Sorare MLB GW16 Breakdown | Chapman Delivers
Breaking down Game Week 16 on Sorare MLB
Welcome to the Sorare MLB GW16 Breakdown.
There may be some new faces here as we gained 11 new subscribers last week after “pepich0u” won Limited All-Star and I gave him a shoutout on X.
He said he reads the Breakdown every week and was able to secure first place with the stacks mentioned here.
For those new, I provide an all-in-one place to prepare Sorare MLB managers for the upcoming Game Week every Monday and Friday.
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Let’s dive in!
⏪ Game Week Rewind
I never give myself any shoutouts, but I was fortunate enough to secure a Tier 1 reward last week in Limited NL.
This was not the team I prioritized the most, but I happened to get lucky with Matt Chapman’s huge week.
His performance was somewhat predictable as he was facing the porous Rockies pitching staff over the weekend.
📋 Roster Movements
In:
Blake Snell - Should return to Giants’ rotation Wednesday
Brandon Lowe - Could return to Rays’ lineup Monday
Evan Carter - Back in Rangers’ lineup Sunday after not starting last nine games
Nico Hoerner - Should be back in Cubs’ lineup Tuesday
Dansby Swanson - Should be back in Cubs’ lineup Tuesday
Ke’Bryan Hayes - Expected to resume baseball activities Monday
Out:
Max Muncy - Placed on 10-day IL with right oblique strain
Elias Diaz - Day to day with left-hand soreness
🔎 Multi Game Monitor
The Braves/Padres game on Saturday was postponed due to rain and they will be playing a doubleheader on Monday as a result.
If you read last week’s weather report on here you would have seen the added risk for that series.
We will get FIVE games for both San Diego and Atlanta, which makes them stand out as the top offenses of the week.
Last year the Braves had five games in a Game Week and five of their hitters finished in the top ten.
Five Games:
Braves, Padres
Four Games:
White Sox, Tigers, Orioles, Yankees, Mariners, Blue Jays
Three Games:
Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Cubs, Reds, Guardians, Rockies, Astros, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, Marlins, Brewers, Twins, Mets, Athletics, Phillies, Pirates, Giants, Cardinals, Rays, Rangers, Nationals
☔️ Rain Check
St. Louis - 52% chance of scattered thunderstorms Wednesday
Cincinnati - 43% chance of thunderstorms Wednesday/76% chance Thursday *RISK*
Cleveland - 46% chance of thunderstorms Wednesday
Kansas City - 40% chance of thunderstorms Monday/51% Tuesday
New York City - 83% chance of PM thunderstorms Thursday *RISK*
Philadelphia - 66% chance of PM thunderstorms Thursday *RISK*
Pittsburgh - 71% chance of thunderstorms Thursday *RISK*
⚾️ Pitching Primer
Cole Ragans vs DET - Ragans had a layup against Oakland last week and did not disappoint. He draws another strong matchup against Detroit, who rank bottom-five in most offense metrics against lefties and strikeout about league-average. Ragans has the 13th-highest K% in the league (27.6%).
Framber Valdez vs LAA - Valdez is 13th in xFIP (3.06) but does have just a 21.2% K-rate. The Trout-less Angels whiff at the 10th-highest rate in the league (23.5%) and don’t offer much in the power department. Framber always provides a high floor.
Tarik Skubal at KCR - Kansas City isn’t that favorable of a matchup this season. As a whole, they strike out at the second-lowest clip (18.9%). However, Skubal is about as matchup-proof as they come. He’s a top-five pitcher in just about every metric.
Pablo Lopez at WSH - Lopez is 10th in xFIP (2.99) and 14th in K% (28.7%). Washington ranks in the middle of the pack in K% but sits 28th in ISO (.124). CJ Abrams is #good but this will continue to be one of the softest matchups in the majors.
Yusei Kikuchi vs CWS - Luis Gil just struck out 14 White Sox in just 6 innings. I’m not saying Kikuchi will do that, but it shows how good this matchup is for pitchers. Kikuchi is quietly having one of his best seasons with the 23rd-best K% (26.3%) and 11th-best xFIP (3.03). Chicago is dead last in wRC+ (73).
Other Starters Include:
Chris Sale vs SDP
Garrett Crochet at TOR
Tyler Glasnow vs ARI
Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs ARI
Freddy Peralta at MIA
Joe Ryan at WSH
Zack Wheeler vs TEX
Kevin Gausman vs DET
📞 Call To The Bullpen
Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez stand out quite a bit in Game Week 16.
Both have five chances at getting a save opportunity and a potential save.
I’ll give Suarez the edge here as the Padres as he already has 12 saves on the season and the Padres have three soft matchups against the Reds.
Closer Options:
Raisel Iglesias - ATL - Tier 1
Robert Suarez - SDP - Tier 1
Michael Kopech - CWS - T2
Jason Foley - DET - T2
Craig Kimbrel - BAL - T2
Clay Holmes - NYY - T2
Andres Muñoz - SEA - T2
Jordan Romano - TOR - T2
💰 Stacks
Braves
Atlanta stands out as the unquestioned top-stack, especially when you factor in the potential weather that the Padres will be facing in Cincinnati
This hasn’t been the same Atlanta offense we saw last season but as a whole, they are still ranked in the top ten in many of the major offensive categories.
They will face:
Dylan Cease (SP 14)
Randy Vazquez (SP 181)
Javier Assad (SP 146)
Justin Steele (SP 27)
Kyle Hendricks (Sp 176)
Two of these matchups are not ideal, but overall this is an elite spot.
Padres
The Padres will face slightly better pitching than the Braves and get a better ballpark to hit in, but they risk getting bumped down to four games with bad weather projected for Thursday in Cincinnati.
They will face:
Reynaldo Lopez (SP 59)
Chris Sale (SP 10)
Andrew Abbott (SP 103)
Nick Martinez (SP 145)
Frankie Montas (SP 118)
San Diego’s offense has been hot and they rank in the top ten in most of the main offensive metrics except for ISO where they are league-average (.143).
Orioles
I will also throw Baltimore into the mix because they get four games but they have a solid pitching matchup and their offense has been on fire, Gunnar Henderson in particular.
They will face:
Sonny Gray (SP 21)
Lance Lynn (SP 78)
Kyle Gibson (SP 132)
Brad Keller (SP 403)
Three of their games will be in St. Louis and one in Chicago, which means this lineup will all get guaranteed ninth-inning at-bats.
Other Stacks To Consider:
Blue Jays, Mariners, Yankees
There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 16.
All statistics referenced in this newsletter were pulled from Fangraphs.
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!