Nick Pivetta, SP, RP, BOS
Pivetta struck out 10 in 5.1 IP against the Yankees on Tuesday, allowing 3 ER's on 4 hits and a BB. He continues to rack up the strikeouts as he is now up to 160 K's in 122.1 IP. Since mid-June, he has a ridiculous 104 strikeouts in 69 IP across 18 appearances, good for a 13.56 K/9. His overall 11.77 K/9 is easily a career high, as is his 12.7% SwStr% (entering Tuesday). His ERA still sits at an uninspiring 4.56, but he has an xFIP of 3.71, and that number has been below 3.00 over the past 3 months. Pivetta won't be highly sought after in 2024 drafts thanks to his high ERA, but he is a strong candidate to see improvement. Of course, there's no guarantee he'll be given a starting job after bouncing between the rotation and bullpen for the Red Sox in 2023.
Kerry Carpenter, OF, DET
Carpenter went 2-5 with 2 RBI against the Reds on Tuesday, as he continues to have a breakout season for the Tigers, slashing .294/.354/.514 with 20 HR's in 101 games. After a power surge in mid-August, Carpenter has actually not homered in 17 games, although he has still been productive in that time, hitting .323 while collecting 5 SB's. Carpenter has hit the ball hard this season (43.4% HardHit%) but his BA could very well see some regression next year as he has a .347 BABIP and an xBA of .269. His HR/FB also seems on the high end at 21.5%. That's not to say he won't continue to be a productive player in 2024, but it wouldn't be safe to assume that he can repeat an OPS north of .850.
John Means, SP, BAL
Means made his first major league start since having Tommy John surgery last season and lasted 5 IP, allowing 3 ER's on 5 hits with no BB's and 1 strikeout against the Cardinals on Tuesday. He wasn't dominant by any means, but the start was acceptable considering Means hadn't pitched since early 2022. Means has had success at the big league level posting a 3.73 ERA in 353.1 IP from 2019-2021, but his xFIP was 4.85 over that stretch. He has never had a season with a K/9 over 9.00, and his FB% shot up to 47.4% in 2021. He is likely not draft-worthy in 2024 drafts, although he's worth keeping an eye on.
Freddy Peralta, MIL
Peralta was dominant against the Marlins on Tuesday allowing 1 ER on 2 hits and 0 BB's in 6.1 IP, while striking out 9. This was the 10th time this season that Peralta has struck out at least 9 batters and the 6th time in his last 9 starts. In that 9 start stretch, he has a sparkling 2.01 ERA and 82:11 K:BB across 53.2 IP. He has now reached 200 K's for the first time in his career, and while his 3.79 ERA is fine, his 3.49 xFIP indicates that he has been even better than that. He should be viewed as a strong SP option with high strikeout upside heading into 2024.
Trea Turner, SS, PHI
Another day, another homerun for Turner who went 3-5 with a HR, 2 RBI, and a SB against the Braves on Tuesday, giving him 11 HR's in his last 13 games. It has been quite the turnaround for Turner, who is hitting .358 with 16 HR's and 41 RBI in 37 games since the start of August after a terrible first 4 months of the season. At the end of July, Turner owned a 24% K% and 89.7 EV, but since then his K% is 18.9% and his EV has jumped to 92.7. It will be interesting to see how fantasy owners view Turner in 2024, as his overall numbers are looking like they will be excellent by the end of the season, as he approaches a 30-30 season with 100+ runs scored. But many won't forget the prolonged slump and may not want to invest a 1st round pick in him. Considering his career track record and how hot he's been over the past month plus, he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt and should be drafted at least near the first round.
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