Whether you are prepping your weekly lineups or determining who to play in a pivotal daily matchup, choosing who to start vs. sit is one of the toughest and most frustrating aspects of fantasy baseball. Fortunately, there is a free solution available at RotoBaller. The Who Should I Start? tool allows you to quickly compare any two players and receive fantasy projections for today, tomorrow, or the current week.
The tool provides rankings, projections, recent news, and schedules side-by-side to aid in your decision-making. The tool defaults to ESPN scoring, but the Premium version within Team Sync will use your league's scoring and roster settings. Every month, I will test drive the tool to review a few interesting start/sit comparisons for the final day of the period and preview the following week. Hopefully, this series will help daily fantasy owners end their weeks strong and also get them comfortable with routinely using the tool during the week to make tough roster decisions.
We'll compare and contrast Lars Nootbaar, Randal Grichuk, Ha-Seong Kim, Luis Rengifo, Bo Naylor, and Yan Gomes for this edition of the series. Let's get into some start vs. sit comparisons for the coming week!
MORE ROTOBALLER: Get any full-season RotoBaller MLB and DFS Premium Pass for 10% off using code SPORTING and gain exclusive access to our Team Sync platform, premium articles, daily matchup rating projections, 15 lineup tools, DFS cheat sheets, research stations, lineup optimizers, and much more!
Fantasy Baseball Lineup Advice: Week 19
By Connelly Doan
Streaking Outfielders: Lars Nootbaar vs. Randal Grichuk
(Update: With Grichuk traded to the Angels, obviously his weekly outlook changes, but Nootbaar remains a solid option over most similar OFs in all formats.)
Our first comparison is between two outfielders who have stepped things up in the second half. Nootbaar has returned to making good on his preseason hype, batting .327 with five home runs, eight RBIs, and two stolen bases in 61 second-half plate appearances. Grichuk has also been productive, batting .375 with three HRs, five RBIs, and a stolen base in 32 plate appearances. Which outfielder should give fantasy owners a bigger boost over the following week?
Both OFs get six games next week, with the Cardinals facing the Twins three times and the Rockies three times and the Rockies playing three against the Padres and three at the Cardinals.
While both players have produced similar results, the Cardinals have hit well lately as a team while the Rockies have struggled. Given everything else is pretty even, the better offense suggests that Nootbaar is the higher-ceiling option for Week 19. The only caveat here is that Grichuk may move slightly ahead if the Cardinals decide to sell over the next couple of days.
MORE ROTOBALLER: Get any full-season RotoBaller MLB and DFS Premium Pass for 10% off using code SPORTING and gain exclusive access to our Team Sync platform, premium articles, daily matchup rating projections, 15 lineup tools, DFS cheat sheets, research stations, lineup optimizers, and much more!
Versatile Bats: Ha-Seong Kim (2B/3B/SS) vs. Luis Rengifo (2B/3B/SS/OF)
Having the option to slot a hot bat into multiple lineup positions is always a bonus, and these two players can play all over the field. Kim has hit well all season, slashing .274/.369/.445 with 14 HRs and 20 stolen bases. Rengifo’s season numbers don’t look great, but he has hit .279 with five HRs and 11 RBIs in July. Which player could serve as a hotter spark plug?
The Angels get seven games next week, but all are tough matchups (three at the Braves, four against the Mariners). On the other hand, the Padres get great matchups with three at the Rockies and three against a depleted Dodgers rotation.
Both players are worth rostering right now given that they’re hitting well and can play multiple positions, but Kim’s higher steal ceiling and the great matchups make him the player to start for Week 19.
Catcher Replacements: Bo Naylor vs. Yan Gomes
Jonah Heim recently went on the injured list with a wrist strain, which unfortunately leaves some fantasy owners in need of a replacement. Naylor has really hit for power in the second half, slashing .269/.296/.654 with three HRs and seven RBIs. Gomes has done a bit of everything, slashing .326/.380/.512 with nine RBIs. Both catchers are hitting well and are widely available, so which one is a better pick-up?
Next week, the Guardians will play three games at the Astros and three against the White Sox. The Cubs will play seven games, with four games against the Reds and three against the Braves. The Cubs are slotted to face two lefties, which actually benefits Gomes, who has hit them better than righties this season.
While Naylor’s overall tools make him a promising future fantasy option, Gomes has hit better all season and draws better overall matchups for this week. As such, he is the preferred play for Week 19.
