All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 44

Nelson Cruz (DH-SEA) Did you know Cruz ranks second in all of baseball in average exit velocity? Ahead of Giancarlo Stanton? And Joey Gallo? And J.D. Martinez? Did you know Nelson Cruz is tied for seventh in barrels per plate...

Welcome back everyone! Even though Week 1 of the NFL pre-season is behind us, you're still sticking around to read an article about closers. That means you must be in contention and hoping to discover the next piece to push...

Corey Knebel (RP-MIL) - Knebel's grasp on the Milwaukee closer job became more tenuous against the Padres on Thursday. Entering with a 4-2 lead in the 9th, Knebel allowed an infield single to the first batter before walking the next...

Giancarlo Stanton hit his 28th HR of the season yesterday; it was the hardest hit ball in MLB for the last two years. This is already Stanton's fourth HR of August, after hitting just five in all of July, which...

Adolis Garcia-Cardinals-OF Adolis Garcia was 0-4 with 2 K against the Marlins. He was called up by the Cardinals to make his major league debut. He is a 25-year-old outfielder signed out of Cuba in 2017. At Triple-A this year...

Jaime Barria, SP, LAA Barria pitched 5.1 shutout innings against the Tigers on Wednesday, striking out 5 and walking 1. He has been solid for the Angels this season posting a 3.59 ERA and allowing more than 3 ER's in...

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels - Ohtani is returning to the mound.... to throw a bullpen session on Saturday. Ohtani hasn't pitched since June after spraining a ligament in his elbow, but has been throwing in the outfield at around...

Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner took a no-decision after allowing five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over seven scoreless innings Tuesday vs. the Astros. Bumgarner delivered one of his best starts of the summer against a challenging opponent, but...

Corey Knebel (RP-MIL) - It's probably time to be at least a little concerned about Knebel. He was charged with the loss on Sunday and was not used in a save situation on Tuesday. In his last 10.2 innings, Knebel...

Indians righty Trevor Bauer won after allowing three hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts over six shutout innings vs. the Twins on Monday. Bauer cruised to his 11th victory of the season as Cleveland stomped Minnesota, 10-0. The outing...

Will Smith(P-SF): Smith struck out two in a scoreless ninth against the D-Backs to earn his seventh save in eight chances. The left-hander has been stellar in 2018, posting a 50:7 K:BB ratio, and a 1.27 ERA. Injuries at the...

Omar Narvaez- C- CHW- Idea- Narvaez owns a .300/.364/.453 slash line against RH pitchers. The recently-traded Lance Lynn has posted a .293/.404/.470 slash line against LH hitters this season. Give Narvaez an edge in this matchup. Value play- Draft Kings...

Zach Wheeler (SP) NYM - I'm starting to believe in Wheeler, and another 7 shutout innings against the Braves with 9 K's on Saturday doesn't hurt. The control has gotten better, which was the biggest obstacle to his success, and...

Mike Trout's recovery from a right wrist contusion is lingering longer than expected. He was out of the Angels' lineup Saturday against the Indians and he hasn't played since Wednesday, making it the third consecutive game the All-Star outfielder has...

Whew. You folks are making me work for my money this season! After what started out as a very quiet year in terms of closer changes, things have picked up substantially over the last two months. The high point was...

Whew. You folks are making me work for my money this season! After what started out as a very quiet year in terms of closer changes, things have picked up substantially over the last two months. The high point was...

Lucas Giolito (SP) CHW - This statement probably won't make sense until the end of this comment, but it's often hard to tell when something is a "thing" and not statistical noise. I'm in the process of trying to figure...

Javier Baez (2B/SS-CHC) Baez went 2-3 with a Triple, Home run, walk and 2 runs scored Friday afternoon. The walk was a bonus for Baez who he rarely walks (3.8%) but is still putting up MVP like numbers for the...

Carlos Carrasco, SP, CLE Carrasco struck out 10 in 7.1 scoreless innings on Wednesday, lowering his ERA to 3.66 for the season. He continues to dominate since all-star break, compiling a 1.33 ERA and 26:3 K:BB over his last three...

