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| Thursday, May 27, 2021 |
| From Mike Shildt ripping the commissioner's office to Adolis Garcia tying the league lead with 16 home runs, it's just another day in the world of baseball. On top of all that, we were dealt with a bevy of injury news as Marcell Ozuna is going to miss 5-6 weeks, Corey Kluber is shut down at least four weeks, and Luke Voit has an oblique strain. Let's stay positive, though. |
| And how do we do that? I think we're getting closer with Chris Paddack. The final line wasn't terribly exciting as he struck out just two over six innings of one-run ball against the Brewers. However, the spin rate on his fastball remained up, once again higher than it was back in his breakout 2019 season. And he has a newfound confidence in his curveball. Before he went on the IL, he was throwing it just 6% of the time. In four starts since he's returned, he's throwing it 11.7% of the time. We're not there yet, but the foundation is being built! |
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Garcia enters must-roster territory
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| Astros SP/RP Luis Garcia delivered his first quality start of the season against the elite Dodgers lineup. He went six innings and allowed no earned runs, two hits and one walk. He struck out seven batters with 11 swinging strikes on 100 pitchers. He now has a 2.93 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP, and he's still just 43% rostered. |
| Next week, he gets a two-start week. This is part of the reason why he should be rostered right away. The bigger reason is that the Astros are now dealing with an injury to Lance McCullers and they have already made the decision to move Cristian Javier to the bullpen. Garcia has thrived in tough matchups this year (like against the Dodgers), and he has the minor league track record to back this up. Get him on your rosters now and in your lineups for a two-start Week 10. |
| Kaprielian serves as a strong streamer |
| A's SP/RP James Kaprielian might not be the top pitching prospect in baseball, but he was certainly the best streaming option on Wednesday. He blanked the Mariners over seven innings in what was easily the best of his three MLB starts -- at least on paper. In addition to seven shutout innings, Kaprielian allowed just two hits and two walks. That's the good news; now let's look under the hood. |
| Kaprielian struck out four batters and induced just four swinging strikes the entire outing. His velocity was also way down. He averaged just 91.7 mph on the fastball, which was up over 93 mph in his first two starts. The better news is that he draws the Mariners again next week. |
| "Not my best stuff today, to be honest," Kaprielian said after Wednesday's start. "It was one of those mental games where I just had to compete. Catcher Aramis Garcia did a really good job of helping me make adjustments. Just move the ball and get ahead of the count. Knowing I didn't have my best stuff, I wanted to go out and use my defense." |
| The RP-eligible starter has a two-start week next week as well. |
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More news and notes
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| Braves OF Marcell Ozuna is expected to miss 5-6 weeks after dislocating two fingers on his left hand. He was off to a slow start but this is still a pretty big blow to Fantasy rosters. Keep an eye on prospect Drew Waters, who could be called up. We could just do a whole Astros news segment. Let's start with the good. SP Framber Valdez will make his season debut Friday against the Padres. Valdez, who was SP17 in FPPG and SP25 in Roto last season, is 69% rostered. Astros SP Jake Odorizzi will start Saturday and is only 30% rostered. He can be ignored outside of deeper 15-team leagues. Astros SP Jose Urquidy made a rehab start on Wednesday. The bad news: As mentioned earlier, Astros SP Lance McCullers was placed on the IL with right shoulder soreness and Cristian Javier was demoted to the bullpen. Yankees SP Corey Kluber has a sub-scapular strain and will be shut down for at least four weeks. Deivi Garcia has been recalled and will start this weekend against the Tigers. He's 28% rostered but was struggling mightily at Triple-A, where he had a 5.17 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Chris is worried about his control issues and considers him a pitcher you can't trust. Yankees 1B Luke Voit has a Grade 2 oblique strain. He began feeling it on Saturday. Yankees DH Giancarlo Stanton will be activated on Friday. The Yankees-Blue Jays game was