Once again, home runs dominated the landscape of baseball. If conversing about home runs, it starts with the onslaught being produced by the Minnesota Twins:

Off to the best start in baseball with 34 wins in their first 50 contests, the Twins also own a plus-97 run differential. Eddie Rosario launched his 15th home run and he’s hitting .429 (24-for-56) with 11 RBI in his last 13 games. Miguel Sano hit his fifth home run, and the team’s 100th in this stretch. Max Kepler added his 11th homer while on a seven-game hitting streak, slashing .467/.528/.900 with three home runs over that span.

Last year’s Most Valuable Player in the National League not only can chug a beer, but…

In Colorado, teammates turned in double dong evenings with Trevor Story hitting a walk-off blast for his second along with making some history:

Nolan Arenado joined Story with two home runs and they each have 13 total this season, which will probably grow this weekend with the Orioles staff in town.

Here’s the rest of the Hitter Highlights from a busy Friday slate:

  • Cubs: Kyle Schwarber hit his eighth home run and in nine games as the lead-off hitter he’s hitting .265 with three home runs, seven RBI, a .372 on-base percentage and .990 on-base plus slugging. Kris Bryant hit his 12th home run and ninth in his last 18 contests. Anthony Rizzo homered for the third straight game and he’s hit ten over his last 21 games with 24 RBI.

  • Reds: Signs of life from Yasiel Puig who is back in the lineup with three hits and his eighth home run driving in three runs. Eugenio Suarez hit the game winning two-run home run off of Steve Cishek. Suarez continues to hit for power with 14 home runs, but still batting below .260 to the dismay of his owners. However, this seems more realistic.

  • Nationals: Remember when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went before Anthony Rendon in drafts? Rendon went 2-for-4 last night with his 10th home run and two RBI. Over the last 365 days, Rendon’s slashing a robust .324/.392/.593 with 113 runs, 30 home runs, 110 RBI and three stolen bases in 144 games. Juan Soto chipped in three hits and his eighth home run with three RBI.

  • Mets: Home run number 17 for Pete Alonso, and his 13th off of a relief pitcher.

  • Astros: Jake Marisnick not only made two highlight reel catches in center field, he also hit his sixth home run with two RBI. His last 15 starts have yielded 16 hits in 50 at-bats with three doubles, a triple, five home runs and 10 RBI.

  • Phillies: Two more doubles for Andrew McCutchen. He scored a run and drove in one. McCutchen’s hitting .394/.500/.758 over his last nine games with eight runs, six doubles, two home runs and ten RBI.

  • Braves: Dansby Swanson recorded the second multi-homer game of his career with three RBI. Freddie Freeman launched his 13th home run and is currently pacing towards 41 this season.

  • A’s: Strong night for Stephen Piscotty. He notched a smash and dash with his sixth home run along with stealing his second base. Piscotty’s in the midst of a 22 game on-base streak. Matt Olson homered for the fifth time in his last 11 games while Mark Canha crushed his sixth home run in his last nine starts with 11 RBI.

  • Diamondbacks: Perhaps putting the nail in the coffin for the Giants season, Arizona scored 18 runs in Oracle Park. Ketel Marte went 3-for-7 with his 10th home run and four RBI. Ildemaro Vargas registered a career best five hits. Eduardo Escobar stayed hot with his 12th home run and Adam Jones hit his tenth going 4-for-5 with three RBI.

 

Starting Pitcher Spotlight: Strikeouts in Rogers Centre

Not sure if it’s more a result of the lineups or the performances, but, both Joey Lucchesi and Trent Thornton recorded double digit strikeouts in a match-up in Toronto. Lucchesi became the first pitcher in Padres history with three hits or less in six-plus innings and ten or more strikeouts. He finished giving up three hits leading to three earned runs on two home runs with a walk and 11 strikeouts. Lucchesi generated 17 swinging strikes, nine with his change-up, and 20 called for a 39 CSW (Called plus swinging strikes) percentage, the highest total on Friday among starters.

Trent Thornton also pitched well giving up four hits, three earned runs and three walks with ten strikeouts. Of his 112 pitches, Thornton produces 16 swinging strikes, ten with his curve, and 24 called for a 35.7 CSW percentage. Although neither pitcher factored in the decision, each made for a terrific option in daily fantasy.

Here’s the rest of the best from Friday:

  • Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs: 99 pitches, 11 swinging strikes, 23 called, 34.3 CSW%. Hendricks worked six innings allowing six hits, three earned runs and a walk with nine strikeouts in a no-decision when his bullpen ceded the lead.

  • Walker Buehler, Los Angeles Dodgers: 96 pitches, seven swinging strikes, 21 called, 29.2 CSW%. Surging to his fifth win, Buehler limited the Pirates to five hits, one earned run and one walk with six strikeouts.

