Kyle Hendricks (SP-CHC) picked up an easy win on Friday after tossing five innings of two-run ball against the Orioles at Wrigley Field. Hendricks improved to 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA as Chicago crushed Baltimore, 10-3. He surrendered five hits, didn't walk anybody and only struck out one batter. He pitched to contact and threw a ton of strikes, throwing 63 of his 88 offerings for strikes and inducing eight groundouts. The 33-year-old righty has been sharp in his first five starts since coming off the IL, allowing two earned runs or less in three of his last four outings. His 16:6 K/BB ratio in 28 1/3 innings shows that he's keeping his walks down but isn't missing many bats, which limits his overall fantasy value. He's also been keeping the ball in the yard with just one homer allowed so far, so he'll need to keep limiting his mistakes in order to succeed. He'll look to keep rolling in a road start against the Pirates next week, where he projects to be a solid fantasy option.
Lane Thomas (OF-WSH) went 2-for-5 with a double, a homer and two RBIs against the Marlins on Friday. Thomas had another big game from the leadoff spot for Washington, albeit in a losing effort as the Nats lost, 6-5. Thomas greeted reigning NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first before dinging him again for an RBI double. Thomas now has multiple hits in three of his last four games with four extra-base hits during that span, raising his average to .288 and his OPS to .816. The long ball was his 10th of the year while his double was the 16th, giving him double-digit bombs for the second straight year. The 27-year-old is enjoying a career year at the plate and has been a factor on the bases as well with six steals in seven attempts, even though his BB/K ratio (18:72) is trending in the wrong direction for the second straight season.
Randy Arozarena (OF-TBR) powered the Rays to a 6-2 win over the Padres on Friday, going 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs. He did the bulk of his damage on a three-run shot against Yu Darvish in the fifth inning that helped put the game away. It was encouraging to see Arozarena come through with a big game as he's been mired in a pretty bad slump for over a month now. From May 14 - June 15 he batted just .207/.388/.304 with only two home runs and 10 RBIs in 29 games. He's now up to 13 bombs and 48 RBIs on the season to go with his .285 average and .891 OPS. The career-best 13.9 BB% has been the biggest surprise, though, helping him keep his OBP over .400. Arozarena has never received MVP consideration before, but he's a lock to get some this year if he stays healthy.
Luis Arraez (2B-MIA) enjoyed another monster day at the plate on Friday, going 5-for-5 with a homer, two runs and three RBIs against the Nationals. Arraez paced Miami's 6-5 win over Washington by hitting safely in all five of his plate appearances, marking his second five-hit game in a two-week span. The more notable stat for him was that he popped his second homer of the year in the second inning, drilling a two-run shot off Trevor Williams. It was his first long ball since he hit for the cycle on April 11. The big game snapped Arraez out of a brief 1-for-17 skid at the plate, raising his average back up to .390. His OPS is up to .925 as well, as Arraez is having a banner year at the plate without hitting for much power. With so many hits and an OBP well over .400, Arraez has done an excellent job setting the table for his teammates as Miami's leadoff man.
Travis d'Arnaud (C-ATL) powered the Braves to an 8-1 win over the Rockies on Friday, going 2-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs. d'Arnaud launched a pair of two-run shots off Dinelson Lamet in the first and third innings, helping Atlanta build up an early lead with his big production from the cleanup spot. The multi-homer game was his first of the season and doubled his home run total from two to four. The big game also snapped him out of a 4-for-25 skid at the plate, raising his average to .281 and his OPS to .801. While injuries have limited him to 25 games so far, the 34-year-old backstop is proving that he's still one of the best catchers in baseball when healthy with eight extra-base hits and 14 RBIs.
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