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 ordered. While it was a great and encouraging start, red flags remain for Nola who is having his worst year in the majors. His SwStr% is down from 12.4% to 9.4% this season. Fortunately, his velocity is still great, but his command appears to need improvement. His BB/9 is up by nearly 1.5, and his HR/9 has doubled year-over-year. In a best case scenario , the gopheritis is a case of small sample size and may normalize over the course of the season, which would make him a top 25 SP rest of season. But if its lack of command, his struggles may continue.
Corey Dickerson connected for his second HR of the year yesterday. He's on a bit of a hot streak, as he entered yesterday with 5 hits in his last 9 AB, including 4 for XB. The DL designation of Gregory Polanco has opened up a great opportunity for Dickerson to get every day at bats, and also making him a strong fantasy asset if you're in need of OF depth. His wRC+ of 115 last year was good, although not spectacular. If you can ride him during a hot streak (i.e. now), he can be a great stopgap option. In 20 games, he's been smashing the ball.
Josh Bell hit his 22nd of the year, as the breakout campaign continues. Bell ridiculous improvement comes down to one major thing: making significantly better contact. His Hard% is up from 33.8% to 48.7% from 2018 to 2019. His K% and BB% are both actually worse compared to last year. His BABIP is about 36 points over his career average, but it's reasonable that he'll have a higher BABIP with the improved contact. I'm a bit skeptical if he can continue this pace over a full year, particularly because his K/BB skills have deteriorated, but that's more of a gut feeling. For the right price, he seems like a sell high candidate to me, but if you don't get the best value, he should be a solid HR source rest of season regardless.
Tyler Chatwood was lit up for 6 ER in just 5 IP yesterday, yet still picked up the win. His ERA ballooned to 4.50 from 3.69. He hadn't been pitching particularly well in a relief or starting capacity, so yesterday's results are far from surprising. Chatwood displayed competency in Colorado that we were hoping would translate in Chicago, but he's only gotten significantly worse. He belongs on no fantasy rosters.
Pitching for the second time in two days, Edwin Diaz had perhaps the worst outing a closer could put together - getting just 1 out while allowing 5(!) earned runs. Naturally, he took the loss and the blown save. It's tough to draw any conclusions from such a disastrous outing, but it's important to remember that Diaz has been relatively lights out this season. His 3.52 ERA entering yesterday was notably higher than his 2.36 SIERA. Both numbers jumped drastically following the brief outing last night. If you're a Diaz owner, close your eyes and forget about last night. If you're not, it could be a decent time to toss a trade offer in.
