Weekend preview: Scherzer, Cole continue comebacks

The Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles start a key four-game series in Maryland on Thursday, meeting for the first time since October, when the Rangers swept all three games to continue their World Series run. The upstart Orioles won 101 games and the AL East but none in the playoffs as Texas outscored them 21-11. Orioles pitchers posted a 7.27 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP over 26 innings, as two of their starting pitchers did not last even two innings.

Starting pitching takes center stage again this weekend, with Orioles RHP Corbin Burnes, a legitimate AL Cy Young contender, starting things off, but fantasy managers will surely pay attention to Friday night, with future Hall of Famer RHP Max Scherzer scheduled to make his second appearance of the season after missing months recovering from injuries to his back, thumb and forearm. Scherzer tossed 57 pitches in five shutout innings against the Royals on Sunday. He might be limited again. Scherzer remains available in more than 35% of ESPN standard leagues.

At the plate, Rangers rookie OF Wyatt Langford is having a productive June, knocking in runs and stealing bases and, while he is among the most-added hitters in ESPN standard leagues, he remains rostered in fewer than 50% of them. Even more available is Rangers 3B Josh Jung, nearly recovered from wrist surgery necessitated when an errant pitch caused a fracture during the first week of the season. Jung hit 23 home runs in 2023, so a preemptive add may be worth it, even in shallow leagues. Jung might play this weekend.

On the Orioles side, their lineup has been set for much of the season, with six regulars rostered in at least 50% of leagues. 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn should be in lineups versus right-handed pitching. The Rangers plan to throw right-handers in the first three games of the series, then LHP Andrew Heaney in the Sunday night game on ESPN. As for top Orioles hitting prospects such as SS/2B Jackson Holliday, DH Heston Kjerstad and 3B/1B Coby Mayo, there has not been much opportunity.

Weekend pitchers to watch

• The back-on-track Atlanta Braves welcome the wild-card contending Pittsburgh Pirates and their pair of RHP aces, Jared Jones and Paul Skenes. Jones has issued three-plus walks in five of his past six outings, which is a tad worrisome for WHIP and efficiency purposes, but it is tough to sit him even against what is left of the powerful Atlanta lineup. Skenes comes off a career-high seven innings, and he already looks like a top-10 fantasy starter after only eight starts. Atlanta sends the shocking RHP Reynaldo Lopez out for Sunday’s game, which — daily-leaguer alert! — starts prior to lunch for many of us at 11:35 a.m. ET.

• The sputtering Kansas City Royals get a chance to make up ground on the AL Central-leading Cleveland Guardians, with the featured pitching matchup being LHP Cole Ragans facing RHP Tanner Bibee on Saturday afternoon. Bibee has whiffed 30 hitters over his last three starts and, after a slow, inefficient start to the season, sure looks like a top-20 fantasy starter again. Ragans keeps piling on the strikeouts, too, but as well as he is pitching lately, he has won only one of his past six starts. He’s a top-20 starter, too.

• Minnesota Twins RHP Pablo Lopez meets Seattle Mariners RHP Bryce Miller in a battle of inconsistent aces. Lopez fanned 14 members of the Oakland Athletics in his most-recent outing, ending a seven-start stretch in which he didn’t reach as many as seven strikeouts once. Lopez dominated Oakland, lowering his ERA to a frustrating 5.11. Miller has a 3.90 ERA, but he has permitted at least six runs in two of his last four starts, with a greatly reduced strikeout rate. These pitchers are rostered everywhere — and they should be — but managers are befuddled.

• Speaking of befuddling, New York Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole struggled against the New York Mets on Tuesday, permitting four home runs and six runs overall in his four innings. The most shocking number was the big goose egg in the strikeout column. Cole faced 21 hitters, often with diminished velocity not only compared to past seasons, but also from June 19, his 2024 debut. This could signal a physical issue. Cole is scheduled to face Toronto Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman on Sunday, but investors should be alert and prepared for a change just in case Cole’s elbow is barking.

Weekend hitters to watch

• The Cincinnati Reds are scheduled to throw a trio of right-handers after Thursday’s opener, which is good news for St. Louis Cardinals OF Alec Burleson and 2B/OF Brendan Donovan, both of whom are among the most-added hitters in ESPN leagues but still available in more than 50% of them. Burleson is an emerging power hitter slugging better than .500 against right-handers, while Donovan enjoyed a surprising stretch recently with RBI in seven consecutive games.

• The Braves, lacking options, continue to place OF Jarred Kelenic in the leadoff spot — and his numbers are better in the role after a few weeks. Are they better enough for fantasy managers to invest? Kelenic still struggles versus left-handed pitching, and he has attempted to steal only three bases in more than 60 games. Newcomer OF Ramon Laureano is not doing much at the plate. Will lefty hitting OF Forrest Wall, a major stealer of bases, finally got a shot? Atlanta faces Jones and Skenes, not an easy task, and then contact-oriented LHP Bailey Falter on Sunday.

• Blue Jays rookie 1B/2B Spencer Horwitz was advertised as an “on-base machine” and, so far, he is thriving at reaching base. Horwitz bats left-handed and should start weekend games against the Yankees’ Marcus Stroman and Cole, but probably not the games against left-handers. Horwitz recently had a 2-HR game and boasts twice as many walks as strikeouts. Also keep an eye on 1B Justin Turner, who has raised his batting average 20 points over the past week-plus. He may become relevant again in shallow leagues soon.