Sorare MLB GW9 Breakdown | Strider Squashes The Fish

Welcome to the Sorare MLB Game Week 9 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 here on Lucky Trader, or subscribe to my newsletter to get them in your inbox.

Let’s dive in!

⏪ Game Week Rewind

Spencer Strider led the way in GW9 with an 8 inning, 13 strikeout performance against the Marlins on Monday. He’s second overall in strikeouts on the season but does continue to carry a hefty floor price in the Sorare marketplace ($132 at the time of writing).

Zac Gallen is also worth noting, securing aleague-leading 51 strikeouts and extending his streak to 28 scoreless innings. I did a deep dive into Hunter Brown’s pitch mix on The Sorare Show this week. His advanced stats don’t show anything spectacular but he continues to put up big fantasy outings.

This week’s top relievers consist of four closers and one middle reliever in Yennier Cano. Cano actually earned a save in Monday’s game, closing out the ninth inning against the Red Sox. He also earned a hold in Wednesday’s game.

Estévez led the way as the Athletics were able to keep the series against the Angels close in all but one of their games. Estévez’ services were needed twice and he recorded 3 strikeouts over 2.2 innings of work.

Brandon Drury blew everyone else out in GW9 with a collective 9 hits, 4 homers, and 12 RBIs. It was the highest score we’ve seen all year by a wide margin.

I’ll also note that Brent Rooker might be someone to keep an eye on, as it’s his second time appearing on this list, and he hit the first home run off Shohei Ohtani (Who is oddly enough also on this list) of the season.

This is Mullins’ third time popping up here and he remains one of my favorite Sorare plays on a weekly basis.

📋 Roster Movements

A handful of notable roster movements are listed below:

In:

• Michael Harris Jr. - Trending towards a return early next week

• Tanner Bibee - Called up Tuesday, 8 Ks and 1 ER through 5 2/3 IP vs. Rockies

Out:

• Robbie Ray - Tore left flexor tendon, will miss remainder of season

• Garrett Mitchell - Will undergo shoulder surgery, potentially out for the year

• Taj Bradley - Sent back to AAA after three impressive starts, 38% K-rate through 15 IP

• Jordan Walker - Sent to AAA, Utility man Taylor Motter called up in exchange

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

It's a simple week of games with most teams playing three games. 

Two Games:

Giants/Padres

Three Games:

Everyone else!

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Pablo Lopez/Sonny Gray/Joe Ryan vs KCR

The Kansas City Royals have been arguably the best matchup for starting pitchers in 2023. Not only is this team second-to-last in wOBA (.273) and bottom-five in ISO (.124), they also have been striking out at a collective 25% clip, eighth-highest in the league.

I recommended Zac Gallen against this team as the top play in GW8 and he went out and struck out 12 through 6.1 shutout innings.

The Twins have had one of the best starting rotations in the league this season and the big three in Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, and Joe Ryan are all scheduled to face Kansas City in GW9. All three are in the top-16 in K%.

I will advise that Sonny Gray is due for some regression with his ERA sitting at a league-leading 0.62 but his xFIP at 3.60. However, I would bet on the Royals to not be the team that rights the ship.

Hunter Greene at OAK

Greene has been solid to start the year with a 29.7% strikeout rate and 3.76 xFIP. He still walks batters at a high clip (7.9%) but he’s done a better job at keeping the ball in the ballpark so far this year (0.39 HR/9).

Having faced Pittsburgh twice, Philly, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay, this will be Greene’s first test all year with a soft matchup vs Oakland. The A’s strikeout at a league-average rate but are bottom-ten in both ISO and wOBA.

Be advised that Greene has blow-up potential, but he’s also one of the top candidates to get you double-digit strikeouts when the matchup presents itself. He’s a solid pickup this week with a Limited card price of ~$15.

