Adam's Weekly Baseball Forecast: Week of May 2nd

Introduction: Welcome back, as I hope you all are doing well! The following is my third edition of my weekly series where I give my thoughts and predictions for the upcoming week in Major League Baseball. With April coming to an end this past week, I have decided to add in my "April Standouts" from the last month, as these are players who have really surprised me over the last four weeks with their amazing starts to the season. As a result, they should get some type of recognition for their individual performances.

Even though we are only a month or so into the season, my award winners will also be included as I look to update these at the end of each month. With that being said, I hope you enjoy reading my article!

Adam's April Standouts:

Starting Pitchers: Pablo Lopez, Logan Gilbert, Nestor Cortes Jr., Miles Mikolas, and Kyle Wright

Position Players: Taylor Ward, Ty France, and Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Relievers: Jordan Romano, David Robertson, and Clay Holmes

Adam's Current End of Season Award Winners:

AL Cy Young Winner: Kevin Gausman: Toronto Blue Jays

NL Cy Young Winner: Max Scherzer: New York Mets

AL MVP: Mike Trout: Los Angeles Angels

NL MVP: Nolan Arenado: St. Louis Cardinals

Two-Start Pitchers:

A "Two-Start Pitcher" is simply a starting pitcher who starts twice in a week and as a result are very important to those who play fantasy baseball and of course to their real-life teams as well. Adding this into my weekly forecast for the first time a week ago, I feel like this is the most important part of the whole article because if one or a few top-tier arms are going to be pitching twice, I believe it raises the individual team's chances of winning significantly.

Must-Starts:

Carlos Rodon: 5/3 @LAD, 5/8 STL

Pablo Lopez: 5/2 ARI, 5/7 @SD

Max Fried: 5/2 @NYM, 5/8 MIL

Alek Manoah: 5/3 NYY, 5/8 @CLE

Dylan Cease: 5/2 LAA, 5/8 @BOS

Joe Ryan: 5/3 @BAL, 5/8 @OAK

Chris Bassitt: 5/2 ATL, 5/7 @PHI

Zac Gallen: 5/2 @MIA, 5/8 COL

Solid Starts:

Carlos Carrasco: 5/3 ATL, 5/8 @PHI

Charlie Morton: 5/3 @NYM, 5/8 MIL

Drew Rasmussen: 5/2 @OAK, 5/7 @SEA

Questionable Starts:

Steven Matz: 5/2 KC, 5/7 @SF

Ranger Suarez: 5/3 TEX, 5/8 @NYM

Jordan Montgomery: 5/2 @TOR, 5/8 TEX

Chris Paddack: 5/2 @BAL, 5/7 OAK

German Marquez: 5/3 WAS, 5/8 @ARI

Dakota Hudson: 5/3 KC, 5/8 @SF

Starting Pitchers: The following are starting pitchers who either have a solid matchup coming up this week or have been performing well as of late.

Dylan Bundy: Minnesota Twins

Dylan Bundy did not do well in his last start against Tampa Bay last week. A stat line of 6 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, is simply not going to get it done. Luckily though, Bundy draws a matchup against the Orioles this week in Baltimore. Pitching against the O's, I would fire him up, considering his odds of coming out with a win are in his favor. Aside from his outing last week, Bundy has had a solid season while only giving up one run over 16.1 IP, equivalent to three starts.

Michael Lorenzen: Los Angeles Angels:

Coming off of a two-start week, Lorenzen pitched better than I thought he would against the Red Sox and White Sox, where he only gave up 3 ER in 14.1 IP. Upcoming is a matchup against the Nationals, where I think he could really succeed. He is worth a look in deeper leagues if you are looking for a streaming option this week, as his fantasy stock has been going up over the last week.

Merrill Kelly: Arizona Diamondbacks

Similar to Lorenzen above, Kelly is also coming off a two-start week. After posting a solid start against the Dodgers on Monday, Kelly was pretty much lights out against the Cardinals this past Saturday while pitching seven innings of shutout ball. This week, a home matchup against the Rockies should be intriguing, as his ERA of 1.27 through four starts is rather impressive for a pitcher of his caliber.

Others to Consider:

Miles Mikolas: @SF

Hitters: The following hitters have been riding a hot streak over the last week and should be worth taking a look at for the week ahead.

Taylor Ward: Los Angeles Angels

Ward has been one of the hottest hitters in the league over the past couple of weeks. A .395 batting average is amazing, as it seems the Angels as a whole are really putting it together right now. Ward should continue to be productive hitting in front of the greatest player in the game over the last decade, Mike Trout, as he seems to be a great table-setter for the 3-time AL MVP.

Max Kepler: Minnesota Twins

Kepler is slowly finding his power stroke, as he has five big flies on the young season. An average of .258 is expected, as his home run numbers look to increase this week against the Orioles. The lefty is worth a look in leagues if you are in need of home runs and power, as his week ahead looks favorable.

Others to Consider:

Travis Demeritte: Atlanta Braves

Luis Arraez: Minnesota Twins

Reliever Report:

Ryan Helsley: St. Louis Cardinals

Ryan Helsley could be emerging as a regular closing option for the Cardinals. After Giovanny Gallegos had a nightmare of an appearance this past week against the Mets, look for Helsley to come into the ninth more often. A quick and easy ninth against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, Helsley topped out at 103 MPH and looked electric. Although, I would not give up on Giovanny just yet, as it seems he still has the Cardinals closing job for the most part in his hands.

Camilo Doval: San Francisco Giants:

Doval looks to be the regular closer in San Francisco after Jake McGee has had a few "not so great" relief appearances this past week. After starting the season in a closing committee, I believe Doval has the upper-hand moving forward when manager Gabe Kapler needs a ninth inning option to close out future games.

Final Thoughts: I hope you all have enjoyed reading my article for the upcoming week in baseball. As always, this week should be full of nonstop action, as May looks to get off to an amazing start!

See You at the Ballpark!!!

Adam