Justin Bour (1B - MIA) - Justin Bour was 2-for-3 with a HR and 2 RBI yesterday. It was his 12th HR of the year. Bour has put together a solid, yet unspectacular, season. His wRC+ was 115 coming into yesterday, which by default is above average but not necessarily for his position unfortunately. But his ISO of .223 is certainly worthy of utility consideration - he if keeps pace (all signs point to yes) he could flirt with 30 HR in the course of a full season. He's likely sitting low on fantasy rankings because his runs (24) and RBI (36) aren't anything to write home about, but he could partially be the victim of circumstance in that regard. You could do worse and he's a viable replacement candidate if you're dealing with the injury bug.
Noah Syndergaard (SP - NYM) - Thor didn't exactly bring down the hammer yesterday against KC, tossing 6 innings with 3 ER, 8 hits, and 4 K's. To boot, he left the game with shoulder soreness (TBD). The stat line was certainly disappointing given the incredible performance of Syndergaard so far, and the fact that the Royals offense is sputtering at best. I'd chalk this up at a simple bad outing, potentially thrown off by the fact that his start was pushed back a day. Syndergaard is among the best starters to roll with from here on out; it will be interesting to see how the Mets continue to manage him as the season progresses and as he approached the 200 innings mark; hopefully the shoulder soreness is precautionary.
Nick Hundley (COL - C) - Of course it was Nick Hundley among the high-powered Rockies that tallied a few hits with a HR and 3 RBI against the Yankees yesterday. Hundley is usually a DFS darling at Coors Field when he plays given his price, but flexed his bat in the American League yesterday. In 96 PA, Hundley is actually flashing an impressive .847 OPS with a 107 wRC+. Those are respectable numbers, and considerably solid when considering he's at the catcher position. Hundley could quite literally be playing himself into more playing time, in which case he's not a horrible option when he's playing in Colorado. In his limited time at the dish this season, he's improved his walk rate to an impressive 16.7%, which is aiding his .357 wOBA. Among catchers, I'll think you'll take that if you're desperate.
Jake Arrieta (CHN - SP) - In a rare poor outing, Jake Arrieta went only 5 innings (106 pitches) against the Cardinals yesterday, allowing 2 runs (1 ER), 4 walks, 4 hits, and 6 strikeouts. I recognize that's a good line for many pitchers, but not the unhuman Arrieta. He didn't have his best stuff, but didn't get much help either as a run was scored on a Zobrist scoring error. Ironically, Arrieta struggled his last three starts (one dating to last year) against the Cardinals, including his most recent on May 25 where he surrendered 4 ER in 5 innings. Overall I'm not concerned - Arrieta still has incredible peripherals. While it's worth noting that his ERA (1.74 prior to yesterday) is likely to increase a bit, that shouldn't come as a shock. Expect top 5 SP results from Jake going forward; it's not like he plays the Cardinals every day!
Jonathan Gray (COL - SP) - Jon Gray had a start to forget yesterday, going just 4 innings and allowing 4 ER before leaving with an apparent injury. Gray walked 5 and struck out just 3. From a macro standpoint, it wasn't an easy matchup even though it was outside of Coors. While it was only the Yankees, the wind was blowing out in a HR happy park. Gray has flashed some excellent peripherals; the downside continues to be his home park, and with this apparent injury, I'm bearish on him the next few weeks. If you have the roster space, obviously hold on, but if you're in a shallower league where you think you can stream Gray, he likely won't get picked up next week (assuming health) as he takes on the Blue Jays in Colorado. Still a ton of talent, but there's certainly limited opportunities you'd feel safe using him.
