Sorare MLB GW20 Breakdown | Rangers Onslaught
Welcome to the Sorare MLB Game Week 20 Breakdown!
My goal for these slate breakdowns is to create an all-in-one place for users to get an overview of 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 liquid market.
You can find my slate breakdowns every Monday and Friday of the MLB season on Lucky Trader, or subscribe to my newsletter to get them in your inbox.
Also, follow me on Twitter @Hunter_Himself!
Let’s dive in!
⏪ Game Week Rewind
Chris Bassitt took the crown in GW19 with an 8-strikeout performance versus the Mets on Friday.
It was a bounce-back performance for the “Bassitt” Hound who coughed up 7 earned runs to the Twins the week before.
Expectations for Bassitt should be tempered, however, as he still only sports a 21.5% strikeout rate and a 4.60 xFIP on the year.
The Cardinals now have the third-worst record in the League, only behind the A’s and Royals.
I’d also note that Bednar likely needs rest after three straight saves which could cut into his upside in GW20.
Rangers stacks were the way to go in GW19, despite facing a respectable Mariners pitching staff.
By scoring 16 runs Saturday and 12 runs Sunday, Texas hitters saw three players finish inside the top-ten, including Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jonah Heim.
Eddie Rosario earned the top spot with this ninth-inning grand slam that sealed the win for the Braves over the Diamondbacks.
📋 Roster Movements
In:
Anthony Rendon - Should be activated off the IL Wednesday
Willy Adames - Should return to Brewers lineup on Thursday
Luis Urias - Should return to Brewers lineup Tuesday vs. the Orioles
Out:
Nestor Cortes - Likely to go on 15-day IL with left shoulder injury
Chris Sale - Placed on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation
Joey Gallo - Placed on 10-day IL with left hamstring strain
Justin Steele - Placed on the 15-day IL with left forearm strain
Cal Quantrill - Placed on 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation
Marco Gonzalez - Placed on 15-day IL with left forearm strain
Alex Wood - Placed on 15-day IL with lower left back strain
Brad Miller - Placed on 10-day IL with oblique strain
Wander Franco - Tweaked left hamstring Saturday, was not in Game 2 of doubleheader
Jose Altuve - Day to day with right oblique injury
Gunnar Henderson - Day to day with lower back soreness
Phil Bickford - Placed on the 15-day IL with lower back tightness
Greg Allen - Placed on 10-day IL with right hip flexor strain
🔎 Multi Game Monitor
Four Games:
Brewers, Reds, Blue Jays, Cubs, Rays, Red Sox, Astros
Three Games:
Rockies, Giants, Nationals, Braves, Padres, Cardinals, Royals, Dodgers, Yankees, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Angels, Rangers, Athletics, Orioles, Brewers, Tigers, Mets, Twins, Guardians, Pirates
Two Games:
Mariners
⚾️ Pitching Primer
Mitch Keller vs OAK
Keller is a fairly-obvious standout option this week.
His numbers have been outstanding this year (30.4% K%, 2.99 xFIP) and he gets a matchup at home in a pitcher-friendly park to face one of the worst offenses in the league.
Oakland strikes out the fourth-most (25.1%) and has the second-worst wOBA in the league (.286).
There aren’t too many red flags here with Keller, and his Limited card can be purchased for just over $16.
Limited Price: ~$16
Kevin Gausman vs HOU
The matchup here is scary for Gausman, and he had one of his worst games of the year when he faced Houston earlier this year, but I’m going to continue to bet on his elite numbers he’s put up on the season.
He is fourth in strikeout rate (32.9%), second in xFIP (2.73), and 11th in HR/9 (.72).
Similar to Joe Ryan, I like to target Gausman against right-handed heavy teams because of his unique arsenal where he throws a splitter 38.9% of the time.
The Astros do have two very scary lefties in their lineup, but this team mostly bats from the right side of the plate.
There is risk here, but the upside cannot be ignored.
Limited Price: ~$23
Other Starters Include:
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~$37 Shane McClanahan at BOS
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~$14 Aaron Nola vs DET
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~$11 Logan Gilbert at SDP
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~$8 Pablo Lopez at TBR
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~$6 Edward Cabrera vs KCR
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~$21 Clayton Kershaw at CIN
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~$28 Framber Valdez at TOR
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~$87 Spencer Strider vs NYM
📞 Call To The Bullpen
I am going to be focusing on the seven teams playing all four games in this game week when locating closers:
Closer Options:
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~$9 Devin Williams
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~$12 Alexis Diaz
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~$11 Jordan Romano
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~$4 Mark Leiter Jr.
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~$2 Adbert Alzolay
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~$8 Kenley Jansen
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~$10 Ryan Pressly
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~$4 Jason Adam
💰 Stacks
Among the 7 teams playing four games, none of them stand out as having a great ballpark or opposing pitching matchup. My favorite of the bunch is the…
Cubs
The Cubs are not that exciting of an offense to stack, but they will play four games against Blake Snell of the Padres, followed by Tyler Anderson, Jaime Barria, and Reid Detmers of the Angels.
I like the Cubs better against lefties and they will face two of them in GW20.
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~$14 Nico Hoerner
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~$13 Dansby Swanson
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~$6 Ian Happ
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~$8 Seiya Suzuki
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~$4 Patrick Wisdom
Giants
San Fransisco only plays 3 games in GW20 but it may not matter with a Coors Field series on tap, where they will face Dinelson Lamet, Connor Seabold, and Chase Anderson.
The Giants shouldn’t find it too hard to put up runs against these three bad right-handed pitchers.
It gets mentioned often here but the Rockies collective xFIP on the season is 4.80, second only to Oakland on the season.
Some of these players are pinch hit risks, but that is factored into their extremely cheap Limited prices.
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~$8 LaMonte Wade
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~$8 J.D. Davis
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~$2 Wilmer Flores
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~$5 Mitch Haniger
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~$6 Blake Sabol
Other Stacks To Consider:
Braves, Rangers, Red Sox, Pirates, Marlins
Value Options (Under $20):
Middle Infielder:
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~$17 Jonathan India, ~$14 Ketel Marte, ~$17 Jonah Heim, ~$14 Dansby Swanson, ~$17 Gleyber Torres
Corner Infielder:
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~$19 JD Martinez, ~$19 Bryan Reynolds, ~$18 Jorge Soler, ~$19 Alex Bregman, ~$17 Anthony Santander
Outfielder:
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~$19 Adam Duvall, ~$10 Michael Conforto, ~$11 Eddie Rosario, ~$14 Riley Greene, ~$19 Cedric Mullins, ~$6 Mitch Haniger
There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 20.
All statistics referenced in this newsletter were pulled from Fangraphs.
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!
