Latest Sorare News

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.

Pirates’ closer David Bednar earned first place by 14 Sorare points by closing out three, tightly-contested games against the Cardinals this weekend.

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:

• ~$37 Shane McClanahan at BOS

• ~$14 Aaron Nola vs DET

• ~$11 Logan Gilbert at SDP

• ~$8 Pablo Lopez at TBR

• ~$6 Edward Cabrera vs KCR

• ~$21 Clayton Kershaw at CIN

• ~$28 Framber Valdez at TOR

• ~$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:

• ~$9 Devin Williams

• ~$12 Alexis Diaz

• ~$11 Jordan Romano

• ~$4 Mark Leiter Jr.

• ~$2 Adbert Alzolay

• ~$8 Kenley Jansen

• ~$10 Ryan Pressly

• ~$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.

• ~$14 Nico Hoerner

• ~$13 Dansby Swanson

• ~$6 Ian Happ

• ~$8 Seiya Suzuki

• ~$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.

• ~$8 LaMonte Wade

• ~$8 J.D. Davis

• ~$2 Wilmer Flores

• ~$5 Mitch Haniger

• ~$6 Blake Sabol

Other Stacks To Consider:

Braves, Rangers, Red Sox, Pirates, Marlins

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

• ~$17 Jonathan India, ~$14 Ketel Marte, ~$17 Jonah Heim, ~$14 Dansby Swanson, ~$17 Gleyber Torres

Corner Infielder:

• ~$19 JD Martinez, ~$19 Bryan Reynolds, ~$18 Jorge Soler, ~$19 Alex Bregman, ~$17 Anthony Santander

Outfielder:

• ~$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!

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.

Also, follow me on Twitter @Hunter_Himself!

Let’s dive in!

⏪ Game Week Rewind

The top spot in GW18 was chopped by Miles Mikolas and Marcus Stroman.

Stroman surprisingly dominated the Rays with a complete game shutout while racking up 9 strikeouts.

Mikolas delivered 10 strikeouts over 8 innings of work against Kansas City on Tuesday on a season-high 102 pitches.

Gausman continued his dominant season by striking out 11 Brewers over just 6 innings. His Limited card price remains under $25.

Mets players placed first and third on the bullpen leaderboard this week as New York narrowly swept the Phillies this week.

I should also note that Grant Anderson struck out 7 Tigers over 2 innings of relief work on Tuesday. He does not currently have a Sorare card.

For a four-game slate there weren’t too many high scores at the top of this weeks’ hitter leaderboard.

Josh Naylor led the way, boosted heavily by a 4-6 day at the plate with 6 RBIs on Wednesday.

Aaron Judge has hit 4 homers over his last 4 games and is now behind just Pete Alonso with 18 homers, good for the second-most in the league.

📋 Roster Movements

In:

Josh Donaldson - Hoping to join Yankees for their series vs. the Dodgers in LA

Giancarlo Stanton - “Could be in play” to return to the Yankees this weekend

Triston McKenzie - Rejoined the Guardians rotation Thursday after 3 rehab outings

Out:

Cedric Mullins - Placed on the 10-day IL with left groin strain

Justin Steele - Removed from Wednesday’s start with left forearm tightness

Eduardo Rodriguez - Placed on 15-day IL with left index finger pulley rupture

Riley Greene - Diagnosed with stress fracture on left fibula

Harrison Bader - Placed on the 10-day IL Tuesday with right hamstring strain

Kris Bryant - Placed on the 10-day IL Thursday with a left heel bruise

Alec Bohm - Placed on 10-day IL Thursday with left hamstring strain

Jesse Winker - Placed on 10-day IL Tuesday with a cervical strain

Michael Conforto - Day to day with a heel injury

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

Four Games:

Red Sox, Rays

Three Games:

Everyone else!

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Michael Kopech vs DET

Kopech has been unreal over his last three games, totaling 29 strikeouts and allowing just 4 earned runs over 19 innings.

In GW19 he draws the Tigers at home who are 11th in K% (23.5%), 29th in ISO (.125), and 28th in wOBA (.294).

The best part about Kopech is that his price hasn’t really budged in the market since he turned it around. His Limited is around $9 and his Rare is under $45.

Limited Price: ~$9

 

Nathan Eovaldi vs SEA

Speaking of players who have been on fire lately, Eovaldi has only allowed 4 runs over his last 6 games while piling up 39 strikeouts over that span.

Amongst qualified pitchers, Eovaldi is just 30th in strikeout rate (24.6%), but the Ks should be there against the Mariners who have the 4th-highest strikeout rate vs. right handed pitching (25.4%).

The numbers that really stick out for Eovaldi are his xFIP at 3.34 which is just behind Shohei Ohtani for 13th-best in the league, and his 4th-best HR/9 at just 0.36.

Limited Price: ~$18

Other Starters Include:

• ~$19 Corbin Burnes at CIN

• ~$19 Luis Castillo at TEX

• ~$15 Dylan Cease vs DET

• ~$38 Gerrit Cole at LAD

• ~$90 Spencer Strider at ARI

• ~$22 Taj Bradley at BOS

• ~$22 Sandy Alcantara vs OAK

• ~$23 Joe Ryan vs CLE

• ~$31 Zac Gallen vs ATL

📞 Call To The Bullpen

With both teams playing a doubleheader on Saturday, Rays and Red Sox bullpen players are going to stand out as incredible plays this week.

I would try to prioritize these players wherever you can.

Rays Bullpen:

• ~$2 Kevin Kelly

• ~$1 Colin Poche

• ~$1 Jalen Beeks

• ~$1 Jake Diekman

• ~$1 Calvin Faucher

• ~$4 Jason Adam

Red Sox Bullpen:

• ~$3 Josh Winckowski

• ~$1 Chris Martin

• ~$1 Joely Rodriguez

• ~$8 Kenley Jansen

Other games I think can stay close in Game Week 19:

NYY/LAD, MIL/CIN, STL/PIT

Closer Options:

• ~$2 Wandy Peralta

• ~$6 Evan Phillips

• ~$9 Devin Williams

• ~$15 Alexis Diaz

• ~$2 Giovanny Gallegos

• ~$7 David Bednar

💰 Stacks

Rays

Tampa is far ahead of every other team this week as they travel to Fenway Park to play 4 games against Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck, Corey Kluber, and Bryan Bello.

Not only is this team playing in a hitter’s park, guaranteed 9th-inning at bats, playing 4 games on a 3-game slate, and facing a team that might get swept by the Reds today, they are also ranked 1st in ISO (.219), 1st in wOBA (.357), and 1st in wRC+ (134).

There’s not much left to be said, fire up some Rays with confidence this weekend.