Steve Pearce continued to rake for the Red Sox, hitting his fifth, sixth, and seventh HRs of the season yesterday. Pearce mashes lefties, but will only play in certain matchups. Still, he's worthy of a pick up in daily lineup...

Joc Pederson (OF - LAD) Pederson went off in the Dodgers' 21-5 beatdown of the Brewers Thursday. The lefty slugger finished the day 2 for 6, with both hits being home runs, four RBI and three runs scored. On the...

Cole Hamels (SP-CHC) Chicago is hoping Hamels' road numbers are indicative of what he will deliver for the Cubs. Prior to being traded, Hamels had a 3.84 xFIP and 25.6% strikeout rate away from Arlington. In his Cubs debut on...

Andrew McCutchen-Giants-OF Andrew McCutchen was 1-4 with an HR (11) and a walk against the Padres. McCutchen is hitting .258 with 11 HR, 53 R, 44 RBI, and 9 SB. His overall numbers are lackluster but the shift to AT&T...

Tommy Pham: The Rays acquired Pham at a cheap price at the trade deadline on Tuesday, and fantasy owners should look to do the same as the 30-year-old appears poised for a monster finish to the year. After breaking out...

Andrew McCutchen (SF) - Thanks to being in the final year of his contract and not having a no-trade clause, Andrew McCutchen is getting plenty of attention on the trade front. There's a good chance that he will get...

Jose Ramirez (3B-CLE) Ramirez went 2 for 4 with 2 solo home runs, a stolen base and a walk Monday. Ramirez had been in an 0-16 slump since July 21, so the effort is nice to see him getting back...

Edwin Encarnacion-Indians-1B Edwin Encarnacion was 2-4 with 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI, and 1 BB in the win over the Tigers. On the year Encarnacion is hitting .235 with 24 HR, 54 R, and 73 RBI. The average has...

Marlins righty Jose Urena won after allowing one hit and four walks with five strikeouts over six shutout innings Sunday vs. the Nationals. Urena bounced back from a pair of poor outings with six one-hit innings, yielding only a single...

IN THE FIELD Ozzie Albies returned to the lineup Thursday after missing almost a week with a tweaked hamstring. He went right back into the #2 spot in the lineup for Atlanta.... Jonathan Villar is currently on the DL with...

Gerardo Parra- OF- COL- Idea- Although he has been cold recently, Parra still owns a slash line of .325/.378/.450 against RH pitching. Frankie Montas brings a .286/.345/.515 slash line against LH hitters to Colorado. This gives a distinct edge to...

Gerardo Parra- OF- COL- Idea- Although he has been cold recently, Parra still owns a slash line of .325/.378/.450 against RH pitching. Frankie Montas brings a .286/.345/.515 slash line against LH hitters to Colorado. This gives a distinct edge to...

Chris Sale (SP-BOS) After tossing six scoreless innings on Friday, Sale has now allowed one total run in his last six starts! One. Run. Six. Starts. He struck out 10 batters in the win over Minnesota, his sixth double-digit K...

Manny Margot(OF-SD): Margot hit his fourth homer of the season in late-night action vs. the D-Backs, indicating he is over the wrist issue he dealt with earlier this month. While the overall fantasy line still leaves much to be desired,...

Christian Yelich (OF - MIL) Yelich connected on his 14th homer of 2018 in the Brewers 7-4 win over the Giants. The 26-year-old collected three hits on the night and drove in two, while scoring twice. On the season, Yelich...

Justin Upton had one of his more productive days on the year, going 4-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. It's been a disappointing season for Upton, who sported an OPS of just .784 entering yesterday. The cause of...

Jameson Taillon-Pirates-SP Jameson Taillon went 7 IP and gave up 2 ER on 7 H, 1 BB, and 5 K's against the Indians. On the year Taillon has a 3.73 ERA, 1.22 WHIP with a 3.71 SIERA. His season turned...