Sorare MLB GW1 Breakdown | Let The Games Begin
Breaking down Game Week 1 one Sorare MLB
It’s been a minute.
But man does it feel good to be back.
For those who are new here, I break down each Game Week on Sorare MLB before lineup lock on Mondays and Fridays.
This season I have a lot more on my plate as I am now writing for both Pitcher List and FantasyPros, but I still plan on delivering this newsletter, albeit with a few minor changes here and there.
I believe Sorare MLB is the best way to stay engaged with baseball while adding a level of healthy competition and strategy from all different angles.
Not to mention the community is awesome. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with tons of Sorare community members from YNWA, who owns just about every card at the top, to Burt Cohen, who grinds small dollar-sized edges in the Sorare marketplace.
And also Jon and Damien, who so kindly stopped by the Sideline Talk podcast to give more details on the product they work for.
I hope you all can find this information useful. I put out a lot of baseball content but I’ve also had success on the Daily Fantasy side, having won multiple first-place finishes including two live final qualifiers.
This newsletter references the Limited tier, which most users exclusively play in, including myself. (It’s the most fun!)
I look forward to sharing this newsletter with you throughout the season, and I can’t wait for baseball to be back.
Let’s dive in!
📋 Roster Movements
In this section, I will be monitoring all news as it relates to injuries, trades, or minor league call-ups.
It’s supposed to be a brief and to-the-point list of notes for each player. Grammarly doesn’t particularly like this section.
Remember, you never want to start a player who won’t see the field!
In:
Anthony Rizzo - Expected to be in opener despite injury to lat
Out:
Matt McLain - Placed on 10-day IL with lingering left shoulder injury
Kevin Gausman - DTD with right shoulder fatigue, won’t start opener
Sonny Gray - Placed on 15-day IL with strained right hamstring
TJ Friedl - Placed on 10-day IL with right wrist fracture
DJ LeMahieu - DTD with bruised right foot, won’t play in opener
Taijuan Walker - Placed on 15-day IL with impingement in right shoulder
Paul Sewald - Will start the year on IL with left oblique strain
Taj Bradley - Will miss about a month with right pectoral strain
🔎 Multi Game Monitor
This is arguably the most important section of the newsletter.
Hitters that have the maximum number of games in a Game Week are going to be the optimal targets.
More at-bats = more opportunity for fantasy points.
Four Games:
Athletics, Rockies, Blue Jays, Giants, Mariners, Rays, Cardinals, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Yankees, Astros, Marlins, Guardians, Padres, Dodgers
Three Games:
Twins, Reds, Rangers, Mets, Braves, Royals, White Sox, Brewers, Orioles, Nationals, Tigers, Cubs, Angels, Phillies
⚾️ Pitching Primer
In this section, I go over the top starting pitchers who will be starting in that particular Game Week.
I am factoring in their matchup, ballpark factors, and price in the Sorare marketplace when deciding who the best options are for the week.
Corbin Burnes vs LAA
This will be Burnes’ first start with Baltimore after being traded from Milwaukee back in February.
Burnes finished last year with a 3.80 xFIP and 9.29 K/9 in 32 starts for the Brew Crew.
It was not exactly a world-beating season, but Burnes was significantly better in the second half of last year, lowering his xFIP to 3.40 from July to September.
FantasyPros has him as the second-ranked Starting Pitcher ahead of this season.
Now with the team that finished first in the AL East last year, Burnes will get his debut against the Ohtani-less Angels, who, outside of Mike Trout, have nothing to be feared.
Los Angeles finished middle of the pack in wRC+ (101) and wOBA (.320) last year, but the loss of Ohtani is a significant one.
It helps that L.A. struck out at the fifth-highest clip last season (24.8%).
Other Starters To Consider:
Zac Gallen vs COL
Tarik Skubal at CWS
Spencer Strider at PHI
Hunter Greene vs WSH
Cole Ragans vs MIN
Tyler Glasnow vs STL
Jesus Luzardo vs PIT
Pablo Lopez at KCR
📞 Call To The Bullpen
This section is always a bit tricky.
The reliever position is always volatile and oftentimes it’s hard to predict when a bullpen arm will have a big game.
The best strategy is to select someone who will be playing the maximum number of games in the Game Week, but you also want to select guys who are going to get save opportunities.
The best way to do this would be to try to select relievers who should be in games that are going to stay competitive.
This is easier said than done, but if you focus on games with two similarly talented teams, teams who are playing the maximum number of games, and ultimately, closers who often lead the league in saves, you should have a solid chance of picking a winner.
Closer Options:
Josh Hader vs NYY
Clay Holmes at HOU
Andres Munoz vs BOS
Kenley Jansen at SEA
Pete Fairbanks vs TOR
Jordan Romano at TBR
Emmanuel Clase at OAK
💰 Stacks
This is the fun part.
Stacking isn’t always required when building teams on Sorare, and what contests you elect to play in can dictate if stacking is more warranted than others, but in the end, stacking is a proven way to increase the upside of your lineup.
If a team delivers double-digit runs in a game, it likely means those hitters all boosted each others’ RBI and Run totals along the way.
If you can find a team that is 1) facing a weak pitching staff, 2) playing in good hitting conditions, and 3) has the upside/power as an offense to deliver these runs, then it makes for a great team to target as a stack for that Game Week.
There is one that stands out to me from a matchup/value standpoint this week.
Pirates
Pittsburgh will play four games at Miami against Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers, and Trevor Rogers.
I hate the matchup against Luzardo, the clear ace of this Miami squad. However, Puk, Weathers, and Rogers are nothing to be feared.
Last year the Pirates finished in the bottom half of the league in wOBA (.308), ISO (.153), and wRC+ (90) but it’s not so much the lineup as a whole that I like, rather the top of the order.
ONeil Cruz is expensive in the Sorare marketplace because he has fewer cards due to his lengthy injury absence last season. But he maybe had the best Spring Training of anyone and he plays the Corner Infield position, which can be a tough position to fill.
If you round him out with Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes, then you have a solid top-of-the-lineup Pirates stack that is cheap to buy and carries upside for this Game Week and beyond.
Oneil Cruz
Bryan Reynolds
Ke’Bryan Hayes
Andrew McCutchen
Rowdy Tellez
Other Stacks Include:
Dodgers
Diamondbacks
Astros
Guardians
There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 1.
All statistics referenced in this newsletter were pulled from Fangraphs.
All price references were pulled from the Limited tier.
I release these every Monday and Friday before lineup lock to help you all with preparing for the slate and setting your teams.
I hope to see everyone at the top of the leaderboards!
Also, follow me on Twitter @Hunter_Himself!
Thanks for reading!