Sorare MLB GW22 Breakdown | Carroll Keeps On Rolling
Welcome to the Sorare MLB Game Week 22 Breakdown!
My goal for these slate breakdowns is to create an all-in-one place for users to get an overview of each Game Week and use that information to pinpoint marketplace inefficiencies and construct a winning team.
I will be focusing on the Limited tier cards when referencing market prices as this is where the majority of Sorare users will be playing, and where there is the most liquid market.
Also, follow me on Twitter @Hunter_Himself!
Let’s dive in!
⏪ Game Week Rewind
There was a tie on the SP leaderboard this week with Blake Snell and Shane Bieber.
Snell racked up 12 strikeouts against the injury-depleted Rockies at Coors field over the weekend, but fell short of the win with Colorado hitting a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth.
Keller bounced back after a poor outing versus the A’s and Kyle Hendricks carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Giants.
Josh Hader took the RP crown as the Padres won two out of three tightly-contested contests this weekend in Colorado.
The Red Sox bullpen was featured in the 2 and 3 spots with the Sox/Yankees rivalry staying tight and competitive throughout the weekend as it typically does.
I would assume that Kenley Jansen won’t be needed as much in GW22 with what should be a heavily-favored Boston team in their three-game series at home versus Colorado.
Following up a sixth-place finish last week, Corbin Carroll took the crown in GW21 with a collective 2 homers, a triple, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, 4 runs, and a stolen bag.
He finished first despite going 0-4 with a strikeout on Saturday.
Fellow rookie Gunnar Henderson took second place with 8 hits over 13 at bats, including this 462-foot homer to Eutaw Street.
📋 Roster Movements
In:
Pete Fairbanks - Eligible to return from IL today, should resume Rays’ closer role
Out:
Pete Alonso - Placed on 10-day IL with bone bruise and sprained left wrist
Yordan Alvarez - Placed on the 10-day IL with right oblique discomfort
Liam Hendriks - Placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation
Eloy Jimenez - Out 4-5 days with lower left leg injury
Charlie Blackmon - Placed on 10-day IL with right hand fracture
Elias Diaz - Day to day after being struck by foul tip
Vinnie Pasquantino - Placed on the 10-day IL with shoulder instability
Jorge Polanco - Placed on the 10-day IL with “moderate” hamstring strain
Jake Fraley - Placed on 10-day IL with right wrist contusion
Graham Ashcraft - Placed on 15-day IL with left calf contusion
🔎 Multi Game Monitor
Four Games:
Rangers, Rockies, Athletics, Braves, Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, Angels, Phillies
Three Games:
Blue Jays, Padres, Giants, Nationals, Cardinals, Cubs, Royals, White Sox, Orioles, Twins, Mariners, Reds, Dodgers, Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Guardians, Red Sox
Two Games:
Mets, Yankees, Brewers
⚾️ Pitching Primer
Spencer Strider at DET
Strider stands out quite a bit at the top with a soft matchup at Comerica park against the Tigers.
As it currently stands, Strider is 1st in K/9 (14.78!), and 2nd in xFIP (2.82).
Detroit strikes out at the 8th-highest rate (24.1%), has almost no power (.125 ISO), and ranks dead-last in wOBA (.287).
This one is fairly obvious. If you own Strider, especially his 2022 card which can be used as a reliever, fire him up in your optimal lineup this week.
Limited Price: ~$79
Framber Valdez/Christian Javier/Hunter Brown vs WSH
The Astros/Nationals series looks like it could be quite a mismatch from a pitching standpoint this week.
Here are some stats for these three guys on the season:
Valdez: 9.54 K/9 - 2.14 BB/9 - 0.64 HR/9 - 2.86 xFIP
Javier: 8.92 K/9 - 2.29 BB/9 - 1.08 HR/9 - 4.10 xFIP
Brown: 10.40 K/9 - 3.03 BB/9 - 0.79 HR/9 - 3.09 xFIP
Washington is still striking out at the lowest rate in the league (18.5%), but they are bottom-three in ISO and middle of the pack in wOBA, making them one of the least-threatening matchups.
Limited Prices:
~$25 Valdez
~$15 Javier
~$23 Brown
James Paxton vs COL
If you want a cheap pickup for this GW, it may be a good idea to look at The Big Maple who draws this depleted Rockies squad.
After a walk-off against the Padres last night, the Rockies may be experiencing an extra-hard Coors Hangover as they head to Fenway to face Paxton, who has been solid since returning from his lengthy absence.
Colorado is also without Charlie Blackmon, Kris Bryant, Elias Diaz, C.J. Cron, and Brendan Rodgers.
Limited Price: ~$7
Other Starters Include:
~$27 Zach Eflin at OAK
~$21 Corbin Burnes at MIN
~$8 Pablo Lopez vs MIL
~$14 Jon Gray vs LAA
~$31 Gerrit Cole at NYM
~$17 Luis Castillo vs MIA
~$29 Clayton Kershaw vs CHW
📞 Call To The Bullpen
The strategy for picking closers on the Mon-Thurs Game Weeks is to focus on the teams playing four games, while targeting the series’ that are projected to stay close.
Teams I’m targeting for bullpen arms:
Rangers, Diamondbacks, Angels, Phillies
Closer Options:
~$8 Will Smith
~$3 Andrew Chafin
~$3 Miguel Castro
~$8 Carlos Estevez
~$4 Craig Kimbrel
~$5 Jose Alvarado
💰 Stacks
Red Sox
Boston only plays three games in GW22 but their offense is in arguably the best spot this week.
They return to Fenway to face the Rockies who, as previously mentioned, may be experiencing an extreme Coors Hangover after their walk-off victory just last night.
The Sox will face Connor Seabold, Chase Anderson, and Austin Gomber.
We won’t know the Vegas lines for Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games, but as of right now, Boston has a 6.21 team total tonight versus Seabold.
~$9 Alex Verdugo
~$38 Masataka Yoshida
~$5 Justin Turner
~$36 Rafael Devers
~$24 Adam Duvall
Braves
Another lopsided matchup this week is the Braves who head to Detroit to play four games against Reese Olson, Michael Lorenzen, Matt Boyd, and a TBD pitcher.
Atlanta is 3rd in wOBA (.344), 3rd in ISO (.203), and 4th in wRC+ (114) on the season.
These bats won’t come cheap, but if you already own their cards, you should be prioritizing them this week.
~$160 Ronald Acuña Jr.
~$38 Matt Olson
~$40 Austin Riley
~$12 Sean Murphy
~$31 Ozzie Albies
Other Stacks To Consider:
Rays, Rangers, Phillies, Reds
Value Options (Under $20):
Middle Infielder:
~$16 Jonathan India, ~$19 Oneil Cruz, ~$13 Daulton Varsho, ~$14 Jeremy Peña, ~$18 Edouard Julien, ~$14 Carlos Correa
Corner Infielder:
~$18 Ketel Marte, ~$19 Luis Arraez, ~$13 Isaac Paredes, ~$14 Gary Sanchez, ~$19 Alex Bregman, ~$19 Bryan Reynolds, ~$9 Ryan Noda
Outfielder:
~$7 Jo Adell, ~$10 Michael Conforto, ~$17 Steven Kwan, ~$14 Riley Greene, ~$9 Marcell Ozuna, ~$14 Christian Yelich
There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 22.
All statistics referenced in this newsletter were pulled from Fangraphs.
I will be releasing these every Monday and Friday prior to 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.
Thanks for reading!