Gavin Sheets DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Diego Padres outfielder Gavin Sheets is out of the starting lineup again versus a lefty on Friday at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs' home opener. Brandon Lockridge is starting in left field and is batting eighth, while Yuli Gurriel is serving as the designated hitter and is batting sixth against Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga. Sheets has surprisingly been one of the hottest hitters in MLB in the early portion of the 2025 season, slashing .444/.474/.722 with a 1.196 OPS, a homer, five RBI, three runs scored and also a stolen base in 18 at-bats, but the Friars are going to continue to protect him against southpaws. Neither Lockridge nor Gurriel have ever faced Imanaga in their careers, and both players will be low-upside DFS plays for Friday's slate. The 40-year-old Gurriel will continue to platoon with Sheets for the time being at DH. He has just one hit and an RBI in his first eight at-bats with the Padres.

San Diego Padres outfielder Gavin Sheets went 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles, a walk, and four RBI during their 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Monday evening. Sheets tallied his first hit in the second frame, an RBI double that scored Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth. He would then cross home plate on a Fernando Tatis Jr. single. After hitting a single in the fourth, Sheets would tally his second double of the contest in the fifth inning, which scored Cronenworth for the second time and Xander Bogaerts. He would eventually score again on a Jason Heyward double. Through his first five games of the campaign, Sheets has only gone hitless in one and held an overall .500/.533/.857 slash line with three extra-base hits. He is worth streaming in deeper formats while he enjoys this hot stretch. He will face southpaw Logan Allen on Tuesday.

The San Diego Padres announced on Thursday that they selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Gavin Sheets to their 40-man roster and placed right-hander Joe Musgrove (elbow) on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Because of Sheets' strong showing in Cactus League action -- he's hitting .311/.367/.756 with six home runs and 12 RBI in 19 games -- he appears likely to open the 2025 campaign on the big-league roster as an extra bat for the Friars. The 28-year-old left-handed slugger shouldn't be ignored in NL-only leagues, as he could be put in the strong side of a platoon at designated hitter against right-handed pitching to start the year. Sheets, a former second-rounder in 2017 by the Chicago White Sox out of Wake Forest, has had double-digit home runs in all four of his big-league seasons.