The Fantasy Countdown

Get your matchup started with this weeks Fantasy Countdown, the easiest way to get your fantasy week started!

Here is what we got for you today:

3 Winning waiver claims

2 Start starters

1 Story from around the league

3 Winning waiver claims

Jack Suwinski has been a key part to the Pirates hot start this season. The 24 year old is hitting .255 with 5 HR's and 12 RBI's this year, with most of that production coming in the past 7 days. On paper, the Pirates lineup doesn't look like anything special but they have been a tough team to beat mostly due to contributions throughout the order. Suwinski is rostered in 4.8% of ESPN leagues and looks to continue to provide fantasy value out of the outfield.

Eduardo Rodriguez followed up his 8 innings, 10K performance by taking a perfect game into the 7th inning. Despite losing the perfect game, these last two outings show the lefty is more than capable of pitching effectively. What is hurting the 30 year old the most right now is the run support from the Tigers offense. Rodriguez has thrown 21 innings in his last 3 starts while giving up 1 ER but only has 1 win to show for it. Rodriguez is rostered in 22.7% of ESPN leagues and should be picked up while he is still mowing batters down.

Drew Smyly is another veteran lefty that has been doing nothing but getting outs this year. He took a perfect game into the 8th inning against a struggling yet nonetheless dangerous Dodgers lineup finishing with a line of 7.2 shutout innings, 10 K's while only giving up one hit. The 33 year old has a 3.13 ERA this year with 23 K's through 23 IP so we wouldn't call his last start a fluke. He's rostered in only 7.7% of ESPN leagues and should be highly considered if looking to add a pitcher.

2 Start starters

To fully leverage your fantasy week, it is crucial to strategize your lineup. Doing so can guarantee that you are utilizing all of your allotted starts or innings in points leagues, and optimizing your statistics in category leagues. If a pitcher happens to be scheduled for two starts during the week, it can provide your team with an added edge by allowing you the flexibility of an extra roster spot, or the ability to punish your opponent by starting a sizzling pitcher twice. Without further ado, here are the pitchers who will be "double dipping" this week.

1 Story from around the league

This season is already off to a very exciting start. Games are action packed, faster paced, and more competitive. We have underdogs like the Pirates and the Diamondbacks leading their respective divisions, which has never happened since the D-backs joined the league back in 1998. While we also have the ultra competitive AL East division in which every team is above .500. With all the excitement this year we have been fortunate enough to see some impressive records broken and big milestones reached.

To start the year off the Rays went on a scorching 13-0 start. This tied the '82 Braves and the '87 Brewers for the most wins without a loss to start a season. They were dominating the game on both sides of the ball and have continued to do so even after they have lost a few games. Although they only tied this record they have found a way to beat another one. With Randy Arozarena's home run on April 22nd the Rays have broken an MLB record of hitting a home run in the first 21 games of the season. The record of 20 was held by the 2019 Mariners up until this point. This was then extended to 22 yesterday with Luke Raley's 2 run home run. The Rays are an absolute juggernaut and will probably find a way to break some more records this season.

Another record in the home run department was reached by the Polar Bear himself, Pete Alonso. He has absolutely destroyed baseballs since he came into the league in 2019. This can be seen in the fact that he just became the 2nd fastest player ever to reach 150 home runs. The first basemen accomplished the feat in 538 games, putting him in second place only behind Ryan Howard who did it in 495 games. Alonso has solidified himself as one of the best power hitters in the game and will now be on the hunt for 200.

In the pitching department we have seen a legend in Clayton Kershaw reach the 200 win mark. Kershaw joins 120 other pitchers with his 200th win, but of those 200 only 3 of them are currently active in the MLB. Kershaw joins Justin Verlander (252), Zach Greinke (223), and Max Scherzer (203) as the only players still playing to accomplish this impressive milestone. Adam Wainwright will be joining them soon as he is at 195, but until then, the four of them stand alone. Kershaw is one of the best pitchers to ever step foot on the baseball diamond and continues to be one of the most dominant arms in the game, even in his age 35 season.

This season has been full of excitement and fun, hopefully this will continue all year long and we will see even more milestones and records be broken!

High Heat 🔥:

Who was the first player to hit 4 home runs in a single game?

*see answer in next newsletter