Sorare MLB GW3 Breakdown | Anderson the Unlikely Hero
Welcome to the Sorare MLB Game Week 2 Slate Breakdown!
My goal for these slate breakdowns is to create an all-in-one place for new users to get an overview for each Game Week and use that information to pinpoint marketplace inefficiencies and construct a winning team.
I will be focusing on the Limited tier cards when referencing market prices as this is where the majority of Sorare users will be playing, and where there is the most liquidity in the market.
You can find my slate breakdowns every Monday and Friday of the MLB season here on Lucky Trader, or subscribe to my newsletter to get them in your inbox.
Let’s dive in!
⏪ Game Week Recap
deGrom and Alcantara tied for first with 40 Sorare points a piece. The most surprising part of this list is Mitch Keller, who delivered seven strikeouts through six innings pitched against the Red Sox at Fenway. Keller’s Limited Cards are sitting at about $6 in the marketplace and he could make for a solid season-long stash.
Last week we saw several long relievers make this list and I wrote about how that could be a trend and a strategy to deploy going forward. This week proved that theory incorrect, as all five top scorers were in fact closers. It's still only one week into the season and I’m interested to see how this leaderboard evolves with more data.
Pirates closer David Bednar outscored every pitcher in GW2, including all starting pitchers. Bednar earned a save in each of Pittsburgh’s first two games against the Red Sox, striking out three batters along the way. Although Bednar and Pittsburgh’s success from this week appears rather fluky, the following four closers on this list all come from likely playoff-bound teams.
The rest of this list doesn’t surprise me. If I had to bet, I would say Ronald Acuña Jr. appears on this list more than anyone else this season.
🔎 Multi-Game Monitor
I’ve added this section to the Slate Breakdown to show how many games each team is going to play during each Game Week.
Teams with less than the maximum number of games per GW can safely be avoided.
Two Games:
Red Sox/Tigers
Three Games:
Everyone else
⚾️ Pitching Primer
GW3 looks to be a weak pitching slate with most teams deploying the back end of their five-man rotation.
I’ve added a section here to show which notable pitchers will NOT be starting, and thus should not be rostered in GW3.
Notable Friday Pitchers:
Marcus Stroman vs. TEX
Hunter Greene at PHI
Zack Wheeler vs. CIN
Logan Gilbert at CLE
Lucas Giolito at MIN
Jack Flaherty at MIL
Brandon Woodruff vs. STL
Clayton Kershaw at ARI
Notable Saturday Pitchers:
Nick Lodolo at PHI
Jeffrey Springs vs. OAK
Kodai Senga vs. MIA
Noah Syndergaard at ARI
Notable Sunday Pitchers:
Freddy Peralta vs. STL
Jon Gray at CHC
Carlos Carrasco vs. MIA
Notable Pitchers who will NOT be starting in GW3:
Shane McClanahan, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Nola, Miles Mikolas, Corbin Burnes, Jacob deGrom, Christian Javier, Dylan Cease, Logan Webb, Shohei Ohtani, Alek Manoah, Chris Sale, KevinGausman, Lance Lynn
Clayton Kershaw
Kershaw draws another start against Arizona who he just roughed up for 37 Sorare points on Opening Day. This lineup has the ability to throw out seven righties against the left-handed Kershaw, but the only righties I’m really scared of are Ketel Marte and Christian Walker. Kershaw’s K% has taken a hit in recent years but he still ranked fifth in xFIP last year. He’s arguably the top Pitcher toeing the rubber this week.
Limited Price: ~$37
Zack Wheeler
Wheeler was roughed up by the Rangers in his first start of the season but I have no problem going back to him against an unthreatening Cincinnati team in what will be Philly’s home opener. Wheeler still had a 27% strikeout rate to go along with a 3.03 xFIP last season.
Limited Price: ~$20
Jeffrey Springs
Springs was the top scorer amongst starters from GW1 in a dominant 12-strikeout outing vs Detroit. I have no issue going right back to him at home against this A’s team that has little to no pop. The undefeated Rays should keep it rolling in this winnable series.
Limited Price ~$18
📞 Call To The Bullpen
Let's take a look at some relief pitchers.
Giants
Give me all the Giants relievers in a home series vs Kansas City this weekend. Although 15 homers through 6 games is an unsustainable rate, this San Fransisco squad should provide enough offense to line Camilo Doval up for some save opportunities.
CL: Camilo Doval
RP: Taylor Rogers
RP: John Brebbia
RP: Jakob Junis
Phillies
This bullpen has been getting waxed to start the season but like I said earlier, I like the Phillies’ chances of turning it around in this series. The team has too much talent across the board and I’m banking on Craig Kimbrel delivering some ninth-inning points versus the lowly Reds.
CL: Craig Kimbrel
RP: Andrew Bellatti
RP: Jose Alvarado
RP: Seranthony Dominguez
💰 Stacks
How about potential stacks?
White Sox
Chicago will play three games at PNC park against Rich Hill, Vince Velasquez, and Johan Oviedo. The ballpark isn’t great for offense but the White Sox have been hot and are top ten in AVG, OBP, and SLG to start the season. Pittsburgh has a bottom of the barrel pitching staff and the top of this lineup is loaded.
~$76 Tim Anderson
~$33 Luis Robert
~$11 Andrew Vaughn
~$2 Hanser Alberto
Nationals
The Nats play the final three games in their four game series at Coors Field this week and draw Jose Urena, Austin Gomber, and Ryan Feltner. This Washington lineup is well below average and disappointed in game one against Kyle Freeland, but you can’t ignore the matchup and their prices in the Sorare Marketplace. The weather will improve in Denver after a fluky cold day yesterday as well.
~$5 Lane Thomas
~$11 Jeimer Candelario
~$21 Joey Meneses
~$5 Keibert Ruiz
There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 3.
I will be releasing these every Monday and Friday prior to lineup lock to help you all with preparing for the slate and setting your teams.
I hope to see everyone at the top of the leaderboards.
Thanks for reading!