• ~$19 Yandy Díaz

• ~$81 Wander Franco

• ~$41 Randy Arozarena

• ~$8 Brandon Lowe

• ~$9 Isaac Paredes

Red Sox

The other team I’ll recommend is the other team playing 4 games on the other side of that Rays’ series.

The Red Sox will face Tyler Glasnow, Josh Fleming, Taj Bradley, and a TBD pitcher this weekend.

Although I have respect for this Tampa pitching squad, there is a huge advantage to be had by having an extra game on a weekend slate.

Boston is 11th in ISO (.170), 5th in wOBA (.334), and 8th in wRC+ (107).

• ~$2 Raimel Tapia

• ~$10 Alex Verdugo

• ~$49 Rafael Devers

• ~$62 Masataka Yoshida

• ~$7 Justin Turner

Other Stacks To Consider:

Brewers, Marlins, Royals, Braves

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

• ~$19 Gleyber Torres, ~$16 Paul DeJong, ~$13 Tommy Edman, ~$10 Whit Merrifield,~$13 Sean Murphy

Corner Infielder:

• ~$19 Anthony Rizzo, ~$16 J.D. Martinez, ~$19 Yandy Diaz, ~$13 Christian Yelich, ~$19 Byron Buxton, ~$9 Josh Naylor

Outfielder:

• ~$13 Christian Yelich, ~$17 Seiya Suzuki, ~$19 Lars Nootbar, ~$18 Jared Kelenic, ~$15 Anthony Santander, ~$9 Marcell Ozuna

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 19.

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!

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.

Also, follow me on Twitter @Hunter_Himself!

Let’s dive in!

⏪ Game Week Rewind

Although Kopech has some of the worst advanced numbers on the season (5.23 xFIP), it was noted by Nick in this thread that a tweak to his stuff would turn him into a top-end arm.

It should also be noted that Chris Sale came through for us despite some added risk facing the Padres.

As noted last week, the relievers in the Tigers/Nationals game were squarely in play with both teams having the rare opportunity to be favorited.

In this case, both Harvey and Finnegan could have been scooped up for cheap in the Sorare market prior to this GW.

Fresh off the IL, Corey Seager led the dominant Rangers stack and took home the top spot with 7 hits, 7 RBIs, 5 runs, 3 doubles, and 2 homers.

Otherwise, Christopher Morel has now extended his home run streak to 8 in the last 11 days, and Cedric Mullins has appeared on this list yet again, boosted by a 5 for 6 day at the plate yesterday.

📋 Roster Movements

In:

Tyler Glasnow - Should return from the IL to face the Dodgers at home on Friday

Garrett Whitlock - Should return to Red Sox rotation for a start vs Arizona on Saturday

Bobby Miller - Called up from AAA, will start Tuesday against the Braves

Edouard Julien - Recalled from AAA on Saturday

Out:

Manny Machado - Placed on the 10-day IL Friday with a fractured hand

Mike Clevinger - Placed on the 15-day IL with right wrist inflammation

Julio Urías - Placed on the 15-day IL with strained left hamstring

Jorge Polanco - Placed on the 10-day IL Saturday with left hamstring strain

Cody Bellinger - Placed on the 10-day IL with left knee contusion

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

Four Games:

Rays, Mariners, Reds, Braves, Giants, Brewers, Blue Jays, Marlins, Rockies, White Sox, Cardinals, Tigers, Athletics, Phillies

Three Games:

Orioles, Twins, Royals, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Padres, Yankees, Astros, Rangers, Dodgers, Angels, Mets, Nationals, Cubs, Pirates, Guardians

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Luis Castillo/Bryce Miller/Logan Gilbert vs OAK

I’ve been impressed with the Seattle pitching staff this season.

The starting rotation is ranked 6th overall with a collective 3.89 xFIP and in GW16 they draw the A’s at home who strike out at the fifth-highest rate (24.8%), have the eight-worst ISO (.146), and have the fourth-worst wOBA (.300).

The ballpark is also great for pitching and both Castillo and Gilbert have cheap floor prices in the Sorare marketplace.

Castillo: K%: 27.8%, xFIP: 3.44, Limited Price: ~$15

Miller: K%: 25%, xFIP: 3.80, Limited Price: ~$99

Gilbert: K%: 30.6%, xFIP: 2.94, Limited Price: ~$15

Joe Ryan vs SFG

The Giants no longer hold the crown for being the highest-strike out team in the league (25.6%). That now belongs to the Mariners offense (25.9%).

Joe Ryan will bring his elite numbers (30.4% K%, 3.7% BB%, 0.89 WHIP, 3.12 xFIP) into this strikeout-friendly matchup at home.

Fire up some Joe Ryan once again.

Limited Price: ~$23

Other Starters Include:

• ~$94 Spencer Strider vs LAD

• ~$36 Gerrit Cole vs BAL

• ~$36 Zac Gallen at PHI

• ~$33 Shane McClanahan vs TOR

• ~$32 Taj Bradley vs TOR

• ~$13 Sonny Gray vs SFG

• ~$12 Yu Darvish at WSH

📞 Call To The Bullpen

Games that I think could stay competitive in GW16:

BAL/NYY, LAD/ATL, DET/KCR, MIL/HOU

Closer Options:

• ~$21 Felix Bautista

• ~$3 Clay Holmes

• ~$9 Evan Phillips

• ~$5 Raisel Iglesias

• ~$9 Alex Lange

• ~$4 Scott Barlow

• ~$11 Devin Williams

• ~$9 Ryan Pressly

💰 Stacks

Marlins

The Rockies haven’t announced their starting pitchers for this series at the time of writing, but I can’t think of one pitcher on this staff that I am scared of.

Miami gets the Coors Field treatment in GW15 and their whole offense gets a big boost.

This offense has been bad, but many of these guys can be picked up for cheap and scattered throughout teams as one offs or mini-stacks.

• ~$11 Luis Arraez

• ~$27 Jorge Soler

• ~$3 Garrett Cooper

• ~$9 Bryan De La Cruz

• ~$2 Yuli Gurriel

  

Cardinals

St. Louis draws one of my favorite matchups as they head to Great American Ballpark to face Brandon Williamson, Graham Ashcraft, Ben Lively, and Luke Weaver.

The Cards are finally starting to turn it around on offense after a slow start to the season, and they will get a big ballpark upgrade and face a weak pitching staff in GW16.

Over the last two weeks, St. Louis is 2nd in ISO (.226) and 1st in wOBA (.364).

