Sorare MLB GW28 Breakdown | Abbott the Ace
Welcome to the Sorare MLB Game Week 28 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
The top dog this week was Reds’ rookie pitcher Andrew Abbott.
I’ll admit I was wrong about Abbott this week. I saw a matchup at home against San Diego and figured the wheels would finally fall off of Abbott, who has looked stellar to start his career.
His Limited price has now risen to over $50.
Mariners’ closer Paul Sewald took the bullpen crown this week with two saves over 2.2 innings of work against the Rays.
We also saw two different Astros on this list including closer Ryan Pressly and reliever Hector Neris.
Pressly earned two saves over the Rangers while Neris made two appearances and earned one Hold.
There were some obvious names atop the hitter leaderboard this week including Olson and Acuña who both surpassed 70 Sorare points.
Covering this leaderboard all season, I can see how Atlanta is sending 8(!) players to the All Star game, including their entire infield.
Also the Phillies would have made a nice little mini-stack with Bohm and Castellanos in their weekend series at home against the Nationals.
📋 Roster Movements
In:
Tarik Skubal - Returning to Tigers’ rotation, will start Tuesday
Eduardo Rodriguez - Returning to Tigers’ rotation, will start Wednesday
Carlos Rodon - Should make season debut this week versus Cubs
Out:
Clayton Kershaw - Day to day with left shoulder inflammation
Corbin Carroll - Day to day with right shoulder soreness
Shane McClanahan - Placed on the 15-day IL with mid-back tightness
Royce Lewis - Should end up on the IL soon with left oblique strain
🔎 Multi Game Monitor
Four Games:
Mariners, Rangers, Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Royals, Dodgers, Pirates, Yankees, Astros, Reds, Orioles, Nationals, Marlins, Guardians, Phillies
Three Games:
Braves, Mets, White Sox, Giants, Padres, Angels, Rays, Blue Jays, Twins, Athletics, Tigers, Red Sox, Diamondbacks
Two Games:
Rockies
⚾️ Pitching Primer
Clayton Kershaw vs PIT
Kershaw stands out as my favorite option in GW28 with a matchup at home against Pittsburgh.
Once the most dominant pitcher in the MLB, the 35-year old Kershaw has been having an impressive season, ranking 9th in K% (27.7%), and 7th in xFIP (3.27).
Pittsburgh has been about league-average against lefties this season in the major offensive metrics, however, with recent injuries to Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes, the Pirates have slipped to 6th-highest in K% (26.1%), 27th in ISO (.123), and 28th in wOBA (.275).
This looks like a prime Kershaw spot, and I wouldn’t count out rookie Bobby Miller who draws the same matchup for the Dodgers on Thursday.
Limited Price: ~$18
*I read this morning that Kershaw may end up on the IL prior to his Monday start. I highlighted a third option just in case.
Logan Webb vs SEA
Webb draws a home matchup against the Mariners tonight in what should be a low scoring game and a low scoring series.
Targeting Seattle with pitchers has been a good strategy of late with how often this team strikes out. The rank second in the league at a 25.7% clip.
Webb doesn’t have that great of K numbers on the year (24% ), but his xFIP actually ranks fifth amongst qualified starters (3.07) and he has showed impressive control (4.8% BB%).
This is a positive spot for run prevention and Webb could get an extra strikeout boost facing the Mariners here.
Limited Price: ~$16
Eduardo Rodriguez vs OAK
Eduardo is finally back from a month-long absence with a left index finger injury, and immediately draws a dream matchup vs Oakland at home on Wednesday.
Rodriguez was having the best season of his career before the injury, including a 25.5% strikeout rate, 3.54 xFIP, a respectable 25.5% walk-rate, and a minuscule 0.8 HR/9.
The story remains the same for the A’s, ranking last or close to last in the major offensive metrics.
They will continue to be a target of mine for any opposing pitcher who has the ability to flash upside.
Limited Price: ~$9
Other Starters Include:
~$17 Joe Ryan vs KCR
~$11 Pablo Lopez vs KCR
~$299 Shohei Ohtani at SDP
~$32 Bobby Miller vs PIT
~$10 Blake Snell vs LAA
~$8 Logan Gilbert at SFG
~$12 Bryce Miller at SFG
📞 Call To The Bullpen
More than half the teams are playing all four games this week, which makes it hard to narrow this section down to find optimal closers.
We can safely avoid any of the three-games plus the Rockies (Not that we were considering them anyway).
The Astros have a weird schedule this week where they will play Texas on Monday, Colorado on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Seattle on Thursday.
Games I think can stay close in GW28:
TEX/BOS, BAL/NYY, MIL/CHC + HOU vs. TEX/COL/SEA
Closer Options:
~$9 Will Smith
~$5 Kenley Jansen
~$29 Felix Bautista
~$4 Clay Holmes
~$13 Devin Williams
~$3 Adbert Alzolay
~$7 Ryan Pressly
💰 Stacks
Rangers
There aren’t too many teams that stand out from a ballpark/opposing pitcher standpoint in GW28, but I’ll put Texas at the top with one game at home vs. Houston, followed by three games at Fenway Park.
Texas will draw a tough matchup against Christian Javier, but then should face Bryan Bello, Kutter Crawford, and a TBD pitcher for the Sox.
Bello has looked a lot better as of late, but I still think this powerful Rangers lineup can do some damage in this awesome hitters park.
Texas ranks fifth in ISO (.184) second in wOBA (.347), and third in wRC+ (122) on the season.
~$39 Marcus Semien
~$61 Corey Seager
~$13 Nate Lowe
~$44 Adolis Garcia
~$24 Josh Jung
Dodgers
LA will play a four-game series against the Pirates at home and are slated to face Mitch Keller, Luis Ortiz, Osvado Bido, and Johan Oviedo.
The matchup versus Keller isn’t ideal, but the three O’s (Ortiz, Osvaldo, Oviedo) all have a 4.5 xFIP or higher.
All four of these guys are right-handed, which matchups up well with several of the Dodgers’ top bats who are lefties (Freeman, Muncy, Peralta, Heyward, Outman).
Against right-handed pitching, the Dodgers rank third in ISO (.195), 6th in wOBA (.335), and 5th in wRC+ (112).
~$97 Mookie Betts
~$75 Freddie Freeman
~$19 Will Smith
~$14 J.D. Martinez
~$2 David Peralta
Other Stacks to Consider:
Mariners, Astros, Reds, Orioles
Value Options (Under $20):
Middle Infielder:
~$19 Ezequiel Tovar, ~$7 J.P. Crawford, ~$19 Will Smith, ~$11 Tommy Edman, ~$16 Sean Murphy, ~$18 Jonathan India, ~$18 Adley Rutschman
Corner Infielder:
~$11 Eddie Rosario, ~$11 Jeimer Candelario, ~$15 Christian Yelich, ~$19 Christian Walker, ~$19 Anthony Santander, ~$17 Ezequiel Duran
Outfielder:
~$16 Nick Castellanos, ~$15 TJ Friedl, ~$11 Teoscar Hernandez, ~$18 Alex Verdugo, ~$16 George Springer, ~$16 Riley Greene
There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 28.
All statistics referenced in this newsletter were pulled from Fangraphs.
I release 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!