Max Kepler had a huge night, finishing a perfect 4-4 with three home runs, a walk, four RBI, and three runs scored. He easily led all players in scoring on both DFS sites, piling up 49.0 points on DraftKings and 65.6 points on FanDuel. A game like that will give you stat line on the year a huge boost; Kepler is now hitting .266 with 15 home runs and 40 RBI on the year. What makes his explosive outburst even more remarkable is the fact that he had gone 0-21 in the five games prior to this one. His career highs coming into this year were 20 home runs, 69 RBI, and a .243 average, all of which he should have no problem breaking this season.

Strong Outings

  • Peter Lambert had one hell of a MLB debut yesterday, firing seven innings of one-run ball en route to a win. He gave up four hits while striking out nine. The nine strikeouts set a Rockies record for strikeouts in a debut with the team. All that being said, keep in mind that he will pitch half his games at Coors Field. It’s also worth noting that he had a 5.07 ERA and a poor 7.6 K/9 at AAA prior to being called up.
  • Freddy Peralta made his first start since May 13 (three relief appearances since then) and he turned in a gem, firing six innings of one-run ball in a win over Miami. He gave up four hits while striking out nine. The nine punch outs were his second highest total of the year and the win was his third. He is very inconsistent, but he does have outings like this on occasion.
  • Chris Archer finally turned in a nice start, holding the Braves to one over six innings of work in a win. He gave up six hits while striking out six. Archer had gone six straight starts without allowing fewer than three runs, that span had caused his ERA to jump from 2.00 to 5.66 prior to today’s start. He will carry a 3-5 record and 5.20 ERA into his next one.
  • Jalen Beeks was used a primary pitcher yesterday (the main pitcher after an opener) and turned in a really nice line, firing 4.1 shutout innings and picking up the win. He gave up four hits while striking out two. With the win, Beeks improves to 5-0 on the year to go along with a 2.76 ERA. He has value is deeper leagues, leagues with RP slots, and in leagues that have a limit on how many “starts” you can have from your pitching staff.
  • Dakota Hudson continued to pitch well, hurling 6.1 innings of one-run ball in a win. He gave up five hits while striking out three. Hudson has now pitched five or more innings and given up three or fewer earned runs in nine straight starts, lowering his ERA from 6.08 to 3.70 in that span. He is still only relevant in deep leagues due to his extremely low strikeout rate (45 strikeouts across 65.2 innings this year).
  • José Berríos hurled six innings of one-run ball in a win over the Indians. He allowed just two hits while striking out six. With the win, Berrios improved to 8-2 on the year and he lowered his ERA down to 3.14 with the strong outing. His strikeouts are down this year (8.5 K/9 compared to last year’s 9.5 mark), but he’s having the best season of his career in nearly all other areas.

Hitter Highlights

Mike Moustakas swatted a pair of solo home runs in the Brewers win. It was his second multi-homer game in his last six games and he now has 18 home runs on the year. The Moose is having a great overall year and has well exceeded his fantasy draft slot value. 

Christian Yelich once again cracks the Hitter Highlights portion of this article with another outstanding day, finishing 3-4 with a home run, two RBI, one run, and a stolen base. It was his sixth bash-and-dash game of the year and he is now up to 23 home runs and 13 steals to go along with a .328 average. The guy is incredible.

Travis d’Arnaud felt so good about hitting his first home run of the year that he went ahead and hit second home run of the year in the same game. He has been one of the worst players in all of baseball this year, so don’t get overly excited about one good game. He now has two home runs, nine RBI, and an abysmal .171 batting average across 70 at bats this year.

Willy Adames stayed hot yesterday, going 2-5 with a solo home run in the Rays win. He is currently hitting .381 (8-21) with a pair of home runs, five RBI, three runs, and a stolen base in June. That comes on the heels of hitting .284 with three home runs in May.

Alex Bregman went 3-6 with a walk and a solo home run in the Astros 14 inning win over the Mariners. He continues to carry a team that currently lacks Springer, Altuve, and Correa; he is hitting .417 (10-24) in June with four walks and only one strikeout.

Dom Smith took advantage of another start in left field, going 2-3 with a solo home run. It was his third start in left field in the last week and his hitting is forcing the Mets to play him anytime they are facing a righty; he is hitting .373 with four home runs and a .468 OBP through 79 plate appearances (67 at bats). Deeper leagues need to scoop him up.

Keuchel Signs

Dallas Keuchel has agreed on a contract with the Braves (in case someone out there has been stuck under a rock). The contract is for one year, $13 million.  Not a bad landing spot for fantasy purposes, the Phillies are the only team in his division that rank in the top-15 of runs scored this year (they rank 15) and the Braves have a solid offense and should help him pick up wins. That being said, Keuchel really wasn’t all that great of a fantasy pitcher last season, pitching to a 3.74 ERA, a mediocre 1.31 WHIP, and a horrible 6.7 K/9. Is he worth picking up? Sure. Is he going to be a fantasy game changer? Probably not. 

What to Watch for Today

Mike Soroka will bring his 6-1 record and 1.41 ERA into a start against the Marlins. He is coming off his worst start of the year (which says a lot about the year he has had since he still logged a quality start), but will have a good chance at success going up against Miami.

Jacob deGrom will take on the Rockies and try to keep the good times rolling; he has given up four total runs in his last three starts (17.2 innings pitched). deGrom has been a bit of a fantasy letdown this season, but still has a rock solid 3.49 ERA and 84 strikeouts across 69.2 innings pitched.

Clayton Kershaw will look to move to 6-0 when he takes on the Giants in the last game of the night. Kershaw has defined consistency this season, pitching between six and seven innings while giving up between one and four runs in all nine of his starts.