• ~$19 Lars Nootbaar

• ~$34 Paul Goldschmidt

• ~$10 Willson Contreras

• ~$38 Nolan Arenado

• ~$26 Nolan Gorman

Other Stacks To Consider:

Rockies, Padres, Braves, Mariners

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

• ~$19 Christopher Morel, ~$16 Sean Murphy, ~$17 Jonah Heim, ~$17 Gleyber Torres, ~$16 Jonathan India, ~$19 Carlos Correa

Corner Infielder:

• ~$17 Christian Yelich, ~$15 Anthony Santander, ~$12 Justin Turner, ~$19 Miguel Vargas, ~$15 Jake Burger, ~$9 C.J. Cron

Outfielder:

• ~$18 Alex Verdugo, ~$11 Riley Greene, ~$19 Brent Rooker, ~$11 Joey Meneses, ~$10 Andrew Vaughn, ~$19 Kyle Schwarber

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 16.

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!

You can find my slate breakdowns every Monday and Friday of the MLB season on here 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

For the second week in a row, Mitch Keller was a top three starter, this time finishing first overall with a 13 strikeout game vs. Baltimore.

Keller has surprisingly looked good this season (30.1% K%, 3.11 xFIP) however this pace feels unsustainable and his next two starts should be against Arizona and Texas.

 

Félix Bautista once again finished at the top by striking out the sides twice to earn two separate saves.

He’s looked dominant and offers one of the most valuable closer cards on the Sorare market (Limited price: ~$23).

This weekend saw some unusual names at the top of the hitter leaderboard, however I did have my eye on Nolan Arenado, who stood out facing two lefties at Fenway Park.

The other important player to note here is Dominic Fletcher, the Diamondbacks rookie who looked great on both offense and defense this weekend.

He’s Arizona’s number 15 prospect but does not yet have a Sorare card on the market.

📋 Roster Movements

In:

Matt McLain - Called up from AAA to Reds, will make debut Monday vs. Rockies

Out:

Drew Rasmussen - Placed on the 60-day IL with flexor strain in right elbow

Jazz Chisholm Jr. - Sustained right foot contusion colliding with wall, was out Sunday

Nick Lodolo - Scratched from Saturday’s start with left calf soreness

Max Kepler - Placed on the 10-day IL with left hamstring strain

Elvis Andrus - Placed on 10-day IL with left oblique strain

Nico Hoerner - Placed on 10-day IL with left hamstring strain

Antonio Senzatela - Right elbow strain, will be out at least three weeks

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

Four Games:

Cardinals, Blue Jays, Yankees, Nationals, Mets, Angels, Orioles, Dodgers

Three Games:

Two Games:

Tigers, Pirates

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Framber Valdez vs CHC

Valdez has looked awesome this year, and he’s coming off a 50-point outing last week against the Angels.

He currently has the fourth-best xFIP (2.60) but just the 20th-best strikeout rate (27.1%).

He always does a fantastic job of limiting the damage, but won’t provide a ton of upside in the strikeout department.

The Cubs have a top-five wOBA but are league average in both K% and ISO.

He’s a safe floor option at SP and isn’t affected much by matchup.

Limited Price: ~$23

 

Kevin Gausman vs NYY

If you blinked you may have missed that Gausman is now leading the MLB with the lowest xFIP (2.36).

He’s only behind Strider and Ohtani in K% (34.2%), he’s tied for third in BB% (3.6%), and he does all this while throwing essentially two pitches (51.6% FB%, 40.8% SF%, 7.7% SL%)

He’s making a strong case for the AL Cy Young, and gets a matchup against the Yankees who are surprisingly middle of the pack in every offensive category this season.

Fire up some Gausman once again.

Limited Price: ~$23

Other Starters Include:

• ~$11 Eduardo Rodriguez vs PIT

• ~$121 Spencer Strider at TEX

• ~$16 Freddy Peralta at STL

• ~$14 Luis Castillo at BOS

• ~$18 Christian Javier vs CHC

• ~$13 Zack Wheeler at SFG

• ~$31 Clayton Kershaw vs MIN

• ~$19 Yu Darvish vs KCR

• ~$51 Gerrit Cole at TOR

• ~$24 Corbin Burnes at STL

📞 Call To The Bullpen

In addition to targeting matchups we think can stay competitive, we also want to focus on the eight teams playing four games so we can maximize our chances for appearances.

Games/Teams I’m focusing on in GW14:

TBR/NYM, NYY/TOR, LAA/BAL, MIL/STL

Closer Options:

• ~$12 David Robertson

• ~$2/~$4 Clay Holmes/Michael King

• ~$13 Jordan Romano

• ~$15 Carlos Estevez

• ~$22 Felix Bautista

• ~$5 Ryan Helsley

💰 Stacks

Orioles

Among the eight teams playing four games this week, none of them are clear stand out options.

The only thing holding the Orioles back from being the overwhelming leader is that they will face Ohtani today.

After that they will go up against Chase Silseth, Griffin Canning, and Tyler Anderson.

Even with the matchup vs Ohtani, this is my favorite stack to target on the week.

• ~$31 Cedric Mullins

• ~$24 Adley Rutschman

• ~$15 Anthony Santander

• ~$14 Gunnar Henderson

• ~$22 Ryan Mountcastle

Angels

The other stack I’ll highlight this week is on the other side of the Orioles game.

The Angels will face Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, and Tyler Wells.

Outside of the rookie Rodriguez, this Orioles pitching staff hasn’t looked great this year. No one else has over a 23% strikeout rate or under a 4 xFIP.

The Angels are often a two-man show, but this spot looks nice for the whole team to do some damage here.

• ~$9 Taylor Ward

• ~$84 Mike Trout

• ~$163 Shohei Ohtani

• ~$14 Hunter Renfroe

• ~$11 Brandon Drury

Other Stacks To Consider:

Blue Jays, Mets, Dodgers, Reds

Value Options (Under $20)

Middle Infielder:

• ~$11 Brandon Drury, ~$16 Gleyber Torres, ~$18 Jonathan India, ~$15 JT Realmuto, ~$18 Jorge Mateo, ~$17 Carlos Correa

Corner Infielder:

• ~$19 Christian Walker, ~$17 Miguel Vargas, ~$12 Andrew Vaughn, ~$10 Tristan Casas, ~$7 Ryan Noda,

Outfielder:

• ~$15 Anthony Santander, ~$19 Dualton Varsho, ~$7 Eddie Rosario, ~$14 Hunter Renfroe, ~$9 Andrew McCutchen, ~$4 Mitch Haniger

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 14.

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!

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

Eovaldi joins Eduardo Rodriguez on the list of pitchers who have left the Red Sox and rejuvenated their career elsewhere.

 

Rangers’ closer Will Smith was the highest scoring reliever by 25 Sorare points, and actually ended up outscoring all starting pitchers as well.

Smith earned his third appearance and a save last night when he came into the game with two outs in the top of the ninth to seal the win.

I would be cautious with him in GW13 as he will most likely need some rest after playing in three out of the last four games.

 

 

All I’m gonna say is we had a listener question come in on Monday’s Off Bas3 Spaces asking who I thought was going to be the highest scoring player in GW13.

