All posts under "Player Commentary" - Page 29

Jason Heyward-Cubs-OF Jason Heyward was 1-4 with an HR (15), 1 R, and 2 RBI against the Pirates. Heyward is having a strong season after largely being a disappointment for the Cubs. He has a .275 AVG with 15 HR,...

Ryan Yarbrough (SP/RP-TB) Yarbrough took a combined perfect game with Opener Ryne Stanek into the bottom of the 9th inning before giving up a leadoff single. He ended up allowing a run to score but it was a masterful effort...

In The Lineup The Rockies signed Yonder Alonso to a minor league contract and assigned him to AAA. Alonso was DFA'd by the White Sox after both failing to lure in Manny Machado this offseason and then hitting .178 over...

Peter Alonso, 1B (NYM) Time will tell if Alonso gets bitten by the Home Run Derby Curse. The rookie has elite skills, but he is 1-8 since winning the event on Monday. It's remarkable that Alonso is seven home runs...

Max Kepler went 2-for-5 with two solo homers Saturday against the Indians. Kepler continued his recent hot streak against Trevor Bauer by homering in his first two at-bats on Saturday, giving him five consecutive at-bats with a home run against...

Christian Vazquez (C - BOS) - Vazquez doubled and homered against the Dodgers on Friday, giving him 15 homers for the season as he's taken control of the catching position in Boston. He has 5 homers in the past 8...

Kris Bryant went 1-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and two runs scored Friday vs. the Pirates. Bryant kicked off the second half with his 18th big fly of the year, taking Chris Archer deep in the seventh inning....

Yasiel Puig-Reds-OF Yasiel Puig was 2-4 with two singles against the Indians. Puig has turned it on of late with a .474 AVG with 3 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI, and 2 SB in the last week. He had started...

Yuli Gurriel (1B/3B-HOU) Gurriel went 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored 4 RBIs and his 14th home run of the season Sunday to raise his season line to .277/.314/.482 on the season. Gurriel has been swinging a ridiculously...

Michael Pineda, SP (MIN) Pineda improved to 6-4 and lowered his xFIP to 4.47 with an excellent performance against Texas on Saturday. The Rangers' only damage off Pineda was a solo home run by Elvis Andrus in the 6th inning....

Noah Syndergaard (SP - NYM) - Thor moved to 6-4 with a 5 inning, 10 baserunner, 4 ER performance against the Phillies on Saturday, and with only 2 dominant performances in his last 10, it's clear to me that there's...

Austin Voth Voth allowed four runs over 4.1 innings against the Royals on Friday. Voth was once a top prospect for the Nationals before struggling in 2017 and 2018, but the 27-year-old has been solid so far this season. While...

Luis Castillo-Reds-SP Luis Castillo went 7.2 IP and gave up 0 ER on 1 H, 1 BB, and 9 K's against the Brewers. Castillo has been phenomenal this year with a 2.29 ERA and 1.08 WHIP through his first 18...

Matthew Boyd, SP, DET Boyd allowed 4 ER's in 5.1 IP against the White Sox on Thursday, but he struck out 13 without a walk. Boyd has struggled in terms of run prevention over the last month or so, as...

Blake Snell (5-7, 4.87 ERA) will look to build off his most recent outing Saturday vs. the Yankees at home. The 2018 AL Cy Young winner is coming off a dominant 12-strikeout performance in what has been a turbulent season...

Nick Markakis- OF- ATL- Idea- Markakis has a .293/.378/.466 slash line against RH pitchers. Lefthanded hitters have a SLG of .503 against Zach Eflin and he has given up 10 homers in 42.2 IP against them. Markakis has hit all...

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! Dylan Cease (CWS) - The White Sox called up prospect Dylan Cease to start against the Tigers on Wednesday. After tallying two quick outs in the first inning, Cease made things interesting by walking three straight...

Dallas Kuechel, Atlanta Braves - Dallas Keuchel turned in his best start as a Brave on Tuesday allowing two runs over seven innings, but still took the loss as the Braves ran into an Aaron Nola operated buzzsaw. Keuchel allowed...

