

Baseball season is well underway, and with a plethora of articles, statistics and metrics available, it can be difficult to know who to start, sit, fade and trade. Using Derek Carty’s BatX projection system, The Athletic has developed a weekly program that helps fantasy managers with difficult roster decisions. From grabbing newly healthy Zach Neto off the waiver wire to slotting in two-start pitchers, you can make choices based on the data high-stakes fantasy managers use to craft their rosters.
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The Waiver Wire
Starting with some waiver targets, we compare year-to-date value (expressed as dollars, where $0 would represent a replacement-level player) against their projected rest-of-season value. This gives you an idea of which players may be available on your waiver wire and why you should grab them before anyone else can.
There are some well-known names on the top hitters to target, including Carlos Correa, Mark Vientos and Andrew Vaughn, among others. On the pitching side, Tanner Houck has struggled this year (0-2, 7.58 ERA, 1.69 WHIP) but is forecast to turn it around. Ben Brown is in a similar situation and owns a 6.04 ERA this year, but his exit velocity is only up minimally, and his HardHit% is down.
Fades
The following players have started the season well, but it may be time to think about either sitting or replacing them. Spencer Torkelson has been everywhere in the news this year after a hot start but over the past 14 days, his batting average is .196, and is event worse (.154) over the past seven days (26 at-bats).
Tyler Soderstrom could have a breakout year and is hitting much better than Tork lately, with a .260 AVG in the past 14 days, but his year-to-date value greatly exceeds his expected rest-of-season value. He could be a good sell-high candidate.
Trades
The following pitchers and hitters haven’t started the season as expected but could have tremendous value going forward. Big name hitters Gunnar Henderson, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and even Shohei Ohtani haven’t lived up to preseason expectations. While that trio may be untouchable given their pedigrees, some of these other names — Yainer Diaz, Marcus Semien — might be more attainable. As for pitchers, Cole Ragans is dealing with a groin injury that could make fantasy managers listen to trades for him. Chris Sale is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA that is much higher than his career 3.07, but his max exit velocity is the highest of his career — and so is his walk percentage — so there could be some red flags there.
Hitting
Here are the projected top-scoring offenses of the week, based on their opponents and projected runs per game, as well as hitters who have favorable pitching matchups.
Lower down, we look at hitters who have been over- and underperforming using weighted on-base percentage (wOBA) and expected weighted on-base percentage (xwOBA). Batters who have an xwOBA lower than their actual wOBA could fall to numbers closer to expected, while hitters with lower wOBAs than expected could surge as the season continues.
Pitching
The following pitchers are projected for big weeks. The Giants’ Logan Webb gets two starts and owns a 1.98 ERA this season to go along with a 30.8 strikeout rate. His maximum exit velocity is down from last year, but still a solid 116.8. If you need to stream a reliever this week, look to the Giants’ bullpen (Tyler Rogers, Erik Miller, Camilo Doval).
BatX Projections powered by EV Analytics.
(Photo of Zach Neto: John McCoy / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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