This One Is Amazin’

Mets fans will always complain to you about the guys that the team brought in that didn’t work out. Just say Jason Bay to a Mets fan and watch them lose their minds in front of you. However, the team certainly got it right with Taijuan Walker. He struck out a career-high 12 Cubs on Tuesday night, and now has allowed two runs or fewer in every start but one since the beginning of May. His ERA is just barely over 2.00 and he is definitely one of the best finds of the fantasy baseball season. I can’t say that I am 100% confident that this lasts all season, but it has definitely been a fun wave to ride so far. 

The Assault Continues

Fernando Tatis is just amazing! At 22 years old, the kid seems to have figured it all out. He mashed his 20th homer of the season on Tuesday, and the combination of him and Coors Field is heaven for those playing Tatis in their fantasy lineups. If I were a DFS player, I would be very interested in watching what he does for the rest of the series.

Blind Squirrel Finds Nut

Patrick Corbin has been not good for most of the year and not been a friend to those who have him on their fantasy teams. However, sometimes it helps to play the matchups as he had one of his best starts of the year on Tuesday. Corbin actually pitched into the ninth inning and allowed just one run and struck out seven against the Pirates. Pittsburgh will do that to a struggling starting pitcher on many days. Don’t get too much confidence from this in Corbin, but he is more talented than the 6.00 ERA he was pitching to. 

The Dark Nope

Matt Harvey stinks! Why is he still on a Major League team? That is all! 

Cleveland Rocks

Cleveland is having a somewhat surprising season, and it is definitely contributions from their young players that is helping. The latest case is Bobby Bradley. The 25-year-old has three home runs since being called up on June 6th and hit a bomb last night. Bradley had 34 home runs in 2019 in 122 games between Triple-A and a short stint in the Majors and 27 homers in 129 games in 2018 so the power is legit. He is definitely worth taking a chance on in all fantasy formats. 

Patience Makes Perfect

Luis Castillo is starting to reward those that stuck with him through his awful start to the season or those who were smart enough to buy low on him. He threw seven scoreless innings on Tuesday, allowing jus three hits and striking out seven. His three walks are still more than you’d like to see, but he has now allowed just six earned runs in his last four starts combined after being an epic disaster through the first two months. Castillo hasn’t been a fantasy ace, but he has been a very reliable pitcher throughout the year. The window to acquire him might still be cracked open, but at least this start should really quiet those itching to drop him after his early struggles.

With Tuesday’s action behind us, let’s take a look at what is on tap for your Wednesday in Major League Baseball. 

The Legend Continues

It has turned into Must-See-TV any time that Jacob deGrom takes that mound, which he does on Wednesday. Now, I may live in upstate New York, but still I think the season he is having has caught national attention. I was in the grocery store the other day and heard a customer talking to the kid bagging, and without even hearing his name, I knew they were talking about deGrom. He’s been so good strangers are talking to each other about him. He dealt with a little forearm issue his last time out but has been doing all of his normal preparations leading into this start. The best stat of the season for deGrom is that he has driven in more runs (five) than he has allowed on the mound (four) while hitting .400 on the year. 

A Sticky Situation

Gerrit Cole goes back to the mound on Wednesday one start after his strong start against the Twins where he allowed two runs over six innings and struck out six. With these new rules being implemented to crack down on foreign substances on the baseball, all eyes will be on Cole on Wednesday. Of course, he is facing the Jays who are just absolutely crushing the ball anyway, so if Cole were to struggle, I wouldn’t think that would be a smoking gun that he has been doctoring the baseball. I mean I think he is, but like I said on Getting Buzzed a few weeks ago, I think everyone is trying to get an edge somehow so it will be interesting to watch this start. 

Ascension to Stardom?

Freddy Peralta will start, and he has allowed more than two earned runs twice all season and shockingly one was against the Pirates. He has 98 strikeouts in 68 innings with an ERA of 2.25. If it is not too late he could be someone for you dynasty players to keep tabs on as he is only 25 years old. He draws a tough matchup against the slugging Reds, but he had allowed just two hits through four innings his last time out against them before a rain delay ended his start. 

Duel of the Day

The best pitching matchup on the slate is Clayton Kershaw vs. Zack Wheeler. Kershaw has taken in on the chin a few times in the last month, while Wheeler has been absolutely dominant as he has struck out ten or more in four of his last five trips to the mound. Kershaw is a still a top-flight pitcher but the Dodgers offense is definitely dealing with injury issues right now. 

Betting Favorites

The Astros are the biggest favorite on the board with a -230, which isn’t a huge surprise given that Zack Greinke is on the mound and the Rangers are among the higher strikeout teams in the league. Texas also hits just .227 as a team and Greinke got a win against them on May 14th allowing three runs over seven innings. The Rangers offense isn’t all that great, and Jordan Lyles stinks something awful. 

The Marlins have lost three in a row, and they are in last place, but they have Sandy Alcantara on the mound and the Cardinals have lost nine of their last 12 even after beating Miami in the first two games of this series. Alcantara has allowed two runs or less in four of his last five and Cardinals starter Johan Oviedo hasn’t won a game in his six starts and has an ERA of 5.72. The Marlins are the favorites at -110 and given the pitching matchup should be a winner for you.