Tanner Bibee (SP-CLE) dazzled against the Phillies over 7 shutout innings, scattering 2 hits and a walk while recording 8 punchouts. The 24 year-old righty was efficient in tossing 73 of his 102 offerings for strikes in the outing. Bibee has impressed in his rookie campaign, compiling a 3.04 ERA, 9.2 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 through his first 15 big-league starts (83 IP). A 4.28 xFIP does, however, point to a .285 BABIP, 78% strand rate, and 7% HR/FB all working together to suppress his ERA a bit. His swinging-strike rate of 10% is also underwhelming. Bibee has, on the other hand, helped to make his own luck by limiting hard contact (26%) while opposing hitters own a slightly below-average contact rate of 78% against him. Although fantasy owners might consider selling high, it's worth noting that Bibee may be primed for a big second half as he's now allowed just 3 ER on 14 hits and 8 walks while fanning 27 over 23.2 IP since the start of July. He's slated to face the White Sox in Chicago next week.
Brandon Pfaadt (SP-ARI) was recalled from Triple-A Reno to start against the Reds on Saturday. The 24 year-old took the loss as he allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and no walks while fanning 6 over 6 innings of work. While he was efficient in firing 66 of his 89 offerings for strikes in the outing, Pfaadt surrendered a trio of big flies. The performance marked a significant improvement on his work to date in the majors, as he now owns a 8.81 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 5.22 xFIP through his first 7 big-league starts (31.2 IP). Pfaadt hasn't missed a lot of bats (10% swinging-trike rate) while opposing hitters have made lots of hard contact against him (50% per Statcast), with very few of those being grounders (28%). It's difficult to envision a 3.41 HR/9 and 25% HR/FB not correcting to the mean, but that helps to illustrate how hard he's been hit so far in his big-league career. If he remains with the team, he's likely to face the Mariners at home next week.
Grayson Rodriguez (SP-BAL) fared reasonably well against the Rays on Saturday afternoon as he allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 2 walks while fanning 6 over 5.2 IP. The 23 year-old righty threw 56 of his 93 pitches for strikes and surrendered no homers in the contest. Rodriguez now owns a 6.91 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 4 BB/9, and 3.80 xFIP through his first 12 big-league starts (56 IP). In addition to struggling with his control, the rookie has also gotten hit hard (52% hard-hit rate per Statcast) while missing bats at a pretty average clip (11% swinging-strike rate). One encouraging note is that he hasn't surrendered any homers in his two start since being recalled from Triple-A, which is huge since he coughed up 11 dingers over his 5 starts before being demoted; a 2.1 HR/9 and 25% HR/FB therefore represent improving numbers. He lines up for a turn against the Yankees next week.
Sal Frelick (OF-MIL) got the call on Saturday to make his big-league debut with the Brewers, and he went 3-3 with 2 RBI and a run scored as he batted 6th against Atlanta. The 23 year-old is widely ranked as one of Milwaukee's top prospects, but he's endured a rough 2022 campaign in which he missed the first chunk of the season with a thumb injury and then slogged to a .247 average with 2 homers, 18 RBI, 25 runs scored, and 8 steals (in 12 attempts) across 183 PA, with a subpar wRC+ of 73. If there's good news to take away from his run in Triple-A to open the campaign, it's that he demonstrated his usual excellent command of the dish, recording a walk rate north of 10% which exceeded strikeout rate of just under 10%. There's little pop here, but Frelick has a plus hit tool to go with plus speed that should produce a combination of a solid average and a decent stolen base total (he swiped 25 bags across three levels last season). So, he's not a must-add in all fantasy leagues, but should be picked up if you want an OF who offers average to go with some steals.
Matt McLain (SS-CIN) continued his strong rookie campaign by going 1-3 with a solo blast against the Diamondbacks on Saturday. The 23 year-old didn't reach the majors as the most touted prospect, but he's done nothing but hit with a .302 average, 10 homers, 35 RBI, 45 runs scored, and 8 steals (in 11 attempts) across 268 PA, with a wRC+ of 136. McLain has fanned some (27%), but his contact rate (78%) isn't bad at all while he's recorded a swinging-strike rate of just 9% and has generated hard contact at a solid 42% rate per Statcast. Even so, don't expect a .394 BABIP to hold up over two months of action as his average seems likely to dip going forward. But the combination of decent power and speed should yield a useful combination of homers and steals down the stretch.
This is just a small sample our daily analysis, join our member area for tools that will help you win your fantasy championship. Click here for details: http://www.insiderbaseball.com/baseballsample.htm Click here to register: http://www.fantistics.com/salesbaseball.php3