My answer was Gleyber Torres, and there is audio evidence with the podcast now on Spotify 😀.

Torres was indeed the top overall scorer with six hits, including two home runs and seven RBIs in a fantastic matchup at home against Oakland.

Otherwise Giants’ rookie Casey Schmitt has now gone 8 for 12 with two homers and four RBIs since his debut on Tuesday.

He is San Fransisco’s number 4 prospect but does not yet have a Sorare card.

📋 Roster Movements

In:

James Paxton - Set to make first start in over two years for Boston on Friday

Eury Pérez - Called up to Marlins from AA, will start Friday vs. Reds

Liam Hendricks - Is now cancer-free, should return to White Sox closer role this week

Ranger Suárez - Will rejoin Phillies’ rotation and start Saturday vs. Colorado

Yan Gomes - Returned from 7-day IL Tuesday, was in Cubs’ lineup Wednesday

J.D. Martinez - Was DTD with back tightness, should return to Dodgers lineup Friday

Out:

Max Fried - Placed on 15-day IL with left forearm strain

Jose Alvarado - Placed on 15-day IL with left elbow inflammation

Max Scherzer - Scratched from Tuesday’s start, not placed on IL yet

Oswald Peraza - Placed on 10-day IL with right ankle sprain

Garrett Cleavinger - Out for the season with ACL tear

Ramon Urías - Placed on 10-day IL with strained hamstring

Ryan Yarbrough - Placed on the 15-day IL after being hit in face with comebacker

Spencer Turnbull - Demoted to AAA Toledo, Alex Faedo will join Tigers’ rotation

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

All teams play three games!

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Zac Gallen vs. SFG

We get another Cy Gallen slate and this time he will be going up against the Giants who’s lineup strikes out at the highest rate in the league (26.6%).

I repeat myself often here but Gallen is top-three in K%, BB%, xFIP, and WHIP. He’s also 7th in HR/9 (0.36).

Don’t overthink this one.

Limited Price: ~$52

Logan Gilbert at DET

Gilbert would have to have the biggest discrepancy between his advanced stats and his Sorare price.

He’s fifth in strikeout rate (33.1%), sixth in xFIP (2.90), he has the 15th best walk-rate (5%), and his Limited price is only about $12.

The best part is he draws the Tigers’ offense who are bottom-five in K%, wOBA, ISO, and wRC+.

Limited Price: ~$12

Joe Ryan vs. CHC

I highlighted Joe Ryan a couple weeks ago as a severely overlooked player and my thoughts remain the same.

He draws the Cubs this weekend who are league average in strikeouts and ISO but surprisingly have a top-five wOBA.

He’s an every week start with tremendous upside should the matchup be there.

Limited Price: ~$22

Other Starters Include:

• ~$26 Corbin Burnes vs. KCR

• ~$24 Sandy Alcantara vs. CIN

• ~$51 Gerrit Cole vs. TBR

• ~$104 Spencer Strider at TOR

• ~$14 Sonny Gray vs. CHC

• ~$12 Chris Sale vs. STL

• ~$41 Shane McClanahan at NYY

• ~$9 Nick Lodolo at MIA

📞 Call To The Bullpen

With all team playing three games this week, there isn’t as much of an edge to be found when it comes to picking closers.

I will say that Spencer Strider draws a tough matchup this week against Toronto and might not be the obvious RP play that he usually is.

Here are some games I think could stay competitive this weekend and whose bullpen could be in a plus spot:

PIT/BAL, ATL/TOR, CHC/MIN

Closer Options:

• ~$15 David Bednar

• ~$14 Felix Bautista

• ~$12 Raisel Iglesias

• ~$15 Jordan Romano

• ~$3 Mark Leiter Jr.

• ~$11 Jhoan Duran

💰 Stacks

Phillies

Philly is the top stacking option on the board as they head to Coors Field to face Austin Gomber, Ryan Feltner, and Kyle Freeland this weekend.

The Phillies can hit from both sides of the plate and are now at full strength with the return of Bryce Harper.

• ~$6 Bryson Stott

• ~$49 Trea Turner

• ~$70 Bryce Harper

• ~$19 Nick Castellanos

• ~$29 Kyle Schwarber

• ~$14 JT Realmuto

Mariners

Seattle looks nice this week with matchups vs. Matt Boyd, Alex Faedo, and Joey Wentz in Detroit.

The Mariners won’t be facing Eduardo Rodriguez in this series whose stellar pitching has been one of the biggest surprises this season.

As mentioned in this newsletter and on Off Bas3 a few weeks ago, Spencer Turnbull had some of the worst numbers in the league and was unsurprisingly demoted to AAA this week, paving the way for Alex Faedo to join Detroit’s rotation.

That being said, Faedo has just a 17.2% strikeout rate and 5.21 xFIP at the major league level over 58 innings.

• ~$23 Jared Kelenic

• ~$5 Eugenio Suarez

• ~$66 Julio Rodriguez

• ~$13 Teoscar Hernandez

• ~$4 Cal Raleigh

Other Stacks To Consider:

Cardinals, Mets, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

• ~$13 Brandon Drury, ~$16 Gleyber Torres, ~$18 Jonathan India, ~$15 JT Realmuto, ~$18 Jorge Mateo, ~$17 Carlos Correa

Corner Infielder:

• ~$19 Christian Walker, ~$17 Miguel Vargas, ~$12 Andrew Vaughn, ~$10 Tristan Casas, ~$7 Ryan Noda, ~$19 Adley Rutschman

Outfielder:

• ~$18 Anthony Santander, ~$19 Josh Lowe, ~$19 Dualton Varsho, ~$7 Eddie Rosario, ~$16 Hunter Renfroe, ~$9 Andrew McCutchen, ~$4 Mitch Haniger

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 13.

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!

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

There weren’t many big pitching scores over the weekend, but Merrill Kelly led the pack with 10 strikeouts through 7 IP against the Nationals on Friday.<

Kelly has decent numbers (25.5% strikeout rate, 4.14 xFIP), but this was more of a matchup-based outcome as the Nats are bottom five in wOBA, ISO, and wRC+.

The other guy worth noting is Dustin May, aka Gingergaard, who finally flashed some upside with 6 strikeouts against the Padres on Saturday.

His Limited Card price of just $12 is something I have my eye on.

The relief pitcher leaderboard contained five closers this week, with each getting two appearances and earning at least one save and one hold.

Evan Phillips was relied upon heavily to close out the latter two games of the Dodgers’ series against San Diego that stayed competitive throughout.

There was only a 7-run scoring differential throughout the series and Dodgers/Padres remains one of the most fun rivalries in all of baseball.

Reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt made a comeback on Sunday with a three-home run game to place him atop the leaderboard.

The Cardinals appeared cursed prior to the outburst, but I think it’s only a matter of time before this team turns it completely around.

