Sorare MLB GW4 Slate Breakdown | Rays Stay Undefeated
Welcome to the Sorare MLB Game Week 4 Slate Breakdown!
My goal for these slate breakdowns is to create an all-in-one place for new users to get an overview for 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.
You can find my slate breakdowns every Monday and Friday of the MLB season here or on Lucky Trader.
Let’s dive in!
⏪ Game Week Recap
Most teams rolled out the bottom of their five-man rotation in GW3, leaving us with not many pitching options to choose from. Sonny Gray, Nick Lodolo, and Drew Rasmussen all tied with 42 Sorare points at the top. Despite not earning a win, Gray’s 13 strikeout game against Houston brought him to the top. Gray has never been the type of pitcher to rack up strikeouts but it’s worth noting in a game against the Astros.
Josh Hader ended up outscoring all starting pitchers with two saves against the Braves. Everyone on this list earned two saves within two appearances, but Hader rose to the top with 5 out of his 6 outs coming via strikeouts.
Brandon Lowe led all hitters in GW3 and played a big role in Tampa Bay’s dismantling of the Athletics this weekend. Lowe had two homers, 8 RBIs and 6 runs in the three-game series for the undefeated Rays. Rays stacks destroyed as a whole with Isaac Paredes, Harold Ramirez, Manuel Margot, Randy Arozarena, and Lowe all finishing with at least 47 Sorare points. The other notable piece here is that Bryan Reynolds finished third overall after finishing second overall in GW2.
🔎 Multi-Game Monitor
There are only 11 teams in GW4 that are playing all four games and we can gain a sizable advantage by focusing on hitters in these games. I’m not saying to fade the three-game guys, just know you will be missing out on about 25% more plate appearances.
Three Games:
Tigers, Blue Jays, White Sox, Guardians, Royals, Cubs, Braves, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Astros, Angels, Mariners, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Giants
Four Games:
Orioles, Red Sox, Rays, Reds, Twins, Yankees, Athletics, Phillies, Pirates, Padres, Cardinals
⚾️ Pitching Primer
Monday-Thursday slates are going to be loaded with options and this week is no exception. I’m going to narrow down this list to the top ten starters factoring in their matchup.
Shohei Ohtani vs WSH
Spencer Strider vs CIN
Jacob deGrom vs KCR
Kevin Gausman vs DET
Dylan Cease at MIN
Sandy Alcantara at PHI
Shane McClanahan vs BOS
Gerrit Cole at CLE
Aaron Nola vs MIA
Corbin Burnes at ARI
Shohei Ohtani
Ohtani will take the mound Tuesday in a lopsided matchup versus Josiah Gray and the Nationals. I have him as my number one option in GW4 however he’s not an easy marketplace pickup as he has the price of two players combined.
Limited Price: ~$205
Spencer Strider
Strider has the capacity to lead the slate in strikeouts in this matchup vs the Reds who strikeout the seventh most in the league against righties at 24%. Strider enters this matchup with the second-best K% in the league at 38.3% and will have some of the highest win-equity with the Braves’ offense behind him.
Limited Price: ~$128
Jacob deGrom
deGrom bounced back after a disappointing Opening Day against the Phillies with 11 strikeouts through six innings versus Baltimore. He faces Kansas City who strikeout at a league-average rate but have been ice cold to start 2023. He comes at a nice discount off of both Ohtani and Strider.
Limited Price: ~$54
Kevin Gausman
Gausman is my favorite option when factoring in both matchup and his Limited Price. Detroit is dead last in wOBA, wRC+, ISO, and they strikeout the third most in the league. Gausman hasn’t given up a run through 12 innings in 2023 and has a 28.2% K-rate and 2.79 xFIP. All signs point to Gausman in GW4.
Limited Price: ~$20
📞 Call To The Bullpen
Picking relief pitchers has been tricky to start the season but I am going to stick to the strategy of picking players from teams that are likely to win the series. Also, we want to choose players from the 11 teams who will be playing four games in this Game Week to maximize our chances for appearances.
Felix Bautista
Bautista is the best closer to play in GW4. The Orioles are likely to give him at least one save opportunity in their four-game home series against Oakland and he hasn’t pitched since Friday so he’s fully rested. He’s priced accordingly in the marketplace with a ~$29 floor.
Limited Price: ~$29
Jhoan Duran
I wanted to choose Yankees’ closer Clay Holmes as my second recommendation, however I have to downgrade him because he likely will need to rest after pitching both Saturday and Sunday. Duran and the Twins on the other hand, will draw three home games against the White Sox and then one road matchup against the Yankees. The matchups don’t look great for creating save opportunities, but Minnesota’s rotation of Kenta Maeda, Pablo Lopez, and Sonny Gray should hold the White Sox powerful lineup at bay to some degree.
Limited Price: ~$14
💰 Stacks
Cardinals
The Cards look like the nuts on this slate. St. Louis draws three games in Coors versus German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, and Jose Ureña, then one home matchup likely against Vince Velazquez and the Pirates on Thursday. Arenado and Goldschmidt are the obvious plays, but I like the Sorare prices on guys like Donovan and Burleson. Jordan Walker is a stud but his cheapest card is ~$103 due to him being a rookie.
~$15 Brendan Donovan
~$8 Alec Burleson
~$62 Nolan Arenado
~$67 Paul Goldschmidt
~$16 Tyler O’Neill
Orioles
Baltimore will begin a four-game series at home against the Athletics today, and are scheduled to face three lefties in JP Sears, Kyle Muller, Ken Waldichuk. The A’s have been a punching bag for opposing teams, and just gave up 31 combined runs in their three-game series versus the Rays. The frequent left-lefty matchups will downgrade Mullins and Henderson, but this Orioles lineup is still chalk-full of speed and power all throughout the lineup.
~$35 Cedric Mullins
~$49 Adley Rutschman
~$24 Ryan Mountcastle
~$17 Anthony Santander
~$14 Jorge Mateo
There you have it, the Sorare MLB Slate Breakdown for Game Week 4.
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!