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Dan Stephens looks at big fantasy baseball stories from Week 19 of the 2024 MLB season. What made the MLB headlines last week and what can you expect going forward?
Hello again, RotoBallers, and welcome back to another look at the week that was. Every Monday, I review the bigger stories from the previous week and assess their impact on fantasy baseball. Hopefully, this column helps you keep an eye on the league at large as the season winds down.
With Major League Baseball’s trade deadline on July 30, it was no surprise that the player movement dominated the news cycle last week. The Miami Marlins dealt a total of nine players between July 25 and the deadline, boosting the value of those departing and opening doors of opportunity for those waiting in the wings. A handful of buyers readied their bullpens for the stretch run which in turn affected who fantasy managers can turn to for saves. And in non-trade news, we saw MLB’s second no-hitter in as many weeks, this time courtesy of Blake Snell.
Fantasy baseball revolves around an expansive league with a six-month-long season. The grind of the fantasy baseball season can result in tunnel vision and news that doesn’t directly relate to players we roster or actively follow can easily go overlooked. To stay on top of it all, bookmark our fantasy baseball news feed, download our mobile app, and next Monday check back for the next installment of this column.
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Miami Marlins Making Moves
It is never a shock to see teams that have fallen out of contention early act as the biggest sellers at the deadline. What was a shock was how much selling the Miami Marlins did this year. The Marlins kicked off the flurry of trades ahead of the deadline by dealing A.J. Puk to the Diamondbacks on July 25 and followed that up by sending Jazz Chisholm Jr. off to the Yankees. On deadline day, no one did more wheeling and dealing than Miami, which had its hand in a total of six deals. The Marlins parted with several key pieces of their roster, including Tanner Scott, Trevor Rogers, Bryan De La Cruz, and Josh Bell.
Fantasy impact: Where to begin? The biggest names from the bullpen, Puk and Scott, have two different trajectories. Puk is suddenly in contention for saves following Paul Sewald’s demotion in Arizona. Meanwhile, Scott’s value has tanked as he is now removed from his closer role and will be setting up Robert Suarez in San Diego. Chisholm has been playing out of his mind since landing in New York. In his first six games in pinstripes, he has gone 9-for-32 with four home runs and two stolen bases and will soon be eligible at third base.
Classic Jazz 🎷@j_chisholm3 🤯 pic.twitter.com/XyKwxzuqsp
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 31, 2024
De La Cruz gives the Pirates more pop in the middle of their lineup, but his fresh start is not going as well as Chisholm’s. Through four games, the OF/DH has gone 3-for-18 with six strikeouts and a lone RBI. Bell started his stint with the D-Backs by mashing two home runs on August 2. His change of scenery should temporarily boost his production until Christian Walker recovers from an oblique injury. Rogers, on the cusp of fantasy irrelevance, is worth another look as a streaming option now that he has a better supporting cast in Baltimore.
The exodus meant a lot of opportunities were suddenly open all at once. The return in the Rogers trade was a pair of the Orioles’ many coveted prospects, Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby. Stowers has already seen four starts in Miami, while Norby is now with Miami’s Triple-A affiliate. Jonah Bride has filled in at first base and DH since Bell’s departure and has gone 5-for-20 with three home runs in that time. And Calvin Faucher looks to be the man in the ninth for those of you looking to add saves as the season winds down.
Bullpen Breakups
Last week a multitude of relief pitchers changed teams as the playoff contenders shored up their bullpens for the final months of the season. As mentioned, this year’s trade deadline extravaganza was kicked off with the Puk trade to Arizona. Miami also sent away relievers Scott, Bryan Hoeing, Huascar Brazoban, and JT Chargois. The Red Sox added some depth to their ailing staff by bringing in Lucas Sims from the Reds and Luis Garcia from the Angels, who also traded away closer Carlos Estevez.
Fantasy impact: As mentioned in the section above, Scott’s fantasy value has been nerfed. The Estevez trade did a lot to boost his value as he should have a better chance of finding save opportunities playing for the Phillies than the Angels. Both moves left a hole at the top of the bullpen depth chart that needed to be filled. Miami has turned to Faucher twice already but Andrew Nardi and Anthony Bender are also contenders. Hunter Strickland has seen three chances for the Angels since Estevez’s departure but has blown two. That may be for the better, as it will hopefully lead to seeing a lot more of Ben Joyce in the near future.
Ben Joyce records his first big league save ... by notching a K on a 104.7 mph fastball, the fastest pitch in the Majors this year!
The @Angels rookie has reeled off 22 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings and thrown 6 of MLB's top 10 hardest pitches in 2024. pic.twitter.com/DRVdgALqPd
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 4, 2024
Snell Shuts Down Cincy
Blake Snell took the mound against the Reds in Cincinnati on Friday, August 2, and threw the 18th no-hitter in franchise history. It was the third no-hitter of the season following Ronel Blanco’s on April 1 and Dylan Cease’s on July 25. Snell struck out 11 batters and walked three in the 114-pitch effort. The 31-year-old southpaw had some rocky performances to start the season and logged two stints on the injured list. Since his most recent return on July 9, Snell has a 0.55 ERA and 41 strikeouts over 33 innings pitched.
BLAKE SNELL NO-HITS THE REDS pic.twitter.com/LysTXhhTak
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 3, 2024
Fantasy impact: It is summer, and suddenly, Snell is cruising again. The lesson, as always: Do NOT draft Blake Snell. DO trade for him sometime around Memorial Day when he’s reached his fantasy value at rock bottom. Snell is set up for another successful start as he is slated to see the Nationals (who were the victims of Cease’s no-no) next. Expect a shorter outing, though, as his 114 pitches on Friday were the most he has thrown since 2022 (his high in 2023 was 113 against the Giants).
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