Beeks has recorded three saves since May 3. The 30-year-old doesn't have a strong strikeout profile, but with a 2.45 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, he's getting the job done. The Rockies have a tough series with the Padres next, but then get the Giants and Athletics which should have some winnable matchups. Those next three series are all on the road, however, and Colorado is 3-16 away from Coors (9-12 at home).

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