The other player to note here is Jonathan India who I liked a lot coming into this GW.

He hit two homers, two doubles, a single, and had two stolen bases. He’s the preferred option by far on the Reds, and he can play the middle infield position where it is often difficult to find a speed/power combo.

📋 Roster Movements

In:

Aaron Judge - Should be activated from 10-day IL for Tuesday’s game vs. the A’s

Out:

Luis Garcia - Will undergo Tommy John Surgery, out for the rest of the season

Eloy Jiménez - Underwent appendectomy, will miss 4 to 6 weeks

Jake Burger - Placed on 10-day IL with left oblique strain

Tyler O’Neill - Placed on 10-day IL with lower back strain

Vince Velazquez - Placed on 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

Four Games:

Rays, Athletics, Yankees, Giants, Diamondbacks, Royals, Rangers, White Sox

Three Games:

Reds, Twins, Mets, Padres, Astros, Angels, Tigers, Guardians, Rockies, Pirates, Orioles, Cardinals, Cubs, Dodgers, Brewers, Mariners, Nationals, Marlins

Two Games:

Red Sox, Braves, Blue Jays, Phillies

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Zac Gallen vs MIA

As it stands right now, Zac Gallen has the lowest xFIP (2.22), third-lowest BB% (3.1%), and the third-highest K% (35.2%).

Miami has the third-worst wOBA (.297) and the eleventh-worst K% (23.8%).

Gallen was dominant the last time he faced the Marlins and I expect nothing different in GW12.

He’s the top option on the board.

Limited Price: ~$44

Kevin Gausman at PHI

The matchup doesn’t stick out, especially with Bryce Harper back in the starting lineup. Philly strikes out the ninth-highest (23.9%) and has the 12th-highest team wOBA (.328).

Gausman’s numbers have been incredible to start the year. He has the fourth-highest K% (33.1%), second-best xFIP (2.61), and ninth-best BB% (4%).

Gausman’s unique pitch mix continues to confuse batters. He’s one of about 10 pitchers who features a splitter, which he throws about 41% of the time.

He’s one of the most matchup-proof starters in the league and his Limited price of $28 remains too cheap.

Limited Price: ~$28

Dylan Cease at KCR

Cease has not looked good as of late but he’s had a tough schedule over his last four games facing Baltimore, Minnesota, and Tampa Bay twice.

This week he heads to a pitcher-friendly ballpark to face Kansas City, who strike out about league-average (23.5%), but have the fourth-worst team wOBA (.298).

Cease has a 26.2% strikeout rate (ranked 21st), 4.45 xFIP (ranked 46th), and he continues to have walk issues with an 11.6% walk-rate (eighth-highest mark).

That being said, Cease has some of the most upside in the league when he’s on, and he finally gets a positive matchup.

Limited Price: ~$20

Other Starters Include:

• Logan Gilbert vs TEX

• Clayton Kershaw at MIL

• Kevin Gausman at PHI

• Luis Castillo vs TEX

• Justin Verlander at CIN

• Pablo Lopez vs SDP

• Nick Lodolo vs NYM

• Yu Darvish at MIN

Notable Pitchers NOT Starting In GW12:

Taijuan Walker, Joe Musgrove, Julio Urías, Bryce Elder, Yusei Kikuchi, Joe Ryan, Gerrit Cole, Mason Miller, Steven Matz, Sandy Alcantara, Ross Stripling, Martin Perez, Bryce Miller, Graham Ashcraft, Michael Kopech

📞 Call To The Bullpen

Here we want to focus on the 8 teams that are playing four games this week, and pick pitchers from the series’ we think can stay close throughout.

I would prioritize the Rays, White Sox, Royals, and Rangers here as those are the teams playing four games within these matchups.

Games I’m looking at:

TBR/BAL, CHW/KCR, SEA/TEX

Closer Options:

• ~$4 Jason Adam

• ~$1 Reynaldo Lopez (Liam Hendricks is coming back next week though)

• ~$3 Scott Barlow

• ~$7 Will Smith

• ~$2 Clay Holmes

• ~$14 Camilo Doval

💰 Stacks

Rays

Tampa looks like an awesome stack in GW12. They will face Kyle Gibson, Grayson Rodriguez, and Dean Kremer at Camden Yards against the Orioles, before heading to Yankee Stadium to face Domingo German on Thursday.

In case you didn’t already know the Rays offense was good, they’re currently leading the MLB in AVG, OBP, Runs, Home Runs, SLG %, wRC+, ISO, OPS, and offensive WAR.

• ~$25 Yandy Díaz

• ~$84 Wander Franco

• ~$51 Randy Arozarena

• ~$14 Brandon Lowe

• ~$9 Isaac Paredes

White Sox

The White Sox will play a four game series at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals and are slated to face Zack Greinke, Jordan Lyles, Brad Keller, and Brady Singer.

The ballpark isn’t great for offense, but Chicago is coming off a 17-run outing vs. the Reds yesterday, and the Royals pitching staff has the second-highest collective xFIP on the year (5.06).

• ~$18 Tim Anderson

• ~$5 Andrew Benintendi

• ~$12 Andrew Vaughn

• ~$21 Luis Robert Jr.

• ~$3 Hanser Alberto

Yankees

The Yankees will draw a favorable home matchup this week against the bottom-ranked Oakland pitching staff, and are slated to face JP Sears, Drew Rucinski, and Kyle Muller. They will then play one game against Tampa and a TBD pitcher.

In addition to the expected return of Aaron Judge on Tuesday, the top of this Yankees lineup features a solid speed/power combination that should find success in this hitter-friendly park and against this poor pitching staff.

• ~$63 Anthony Volpe

• ~$120 Aaron Judge

• ~$14 Gleyber Torres

• ~$14 Anthony Rizzo

• ~$15 Harrison Bader

Other Stacks To Consider:

Giants, Royals, Rangers, Diamondbacks

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

• ~$15 Jonah Heim, $12 Brandon Drury, ~$9 Salvador Perez, ~$12 Daulton Varsho, $14 Jonathan India, ~$6 Javier Baez, ~$7 Cal Raleigh

Corner Infielder:

• ~$16 Christian Walker, ~$12 Andrew Vaughn, ~$11 Brandon Drury, $12 Isaac Paredes, ~$14 Jonathan India, ~$2 Brandon Belt

Outfielder:

• ~$18 Jarren Duran, ~$12 Hunter Renfroe, ~14 Anthony Santander, ~$7 Eddie Rosario, ~$18 Teoscar Hernandez, ~$7 Joey Meneses

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 12.

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!

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

The other player to note here is rookie Bryce Miller who looked excellent in his start versus Oakland, recording 10 strikeouts and carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning.

The only issue is we have to wait for his card to appear in the Sorare marketplace.

