Finding an opener with no games in the afternoon can be difficult. However, our fearless followers of our own Howard Bender should take note of his tweet regarding the panic following Mike Soroka ’s home start versus the Giants, owners flocking to Domingo Germán after his six no-hit innings versus Cleveland and the dangers of small sample sizes. For starters, it’s the second week of May. Could German breakout? Maybe. Will Soroka bounce back? Yes. But there’s so much going on and young pitchers come with their own special agita.

It stinks having Clayton Kershaw head to the disabled list. Jacob deGrom ’s situation and how the team handles his starts will be terrifying. However, things will work themselves out. Many lose sight of adding a player for the week ahead hoping to get the statistics already accrued. Take heed of the match-ups and how a team will handle players. Pittsburgh demoted Nick Kingham who cost a pretty penny in FAAB this weekend. They do not need a fifth starter this week and added Jose Osuna for more bench depth. Adjust, accept and apply the knowledge dropped daily on Fantasy Alarm. It’s a marathon, strap on the band-aids kids, it’s going to be a prolonged process.

Night Moves

Inevitably, a flurry of moves seem to transpire on Monday with teams trying to prepare for the week ahead. Colorado will activate D.J. LeMahieu on Tuesday. Los Angeles will do the same with Yasiel Puig , but not until Wednesday. It’s not serious yet, but Tommy Pham will not start again on Monday due to his lingering leg issues. Perhaps a stint on the disabled list would help, but what do I know?

Speaking of the Cardinals, it seems as though Carson Kelly will get the majority of the starts with Yadier Molina on the disabled list.

Atlanta’s adding Luiz Gohara . Before getting too excited, he will work in relief not as a starter. Does not mean he will not join the rotation at some point, but the Braves seem to be going for it, all hands on deck.

Both Greg Bird and Brandon Drury seem to be progressing well in their rehabs. Bird’s playing in extended spring training while Drury’s return seems imminent. Thanks for the memories Tyler Austin . It’s an unforgiving game.

Bender favorite Jonathan Schoop heads to Frederick to initiate his rehab assignment for Baltimore. Pittsburgh’s Joe Musgrove will ply his rehab in Altoona. Tough breaks for the Giants with Mac Williamson seeing a specialist for his concussion problems lingering and Hunter Pence backing off his rehab with thumb soreness.

Last but not least, Yu Darvish heads to the disabled list, with an illness? Yu’ve got to be kidding me, right? Seems like a nice way to say he’s not pitching well and needs time to hit the reset button. Typical Fortnite move. Savvy.

Food for Thought

Over the last 15 games, Joey Votto ’s hitting .346/.514/.712 with five home runs, 16 walks and 11 strikeouts. He’s raised his on-base plus slugging from .573 to .863 on the season within this streak. Small samples can be misleading. Votto’s pretty damn good.

Mets closer Jeurys Familia recorded his last save on April 24th. Remember when we thought his arm would fall off due to overuse? Now he’s shaking off cobwebs.

Washington’s Max Scherzer notched his 69th career 10-plus strikeout game on Sunday. If he were Rob Gronkowski, rumors of his retirement would surface. Mad Max will press on, he’s a warrior.

San Francisco has some hot hitters, both with the same first name. Brandon Belt ’s reached base in 18 straight games and hitting .328 with 14 walks in them. Brandon Crawford ’s 10 for his last 18 entering game play on Monday making him one of four National League players to achieve this feat so far. He joins Nick Markakis , Javy Baez and Ozzie Albies .

Kolton Wong’s hitting .333 the last 12 games with six extra-base hits (three doubles, a triple, two home runs), three walks and a 1.044 on-base plus slugging percentage. Perhaps, Wong is right? I’ll see myself out soon.

While much of the Reds bullpen does not impress, Amir Garrett ’s yet to allow one of the nine inherited runners he’s incurred to score. He’s also sporting a 21:3 K:BB in 18.1 innings this year.

Matt Adams seems to run hot and cold. Right now, he’s on fire with 14 hits in his last 34 at-bats (.412) with 11 runs, six home runs, 14 RBI, five walks and six strikeouts.

Equally as hot, Eric Hosmer ’s hit home runs in back-to-back games and over his last eight carries a .433 average with four doubles, five home runs and five multi-hit games. He seems to like hitting second.

Overlooked Asdrubal Cabrera ’s not exciting in drafts, but produces when healthy. He’s knocked in 16 in his last 17 games with a .348 average, 10 runs, six doubles and three home runs.

Burning Questions

How will Michael Fulmer ’s audition to join the Yankees go tonight in Texas? Scouts have been attending his last two outings and Detroit’s ready to move him. Stay tuned.

What wins? Michael Conforto ’s five for his last 40 slump or seeing the Reds who he’s hitting .345 against with a home run and four RBI in nine games. Spoiler alert, he homered in his first at-bat. Trust the match-up. Process kids.

Who wins the battle on the mound in San Diego, Tyson Ross or Stephen Strasburg ? Will the Mets get another save?

On a serious note, two items. First, congratulations to Danny Farquhar who’s progressing in his rehab from a brain hemorrhage. He hopes to return to the mound this year. Kudos. Second, thoughts and prayers to Stephen Piscotty and his family on the death of his mother. There’s no sugar coating this one.

Plenty of baseball still on tap. Stay ahead of your competition with the help of Fantasy Alarm.

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Statistical Credits:

MLB.com, Fangraphs.com, BaseballSavant.com