Week one in the books and in my dynasty category league I won nine to six. My strategy seemed to have worked, for week one that is. I dominated the hitting categories seven to one and pitching not so much losing that two to five. Pitching would struggle some since I waited so long to draft pitchers but things look good. Though one of the categories I lost was wins which I had six and my opponent had eight. I managed seven quality starts to my opponents’ three so clearly I missed out on some wins. Overall I am happy with the start and looking forward to week two.

Since the league I play in is an 8×7 category-based league rather than identify general players to add I am going to try something a little different. Or maybe it is not different I am not really sure as I am fairly new to fantasy baseball. Rather than identify a player and tell you how much he is owned and then give you a summary about him, I am going to identify a category and suggest a player that might help boost numbers in said category.

Average

The first category I am looking at is average. Josh Rojas (55% owned) of the Diamondbacks is currently playing two-thirds of the games so while not every day when he does play his batting average is .417. He is not doing much else in other categories as most of his hits are singles he does have a couple of stolen bases. Added bonus is in CBS he has 2B and 3B eligibility.
Additional options:

• Kevin Kiermaier (TOR, OF) 6% owned
• Victor Robles (WAS, OF) 11% owned

Runs Batted In

The next category up is RBIs. I was going to do home runs, but I think I want to see more games go by before I start suggesting who might provide the power. The guy I want to mention here just went on the IL10 so you will have to wait to use him, unfortunately. Jose Siri (23% owned) OF for the Rays was off to a hot start. eight RBIs in six games on a red-hot team. If he can come back as soon as he is eligible, 4/18, he might be worth it. While he won’t help you in week two if he returns without missing a beat he could be a big boost to start week three.
Additional options:

• Trevor Larnach (MIN, OF) 43% owned
• Jason Vosler (CIN, 3B) 14% owned

Stolen Bases

My favorite thing that the new rules have done for the game brings back steals. When I was a kid steals were always my favorite part of the game so to see it happening again has been nostalgic. So if you are trying to steal a category, sorry for the dad joke, consider adding Chas McCormick (20% owned) OF for the Astros. He has played in 70% of their games so he is seeing regular use and with three steals in the first week he just might be a guy that can help you swipe an extra category.
Additional options:

• Ji Hwan Bae (PIT, OF) 28% owned
• Adam Frazier (BAL, 2B, OF) 30% owned

Wins

The first pitching category I want to look at is wins. Now I was not just looking at who got a win or two because most pitchers have gotten two starts basing my suggestions on wins seems a little lazy on my part. For example, my first suggestion is Bailey Falter (12% owned) pitcher for the Phillies. He has zero wins in two starts. What he does have is a WHIP of 1.06 and an ERA of 2.61. This means had the Phillies scored some runs in support he could have two and zero instead of zero and one. If he can keep his WHIP and ERA down the wins should start coming.
Additional options:

• Tylor Megill (NYM, SP) 46% owned
• Tanner Houck (BOS, P) 25% owned

Strike Outs

Next in pitching I want to look at strikeouts. So where to turn when you need to add some strikeouts to your totals? Sometimes I find you can get some extra stats from guys in the middle relief role. For example, Jose Alvarado (16% owned) of the Phillies pitched four innings the first week and struck out 11 of the 12 outs. Even if he only gets three innings a week and strikes out say six of nine batters that is still a pretty good number for someone trying to add some extra strikeouts. He won’t hurt your ERA or WHIP either in the process. If you get holds he can help there too, if not he won’t bring much else to the table.
Additional options:

• Matt Brash (SEA, RP) 9% owned
• Jordan Lyles (KC, SP) 7% owned

Conclusion

The question remains, was week one a fluke or did my strategy payoff? Like fantasy football I try not to judge too much on week one performances. Only time will tell and in the meantime I hope some of these names can provide you with some needed help especially in the categories I identified where I think they can contribute the most.

Don’t Forget

Thank you for joining me on this journey as I adventure back into the world of fantasy dynasty baseball. Feel free to comment, criticize, suggest, or even mock my efforts at fantasy baseball. Please share this article with anyone who might be interested or with people you are trying to mislead. Either is fine with me. If you want to talk more or publicly mock me you can do it @DynastyProf after you follow me. Be sure to turn to Belly Up Sports and Belly Up Fantasy Sports for all the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL happenings and the latest sports news!