When looking at MLB scores from yesterday, it appears that pitching dominated the sale yesterday, headlined by Jordan Montgomery’s one-hitter and Edward Cabrera’s fourth straight scoreless start. Outside of pitching headlines, impactful fantasy baseball injuries to Michael Kopech (knee) and Byron Buxton (hip) have fantasy baseball managers holding their breath as they await more information regarding their respective ailments. The Philadelphia Phillies have to be ecstatic to have Bryce Harper embarking on a rehab assignment, and the Baltimore Orioles may not have a choice but to promote top prospect Gunnar Henderson sooner rather than later, especially if he continues his dominance at Triple-A (.289/.388/.520, 11 HR, 40 RBI, 53 R, 7 SB). As we close the door on Monday’s Major League Baseball action, I’ll give you my favorite MLB player prop for Tuesday’s Major League Baseball slate.

 

 

 

Fantasy Baseball MLB News & Notes from Monday

Michael Kopech Fails to Record an Out Before Leaving with Knee Injury

The knee was bothering Kopech in warm-ups, and you could tell in his pitches prior to the game that he was uncomfortable, and he wasn’t trying to hide it. Did Kopech want to push through and attempt to start? Did Tony LaRussa do Tony LaRussa things?

Who knows exactly, but Kopech failed to record an out, and hopefully no additional damage was done to his knee by trying to push through. For what it’s worth, velocity was down across the board, and it’s evident that his knee was bothering him. His fastball was over three miles per hour below his season average, while his slider and curveball were 1.7 miles per hour and 4.3 miles per hour slower respectively.


Byron Buxton Exits Early

Byron Buxton left last night’s game early with what was classified as right hip tightness. While he’s been battling a bum knee for a good chunk of the season, you could tell he was laboring last night, notably after one particular swing, and two defensive plays.

This is a bit ominous, no? “Most of what he’s dealt with, we haven’t even talked about.”

This would further the notion that Buxton has played banged up of late, and that while he exited early with the hip tightness tonight, the hip is something that he’s been dealing with for “a good part of the season, too.” Despite the ailments and hitting just .224 at the dish, Buxton has 28 home runs and six stolen bases on the year, and half of those stolen bases have come within the last 10 days.


Jordan Montgomery, Albert Pujols Lead Cardinals to Victory

Jordan Montgomery continues to get it done for the Cardinals after being traded from New York at the trade deadline. In his latest effort, he needed just 99 pitches to get through nine innings of work, allowing just one hit while striking out seven Cubs. Montgomery had a 5.55 ERA in his final five starts with the Yankees, but since coming to St. Louis, he’s posted a 0.44 ERA, 10.02 K/9, 0.87 BB/9. Oh, not to mention, he’s a perfect 3-0. In New York, he predominantly used his sinker, but since coming to St. Louis, he’s increased the usage on his four-seamer, and is using those two pitches with more frequency so batters can’t sit on just one of his faster offerings.

 

Pujols must have found the fountain of youth, or he really doesn’t want to play another season just to get to 700 home runs, so he’s on an absolute rampage at the moment. One of his two hits last night was his 693rd career home run. At the ripe age of 42, Pujols has the league’s highest OPS and slugging percentage since July 1st amongst players with at least 90 plate appearances in that stretch. I didn’t think I’d be saying this at any point in 2022, but Pujols must be starting in every format, because it feels like he’s seeing a damn beach ball at the plate!


Edward Cabrera Extends Scoreless Start Streak to Four

Last night was easily Cabrera’s best start of the year. He logged eight shutout innings while striking out seven last night against the Athletics. Last night’s dominant effort gives him four straight scoreless starts since returning from injury, spanning 22.2 innings of work. He has a 28:10 K/BB ratio during that stretch, and for the season as a whole, he has not one, not two, but three pitches with a whiff rate above 35 percent, and four above 27 percent. Cabrera misses bats, doesn’t allow a ton of hard contact, and the last ingredient to unlocking his full potential is to cut down on the walks. If he can do that, watch out, Major League Baseball.

 

Tuesday’s Best Bet

Max Fried OVER 5.5 Strikeouts (-130 DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the 11th-highest strikeout rate versus southpaws over the last 14 days and an even higher 27.5 percent strikeout rate (fourth worst in MLB) over the last 30 days. In an earlier start this season against Pittsburgh, Fried racked up eight strikeouts, tied for his second highest in a start this season, and over his last four starts, he has an 8.31 K/9, 36.7 percent O-Swing rate, and an 11.7 percent swinging strike rate. Let him feast on this Pittsburgh lineup tonight, en route to surpassing 5.5 strikeouts.

 

 


 

Fantasy Alarm is the home of all things Fantasy Sports. Bringing you the best Fantasy Football content all year long. Be sure to also check out the best fantasy promo codes on offer today!

 

Related MLB Links: