Logan Gilbert, SP, SEA
Gilbert made his MLB debut against the Indians on Thursday, and allowed 4 ER's on 5 hits in 4 IP, while striking out 5 without a BB. It wasn't an amazing debut by any means, but he did finish strong by striking out the final three batters he faced. In fact all 5 of his K's came in his final two innings. Gilbert recorded a 170:33 K:BB in 140 IP across 4 minor league levels, and looks to continue that trend at the big league level. Despite the 4 runs allowed, Gilbert should still be viewed as a viable option moving forward.
Jarred Kelenic, OF, SEA
Kelenic batted leadoff in his MLB debut for the Mariners on Thursday and went 0-4 with one strikeout. Kelenic hit 23 HR's and had 20 SB's in 117 MiLB games in 2019, and added 2 HR's and 2 SB's in 6 AAA games this season. He should chip in a bit in every category for fantasy owners, and if he bats leadoff regularly, he will have even more opportunities to do so. He should be owned in fantasy leagues until he proves that he doesn't belong.
Willie Calhoun, DH, TEX
Calhoun hit his 4th HR of the season against the Astros on Thursday, as he continues to produce out of the leadoff spot for the Rangers. His strong .309/.378/.481 batting line this season is backed by an excellent 12.2% K% and a solid 43.3% HardHit%. He has continued to play every day despite the addition of Khris Davis to the active roster, and in fact that may actually help his fantasy value, as he has been seeing a lot more time in the outfield. Calhoun has mostly been a DH since last season, but he has now played 4 of his last 5 games in the OF, giving him 7 games there this season. He should qualify as an OF soon in leagues where he doesn't already, which would be a big boost for his fantasy value.
Austin Meadows, OF, TB
Meadows went 3-5 with 2 doubles, a HR, and 4 RBI against the Yankees on Thursday, while also striking out twice. The big day broke him out of a 2-23 slump, as Meadows has struggled to hit for average this year. It's been a very strange month of May for Meadows, who has now gone 8-43 (.186) through 12 games this month, but all 8 of those hits have gone for extra bases (4 doubles, 4 HR's). After hitting .291 in 2019, his BA dropped to .205 last season, mostly because his K% jumped from 22.2% to 32.9%. This year, his K% has been somewhere in the middle at 26.0%, but his .226 BABIP has kept his BA down. Part of the reason for the low BABIP is his suddenly extreme FB-tendency (59.6%), but the BABIP should rise somewhat anyways. He probably won't hit .290 again, but if he can get up to the .240-.250 range, that would be acceptable if he keeps hitting for power the ways that he has.
Garrett Richards, SP, BOS
Richards pitched 6 shutout innings against the A's on Thursday, allowing 5 hits while striking out 4 and walking 3. Richards has been going through a nice stretch recently, posting a 2.16 ERA over his last 4 starts, along with a 26:5 K:BB during that time. Overall, he has a 3.89 ERA for the season, but his K/9 has hovered around 8 for the second straight year after it had been over 10% in 2018-2019. His BB-rate has also remained on the high side at 3.8 BB/9. Richards had 3 sub-3.00 ERA seasons between 2014-2017, but he's not that guy anymore. His fastball velocity has dipped about 2 mph since his heyday, while the average EV against him has grown to 91.3. Don't expect better than an ERA of 4.00 going forward.
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