Fantasy Baseball 2019: 5 Job Battles to Watch for Opening Day

Players use spring training to prove they deserve a starting spot, thus creating a job battle. Here are 5 situations to monitor for fantasy baseball.

Spring training is still underway but the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A’s kicked off their regular season in Japan. With a week until Opening Day, there are still lineup spots up for grabs. Closers, starting pitchers and fielders are competing for a job over the final week of spring training. Here are five job battles to monitor as we get ready for the start of fantasy baseball.

Job battles are not necessarily a bad thing. It allows players to rest as they prepare for the long, 162-game season. It also gives a bench player a boost in fantasy value they wouldn’t normally have.

The downside is that the player who would have been the outright starter loses playing time. A closer projected for 35 saves may now get 20. A batter who would have gotten 600 at-bats may lose 150-200 throughout the season. The loss in playing time pushes them down in rankings. But, if you draft those players late and the competition starts to separate, you may have found yourself a bargain.

Yankees Infield

The New York Yankees were very busy this offseason. With the news of Didi Gregorius missing the first three months, the team brought in veteran shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. While he didn’t play at all in 2018, he is a good defender and, when healthy, could still perform. The team also added DJ LeMahieu, which began the questions.

The Yankees have Miguel Andujar at third base and Gleyber Torres at second base. Brian Cashman said they want to make LeMahieu their utility infielder, but I feel he’s too good to be relegation to that role. Tulowitzki has been decent this spring, .241 with three home runs and seven RBIs. The Yankees could move Torres to short, LeMahieu at second and use Tulowitzki as an off-day fill-in.

Things will get even more difficult when Gregorius returns in June.

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This isn’t the only decision the Yankees have to make. There is a job battle going on at first base as well. The Yankees have tried to make this Greg Bird thing work, but it just hasn’t come together. The Yankees then traded for Luke Voit and he showcased a good bat with a .333 average, 14 home runs and 33 RBIs in 39 games.

Both players are hitting well this spring. With Aaron Hicks out with an injury, Giancarlo Stanton moves to left field, opening up the DH spot. Voit and Bird will be in the lineup at least for the first series. When Hicks is back, the Yankees front office will have a decision to make, one that may be easier once the season starts. Bird has three options left while Voit has two. I would like to see Bird go back to Triple-A to work on his swing and build his confidence.

Rockies Second Base

With LeMahieu out of Colorado, the Rockies had an opening to fill. The front office brought in Daniel Murphy to take over first base and move Ian Desmond back to the outfield. This left perennial first baseman Ryan McMahon without a job.

The Rockies also have infielder Garrett Hampson in the mix. Pat Valaika has been getting looks in spring training but he is the likely odd man out. I can see this being a platoon situation with McMahon and Hampson splitting time at second base.

McMahon has seven doubles, one triple, three home runs and 11 RBIs this spring. Hampson has three home runs for himself with six RBIs, six steals and a .278 average. I talked about Hampson in my late-speed piece but it depends on how much playing time he gets.

Astros Rotation

The Houston Astros signed Wade Miley to fill in for the departing Dallas Keuchel. But, with Charlie Morton in Tampa Bay and Lance McCullers out with Tommy John surgery, the Astros have two spots open in their rotation. With options in both the majors and minors, who will join Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Miley?

According to Roster Resource, Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock will fill out the rotation. Josh James was in contention before suffering a quad injury and will likely be in the bullpen this season.

Looking at the minors, Framber Valdez is a possible candidate. He had a 2.19 ERA, 1.243 WHIP and 34:24 K:BB ratio in eight MLB appearances. We all know about Forrest Whitley but I think the Astros want to have him pitch in Triple-A before calling him up. So, we may see him in June.

Cardinals Closer

The St. Louis Cardinals bullpen is full of talent. Jordan Hicks has been a favorite for the closer role. The Cardinals signed veteran Andrew Miller, who has closer experience himself. Alex Reyes will likely join the bullpen once he’s back in the majors.

Not only that, Carlos Martinez will be in the bullpen as he works through his shoulder discomfort. Also on the injury list are Brett Cecil and Luke Gregerson. They will add necessary depth in the Cardinals bullpen as they compete in the tough NL Central.

Ultimately, I think Hicks gets the majority of saves. Miller has been excellent as a set-up man, posting a 2.34 ERA over 154.0 innings in the eighth inning. With more managers using a committee bullpen, this is one of the many bullpens to monitor.

Blue Jays Left Field

The Toronto Blue Jays may have an issue at third base in three weeks when Vlad Guerrero Jr. is called up but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. The more pressing battle is in left field. The Blue Jays acquired Billy McKinney from the Yankees as a part of the J.A. Happ deal.

Toronto already had an in-house option for left field in Teoscar Hernandez. In 134 games last season, Hernandez hit .239 with 22 home runs, 57 RBIs and 67 runs scored. He’s hitting .405 with a home runs and six RBIs this spring.

McKinney has a .265 average with two homers, five RBIs and a double this spring. Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins sees good things from both players, according to MLB.

“The biggest thing with Teo is how good his at-bats have been; not trying to do too much,” Atkins said. “McKinney is just another guy that everyone just loves to watch play, easy to pull for and plays as hard as any young player you’ll see.”

With his speed and power, I think Hernandez wins out. I could also see them playing in a platoon, hindering both of their fantasy values. Though, if Kendrys Morales struggles or gets hurt, Hernandez could fill in at DH.

dark. Next. Fantasy Baseball 2019: 5 Sources for Late-Draft Speed

There are plenty of other job battles going on but these are the five (or six) that stood out to me. Hopefully, we get a clearer picture of who is playing where by the time Opening Day comes around.

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