Kyle Finnegan led the way by making three appearances in a row within the Nationals’ four games in GW10. He earned two saves and one win in those outings against the Cubs.

It’s also worth noting that AJ Minter made three starts at closer for the Braves who played five games, although he is about to get replaced by Raisel Iglesias when he returns this weekend.

Lastly, Jason Adam made two appearances and struck out the side in both. He will be filling in for Pete Fairbanks who was just placed on the IL and could make for a nice short-term pickup.

 

The Braves took over the leaderboard in GW10 with FOUR players placing in the top five amongst hitters.

This was largely predictable though because they played five games, which was two more than the vast majority of teams.

Matt Olson also finished with 40, Austin Riley with 34, Michael Harris Jr. with 35, and Eddie Rosario with 34.

Never underestimate the power of extra games, especially when that team is the Atlanta Braves.

📋 Roster Movements

In:

Brandon Pfaadt - Called up to Dbacks from AAA, gave up 7 runs in debut vs TEX

Bryce Miller - Called up to Mariners from AA, struck out 10 A’s through 6 IP

Raisel Iglesias - Should rejoin Braves this weekend, will take over closer role

Antonio Senzatela - Returning from 15-day IL, will start vs. Mets on Friday

Out:

German Márquez - Will undergo Tommy John surgery, out for the season

Pete Fairbanks - Placed on 15-day IL with right forearm inflammation

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

All teams play three games!

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Starting pitching is really bad in GW11. The guys at the top in Gerrit Cole, Clayton Kershaw, and Julio Urias are all good plays, however each one has a poor matchup.

I’ll do my best to navigate this minefield.

Joe Ryan at CLE

I was surprised when I dug into Ryan’s numbers so far this year.

He’s 8th in K% (30.1%), 11th in xFIP (3.17) and he’s tied with deGrom and Kershaw with the lowest WHIP in the league.

Cleveland has second-worst in ISO (.111), third-worst in wOBA (.286) and tied with Detroit for the third-worst wRC+ (80).

The only thing holding this matchup back is that the Guardians don’t strike out much at all. They have the third-lowest mark at 19.9%.

Limited Price: ~$19

Gerrit Cole at TBR

The matchup stinks. The Rays are leading the MLB in ISO (.244), wOBA (.375), and wRC+ (147), but they do strikeout at a league-average rate (22.2%) and this is a great ballpark to pitch.

As far as pitchers to choose from in GW11, Cole has some of the best numbers available and I can see him having a surprise good outing here.

Just keep in mind the Rays have a tendency to make opposing pitchers look awful.

Limited Price: ~$60

Other Starters Include:

• Clayton Kershaw at SDP

• Kodai Senga vs COL

• Corbin Burnes at SFG

• Julio Urias at SDP

• Drew Rasmussen at NYY

• Hunter Greene vs CHW

• Christian Javier at SEA

Notable Pitchers NOT Starting In GW10:

Kevin Gausman, Justin Verlander, Eduardo Rodriguez, Grayson Rodriguez, Pablo Lopez, Wade Miley, George Kirby, Jesus Luzardo, Dylan Cease, Kyle Gibson, Nick Pivetta, Alek Manoah, Max Scherzer, Shane McClanahan, Kyle Wright, Marcus Stroman, Shane Bieber, Miles Mikolas, Shohei Ohtani, Logan Gilbert, Aaron Nola, Framber Valdez, Logan Webb, Andrew Heaney, Brandon Pfaadt

📞 Call To The Bullpen

My guy Nick (@nmitchell11) published a great article this week titled “Navigating the RP Wasteland”.

He made our lives easy by grouping RP options into different tiers.

 

When not deploying Spencer Strider in a great matchup, we want to focus on closers who’s team is favored, but not favored by too much.

A closer who’s team is favored at -125 is more optimal than if they were favored at -250, and elite closers who are heavy underdogs are less optimal than non-closer relievers who are favored in any capacity.

Using our new tiers list, I will pick out some closers who fulfill that criteria.

Vegas lines won’t be available for most games in the GW but we can use our best judgement.

Closer Options

• ~$36 Emmanuel Clase

• ~$24 Felix Bautista

• ~$16 Will Smith

• ~$14 Raisel Iglesias (Returning this week)

• ~$9 Kenley Jansen

• ~$8 Ryan Pressly

• ~$7 Carlos Estevez

• ~$3 Jason Adam (Filling in for Pete Fairbanks)

  

   

💰 Stacks

There isn’t one stack that stands out this week with every team playing three games and many games being played in pitcher-friendly ballparks.

Here are some of my favorites for GW11

Mets

The Mets draw a home series against the Rockies in GW11 and are slated to face Antonio Senzatela, Austin Gomber, and Ryan Feltner.

Senzatela will be making his season debut but he only had a 13% K-rate and 4.07 xFIP last year. Gomber and Feltner have both struggled mightily this year with 5.56 and 4.5 xFIPs, respectively.

The ballpark isn’t great, but this is a good offense facing a struggling pitching staff.

• ~$20 Brandon Nimmo

• ~$53 Fransisco Lindor

• ~$17 Jeff McNeil

• ~$83 Pete Alonso

• ~$3 Daniel Vogelbach

Red Sox

Boston will be leaving Fenway for their series against the Phillies, however, Citizens Bank Park is also above average in terms of offensive production.

Friday’s matchup vs. Zack Wheeler is tough, but the Sox will draw Bailey Falter and Taijuan Walker over the weekend. Both Falter and Walker have over a 4.50 xFIP and both struggle with homers. Falter has just a 16% strikeout rate, while Walker has a 22.5% walk-rate.

• ~$20 Alex Verdugo

• ~$38 Masataka Yoshida

• ~$8 Justin Turner

• ~$62 Rafael Devers

• ~$13 Jarren Duran

Reds

Alright hear me out. The Reds are tenth-worst in wOBA (.304), third-worst in ISO (.113), and fifth-worst in wRC+ (81).

BUT

This is the best ballpark for offense in GW10, the Reds will not face Dylan Cease, White Sox starters have the fifth-highest collective HR/9 (1.59), and the Reds all come cheap in Sorare.

A full-stack might not make sense but I love some of these guys for mini-stacks and cheap fill-ins.

• ~$12 Jonathan India

• ~$2 TJ Friedl

• ~$9 Spencer Steer

• ~$5 Tyler Stephenson

• ~$4 Jake Fraley

Other Stacks To Consider:

Phillies, Orioles, Braves, Blue Jays, Twins, Royals

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

• ~$11 Jonah Heim, $11 Brandon Drury, ~$17 Jeff McNeil, ~$9 Salvador Perez, ~$11 Daulton Varsho, $12 Jonathan India

Corner Infielder:

• ~$16 Christian Walker, ~$14 Ketel Marte, ~$11 Brandon Drury, ~$11 Joey Gallo, $12 Isaac Paredes

Outfielder:

• ~$13 Jarren Duran, $19 Brent Rooker, ~$17 Jeff McNeil, ~$16 Hunter Renfroe, ~14 Anthony Santander, ~$4 Jake Fraley

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 11.

