Regardless of how many Major League Baseball games there are, we are never left without any good storylines, debuts, performances, etc. As the Baltimore Orioles look to make a run at the playoffs, they promoted top prospect Gunnar Henderson to the big leagues, and he immediately made his presence felt with Baltimore. Will we see Grayson Rodriguez this year for Baltimore, another one of the highest ranking MLB prospects? Time will tell… Shohei Ohtani made history again and the Philadelphia Phillies had a hit parade against the Diamondbacks. We’ll also examine Lance Lynn’s recent success, and dive into Rafael Devers’ numbers this year, as it’s really been a tale of two seasons for the star third baseman. As we close the door on Wednesday’s action, I’ll give you my best bet and favorite MLB player prop for Thursday’s baseball action.

 

Fantasy Baseball MLB News & Notes from Wednesday

Gunnar Henderson Makes MLB Debut

Gunnar Henderson was a top MLB prospect for a reason. He has quickly ascended the minor league ranks, and after slashing .288/.390/.504 with 11 home runs, and 10 stolen bases in 65 games at Triple-A, the Orioles promoted one of its top prospects to help the team make a push for a playoff spot in the American League. Henderson went 2-for-4 in the contest with his first career home run, and hit sixth in the lineup.

Damn. Jeff really loved it. Henderson has all the potential in the world and should make for a dominant fantasy force in the peak of his career. Baltimore has so much young potential, and it’s starting to show. Just wait until Grayson Rodriguez comes up, and Baltimore’s big three of Adley Rutschman, Henderson, and Rodriguez take over the American League East.


Trevor Rogers Returns from IL

It’s been a rocky season for Rogers in 2022 to say the least. He posted a 5.80 ERA through his first 10 starts of the season, posting a 2-5 record in that stretch with a 7.80 K/9. Things didn’t get much better for Rogers, and then he made a trip to the injured list with a back issue. He returned for the Marlins last night, and put up one of his best starts of the season, holding the Rays to just one run on five hits across six innings of work. It was good to see his velocity up a bit, even if it was just ever so slightly, and a strong end to the season could be in store for Rogers.

 

Just last year, Rogers posted a 2.64 ERA and 10.62 K/9 across 25 starts, so it’s not like the talent isn’t there.

 

The Curious Case of Rafael Devers

The curious case of Rafael Devers it is indeed. From AL MVP frontrunner, to one of the worst hitters from a statistical perspective in all of baseball of late. The latter might be a stretch, but some of those numbers tell that story. Take a look at Devers’ numbers pre- and post-hamstring injury:

 

AVG

OBP

SLG

wOBA

wRC+

Through 7/22

.324

.379

.602

.415

171

8/2 - Current

.163

.226

.288

.217

31

Courtesy of FanGraphs

Furthermore, look at his league ranks in the above categories during those same time periods:

 

AVG

OBP

SLG

wOBA

wRC+

WAR

Through 7/22

4th

13th

3rd

4th

4th

2nd

8/2 - Current

173rd

172nd

160th

173rd

174th

173rd

Courtesy of FanGraphs

For a frame of reference, from August 2nd on, there are 176 players with enough qualifying at-bats. Simply put, he’s gone from top-five to bottom-five in baseball.


Lance Lynn Turning Things Around?

Lynn had a late start to the year and struggled to find any sort of consistency and rhythm, posting a 7.50 ERA, 8.75 K/9, and 2.25 BB/9 through his first seven starts of the season. However, over his last eight starts, he’s allowed more than two earned runs in just two starts, and he has a 2.61 ERA, 10.43 K/9, and 0.74 BB/9 mark. He’s finally pitching like the ace that many fantasy baseball managers wanted him to be upon his return! Lynn has notched at least six strikeouts and allowed two or fewer earned runs in four straight starts. While you can’t necessarily teach an old dog new tricks, you can bring back old tricks on a more regular frequency! It looks like Lynn has opted to use his cutter more than his sinker of late, while also jumping up the usage on his curveball, which posted a .087 batting average and 46.4 percent whiff rate in the month of August.

 


Phillies Crush Arizona in Hit Parade

I don’t need to go too much into this one, but I did want to note it, because the numbers are staggering. Twenty-two hits. Eighteen runs. Every starter in the Philadelphia lineup had at least two hits, and as a team, they went 15-for-29 (.517) with runners in scoring position.

 

Thursday’s Best Bet

Brandon Woodruff UNDER 6.5 Strikeouts (-140 DraftKings/FanDuel Sportsbook)

Woodruff has been excellent at home this season, but this game isn’t in his home park. On the road this year, he has an ERA north of four, and while his 10.3 K/9 may look good, his 25.7 percent strikeout rate is nearly nine percentage points lower than his mark at home (34.3%). Furthermore, to Arizona’s credit, they have been decent of late against righties, posting the eighth-highest wOBA and league’s lowest strikeout rate (16%) over the last two weeks. Woodruff is coming off a 10 strikeout performance, but prior to that performance, he had seven or more strikeouts in just one of his four starts prior. 

Additionally, on the road this season, here are his strikeout numbers, starting with his most recent: 

5, 3, 9, 4, 8, 10, 4, 6, 6, 6, 2.

Comparing these marks to today’s line, I’m seeing three overs on the road this year, compared to eight unders.

 

 

 

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