Sandy Alcantara-Marlins-SP
Sandy Alcantara went 7 IP and gave up 5 ER on 6 H, 0 BB, and 7 K's against the Athletics. Alcantara has had a disappointing start to the year. He has a 5.07 ERA and 1.22 WHIP through 76.1 IP. He has seen his strikeout rate drop from 23% K to 21% and his walk rate has increased from 6% to 9%. Another troubling trend is his ground ball rate dropping from 53% to 43%. Add it all together and this is why Alcantara has struggled this year. May hadn't been any better than April and June is off to a rough start as well so there is not much to point towards a quick turnaround. Alcantara gets a road matchup against the White Sox this week. In more shallow leagues one has to consider benching him for a better option until he shows signs of progress.
Nolan Gorman-Cardinals-2B
Nolan Gorman was 0-4 with 3 K's against the Pirates. Gorman is in the middle of his breakout season. He is hitting .270 with 14 HR, 24 R, 44 RBI, and 4 SB. He has done a good job of cutting his strikeout rate to a manageable 26% which is backed up by an improvement in his O-swing% (27%). Gorman has also improved his walk rate (12% BB). This is on top of maintaining elite quality of contact metrics (15% Barrel, 50% Hardhit, and 112.3 mph maxEV). He is on pace for a 35+ HR season with a respectable batting average and just enough speed (5+SB) to be a contributor across the board. The breakout looks legit.
Corey Seager-Rangers-SS
Corey Seager was 2-3 with an Hr (6), 3 R, and 2 RBI against the Mariners. Seager is hitting .349 with 6 HR, 21 R, 29 RBI, and 0 SB. He has continued to show excellent plate skills (10% BB and 17% K) to go along with improved quality of contact (17% Barrels and 57% Hardhit). A year ago, he was crushed by a .242 BABIP and regression has hit this year because he has benefited from a .373 BABIP in a small sample. Seager is close to a .300 hitter regardless of batted ball luck so it is not a surprise that he is hitting .300+. He will also benefit from being in a very good Rangers lineup which features a very strong top-half of the lineup with Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, and Seager.
Austin Hays-Orioles-OF
Austin Hays was 1-5 with 1 R and 1 RBI against the Giants. Hays is hitting .301 with 6 HR, 29 R, 24 RBI, and 2 SB. He is showing good plate skills with 24% K and 6% BB. He is hitting the ball much harder this year (13% Barrel, 45% Hardhit, and 111 mph maxEV). Hays also is showing better selection at the plate with a drop in his O-swing percentage (31%). The downside is that despite his improvements he is still tracking towards a 20 HR/5 SB season which is not great in today's environment. It doesn't help that Camden Yards is tough on right-handed batters. Hays has turned himself into a solid fifth outfielder in deeper mixed-league formats but in more shallow formats there is likely someone with more upside on the wire.
Miles Mikolas-Cardinals-SP
Miles Mikolas went 5 IP and gave up 2 ER on 10 H, 0 BB, and 2 K's against the Pirates. Mikolas has a 3.74 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through 74.1 IP. The underlying skills (19% K, 5% BB, and 1.03 HR/9) look nearly identical to last year when he posted a 3.29 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. The only difference is a .325 BABIP this year compared to .249 a year ago. This comes with the territory when you are a low strikeout, pitch-to-contact pitcher. Mikolas was dominant in May (1.89 ERA and 0.95 WHIP). He looks to continue his success next week at home against the Reds.
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