postponed Wednesday, which delayed top Jays SP prospect Alek Manoah's debut another day. Dodgers 1B/OF Cody Bellinger is expected to rejoin the Dodgers on Saturday. Twins OF Byron Buxton is still having trouble decelerating and is unlikely to begin a rehab assignment immediately. Padres 3B Manny Machado was out for his sixth straight game. Twins DH Nelson Cruz returned to the lineup. Reds OF Nick Senzel had knee surgery and is out 4-6 weeks. Cubs 2B/SS/OF Nico Hoerner went to the IL with a left hamstring strain. Giants 1B Brandon Belt landed on the IL with a mild left oblique strain. Rangers OF David Dahl went to the IL with a left rib contusion. Khris Davis is set for more playing time for those in AL-only leagues. Mariners SP Marco Gonzales is expected to return to the rotation next week. Astros DH Yordan Alvarez was scratched Wednesday with right wrist soreness. Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo is dealing with back stiffness. Mets 1B/OF Dominic Smith is dealing with a knee issue, which he suffered on a slide Tuesday. Twins SP Michael Pineda made his return from the IL on Wednesday and went six innings in Baltimore, allowing just one run, three hits and two walks. He struck out a season-high eight batters with 19 swinging strikes on 101 pitches. He has a 2.62 ERA and 0.99 WHIP on the season. |
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| Most traded players in CBS leagues right now |
| Rangers SP Dane Dunning: I certainly don't understand why Dunning is the most traded player (for or away), but Chris pointed to how strong his month of May was. People were looking to sell high on him, and if they got rid of him before his latest blow-up start, they did well. Dunning has been operating on smoke and mirrors. He doesn't generate a lot of swinging strikes and doesn't have a great fastball velocity. |
| Rockies OF Charlie Blackmon: His expected batting average and slugging percentage look so much better than his actual numbers, so Blackmon screams buy low. However, his advanced age has likely given some Fantasy managers pause. Blackmon simply hasn't been good at Coors Field this year. That won't last. This is a buying opportunity, assuming you believe he can return to even 75% of form. He's not striking out and he's walking more. The raw stats are likely to catch up to the expected stats. |
| Nationals OF Victor Robles: I like the idea of trading for him right now, while he's on the IL, if you're in a Dynasty Roto (or any kind of categories league). If he comes back and bats ninth instead of eighth in the order, he can get you a .270 average with a slew of steals. In all the starts he made prior to the IL stint where he was not batting eighth in the order, Robles was on a 39-steal attempt pace. |
| Brewers 1B/2B Keston Hiura: There's no doubt he's talented, but he still needs to find himself. Sure, the numbers improved at Triple-A, but the strikeouts have continued. Chris is skeptical that he'll ever return to 2019 form, but this still makes sense as a buy-low opportunity in Dynasty leagues specifically as his price tag may never be cheaper than it is right now. |
| Rays OF Austin Meadows: The splits over the last two years against left-handed pitchers are brutal. It's fair to wonder whether or not he'll be able to pull out of this and become an everyday star. The launch angle is the biggest problem -- he's just simply hitting too many fly balls. |
| Blue Jays SP Nate Pearson: The injuries keep piling up over the years. He was drafted in 2017 and he has thrown just 150.1 innings. He has not been able to be on the mound enough, and that's a really important skill for a young pitcher to show. There are very good reasons to have questions about Pearson moving forward. At this point, we can't be certain if his role for the future is as a starter or in the bullpen. |
| Phillies SP Aaron Nola: In his last start vs. Miami, he went six innings and allowed just two hits, three walks and one earned run. He struck out six batters with 14 swinging strikes on 97 pitches. This is an easy buy for me both in redraft and Dynasty leagues. He has his best xERA since 2018. |
| Streaming options |
| Thursday |
| Rockies SP Antonio Senzatela at NYM Phillies SP Spencer Howard at MIA Pirates SP Tyler Anderson vs. CHC Royals SP Brady Singer at TB Rays SP/RP Shane McClanahan vs. KC Mariners SP Chris Flexen vs. TEX |
| Friday |
| Mariners SP Justus Sheffield vs. TEX Rangers SP Jordan Lyles at SEA Twins SP Randy Dobnak vs. KC Red Sox SP Martin Perez vs. MIA Pirates SP Mitch Keller vs. COL Angels SP Alex Cobb at OAK |
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