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!

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

The other player worth nothing here is rookie Grayson Rodriguez who racked up nine strikeouts against the Tigers on Saturday. He is someone to monitor for new card auctions on the Sorare marketplace.

The top relievers list consists of three closers in Graterol, Puk, and Williams. It’s worth noting that this is the second week in a row that Orioles’ Yennier Cano has appeared on this list. Cano has looked sharp and helped Baltimoresecure their sixth-straight series win this weekend.

 

Despite the Mexico City series featuring 15 total home runs, none of its participants were featured on this list. This is mostly due to it being a two-game series whereas every other team in GW9 played three games.

Olivares had a productive weekend despite hitting zero homers. He got there through steals, hits, and runs scored. The guy I’m looking at here is Brent Rooker, who has now appeared on this list three times, and broke Shohei Ohtani’s streak of zero homers surrendered this weekend.

📋 Roster Movements

In:

• Justin Verlander - Will make season debut this week against the Tigers

• Bryce Harper - Could return to Phillies lineup Tuesday

• Gavin Stone - Called up to Dodgers roster on Sunday, will start Wednesday vs. Phillies

• Joey Ortiz - Called up Thursday to Orioles, Went 2 for 8 this weekend

Out:

• Aaron Judge - Right hip strain, was out Sunday and may require trip to IL

• Jacob deGrom - Placed on 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation

• Kenta Maeda - Placed on 15-day IL with right triceps strain

• Luis Robert - Pulled for lack of hustle Saturday, not in starting lineup Sunday

• Garrett Whitlock - Placed on IL with right elbow ulnar neuritis, will miss two starts

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

5 Games:

Braves, Mets

4 Games:

Red Sox, Blue Jays, Cubs, Nationals

3 Games:

Rockies, Brewers, Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Mariners, Athletics, Reds, Padres, Guardians, Yankees, Giants, Astros, Cardinals, Angels, Royals, Orioles, Pirates, Rays, Marlins

2 Games:

Diamondbacks, Rangers

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Spencer Strider at NYM

Last week’s cover boy had his last start washed away with the rain and will get a makeup start today against the Mets. The story remains the same with Strider, a league-leading 42.6% strikeout rate, a 2.62 xFIP, and a league-leading mustache.

The Mets don’t strikeout a ton against righties (19.2%) and they’re hardly a weak offense, but matchup shouldn’t matter much here. Strider continues to be a cheat code.

Limited Price: ~$123

Zac Gallen at TEX

Gallen’s floor price has finally crept up to appropriate levels after his last start where he stretched his scoreless streak out to 28 innings. It seems that people are finally starting to realize who he is. He’s third in K% (36.2%), tied for sixth in walk-rate (3.5%), and leading the league in xFIP (2.23).

The matchup against Texas is scary, as they are 7th in both ISO (.184), and wOBA (.341). That being said I’d still bet on Gallen and his Cy Young-esque numbers.

Limited Price: ~$79

Logan Gilbert at OAK

Gilbert’s Sorare price is nowhere near where it should be considering the numbers he currently sports on the season. He currently has the tenth-best K% (30.1%), he’s sixth in xFIP (2.94), and 16th in BB% (4.4%). His advanced stats are actually better across the board than Gerrit Cole.

He draws Oakland in GW10 who strikeout the fourth most versus righties (25.6%) and are bottom-ten in both ISO and wOBA. He makes for a superb long-term asset and a worthwhile pickup for Game Week 10.

Limited Price: ~$8

Other Starters Include:

• Luis Castillo at OAK

• Blake Snell vs CIN

• Gerrit Cole vs CLE

• Shane McClanahan vs PIT

• Pablo Lopez at CHW

• Shohei Ohtani at STL

• Dylan Cease vs MIN

Notable Starting Pitchers NOT starting in Game Week 10:

Chris Sale, Alex Cobb, Yu Darvish, Nick Lodolo, Noah Syndergaard, Jose Urquidy, Justin Steele, Marco Gonzales, Sonny Gray, Mike Clevinger, Drew Rasmussen, Jose Suarez, Martin Perez, Nestor Cortes

📞 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.

This week it feels like a great opportunity to focus on the teams playing 4 and 5 games only.

Closer Options

• ~$9 AJ Minter

• ~$N/A David Robertson

• ~$10 Kenley Janson

• ~$31 Jordan Romano

• ~$1 Brad Boxberger

• ~$3 Kyle Finnegan

💰 Stacks

Braves

The Braves are lightyears ahead of everyone else in GW10. They were one of the best offenses in the MLB, they recently welcomed 2022 NL Rookie of the Year Michael Harris back to the lineup, and they’re playing FIVE games due to two rain postponements.

They are scheduled to face Denyi Reyes (Bullpen game) and Tylor Megill of the Mets on Monday, and then Sandy Alcantara, Braxton Garrett, and Jesus Luzardo of the Marlins. Braves players could have 40% more at-bats than most other teams in this game week.

• ~$200 Ronald Acuña Jr.

• ~$85 Matt Olson

• ~$78 Austin Riley

• ~$77 Ozzie Albies

• ~$54 Michael Harris Jr.

Mets

The Mets are the second team playing five games in GW10, however, they will have two tough matchups to kick off the 5-gamer with matchups against Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton. This will be followed by a trip to Detroit to face one of the worst pitching staffs for three more games (Detroit pitchers are TBD at the time of writing).

• ~$27 Brandon Nimmo

• ~$21 Starling Marte

• ~$57 Fransisco Lindor

• ~$93 Pete Alonso

• ~$19 Jeff McNeil

Blue Jays

I’ll throw Toronto in here as well as they head to Fenway park for a four game series against the Red Sox this week. They’re one of four teams who will be playign four games in GW, and are slated to miss Chris Sale in this series. The Jays will face Corey Kluber, Tanner Houck, Nick Pivetta, and Brayan Bello.

Toronto loves hitting in Boston. I’m still scared from this 28-5 dismantling of Boston almost one year ago. Fenway’s Green Monster might take a beating in this series with these power righties at the top of the order.