Other Starters Include:

• Jacob deGrom vs NYY

• Corbin Burnes vs LAA

• Luis Castillo at TOR

• Spencer Strider at NYM

• Chris Sale vs CLE

• Christian Javier vs PHI

• Joe Musgrove vs SFG

• Drew Rasmussen at CHW

Notable Starting Pitchers NOT starting in Game Week 9:

Kyle Wright, Sandy Alcantara, Julio Urias, Miles Mikolas, Logan Webb, Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Gibson, Shane McClanahan, Dylan Cease, Tyler Mahle, Gerrit Cole, Andrew Heaney, Graham Ashcraft, Yusei Kikuchi, Michael Kopech, Tanner Bibee, Kenta Maeda, Domingo German, Freddy Peralta, Zac Gallen, Hunter Brown, Logan Gilbert

📞 Call To The Bullpen

Our mission is once again to pick a closer who can make two relief appearances and earn a save in each. 5 points for an appearance plus 10 points for a save, multiplied by two would give us 30. With the additional points for innings pitched and strikeouts, a target of 40 Sorare points is typically the ceiling.

In contrast, if we select a middle reliever we’d be looking for two appearances and a hold in each. 5 points for an appearance and 5 points for a hold, multiplied by two would give us 20. The upside might seem more capped compared to a closer, but a middle reliever can pitch more than 2 innings, and can therefore match a closer with points for IP and strikeouts.

We also want to pick closers in games where we think the series will stay competitive throughout. This way we can maximize our chances of our closer being needed for a save situation (maximum 3-point lead) or our middle reliever not entering the game for mop-up duty in a blowout.

Closer Options:

• ~$33 Jordan Romano vs SEA

• ~$10 Paul Sewald at TOR

• ~$6 AJ Minter at NYM

• ~$15 Kenley Jansen vs CLE

Middle Relief Options:

• Erik Swanson and Tim Mayza vs SEA

• Matt Brash and Diego Castillo at TOR

• Nick Anderson and Collin McHugh at NYM

• John Schreiber and Ryan Brasier vs CLE

💰 Stacks

Orioles

Baltimore will play the latter three games of a four-game series at Comerica Park against Eduardo Rodriguez, Matt Boyd, and Spencer Turnbull.

Rodriguez surprisingly shut down these Orioles in his last outing on Sunday but his advanced stats still show a 3.79 xFIP. He’s the “Ace” of Detroit which says all you need to know about this staff.

Turnbull’s numbers mirror those of a minor league pitcher. Including last years’ numbers he has a 5.78 xFIP, 11.7% walk-rate, and a paltry 14.6% strikeout-rate. The xFIP is the 10th-worst mark amongst starters since last season, and the nine players above him are no longer part of a starting rotation.

Lock in some O’s once again.

• ~$29 Cedric Mullins

• ~$38 Adley Rutschman

• ~$9 Anthony Santander

• ~$38 Ryan Mountcastle

• ~$18 Jorge Mateo

Diamondbacks

The DBacks head to Coors Field this weekend to play a three game series against Kyle Freeland, Noah Davis, and Austin Gomber. Arizona has been about league-average in ISO and wOBA this season and their NL West-leading 14-12 record is mostly a result of stellar pitching.

That being said this team is sixth in the league with 24 steals, they draw the best matchup on the board in GW9, and all come cheap in the Sorare marketplace. Also, there are much better options at Corner Infielder than old-man Longoria.

• ~$11 Ketel Marte

• ~$9 Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

• ~$13 Christian Walker

• ~$80 Corbin Carroll

Other Stacks To Consider:

• Pirates

• Braves

• Rockies

• Dodgers

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

~$11 Ketel Marte, ~$18 Jorge Mateo, ~$11 Jorge Polanco, ~$15 Vaughn Grissom

Corner Infielder:

~$14 Rowdy Tellez, $14 Ke’Bryan Hayes, ~$17 Brandon Lowe, ~$14 Christian Walker, ~$12 Brandon Drury

Outfielder:

~$9 Lourdes Gurriel Jr, ~$9 Anthony Santander, ~$12 Andrew McCutchen, ~$19 Teoscar Hernandez, ~$4 Max Kepler

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 9.

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!