The Braves have had a lot of lineup changes recently, but that doesn’t stop Atlanta from moving forward with their playoff push. Losing your everyday third baseman might be the nail in the coffin for most teams but not the Braves.
The Braves sign a well-known MLB third baseman Gio Urshela, not to replace him but to help fill the void. While there weren’t many winners from last night’s pitchers’ duel, there are some decisions to be made if you roster certain players.
Braves vs Phillies Fantasy Starts
Alec Bohm, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies
Alec Bohm is having the best year of his career and unlike most guys in the league, his stats don’t discriminate against what side of the mound the pitcher throws from. He has very even splits when it comes to left-handers vs right-handers. Even though he is facing one of the best lefties in the league in Max Fried tonight, he’s better against lefties than against righties. Bohm is batting .289 with 6 home runs against Southpaws and only has one hitless game over the past week, making him a must-start regardless of the pitcher.
Michael Harris II, OF, Atlanta Braves
The Braves center fielder has been hurt most of the season, and if you combine that with the slow start this year it doesn’t look good for the former rookie of the year. Luckily for fantasy owners, if they were able to stash Harris on their IL, he is on a hot streak as of late having seven hits for his last twenty-six at-bats and while he has not provided much power yet, he could go yard at any time.
Whit Merrifield, 2B, Atlanta Braves
Don’t look now but Whit Merrifield is starting to heat up. Merrifield has improved on pretty much every metric since signing with the Braves but has started heating up recently having seven hits for his last twenty-one at-bats, including one home run and two stolen bases. Merrifield also has better splits against right-handed pitchers, and even though Aaron Nola is one of the best righties in the game it’s hard to ignore Whits hot streak, especially if you need steals. So if you have the former all-star this is the time to start him.
Braves vs Phillies Fantasy Sits
Gio Urshela, 3B, Atlanta Braves
You may be tempted to add the new addition to the Braves offense but I would hold off if possible until Urshela proves himself worthy of a spot in your lineup. Even though he had an RBI in his first game as a Brave, it came from a walk with the bases loaded and he went 0-3 before that. Judging from his time in Detroit this year, there is no reason to roster Urshela yet but that could change in the next few games if his bat gets hot.
Brandon Marsh, OF, Philadelphia Phillies
While it seems like most people from the state of Georgia seem to perform better at home against the Braves, Brandon Marsh seems to be the exception with only a .256 AVG against the Braves. While Marsh does have a better split against left-handed pitchers than he does righties, he doesn’t have much of a chance, even against a down year from Max Fried
Jorge Soler, OF, Atlanta Braves
After the Braves acquired Soler at the trade deadline for the second time he seemed to get on a bit of a hot streak. Like most Braves this year he ended up getting hurt, though he only missed a couple of games, he probably won’t make much of an impact for fantasy until he gets regular time starting. He may start tomorrow and lead off with a home run but odds are for a hitter like Soler he will need a few games back to get warmed back up before he’s ready to be started in your lineup.
Braves vs Phillies Pitching Matchup
Max Fried LHP (7-7, 3.62 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 115 Ks, 121.2 IP) vs Aaron Nola RHP (11-6, 3.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 142 Ks, 154 IP)
Max Fried had a rough start to the season but seemed to right the ship, at least until the all-star break. In his three starts since the all-star break, he hasn’t had any quality starts and has only gone past five innings once and that was only by one out. Even with those stats going against him I wouldn’t bet against Fried and would keep him in my starting lineup as he could pitch a complete game shutout at any time.
Aaron Nola has taken four losses out of his last five starts and in none of those games did he have a strong strike-out rate. While I wouldn’t bet against the talented Nola, all four of those losses came from teams currently in the playoffs. The Braves are currently in the playoffs but have a handicapped lineup, you have to start Nola if you roster him, there’s an even chance he gets a loss or only allows 1 hit over seven innings.
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