Trevor Rogers, Miami Marlins - Trevor Rogers allowed just two runs over 5.2 innings but dodged some bullets with four walks in the start, his first time walking four since his opening start of the season. He still struck out nine though and it barely registered on his ERA going up to 2.14 from 2.08. Rogers has been a sensation for Miami in his second year with elite metrics across the board and 110 strikeouts over 92.1 innings. The Miami Marlins are building an absolute juggernaut of a pitching rotation and Rogers is going to be right in the middle of it.
Juan Soto, Washington Nationals - Juan Soto hit homer number nine on the year in a 1-3 game at the plate. Soto's batted ball data is among the top in the league, but he just hasn't had the production yet this year that we are used to seeing from him. He's hitting .273 for the year but has a .394 OBP and a .437 SLG. The OBP is obviously still an outstanding mark but his power is coming to life in June with a .516 SLG and five of his nine homers. If you can somehow get a person to sell "low" on Soto, try. Everything about his batted ball profile shows a summer explosion and it's already starting to come to life.
Jesus Sanchez, Miami Marlins - Corey Dickerson was traded from the Marlins to the Blue Jays on Tuesday and that frees up Jesus Sanchez to be an everyday player for the team going forward. He was already penciled into the lineup with Dickerson out with a hurt foot, but this solidifies his spot the rest of the way. Sanchez has a mediocre .238/.289/.405 line but has posted a 41% hard-hit rate and 10% barrel rate over his short stint in the majors, and he's striking out at a significantly lower rate than he did last year during his time in the bigs.
Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee Brewers - Aaron Ashby has been called up to the Brewers to be a part of the bullpen, but will actually start the game for the team on Wednesday. Ashby has dominated in 2021 with a 33% strikeout rate and a .217 average against him, but walks have been a bit of an issue for him with a 14% walk rate. He has a chance to be fantasy relevant with how the Brewers use their bullpen arms, but he's going to need to strike batters out at a high clip to make up for the fact that the traditional fantasy reliever roles for the team are filled by studs.
Kevin Gausman, San Francisco Giants - Kevin Gausman had one of his worst starts of the season with three runs allowed over 5.0 innings, and he walked five batters which is nearly as many as he walked in all of May. Gausman struggled to get whiffs with just a 19% whiff rate, and he didn't get a single swing and miss on 25 swings on his fastball. His splitter still generated a 56% whiff rate but didn't get a single strike that wasn't a swing. It was just a tough night for him combining the Dodgers being all over his fastball while also laying off his splitter well.
