{"id":682124,"date":"2026-05-20T15:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/682124\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T15:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T15:11:09","slug":"pressing-fantasy-baseball-questions-is-a-j-ewing-overrated-can-ben-brown-be-a-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/682124\/","title":{"rendered":"Pressing fantasy baseball questions: Is A.J. Ewing overrated? Can Ben Brown be a starter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roki Sasaki is coming off the best outing of his career<\/a>, racking up 18 whiffs while effectively mixing both a splitter and forkball. He\u2019s thrown two distinct versions<\/a> of his off-speed pitch over his past three starts, producing a 19% K-BB rate and a 3.34 SIERA. Sasaki has benefitted from a favorable schedule over that span \u2014 the Giants and Angels both rank bottom three in wRC+ against righties this season \u2014 but a tangible change makes the improved results even more encouraging. Sasaki has been a bust since coming to MLB (he\u2019s rostered in just 35% of Yahoo leagues), but he\u2019s still just 24 years old and posted video-game stats in Japan. With better control to go with his impressive stuff, Sasaki would quickly become a major fantasy asset if he\u2019s truly figured things out. Here are 10 more pressing questions throughout the league.<\/p>\n

When will Tarik Skubal return?<\/p>\n

Skubal is shockingly back throwing less than two weeks after undergoing elbow surgery. It was an innovative NanoScope procedure<\/a> that involved a less invasive surgical tool to expedite recovery time that would have traditionally required two-three months. Skubal\u2019s timeline for return suddenly includes June as a real possibility. Of course, Spencer Strider\u2019s performance has seen a huge decline after he returned from a new surgery procedure that shortened his rehab, so how Skubal responds once he\u2019s back will also be important. Still, fantasy managers must be excited to hear Skubal\u2019s expected return date is much sooner than originally anticipated.<\/p>\n

Blake Snell recently underwent the same NanoScope surgery<\/a>, so his recovery will also be accelerated.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s wrong with Jarren Duran?<\/p>\n

Duran\u2019s 10 steals have helped fantasy managers, but he entered Tuesday batting .181, with a 50 wRC+ that ranked sixth-worst in baseball. The 29-year-old was a prime candidate to bounce back in 2026 after a down year in 2025, but he\u2019s declined even further instead. Duran is lucky his playing time hasn\u2019t been squeezed thanks to Roman Anthony\u2019s injury and the rest of Boston\u2019s lineup also struggling. Oddly, Duran has performed worse against righties (47 wRC+) compared to lefties this season. His lowly BABIP is sure to regress, but Duran\u2019s expected stats suggest his ugly results haven\u2019t been all about misfortune \u2014 he entered Tuesday ranked last among 300 hitters<\/a> in Statcast\u2019s Batting Run Value leaderboard, as his swing decisions have somehow been as bad as Patrick Bailey\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s the league\u2019s most underrated pitcher?<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderrated\u201d is a subjective and relative term, but Will Warren is a strong candidate. He went undrafted in many fantasy leagues, as Warren was the SP99 in composite ADP<\/a>. He\u2019s been a big fantasy help this season, although he entered Tuesday ranked as the SP39 in FanGraphs\u2019 Player Rater, which undersells how well he\u2019s pitched in 2026.<\/p>\n

Warren entered Tuesday fewer than one inning shy of being a qualified leader, a status that would have him ranked top 10 in K-BB% (23.7), CSW% (30.5) and SIERA (2.89). Put simply, Warren has pitched like an ace this season. His spot in New York\u2019s rotation should be safe with Max Fried hitting the IL, but the Yankees could have tough decisions to make should all six (and eventually seven) of their top starters become healthy at the same time.<\/p>\n

Has Tanner Scott become an elite fantasy closer?<\/p>\n

Scott has shown a dramatic improvement in control this season while also sporting the highest Strike% among all relievers<\/a>. His K\/9 has dropped from last year, but his K rate has increased. Moreover, Scott has recorded four of the Dodgers\u2019 past five saves since Edwin D\u00edaz went on the IL. Will Klein picked up a rare save on Tuesday night as Scott was used in a high-leverage situation in the eighth. Scott also pitched the eighth inning during a Dodgers\u2019 4-0 win last week, so he may not receive every save opportunity, but Los Angeles won\u2019t use a committee to replace D\u00edaz as most expected.<\/p>\n

Scott has top-three fantasy closer upside while D\u00edaz remains out, which will extend at least into the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

