Yankees Back Half of the Rotation is Suddenly Uncertain
While the Top of the Yankees rotation looks as solid as ever, injuries have made for some opportunities at the back half. Clark Schmidt has yet to pitch in the spring due to a back injury and has been limited to bullpen sessions although he is expected to get into a game soon. Schmidt had a breakout half-season last year with a 2.85 ERA / 3.85 fip and a 9.8 K/9 over 16 starts. He featured a knuckle curve that limited batters to a .190 SLG against as his best pitch and when healthy should be one of the better #4/5 starters in ball.
Luis Gil was sent for an MRI after dealing with shoulder discomfort and it was revealed he will be out a minimum of 6 weeks. This is big blow to fantasy owners who already drafted or kept him in keeper leagues/ If you played fantasy baseball last year you know that Gil was a late draft darling nabbing 15 wins with a 3.50 ERA and 171 strikeouts as detailed by some of our other writers earlier this season. I won't go into too much more detail here but you may want to check out a few below Yankees SPs as replacements.
Because of these Marcus Stroman has seemingly a shot at reclaiming a rotation spot. He had a tough start yesterday allowing 4 ER over 2.2 IP including 2 home runs vs the Braves. Despite nabbing wins last year Stroman's 4.31 ERA/ 4.62 whip and 1.47 whip tell a different story. His bread and butter has been inducing ground balls which is a reason the soft tosser has stuck around for so long as he is historically near the top of the league in GB rate. His 49.1% GB rate was the lowest of his career and his 30.8% FB rate was the highest making his 1.11 HR/9 rate a career high. Unless Stroman can get back to his GB inducing ways it's hard to trust him as anything other than SP depth on your team.
Will Warren on the other hand has been a hot story in Yankees camp. He has been nearly perfect over 5 spring innings allowing 1 hit, 1 walk and striking out 7. Warren had solid numbers in the lower minor leagues but had a 5.91 ERA in AAA last year thanks to allowing 19 home runs. The results were even worse in 6 games with the Yankees last year as he had a 10.32 ERA with 5 HR allowed over 22 innings. That being said Warren has routinely struck out batters in droves in the minor leagues and that did continue last year in New York. Warren has 2 minor league options which could make him a good option to open if both Schmidt and Gil are unable to open the season.
Around the League
Jackson Holliday (2B- Orioles)
Holliday has gone 4-12 with a HR and 2 steals this spring so far. Most fantasy players know Holliday struggled after his recall last year as his walk rate dropped 14% and his K rate rose 11% from his 2024 AAA start. Perhaps knowing he has a roster spot locked down will take away some of his jitters and it is expected for him to tighten up those walk and K numbers which will aid his counting stat which could be top tier for second baseman. Holliday is going between 15-20th for second baseman in most predictions; if he is available in your dynasty league he should be a top target.
Vidal Brujan (2B -Cubs)
Brujan has had a great spring so far going 6-19 with 3 XBH, 4 steals and 4 walks in 8 games. He had some shine as a top prospect a few years ago but hasn't put it together with a career .189/.261/.270 over 550 PAs. Brujan may be the beneficiary of the Cubs opening the season in Japan early since starting 2B Nico Hoerner won't be making the trip and Rookie Matt Shaw has been banged up with his status up in the year. Brujan stole some bags in the minor leagues but was just 5 for 11 last year and may not have quite the speed profile he did 5 years ago. Still if you play in a weekly fantasy league where week 1 is short it's crucial to get those extra at bats from Cubs and Dodgers so I will be keeping an eye on Brujan late in drafts.
Alex Call (OF-Nationals)
Call has gone 2-9 this spring but has also drawn 8 walks. Call has appeared in major league games in each of the past 3 seasons and raked in 30 games with the Nationals a year ago, slashing .343/.425/.525 with 3 HR and 5 steals. Call has a career 11.7% walk rate and 18.6% K rate and is currently ticketed to be OF4 for the Nationals to open the season. With the Nationals running out a young lineup with 2 outfield studs, Call will play sparingly but he is worth watching if an injury occurs later in the year.
Landen Roupp (SP- Giants)
Roupp has fired 5 shutout innings this spring, striking out 8 of the 17 batters he has faced. He routinely put up big K numbers in the minors and while his sinker sits in the low to mid 90s he is effective at mixing his 4-pitch arsenal. In his debut last year he turned in a solid 3.58 ERA over 23 appearances including 4 starts. An 8.4 K/9 was the first time this mark was under 10 since A ball in 2021. He is currently on the outside of the starting rotation picture as Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong are also in the battle for that final spot. Roupp probably ends up starting the year in AAA but when he does get the call to enter the rotation I like the value here a lot.
