Fantasy Baseball Spring Training Notebook: Dom Smith, Justin Verlander Looking Good

Another setback for Chris Sale, who won't be ready for Opening Day.

Some encouraging news for Yankees fans:

Severino has only pitched 18 innings since 2018–missing time the last few seasons with both a strained lat and Tommy John surgery–but if Severino can return to form, the upside is tremendous. In the 63 games he started between the 2017-2018 season, Severino pitched to a 3.19 ERA while striking out batters at a rate of more than 10 per nine innings. The 28-year-old righty has a lot to play for, as he’s hoping the Yankees will pick up his $15M million option for 2023. At an ADP of 163, if Severino can remain healthy, he should return great value for a 13th-round pick.

Who’s going to be the DH for the Mets?

Some clarity… or maybe not?

Looks like Robinson Cano, J.D. Davis and Dom Smith will all get opportunities, but in the early days of camp, it’s Dom Smith who is standing out. In their first sim game of the season, Smith took Max Scherzer deep — twice. Smith himself claims to have set a goal to hit .300 with 25-30 HR this season. Smith is currently going in the 24th round, qualifies at both infield and outfield, and is only one season removed from having an expected slugging rate in the top 6% of the league. He’s worth a flier.

Chris Sale is bitten by the injury bug … again

Chris Sale will start the year on IL due to a stress fracture in his ribs. The timetable is unclear for his return, but will likely be weeks rather than days. When healthy, Sale has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. He returned from Tommy John surgery last season and was in good form, but Sale hasn’t pitched more than 158 innings since 2018. Looks like that won’t change this season. His ADP of 50 will be falling quickly.

Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

Justin Verlander looks like…. Justin Verlander

Verlander is a year-and-a-half removed from Tommy John surgery. He considered pitching in the 2021 postseason, but decided to be conservative with his recovery. At an ADP of 105, worst-case scenario you pass on Cody Bellinger and Bellinger has a bounce-back season. Best case: you get a pitcher who has another Cy Young season. I’d rather place a bet on the latter.