Gabriel Arias DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Gabriel Arias will take a seat on Saturday afternoon when the Guardians face the Kansas City Royals and right-handed pitcher Seth Lugo. Arias got the nod at the keystone on Opening Day, facing a southpaw in Cole Ragans. However, facing a right-hander, the Guardians will turn to left-handed bat Daniel Schneemann on Saturday. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor this situation as the Guardians may keep Arias on the weak side of a platoon. Last season, Arias posted a .222/.255/.353 across 53 MLB contests. Last season, Schneemann made his MLB debut and held a .218/.303/.368 slash line across his first 73 MLB contests. Schneemann is best to fade in DFS facing Lugo, who held a strong 3.00 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP across 206 2/3 innings.

According to Mandy Bell of MLB.com, Juan Brito and Gabriel Arias will compete for the second base job during spring training. Earlier in the offseason, the Guardians traded second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Toronto Blue Jays, which opened this position on the depth chart. Bell noted that while Arias may be viewed as the slight frontrunner given his major league experience, the team is expected to give Brito an "extended look" during spring training. Last season, Arias logged 53 starts with the Guardians and posted a .222/.255/.353 line. He held a hefty 32.9 percent strikeout rate but was placed in the 97th percentile in arm strength. Brito is ranked as the eighth-best prospect in the system and spent all of last season with Triple-A Columbus. Across 144 games, Brito held a .256/.365/.443 line with 40 doubles and 21 long balls. Brito is worth monitoring in spring training as he could be a viable target in deeper formats as he flashed solid power upside at Triple-A last summer.

Cleveland Guardians infielder Gabriel Arias turned in a solid outing in his team's 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Arias went 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base but it wasn't enough as the Guardians dropped the series finale to Baltimore. The 24-year-old has been a super utility man this season as he's played everywhere on the field except catcher and pitcher, hitting .241 with three homers, 15 runs, 15 RBI, and five steals for Cleveland this season as he tries to carve out an everyday role. He has been swinging a hot bat of late, hitting .421 with two homers over his past seven contests.