Can Ben Brown start?<\/p>\n

Brown thrived during his first two starts<\/a> since rejoining Chicago\u2019s rotation, albeit while still being stretched out. Brown\u2019s 5.92 ERA last season came with a 4.08 FIP and an 18.9 K-BB% (he made 15 starts over 25 appearances), so he has clear fantasy upside in the right role. The 26-year-old righty remains available in some fantasy leagues after pitching mostly out of middle relief this season, although his elite ratios have led to him being a top-30 fantasy pitcher<\/a> despite recording only one win and one save in modest innings. More volume is coming with the move to starter, as Brown is joining the Cubs\u2019 rotation thanks to Matthew Boyd landing on the IL. He\u2019s plenty capable of staying there over the rest of this season and beyond. Brown can be a major fantasy difference-maker as a starter.<\/p>\n

Will A.J. Ewing save fantasy teams?<\/p>\n

Ewing was called up by the Mets last week, and he averaged a $197 winning bid<\/a> in NFBC Main Event leagues \u2014 easily the highest of the period. Offense has been scarce on waiver wires in deeper leagues, and Ewing stole 70 bases as a 20-year-old across the minors last season. Ewing will help in speed and is 2B-eligible in some formats, but he won\u2019t provide much power, and he profiles as Nico Hoerner with a worse batting average. Ewing has questionable bat speed<\/a> and had zero barrels in the minors this year, so his fantasy upside is limited. Projections suggest<\/a> other recent call-ups, Henry Bolte and Dylan Crews, are superior fantasy options going forward. Ewing will be helpful in deeper leagues, but he\u2019s hardly a fantasy savior.<\/p>\n

Is Colt Emerson ready to contribute?<\/p>\n

Emerson is another exciting prospect recently called up to the majors, as a struggling Mariners team is searching for a spark. Emerson held his own (105 wRC+) as a 20-year-old in Triple A this season, but it\u2019s safe to question how ready he is to contribute for Seattle. His first MLB hit was a three-run homer, but Emerson is a batting average risk and will be hampered by his home park \u2014 T-Mobile has been the least favorable place for left-handed batters over the past three seasons (although that\u2019s changed to open 2026). The first-round pick has a bright future, but expectations should be held in check given Emerson barely has 1,000 professional at-bats.<\/p>\n

Emerson is worth a look in fantasy leagues while starting at third base for the foreseeable future, but he could return to the minors once Brendan Donovan is back.<\/p>\n

Which SP shouldn\u2019t be on waiver wires?<\/p>\n

Connor Prielipp sports a 2.88 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP over five starts, so he\u2019s been unlucky to have recorded just one win (although not pitching deep into games hasn\u2019t helped). The former top-50 pick pitched well in the minors last season, and he\u2019s now ostensibly locked into Minnesota\u2019s rotation. With a .190 BABIP and slated to pitch in Fenway Park next time out, Prielipp\u2019s ERA is sure to rise, but he shouldn\u2019t be available in 83% of Yahoo leagues. Prielipp should be added in all competitive fantasy formats.<\/p>\n

Is Davis Martin the real deal? <\/p>\n

Martin entered the season as a 29-year-old with extremely \u201cmeh\u201d peripherals on a team projected to struggle mightily to win games. He was a complete afterthought in fantasy drafts, as Martin was taken in only one Main Event draft and didn\u2019t even have a composite ADP. However, he\u2019s been a top-five fantasy pitcher<\/a> so far this season, tying for the league lead in wins while recording a 1.61 ERA. Martin will regress like any pitcher with his stats, but his peripherals have been legit \u2014 his 22.8 K-BB% and 3.01 SIERA both rank top 12 among starters.<\/p>\n

That said, Martin is still considered a long shot in the Cy Young market, and projection systems<\/a> have his K rate reverting to career norms for the rest of 2026. Fantasy managers have the right to remain skeptical, given his track record and no notable improvement in stuff, but Martin\u2019s under-the-hood stats reveal he\u2019s been far more real than fluke this season. He gets a prime matchup in Oracle Park next time out.<\/p>\n

When will we see Seth Hernandez? <\/p>\n

Hernandez looks like the next star fantasy pitcher<\/a>, although he\u2019s still only 19 and just made his debut in High A, so he remains many steps away from appearing in Pittsburgh. Hernandez sports a microscopic 0.82 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP with a comical 37.7 K-BB% over the teenager\u2019s first seven professional starts.<\/p>\n

The Pirates have a history of slow playing their prospects, but they broke that mold with Konnor Griffin. Plus, Pittsburgh currently has around a 42% chance of making the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. Natural progression is nice in theory, but logic increasingly suggests teams are foolish for wasting pitches by hard throwers in the minor leagues, given the inevitable injury (especially considering Hernandez\u2019s extreme velocity). Dynasty leaguers are salivating while the rest of the fantasy community eagerly awaits baseball\u2019s best pitching prospect<\/a> to make his MLB debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roki Sasaki is coming off the best outing of his career, racking up 18 whiffs while effectively mixing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,11142,462,82],"class_list":["post-682124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fantasy-baseball","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}