Opening week of baseball is here and the excitement just keeps building. The two most exiting months in baseball are April and October. Nothing is better than spring ball and postseason play in my book. I always get ecstatic whenever I think about it.
Everyone should have their fantasy teams set by now and wondering who would be the best option to start this early in the season. This weekend there are a bunch of games that will have great matchups. Today we look at some outfielders that you may own on your team and wonder whether you should be starting them for the weekend.
Ben Revere, Phillies
The weekend series for the Phillies is against the Cubs. That right there should already be an indication that you need to be starting some Phillies players. Revere is a speedy player that can move around the bases. As of Tuesday he already has three RBI’s and a stolen base. He will be sure to steal a couple more at Wrigley Field.
The pitchers he will be facing are Travis Wood, Jeff Samardzija and Carlos Villanueva. All three recorded over 100 strikeouts last season but all three had losing records with Samardzija and Wood posting over a 4.0 ERA. If you don’t have Revere in a starting position, make sure you do for this weekend.
Kole Calhoun, Angels
The Angels will be taking on the Astros this weekend and that’s pretty much all that needs to be said. The Astros pitching rotation is among one of the worst in the MLB which means Calhoun and the rest of the Angels will be able to increase their stats. Obviously you are starting Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout if you have them.
Calhoun had a solid spring training batting .282 with 16 runs, three homeruns, 13 RBI’s and four stolen bases. Dallas Keuchel and Lucas Harrell are two of the three pitchers scheduled to start and they both had over a 5.0 ERA and over a 1.5 WHIP last season. If that’s not convincing enough, I don’t know what is.
Alfonso Soriano, Yankees
Soriano is owned in almost all leagues but I’m sure he isn’t being started in all leagues. The Yankees travel to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays in their weekend series and Soriano should be able to have a solid weekend. He doesn’t have the batting average that he used to have but he still has power and some speed.
He faces R.A. Dickey, Drew Hutchison, and Dustin McGowan in this series and will find some good production. Dickey continually struggles and gave up six run in five innings already this year. Hutchison had a good start Tuesday against the Rays not giving up anything but he wasn’t sharp enough with his command. McGowan has been prepped to be a starter for the beginning of the season even though he is a reliever and will most likely move back to there after J.A. Happ returns.
Nick Castellanos, Tigers
Castellanos is coming off of an impressive spring and a legitimate candidate for the rookie of the year award. He is starting third base for the Tigers but is outfield eligible depending on how your league is set up. As of Tuesday he is batting .500 with no additional batting stats like runs or RBI’s. This weekend against the Orioles that will likely change.
He will be facing the meat of the rotation of the Orioles but the Tigers are home and should play a slight advantage. Chris Tillman had a good first start against the Red Sox and gave up seven hits and one run in five innings. Miguel Gonzalez gave up the most hits in spring training and Bud Norris had the best spring of the three. The powerful Tigers lineup should be able to weaken these pitchers some and help Castellanos get some good pitches.
Matt Joyce, Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays will be hosting the Texas Rangers in their weekend series. The Rangers are dealing with a lot of pitching injuries right now so all of the Rays outfielders should be starting this weekend in all fantasy leagues. Joyce is an eligible outfielder but mainly serves as the designated hitter for the Rays. He is off to a hot start in the first two games going four for five with two runs and three RBI’s.
The Rangers have scheduled Joe Saunders, Nick Martinez, and the return of Yu Darvish for the weekend. Saunders had over a 5.0 ERA last season, Martinez hasn’t pitched in the major leagues in his career and Darvish is coming off a neck injury so who knows how he will perform in his first outing. Joyce will be a good option to look at over the weekend.