Who Should I Start? Fantasy Baseball Start/Sit Decisions for Spencer Torkelson, Ryan O'Hearn, Luis Matos, Bo Naylor, more

June 18, 2023

Quickly get start 'em sit 'em advice for Who Should I Start fantasy baseball lineup questions from 6/19 - 6/25 (2023). Connelly tells you who to start and sit.

Welcome RotoBallers to my fantasy baseball start/sit article for the week ahead, June 19 - June 25. This week's article will focus on Spencer Torkelson, Ryan O'Hearn, Bo Bichette, Trea Turner, Tanner Bibee, Jesus Luzardo, Luis Matos, and Bo Naylor.

Whether you are prepping to set your weekly lineups or determining who to play in a pivotal daily matchup, choosing who to start vs. sit is one of the most nerve-wracking and potentially frustrating aspects of fantasy baseball. Fortunately, there is a free solution available at RotoBaller. The Who Should I Start Tool allows you to quickly compare any two players and receive fantasy projections for today, tomorrow, or the current week.

The tool provides rankings, projections, recent news, and schedules side-by-side to aid in your decision-making. The tool defaults to ESPN scoring, but the Premium version within Team Sync will automatically use your league's scoring and roster settings when making recommendations. Each week, I will use the tool to review a few interesting start/sit comparisons for the final day of the period and preview the following week. Hopefully, this series will help both daily fantasy managers end their weeks strong and also get them comfortable with routinely using the tool during the week to make tough roster decisions. Let's get into some start vs. sit comparisons for the week ahead, June 19 - June 25!

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First Base Fill-Ins

Spencer Torkelson vs. Ryan O'Hearn

First base has been hit with a number of injuries over the past couple of weeks and fantasy managers may be looking for viable replacements. Spencer Torkelson's season stats are not all that impressive, but he has been hot at the plate over the last week. Ryan O'Hearn has seen more playing time lately with the O's and has contributed, slashing .342/.384/.620 in 86 plate appearances. Who offers more upside in the coming days?

O'Hearn receives the slight recommendation for Sunday. Both players are slated for favorable matchups, but it ultimately comes down to O'Hearn's home run projection. Torkelson and O'Hearn profile the same, so the final decision could come down to who fantasy managers feel more confident in rather than relying on projections.

Looking ahead to Week 13, the Tigers have a clear matchup advantage. They will play three games against the Royals and three against the Twins. The O's will only get five games with two at the Rays and three against the Mariners.

O'Hearn has hit well all season amid a hot lineup, but the schedule for next week truly favors the Tigers, who have hit well as a team lately. I think the decision over who to choose long-term could be a tighter debate, but I will side with Torkelson for the coming week.

Slumping Stud Shortstops

Bo Bichette vs. Trea Turner

Our next comparison is between two top fantasy picks who have frustrated lately. While Bo Bichette's season numbers are great, he has only been mediocre in June, batting .254 with three home runs and six RBI. Trea Turner picked things up in June but is only slashing just .247/.297/.386 on the season. While fantasy managers will likely start both wherever they have them, who is a better play next week in daily leagues?

RotoBaller gives Turner a slight advantage for Sunday, but it is more clear-cut than the previous comparison. Turner gets a better matchup and has the edge in runs, hits, steals, and on-base percentage projections. It also helps that Turner has been hot lately, while Bichette has been mediocre.

Looking to the following week, the Blue Jays have the matchup advantages with three at the Marlins and three against the A's. The Phillies will have to face the Braves three times and the Mets three times at home. The Phillies have been very hot lately as an offense, which makes things more interesting.

Turner's recent hot streak has provided fantasy contributions in all five categories thanks in part to his team hitting well. On the flip side, Bichette has only provided middling fantasy contributions, mostly in power. As such, I would actually pick Turner for next week even though the Blue Jays have favorable matchups.

Questionable Young Starters

Tanner Bibee vs. Jesus Luzardo

This comparison is between two starters who have left fantasy managers uneasy lately. Both Tanner Bibee and Jesus Luzardo have turned in a string of alternating good and poor starts over the past month. Both clearly have an upside, but which one is more likely to deliver in the coming week?

Bibee receives a slight recommendation for Sunday, although both don't have great projections. Luzardo has the edge in wins and strikeouts projections, while Bibee has the edge in earned runs. Luzardo's projections frankly make him slightly more appealing, but Bibee has turned in fewer poor starts lately overall.

Both players will face decent matchups in Week 13, with Bibee against the Brewers and Luzardo against the Pirates. During their rough patches, both pitchers have compiled a high ERA. However, Luzardo has maintained a higher strikeout rate, lower walk rate, and lower home run rate.

Fantasy managers may want to make their decision based on Sunday's performances, but I would lean toward Luzardo either way given his higher overall upside lately.

Recent Call-Ups

Luis Matos (OF) vs. Bo Naylor (C)

Our final comparison is between two exciting prospects who have recently joined their big-league teams. Luis Matos has been a hitting machine all through the Giants' farm system, while Bo Naylor has displayed power potential in the Guardians' system. Both seem to have clear paths to playing time, but which one is more likely to live up to expectations?

Matos receives the strong recommendation for Sunday, although it does not appear that the tool has accounted for both players playing. It is known that the Giants will face a tough matchup with the Dodgers compared to the Guardians, who will get a favorable matchup at the backend of the Diamondbacks' rotation. I would lean toward Naylor simply for the matchup, given that both players have very little big-league experience to go off of.

Both teams have middling matchups in Week 13, with the Giants facing four against the Padres and three against the Diamondbacks and the Guardians facing three against the A's and three against the Brewers. Both teams are slated to face two lefties. While Matos has historically hit lefties better than Naylor, both have hit better against righties.

The Giants are notorious for mixing and matching their lineups, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Matos and Naylor receive about the same amount of playing time next week. I think both have a decent chance of contributing right away, but the Giants have been on fire offensively lately, which gives the edge to Matos.

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