Tuesday’s fantasy baseball action was highlighted by two of major league baseball’s most consistent players continuing their excellent play. Aaron Judge smashed his 51st home run and drove in three runs while Framber Valdez posted his 22nd straight quality start of the season. Elsewhere around the league, the Dodgers reached 90 wins before September, the young Diamondbacks prospects put on a show, and the Chicago White Sox continued to fall apart. 

Before tonight’s fantasy baseball slate locks, don't forget to check out our updated July fantasy baseball player rankings, the fantasy baseball player spotlight series, and players trending up and down in the fantasy baseball stock watch. Check out DFS Alarm for much more help building daily fantasy baseball lineups, including our MLB projections, MLB lineups, and MLB weather report. Now let’s take a look back at the top MLB performances and key injuries from a full night of baseball on Tuesday.

 

MLB Fantasy Baseball Top Performers for Tuesday

Framber Valdez Twirls 22nd Straight Quality Start

If you play in leagues that count quality starts instead of wins, Framber Valdez is likely the number one pitching asset in your league. He set a record on Tuesday night by pitching his 22nd straight quality start, going eight innings against the Rangers, allowing two runs, and striking out eight batters. 

The eight strikeouts are a nice surprise from a pitcher only averaging 8.23 K/9 this year, but Valdez also picked up his 14th win on the season. With Justin Verlander hitting the IL (more on that below), and Shane McClanahan possibly injured, is the door open for Valdez to win the Cy Young? At worst, the Astros are going to have two players in the top three of voting. 

Kevin Gausman Cruises Against the Cubs

The Cy Young candidacy for Kevin Gausman may have lost some of its shine a while ago, but the Blue Jays’ hurler is still out here dominating on most nights. His latest gem came in the form of six innings, six baserunners, two runs, and nine strikeouts in a win over the Chicago Cubs. 

Gausman has a strange dynamic of being both lucky (league-leading 2.13 FIP) and unlucky at the same time (very high .371 BABIP allowed). But the end result has been an ERA in the low 3’s and more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings. 

Lucas Giolito’s Implosion Continues Against the Royals

Lucas Giolito of 2022 is looking very much like the Giolito of 2016 and 2018 this season. His 5.27 ERA is the sixth-worst in the majors among pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched this season. His latest debacle was against the Royals on Tuesday when he allowed five runs and eight baserunners over 5.1 innings against a very mediocre Kansas city lineup. 

Giolito’s hard hit rate is the highest it has been since his rookie season of 2016, and he is finding it harder and harder to fool players with his various pitches. He also isn’t helping his own cause with the walks creeping back up to almost 3.5 per nine innings this season. 

Aaron Judge Blasts 51st Homer, Collects Three Hits in Yankees Win

Another player who also bet on himself is Aaron Judge and it looks like that is going to pay off in a massive way this offseason. Judge launched another home run, had three hits, and three RBI in a win over the Los Angeles Angels. 

Judge remains on pace to break the American League home run record this year and is putting together one of the most complete fantasy seasons we have ever seen from a hitter. Only Babe Ruth, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds have ever had a season with a .300 average and at least 60 home runs. Judge is right on the cusp of joining that group. 

Carroll, McCarthy Lead Diamondbacks’ Route of Phillies

Two of Arizona’s young, hot prospects delivered big blows to the Phillies on Tuesday night. In just his second MLB game of his career, Corbin Carroll went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs. and three RBI. Jake McCarthy also went 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI. 

Along with Daulton Varsho, Josh Rojas, and Ketel Marte, the Diamondbacks are starting to build a young core of elite hitters that could challenge for an NL Wild Card spot as early as next season. Carroll is available in 52% of Yahoo fantasy leagues as of Wednesday morning and should provide five-category help for the last four weeks of the season. 

Sean Murphy Continues Hot Month of August

While it has been completely under the radar and for a horrible team, catcher Sean Murphy is having an absolutely torrid August that continued against the Washington Nationals last night. Murphy went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBI in the Athletics’ rout. 

Murphy will come into the last day of the month slashing .330/.419/.560 with five homers and 17 RBI in just 25 August games. He is a sure-fire top-five catcher in next year’s drafts. 

MLB Fantasy Injury Round-Up

Shane McClanahan a Last-Minute Scratch with Shoulder Injury

Fantasy managers and DFS players were left scratching their heads when Shawn Armstrong took the mound on Tuesday night instead of Shane McClanahan. Word did not come down until after first pitch that McClanahan was a very late scratch due to a shoulder issue. The extent of this injury is not yet known, but it is clearly something to monitor for the Cy Young candidate as we wrap up the season.

Justin Verlander’s Calf Problem Lands him on IL

Justin Verlander believes they dodged a bullet with the seriousness of his calf injury, but it will still sideline him for at least two weeks so he can heal before the postseason. Behind the scenes, I imagine the Astros – with their 11.5 game lead in the AL West – are content with getting Verlander some time off so he is fresh for the playoffs. 

Ozzie Albies Beginning Rehab Assignment

Ozzie Albies has been on the shelf since June 13th thanks to a fractured foot suffered against the Washington Nationals. He will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday in Triple-A in the hopes that he can rejoin the team next week. He will come back into the fold for an offense that has remained elite in his absence and should retake his spot in the heart of the Braves’ order. 

 

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