  • Shane Bieber, Cleveland: 111 pitches, 21 swinging strikes, 16 called, 33.3 CSW%. Bieber fever took over again with ten strikeouts, but four walks in a no-decision at home. He only yielded four hits and an earned run.

  • Blake Snell, Tampa Bay: 104 pitches, 16 swinging strikes, 21 called, 35.6 CSW%. Snell matched Bieber but worked deeper in the game with better efficiency. Over 6.2 innings, Snell allowed four hits, one earned run and a walk with seven strikeouts.

  • Jose Berrios, Minnesota: 98 pitches, nine swinging strikes, 18 called, 27.6 CSW%. Aided by the long ball, and not his defense, Berrios won his seventh decision. He pitched 6.2 innings giving up nine hits, four runs (one earned) and striking out four.

  • Wade Miley, Houston: 101 pitches, 14 swinging strikes, 15 called, 28.7 CSW%. Just when it seemed safe to target Boston bats, Miley stifled them scattering four hits and two walks leading to one earned run with eight strikeouts. Baseball.

  • Mike Foltynewicz, Atlanta: 89 pitches, eight swinging strikes, 21 called, 32.6 CSW%. Finally, some positive momentum from Folty. He gets his first win of the year allowing five hits, one run (zero earned) and striking out seven over six innings.

  • Robbie Ray, Arizona: 103 pitches, 15 swinging strikes, 15 called, 29.1 CSW%. Ray won his fourth decision of his last seven starts giving up five hits, two earned runs and two walks with nine strikeouts. He’s racked up 44 strikeouts over his last seven outings.

 

Bullpen Notes: Cishek Misstep

Recency bias can cloud a fantasy player’s memories. Steve Cishek entered Friday’s game in the midst of a 13.1 scoreless inning streak limiting hitters to a .133 batting average against in this span. However, he served up a go ahead two-run home run to Eugenio Suarez leading to a loss. This clouds Cishek’s standing in the bullpen hierarchy, especially with Pedro Strop possibly returning as soon as Sunday. Stay tuned.

Benefiting from the Suarez dinger, Raisel Iglesias notched his 11th save, and fifth in a row. Since complaining about his usage patterns, Iglesias has turned in eight straight scoreless outings. Here’s the rest of Friday’s high leverage moments of interest:

  • Sean Doolittle held on for his ninth save, but yielded three hits and a home run to Jorge Alfaro in the process. Doolittle’s given up at least a run in back-to-back outings and in three of his last four.

  • Miami’s sneak preview of life after Sergio Romo did not go well. Adam Conley gets his first blown save giving up two earned runs on a hit and two walks. Nick Anderson absorbs the loss walking two leading to two earned runs. Tayron Guerrero served up a three-run home run to Juan Soto and a solo shot to Matt Adams. Woof.

  • Providing Kirby Yates a much needed night off, Craig Stammen stepped in with his second save firing a clean ninth with a strikeout in Toronto. He now owns two more saves in May than Jordan Hicks.

  • Brad Hand locked down his 13th save striking out two and worked around a hit in a scoreless ninth.

  • Detroit’s Shane Greene gets his 16th save with a clean ninth versus the Mets.

  • Both Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly allowed a run, but secured the win for Houston. Osuna yielded a home run to Christian Vazquez and a home run by Jackie Bradley Jr. snapped Pressly’s 40-game scoreless streak.

  • It’s been a tough week for Mychal Givens. He incurs his third loss, this week, coughing up the game winning home run to Trevor Story. Scott Oberg, the interim closer for the Rockies, garnered his second win after tossing a clean top of the ninth with two strikeouts.

  • Shawn Kelley notched his fourth save, and third this week, giving up a hit and striking out one.

  • Zack Godley gets his second save mopping up a rout in San Francisco. Godley pitched three innings allowing two hits with two strikeouts.

 

What To Watch For

It appears George Springer will land on the injured list with a hamstring injury. Adding Kyle Tucker could be a strong preemptive move for his owners in daily transaction leagues. Tucker’s already on the 40-man roster and hitting .378 with 11 runs, four home runs, ten RBI and two stolen bases his last ten games at Triple-A.

Another popular add this weekend could be another Blue Jays prodigy:

 
  With the Twins setting home run records aplomb, the White Sox will send Manny Banuelos to the mound on Saturday.

New York will play a split game doubleheader in Kansas City with Chance Adams added to the roster for pitching depth. He could appear in the night cap as the long inning reliever after Chad Green serves as the opener.

There’s not a ton of aces on the mound, so key in on the Charlie Morton versus Carlos Carrasco match-up in the afternoon slate for a potential pitcher’s duel.

Hyun-Jin Ryu will try to continue his surge facing the Pirates in the evening slate. Plus, Mike Soroka will try to stay hot in St. Louis looking for his sixth win.

Be sure to stay with Fantasy Alarm for the latest updates and articles to stay ahead of the competition.

 

Statistical Credits:

BaseballSavant.com

Fangraphs.com

MLB.com - Game Notes