Investing in young pitchers come with inherent risk. It also requires some patience. Both Dylan Bundy and Luis Castillo garnered preseason hype driving up their respective draft prices. After a strong start, Bundy owned a 3.76 ERA entering a game against the Royals. Bundy did not record an out giving up five hits and two walks resulting in seven earned runs crushing his ERA below four and it settled in at 4.53 following seven shutout innings his next time out.

On Thursday, Bundy fired a complete game yielding only three earned runs with a career high 14 strikeouts en route to his third win of the year. Although his ERA sits at 4.45, his strikeout percentage jumped to 28.9 percent after his outing. If one takes out Bundy’s seven run implosion, his ERA would be 3.44 and suddenly his outlook seems, different. Regardless, focus on Bundy’s 121 pitch day generating 21 swinging strikes (10 by his slider) and 25 called strikes. Of course, this will be tempered by the fact Bundy’s given up 13 home runs over his last six starts. Patience will be required. Last, but not least, on his 13th strikeout, Bundy became the fastest Orioles pitcher to record his 300th career strikeout in only 53 starts.

Playing in 12-team NFBC leagues, seeing Luis Castillo dropped by teams seemed confounding considering his price tag near a top-100 pick in many drafts. Utilizing his changeup for a strong finish last year, Castillo gained helium in March making him a “sexy” draft target. He started the year slowly and struggled with his mechanics. Castillo fired six innings against the Pirates allowing four hits, two earned runs and two walks with six strikeouts to even his record on his fourth win.

During his last five starts, Castillo’s recorded a 2.83 ERA with 31 strikeouts against nine walks in 28.2 innings. In these games, Castillo’s held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in each outing. Castillo also worked well in the strike zone on Thursday producing 10 swinging strikes of his 90 pitches with 15 called strikes. This looks like the Castillo fantasy owners speculated on. Too bad some of his investors will be on the outside looking in.

 

That Just Happened

Eugenio Suárez launched his eighth home run, a grand slam, propelling the Reds to a win. Since returning from the disabled list, Suarez has hit .276 with nine doubles, six home runs and 31 RBI his last 26 games. Jesse Winker added his first home run of the season. Face of the team, Joey Votto , received the day off in the midst of a 5-for-27 (.185) slump. Good news, the Reds head to Coors where Votto has logged 102 career at-bats slashing .353/.454/.618 with six home runs and 22 RBI.

It looked like Amir Garrett could be on his way to a Hader-like save but had his outing cut short by a home run. Garrett still recorded four strikeouts in 1.2 innings along with the two earned runs. Jared Hughes notched his second save getting the last two outs. His last nine appearances have been scoreless ones over 12.1 innings with eight strikeouts.

Pittsburgh may face some tough decisions when Starling Marte ’s ready to return. Austin Meadows homered for the third time in his last four games and has hit safely in five of his first six this year. Meadows finished with three hits, his third home run and two RBI pushing his average to .440 and a 1.320 on-base plus slugging percentage in his small sample size start.

Nice outing by Nick Tropeano who lasted 7.1 innings in Toronto giving up four hits, one earned run and a walk with six strikeouts. He’s had some up and down outings, but, he’s tough on right-handed batters if looking to stream him going forward.

Ian Kinsler hit a double and stole his sixth base. However, he’s still hitting below the Mendoza line and needs to step up his production to keep his spot in the lineup. Mike Trout entered this game five for his last 35, but hit his 15th home run and stole his 12th base. Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton each added two hits.

Overlooked in this Angels offense, Andrelton Simmons , went 2-for-4 with two runs, a double and an RBI. He’s hit safely in 22 of his last 26 games going 36-for-99 (.364) with 11 extra-base hits and 21 RBI. On the year, he’s slashing .331/.402/.466 with 20 walks against 10 strikeouts. Not a typo.

Fueling the Orioles win, Trey Mancini (7) and Adam Jones (9) each homered in support of Bundy’s big day. Manny Machado added three more hits pushing his multiple-hit games in 2018 total to 19 and raising his average to a robust .335 with a 1.035 on-base plus slugging percentage. Rookie Chance Sisco added three RBI.

Fantasy owners trying to identify speed on waivers can take a look at Dustin Fowler . He’s still trying to improve his average, but finished Thursday 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI along with his third steal. Fowler’s been caught two times this year, but he’s aggressive and regaining speed after his awful injury with the Yankees last year.

Turning in arguably his best performance with Oakland this year, Yusmeiro Petit garnered the win in relief working three shutout innings allowing two hits with four strikeouts. Blake Treinen then closed out his 11th save yielding a hit in 1.1 innings with two strikeouts. Treinen’s recorded eight straight saves and has struck out 17 batters in May with a 0.69 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in 13 innings.

 

Night Moves

Boston will activate Dustin Pedroia on Friday. He may not play until Saturday, but this could affect both Mitch Moreland and Eduardo Núñez going forward with the Red Sox infield getting crowded.

Mac Williamson ’s also slated to return on Friday for the Giants. A team searching for power to help out Brandon Belt will welcome a return of the Mac.

Nathan Eovaldi should start on Monday or Tuesday to give the Rays a much needed shot in the arm due to their depleted rotation.

Pittsburgh will unveil Joe Musgrove on Friday. He will make his debut at home against the Cardinals. During his rehab outings, Musgrove recorded a 4.58 ERA across three levels with 17 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.

Rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani had his Sunday start pushed back to provide him with more rest. Garrett Richards will slot in and face the Yankees in New York. Plan accordingly.

 

Burning Questions

Who wins the potential pitcher’s duel between Charlie Morton and Mike Clevinger ? Can Blake Snell bounce back at home against Boston? Will the Brewers rebound and hit a southpaw at home? Should Rougned Odor lose playing time once Elvis Andrus returns?

All of Thursday night’s late action will be covered in Fantasy Alarm’s Round Up by yours truly in the morning. Stay ahead of your competition by reading all the great content on our site.

 

Statistical Credits:

BaseballSavant.com

Fangraphs.com

MLB.com