Austin Nola Fantasy Baseball Updates - Ben Rosener’s MLB Beat

Ben Rosener looks at the fantasy baseball impact of the San Diego Padres optioning catcher Austin Nola to Triple-A.

Major League Baseball’s regular season continues, and with it comes the daily influx of baseball news that fantasy managers missed in the winter months. Lineup news, regular waiver wire moves, pitching assignments, and bullpen usage.

This column aims to cover any fantasy baseball news, big or small, and how it pertains to your fantasy team. Has a player who's usually been hitting in the middle of a lineup suddenly batting eighth or ninth for an extended period? The fantasy implications will be covered here.

The same goes for injuries and injured list placements and whether or not you should consider picking up a player who was recently called up. Basically, any kernel of fantasy news and its relevance to fantasy managers could be covered here. Today, the news of the day is the fantasy baseball impact of the San Diego Padres optioning catcher Austin Nola to Triple-A.

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Fantasy Baseball Impact Of Austin Nola Being Optioned To Triple-A

The San Diego Padres optioned veteran catcher Austin Nola to Triple-A on Tuesday as part of a series of roster moves by the National League West club, per a tweet from the team’s official Twitter account.

Nola hit .146 with a .260 on-base percentage and a home run in 154 plate appearances for San Diego this season, managing just a .261 xwOBA in the process.

The move to go with Luis Campusano, who was activated from the 60-day injured list as part of the series of moves made by San Diego, is a significant one for fantasy managers who’ve added Gary Sanchez to their roster.

Nola and Sanchez have combined for 295 plate appearances this season, no other Padres catcher has more than 50. And while Campusano will certainly receive playing time, this could very well develop into a situation where Sanchez receives most of the starts.

Of course, that’s all entirely speculative, but it would certainly boost the former Yankee's fantasy ceiling and overall prospects this season.

Entering play Tuesday, Sanchez was hitting .189 with a .270 on-base percentage and eight home runs in 141 plate appearances since joining the Padres. And while the 30-year-old’s batting average is less than ideal, his power numbers (which also include a .220 ISO and an 11.3% barrel rate with San Diego) are certainly promising.

What’s more, Sanchez should continue to benefit from the RBI chances that will continue to come from hitting in a San Diego lineup that also features the likes of Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Xander Bogaerts.

As of the beginning of play on Tuesday, Sanchez was hitting .216 with a .268 on-base percentage, a .809 OPS, a .324 ISO, and a 113 wRC+ in 41 plate appearances with runners in scoring position.

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