Sean Murphy (C - Braves)
Murphy sustained a cracked rib and will miss 4-6 weeks, making him unavailable for opening day. Murphy had a solid 2022 and 2023 where he hit 58 doubles and slugged 39 home runs while hitting .250. Last year he only played 72 games and his bat regressed as his .636 OPS was by far the lowest of his career. An oblique strain he obtained on opening day could have been the culprit as he was never right when he returned as a 53% groundball rate and 36% hard hit rate were the worst marks of his career. It looks like he will have to wait a little longer to try for a rebound this year.
Drake Baldwin (C - Braves)
Baldwin's stock soared with the injury to starting catcher Sean Murphy. He has had a good spring thus far going 4-12 with 3 walks. He has a good hit and power tool and raked at AAA last year to close the season slashing .298/.407/.484 with 12 home runs. Murphy is currently going around catcher 15 in redraft leagues so this will be one of the more impactful debuts for fantasy reasons as if Baldwin can crack the roster as the starter. In a position starved for impact bats he is someone who could be had later then catcher 15 but put up top 15 catcher stats until Murphy returns.
Ozzie Albies (2B - Braves)
Albies has seemingly alternated healthy and injury prone seasons for the past six years. His game total since 2019: 160, 29 (half season's worth of game), 156, 64, 148, 99. Its obviously something impossible to predict but he is a good bet for at least 25 home runs and 80 RBIs with those numbers possibly a hitter higher based on the past few years of healthy production. Albies regularly checks in with good plate discipline and low strikeout totals; I want to watch some of hit hard hit balls early this season as well as his max exit velo was 113.7 mph - a top 10% figure in ball.
Jose Quintana (SP- Brewers)
Quintana signed a 1-year contract with the Brewers Monday. It is an interesting landing spot as the Brewers seemingly had a full 5 man rotation; Aaron Asby may be the one who falls out of a spot if they don't employ a 6-man as Quintana was most likely not brought in to pitch from the pen. The veteran has bounced around over his career but put together back to back solid seasons with the Mets delivering a 3.57 and 3.73 ERA in 2023 and 2024 respectively. He was bit by the home run bug a little bit more than normal last year and his 4.56 fip shows he got a bit lucky as does his 78% strand rate. He might not quite be ready for opening day with the late signing but there are worse options to fill out the back of your fantasy rotation.
Jeff Hoffman (RP- Blue Jays)
Hoffman struck out 3 in his second scoreless innings of the spring Monday. Hoffman was a topic this past off-season with rumors of him converting to a starter followed by reports of concerning physicals from other teams. With that noise aside Hoffman has established himself as a strong reliever as he is coming off his first All-Star appearance after pitching to a 2.17 ERA with 10 saves and a 12.2 K/9 with the Phillies. The move to the bullpen has gone extremely well as he has dialed up his fastball velocity to the high 96 mph range while utilizing his slider as his main wipeout pitch with a 45% whiff rate the past two seasons. The most notable storyline here is Hoffman is expected to serve at the Blue Jays main closer something he has not done exclusively before although he was used in high leverage situations throughout last season. Based on recent results I would feel good about having Hoffman as one of my closers on my fantasy squad.
Brendan Rodgers (2B - Astros)
The Astros announced that Jose Altuve is planning to spend most of his time in left field this year, which could open the door for Rodgers to take the second base job. The third overall pick of the 2015 draft hasn't lived up to the lofty draft position as his .267/.314/.407 career line is propped up by a drastic home (.306/.361/.465) split; his road OPS is .628. Most of his underlying stats check in at slightly below league average. Sometimes a a team switch can do a world of good including going to one with a rich playoff history - but I would steer clear of Rodgers unless you are desperate for MI help.
Bubba Chandler (SP - Pirates)
Chandler recorded just 1 out during his third spring outing allowing 4 ER on 2 hits and 2 walks while also throwing a wild pitch. Chandler is most likely set to start the year at AAA but should be a fast riser to the Pirate rotation when a need arises. With a 1.80 ERA over 39 AAA innings last year some say he has little left to prove. Chandler has always been a hard-thrower and the consensus is as he continues to develop his offspeed offering to pair with a 96.8 mph fastball the ceiling will be extremely high here.
