LaMonte Wade Jr. DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. (rest) is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Wade will take a seat for the second straight game as the Angels send left-hander Tyler Anderson to the mound on Friday. Wade hasn't been much of a fantasy option anyway considering he's 5-for-49 with one home run and seven RBI on the season. In his absence Casey Schmitt will cover first base and bat sixth against Anderson. Schmitt hasn't been any better this season as he's 4-for-23 heading into Friday's contest.

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. will take a seat against a left-hander in Thursday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Casey Schmitt will start at first and bat fifth against Phillies southpaw Cristopher Sanchez. Wade just hasn't been able to find it at the plate early in the 2025 season despite San Fran's hot start, as he's hitting just .102 (5-for-49) with a homer, three doubles, a triple, seven RBI, eight walks and 20 strikeouts in 59 plate appearances. The 31-year-old could probably use a day off heading into a weekend series in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels. Schmitt hasn't fared a whole lot better and will be a low-upside DFS play on Thursday. The 26-year-old has gone 4-for-19 with no homers, two RBI and a run scored as a bench option for the Giants. He has never faced Sanchez in his career.

San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. are not in the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon as the Giants will face left-handed pitcher Nick Lodolo. Instead, Luis Matos will enter the outfield and bat sixth, and Wilmer Flores will shift to first base. This opens up the designated hitter spot for Casey Schmitt. Yastrzemski did not see many opportunities against southpaws last season, either. Across 140 total games, Yastrzemski posted a .231/.302/.437 slash line with 16 doubles and 18 round-trippers. Wade also saw limited opportunities against southpaws last season but was productive in his limited stint, as he slashed a .324/.429/.412 line across 43 plate appearances. Both Flores and Matos are worth a look in DFS while facing Lodolo, who held a 4.76 ERA in 2024.

San Francisco Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. is expected to be the leadoff hitter against right-handed pitching to begin the season. Wade lacks the speed of the usual leadoff hitter, but makes up for it by drawing walks. Wade is hitting below .220 this spring, but he also has 10 walks, which does help make up for his lack of a batting average and lackluster speed. The 31-year-old would likely see a boost in fantasy value with the move to the top of the lineup. The leadoff hitter usually gets more at-bats and sometimes better pitches to hit because pitchers don't want to walk the first batter before getting to the two or three hole hitter.

San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said that the team is toying with the idea of using outfielder Jung Hoo Lee in the third spot in the batting order in 2025 as he returns from a season-ending shoulder injury. First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. is also healthy, and the Giants like his on-base skills at the top of the order in the leadoff spot. So as things stand at the beginning of spring training, it looks like Wade will lead off, followed by new shortstop Willy Adames, Lee, third baseman Matt Chapman and outfielder Heliot Ramos in the top half of the order. Lee played in only 37 games in his first year with San Fran in 2023, and while he made plenty of contact, his superior on-base skills from Japan didn't transfer over. A move down the order slightly would mean fewer runs scored but also give him more chances to drive in runs. Lee hit the ball hard in his small sample size last year, so more power could be coming in 2025.