• ~$24 George Springer

• ~$78 Bo Bichette

• ~$102 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• ~$33 Matt Chapman

• ~$7 Whit Merrifield

Other Stacks To Consider:

• Cubs

• Red Sox

• Brewers

• Rockies

Value Options (Under $20):

Middle Infielder:

~$11 Ketel Marte, ~$11 Jorge Polanco, ~$15 Vaughn Grissom, ~$10 Jonah Heim, $11 Cal Raleigh

Corner Infielder:

~$18 Rowdy Tellez, $14 Ke’Bryan Hayes, ~$17 Brandon Lowe, ~$10 Andrew Vaughn, ~$14 Jake Burger

Outfielder:

~$7 Whit Merrifield, ~$19 Hunter Renfroe, ~$12 Andrew McCutchen, ~$19 Teoscar Hernandez, ~$4 Max Kepler, ~$10 Joey Gallo

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 10.

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!

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!

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

Gallen is coming off three excellent outings and is definitely someone we want to monitor. I talk more about him in the Pitching Primer section below.

The Pirates/Reds series over the weekend stayed close throughout with final scores of 2-4, 2-1, and 2-0. With Pittsburgh winnings two games, their closer David Bednar was able to secure to appearances and earn two saves.

Carlos Estévez was the only pitcher here to record one hold and one save as opposed to two saves. Estevéz came in to close out game three after Jose Quijada blew the game the day before, giving up nine runs in the ninth inning.

Adolis García, aka El Bombi, powered his way to the top spot by going 5-5 with 3 homers, 5 runs, and 8 RBIs on Saturday. It was the highest score we have seen so far this season.

Other players to note here are Nico Hoerner who is tied for second in the league with 9 steals, and Max Muncy who is now leading the league in homers with 11.

📋 Roster Movements

Find some of the most notable roster movements below:

In:

• Zach Eflin - Was activated from IL/ started Sunday vs White Sox
• Logan Allen - Called up from AAA and made debut Sunday/ gave up 1 run to Marlins

Out:

• Logan O’Hoppe - Left Friday’s game with labrum tear/ will miss 4-6 months
• Kris Bubic - Out for the season/ will undergo Tommy John surgery
• Javier Baez - Injured middle finger on Saturday/ was not in lineup Sunday
• Kris Bryant - Left Saturday’s game with back soreness/ was not in lineup Sunday

🔎 Multi Game Monitor

Three Games:

Red Sox, Brewers, Rockies, Reds, Astros, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Padres, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Pirates, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Cubs

Four Games:

Orioles, Rays, Rangers, White Sox, Marlins, Braves, Yankees, Twins, Tigers, Athletics, Angels, Royals, Cardinals, Giants

⚾️ Pitching Primer

Find top pitching options below:

Zac Gallen vs KCR

Would you believe me if I told you Zac Gallen was third in xFIP (2.65), seventh in BB% (4.2%), and fourth in K% (33.1%) this season?

It’s true, and he draws in Kansas City in GW8 who rank fifth-worst in K% (25.6%), fifth-worst in ISO (.120) and dead-last in wOBA (.265).

Over his last three starts Gallen has pitched 20 innings with 29 strikeouts and zero earned runs. He looks like a fantastic start in GW8 and currently has a $29 floor price on his Limited card.

Spencer Strider vs MIA

Strider currently leads the league in strikeout-rate (40.9%), is eleventh in xFIP (3.08), but continues to walk batters at a 12.5% clip, the seventh worst rate amongst qualified starters.

Miami is a league-average strikeout matchup and slightly above average when it comes to walks (7.5%). This is not an intimidating matchup whatsoever and Strider is arguably the top option on the board.

Shohei Ohtani vs OAK

I would be remiss if I didn’t include Ohtani as one of the top options this week, however it’s always difficult to recommend him as a play with his Limited floor price of $200.

Ohtani has the third-highest K% (36.2%), the 26th-lowest xFIP (3.75) and most surprisingly has yet to allow a home run through 28 innings pitched.

He struck out 11 A’s and gave up zero runs on opening day. If you have him in your Sorare collection, just plug him into your SP spot and move on.

Other Starters include:

• Taj Bradley vs HOU
• Nick Lodolo vs TEX
• Sonny Gray vs NYY
• Nestor Cortes at MIN
• Kodai Senga vs WSH

Notable Starting Pitchers NOT starting in Game Week 8:

Ross Stripling, Zack Wheeler, Eduardo Rodriguez, Vince Velazquez, Hunter Greene, Max Fried, Christian Javier, Kevin Gausman, Clarke Schmidt, Zach Eflin, Lucas Giolito, Jesus Luzardo, Bailey Ober, Clayton Kershaw, Marcus Stroman, Jacob deGrom, Jordan Lyles, Reid Detmers, Yu Darvish, Jack Flaherty, Chris Flexen

📞 Call To The Bullpen

As is always the case when picking relievers, we want to focus on picking closers who can have two starts and earn two saves to give us around 40 Sorare points. If we decide to pick a middle reliever instead, we’d be looking to get two relief appearances and earn a “hold” in each.

This is an easier feat to accomplish with a closer, however with several of them having restrictive Limited prices, there can be value found with finding cheap middle relievers.

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. We also want to avoid one of the 16 teams playing only three games this week.

Closer Options:

• Pete Fairbanks vs HOU and CHW
• Reynaldo Lopez vs TOR and TBR
• Jhoan Duran vs NYY and KCR
• Clay Holmes vs MIN and TEX

Middle Relief Options:

• Jason Adam and Garrett Cleavinger (TBR)
• Kendall Graveman and Aaron Bummer (CHW)
• Jorge Lopez and Griffin Jax (MIN)
• Michael King and Wandy Peralta (NYY)

💰 Stacks

Find some of the top stack options below:

Braves

The Braves look to be the top offensive target in GW8. They’re one of the sixteen teams playing all four games, and they draw a four-game series against the Marlins at home.

It’s interesting to note that other top stacks playing four games in GW8 such as the Rangers and Yankees, face tough matchups.

The Rangers get three games at Great American, but will face Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft in two of them. Then they will get one of the worst matchups possible versus Gerrit Cole on Thursday.

Meanwhile the Yankees draw the Twins starting rotation of Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, and Kenta Maeda.

All this to say that the Braves were already one of the, if not the best offenses in the league, and they have the best four-game matchup on the board. They don’t come cheap, but fire up some Atlanta stacks this week.

• ~$148 Ronald Acuña Jr.

• ~$59 Matt Olson

• ~$49 Austin Riley

• ~$37 Ozzie Albies

• ~$2 Eddie Rosario

   

Other Stacks To Consider:

Value Options (Under $15):

On a budget? Try these hitters:

Middle Infielder:

• ~$10 Ketel Marte
• ~$10 MJ Melendez
• ~$14 Jorge Polanco

Corner Infielder:

• ~$13 Andrew Vaughn
• ~$12 CJ Cron
• ~$8 Josh Naylor
• ~$13 Jose Miranda

Outfielder:

• ~$2 Eddie Rosario
• ~$13 Anthony Santander
• ~$11 Andrew McCutchen
• ~$15 Teoscar Hernandez

There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 8.

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!