20 Things to Watch For in Week 11 (2021 Fantasy Baseball ...

All indications are that Byron Buxton has fully recovered from his hip injury.The 2021 season has now officially passed 2020 in terms of length, and we have another 100 or so games ahead of us for our fantasy seasons and the league to sort itself out.With the chapter turn pushing us into areas of the schedule not seen since 2019, we also have a temporary swap for this column. The good news is that Brendan and I are generally aligned — as you will see throughout this column –, but I find that writing from a fresh perspective will give you, the reader, another voice to consider when following the upcoming week of games.View your league’s top available players with My Playbook >>1. Perhaps it’s not directly tied to 2020’s short season — and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ playoff run in which Buehler started five games — but his fastball velocity is currently down compared to last year. He didn’t make the Twins’ Opening Day roster, took a little time to settle at the Major League level, and finally started to get red hot.Then a wrist injury knocked him out.Many of us waited patiently for his return, knowing that he might need that same grace period once fully healthy. He left Friday’s start after only 80 pitches and six innings because of discomfort in his arm, but he isn’t expected to miss any time.At this point, if you’re playing in a weekly league, you probably have to leave deGrom in your lineup with the expectation that he makes his next start. That 31-29 record from 2020 was in a shortened season, and, one year later, the Reds are hovering right around .500, yet again — in fact, after 60 games, the team was 29-31, a direct swap of last year’s final mark.The Reds will play all of Week 11 on the road, including a four-game series with the Padres. Don’t forget that Cincinnati started the year as one of the hottest teams in the league with an offense that was putting up laughably good numbers. Mondesi was a top target among fantasy baseball managers during Draft season, and those same managers were devastated when Mondesi suddenly landed on the injured list just before Opening Day. Not only is he fully healthy now, but he’s getting back into his rhythm and starting to rise through the rankings.The “cold” side of the equation is a little more interesting. By the time this article publishes, it’s possible someone has won said race, but the league is now chasing 20 home runs through roughly 60 games. We likely see a few cross the barrier in Week 11 and should start to question the long-term sustainability of some of these power bats — i.e., will Jesse Winker or Adolis Garcia actually push for 30 home runs?Indeed, this is not a decision to make right now, but it becomes a topic of conversation as soon as the first big milestone falls.20. He’s become one of the most electrifying and exciting players in recent memory and, if we’re looking for “what to watch,” then Ohtani is a mainstay on the list.After all, we play fantasy baseball and watch the games because we enjoy it.