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It’s starting to feel like we exist in a Mookie Betts world to start the season in fantasy. Anyone who passed on him in the middle of drafts must feel buyer’s remorse. Although he did not homer and ceded his major league league to Manny Machado , Betts swiped three bases to become the first Red Sox player to hit three home runs and steal three bases in a game during their career.
Small sample size data can be misleading, however, Betts is currently pacing towards 169 runs, 48 home runs, 103 RBI and 41 stolen bases in 147 games. He’s slashing .364/.478/.734 with 13 home runs and 11 stolen bases after Thursday’s game. Also, J.D. Martínez launched his 13th home run, his fourth in the last five games, prior to leaving the game with stomach illness. Perhaps it was Gausman’s pitching, if so J.D., I’m right with you. Not to be overlooked, Xander Bogaerts hit a towering blast for his sixth home run with three RBI. This marks six home runs in only 115 at-bats this year compared to 10 all of last year in 571 at-bats. Perhaps he’s healthy this year.
David Price could be the Forrest Gump of starting pitching. He’s like a box of chocolates, one never knows what they’re going to get from him when he steps on the mound, if he gets there. Price fired a complete game allowing five hits and two earned runs with eight strikeouts needing only 95 pitches. In spite of all of his injury issues and some performance questions, over his last 306 innings as a starter, Price owns a 3.65 ERA. Predicting his next start, well, good luck.
That Just Happened
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Providing the only blemish for David Price , Manny Machado crushed his major league leading 14th home run to deep center. Machado’s pacing towards 53 home runs with 151 RBI on a team with 30 losses in 43 games this season. Chase that contract Manny. By the way, he’s slashing a ridiculous .339/.418/.661 so far.
Revenge game number one for C.J. Cron who launched his 11th home run and stole his first base of the season for an always welcomed combo meal. This marks the third straight game Cron’s homered in and he’s now hitting .293 with a .878 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Not to be outdone, Brandon Belt hit his 10th home run, extending his home run streak to four games. He did hint at dealing with some knee soreness, so keep tabs but Belt’s showing what’s possible with a hard hit percentage over 40 percent with a spike in fly ball rate. This could be for real if he can stay healthy.
Oakland’s bats woke up in the Rogers Centre. Matt Olson homered for the third time in his last four appearances pushing his season total to seven. He started the year cold but may be heating up as frustrated owners flock to the hot hand. Kick the tires if looking for power with Olson. He will be streaky, but a surge could be coming. Khris Davis went 4-for-4 with his 13th home run and two RBI. He’s on pace for 48 home runs and 140 RBI. Yawn. Also, Matt Chapman recorded three hits including his eighth home run with two RBI. He’s finished with multiple hits in three of the last four games.
Good Vince Velásquez appeared once again for the Phillies netting his fourth win working 6.1 shutout innings giving up five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Luke Weaver took the hard luck loss in this match-up but pitched seven innings allowing four hits, one earned run and a walk with six strikeouts. Weaver used his change-up well finishing with 15 swinging strikes on 97 pitches, 11 generated by the change. More please.
Using Chris Archer on the road not against an American League East team can provide positive results. He won his third game versus the Angels in Anaheim lasting 6.2 innings yielding two hits, zero runs and four walks with five strikeouts. Tyler Skaggs turned in another quality start in the loss striking out seven in six innings registering 12 swinging strikes with his curve.
Should fantasy owners be trusting Matt Boyd ? He recorded another quality start, his sixth in eight starts this year, allowing six hits, two earned runs and a walk with nine strikeouts. Boyd also produced 17 swinging strikes on 96 pitches with 12 from his slider. Dating back to last year, Boyd’s last 12 starts have yielded a 2.93 ERA in 73.2 innings with 62 strikeouts.
Night Moves
Pittsburgh will promote Austin Meadows on Friday which signals Starling Marte (oblique) will land on the disabled list. Through 32 games at Triple-A, Meadows hit .294/.336/.397 with 20 runs, one home run, 15 RBI and eight stolen bases. Teams needing steals should take a chance on Meadows due to his on-base skills and 62 steals in 420 minor league games for his career.
Miami will promote southpaws Dillon Peters and Adam Conley . Due to their volatile pasts, each should be a stream option in the right match-ups, not must adds by any means.
St. Louis placed Carson Kelly on the disabled list and Washington’s Matt Wieters underwent hamstring surgery. With catchers needed in fantasy, this provides Pedro Severino a chance for more playing time. He’s hitting well with a .274 average but his .082 isolated power means home runs may not be on the table. Mitch Garver in Minnesota could provide some pop from waivers for teams needing a catcher. The best option could be John Hicks . Entering game play on Thursday, Hicks was slashing .293/.337/.512 with four home runs in 22 games. He also has some interesting underlying statistical support.
At some point, the Rockies will stop making the lineup based on contracts and play their talent. Ryan McMahon moved back to second base at Triple-A while hitting .333 the last 10 days with two home runs and 10 RBI. Raimel Tapia ’s slashing .304/.360/.538 with six home runs and six stolen bases in 37 games. Remember Tom Murphy , he’s still hitting for power with 10 home runs in 31 games and is an injury away from catching in Coors while hitting bombs.
Burning Questions
Pushed back due to weather, how will Max Scherzer fare versus the Dodgers? Jacob deGrom will take the mound again, do you trust him for fantasy purposes? How many stolen bases will the Reds get versus Jon Lester tonight? Is Mike Clevinger versus Charlie Morton a playoff preview? Will you play the over with Matt Moore facing Carson Fulmer in Chicago? What will Mookie Betts do to set another Red Sox record?
All of these questions and many more remain as the baseball season reaches 40 games. Be sure to check back with Fantasy Alarm to stay ahead of the competition.