Christian Vazquez (C-BOS) - Vazquez had a nice game Tuesday, going 3-for-5 with his 12th homer in a breakout season that saw his slash climb to .296/.331/.502. If you were a Vazquez owner last year wondering where this was, you're...

Logan Allen, SP, SD There was a lot of hype around Allen after he posted a 1.38 ERA through his first two big-league starts, although his 6.92 K/9 through those two starts wasn't super promising. His luck came crashing down...

Shane Bieber-Indians-SP Shane Bieber went 8 IP and gave up 0 ER on 3 H, 0 BB, and 10 K's against the Orioles. Bieber has shown both glimpses of his elite upside with multiple double-digit strikeout games (4) and the...

Freddy Galvis went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers Monday vs. the Royals. Galvis opened July on a high note with his first multi-homer game of the season, powering Toronto to an 11-4 win in the process. With 14...

Jason Heyward- OF- CHC- Idea- Heyward has a very solid .291/.388/.521 slash line against RH pitchers. Trevor Williams brings a .294/.336/.431 slash line against LH hitters into the matchup. That makes it heavily favor Heyward. Value Play- Draft Kings salary...

IN THE LINEUP Byron Buxton took batting practice on Friday prior to the Twins game and was activated from the IL on Saturday. He felt well enough on Friday after hitting that the team activated him with no rehab assignment...

Mike Freeman- 2B- CLE- Idea- Freeman has a .294/.413/.471 slash line against RH pitching. Gabriel Ynoa owns a .286/.335/.513 career slash line against LH hitting. This makes Freeman the better bet for a solid performance. He is also eligible at...

Drew Pomeranz (SP -SF) - Last 4 starts for Pomeranz in that cavernous home park (including Saturday vs. ARI): 20 IP, 18 H, 2 ER, 8 BB, 30 K. Look, Pomeranz makes me as nervous as the rest of you,...

Miguel Sanó Sanó homered twice in three at-bats against the White Sox on Friday. If there's one number that captures Sanó's performance this season it's his .306 ISO; the 26-year-old rarely makes contact, but when he does, the ball flies....

Austin Riley (3B/OF-ATL) Riley went 2-3 with a 2-run homer, his 13th of the season. Riley has come back down to earth a bit after hitting a scorching .356 over 59 May Plate appearances, posting just a .211 mark in...

And just like that, we're at the halfway mark of the season! In honor of being halfway done, we're going to do a little "on pace for" analysis for the closer pool. Personally, I hate using "on pace for" numbers...

Aaron Nola was absolutely fantastic yesterday, going 7 strong with 10 strikeouts while allowing just a single hit and walk on the day. It's been a disappointing year for Nola, but the lowly Mets offense was just what the doctor...

Joey Gallo (OF-TEX) lit up Tigers pitching on Thursday, going 2-3 with a pair of solo homers and a walk. The 25 year-old masher is now hitting .279 with 19 longballs and 44 RBI across 227 plate appearances on the...

Chris Sale, SP (BOS) Facing his former team, Sale lumbered through six innings, allowing five runs on six hits while striking out 10. It was his fifth time striking out double digit batters in his last six starts. It was...

Jason Vargas (NYM) -Jason Vargas was twirling a gem before his manager pulled him in the 7thinning on Wednesday after just 77 pitches. Facing the Phillies in Philadelphia, Vargas finished with a line of 6.1 IP, 3H, 2ER, 2BB...

Adbert Alzolay, SP, CHC Alzolay lasted 4.2 IP against the Braves on Tuesday allowing just 1 hit, a HR, while striking out 4 and walking 4 in his 2nd career start. This start was very similar to his 1st in...

Joey Gallo, Texas Rangers - Joey Gallo was activated from the IL on Tuesday and went 1-for-4 at the plate with a double, walk, and three strikeouts. The Rangers are getting a huge boost back to their lineup in Gallo...

Michael Conforto, OF, NYM Conforto continued his hot hitting on Monday going 3-4 with his 16th HR of the season and his 6th in 19 games. Conforto's 20.3% HR/FB doesn't seem like a fluke as it's right near his career...